VIFF: an overview

due to work and film stuff, i watched fewer films than i had hoped but i'm still really happy with those that i was able to catch.

# of films watched = 9
# of walk outs = 1

best film
The White Meadows

worst film
Fortune Teller


overall, i thought this was a strong year for VIFF. sure, there are always a significant number of films that don't seem to make it here from TIFF or Cannes but then there are tons of films that premiere here at VIFF and don't make it to TIFF or Cannes. i'm okay with the odds i have with VIFF and had a fabulous time this year.

VIFF: Nostalgia for the Light

rating: 4/5
country: chile
type: documentary

loved:
- how the film compared the similarities between astronomers and the chilean women who continue to look for their relatives who were 'the disappeared' as those who look to the past to understand who they are and where they come from
- the courage of these women who keep going back to the desert to look for mass graves.
- this was a cinematic looking film.

didn't love:
- there was some hippie stardust overlay affect that they applied when the women and the telescopes come together in the last part of the documentary

blurbie:
i loved the educational nature of this documentary. it introduced to me a topic that i knew little about, those that disappeared during the pinochet years. dispite my whine about the stardust overlay, this film was gorgeous from the computer generated universe fly-through to the shots of the telescopes in the middle of the most arid region on earth.

VIFF: Winter Vacation

rating: 4.5/5
country: china
type: narrative fiction

loved:
- the dry humor ala Jim Jarmusch
- conversations were slow paced
- old boring grandpa + active grandchild = hilarity
- teens who say: let's not be too hasty with this disagreement. let's sit down and properly disagree... or something like that

didn't love:
- the pacing was definitely of the SLOW variety but some scenes felt overly slow as if the director stretched applied the extra slow plug-in

blurbie:
it was really neat to see the application of a Jarmusch dry humour film be applied to a rural chinese (siberia, it looks like?) outpost. watching chinese life receive this treatment was a treat!

VIFF: The Woodmans

rating: 2/5 **yes, i changed the rating system! i wasn't pleased with how it was working for me**
country: united states
type: documentary

loved:
- being able to see the daughter's body of photography work and even some of her video projects
- seeing the mother's passion for ceramic art stretch thoroughout her entire life

didn't love:
- i thought the editing made the film feel too long.
- watching someone cry over the death of someone felt a little manipulative; death is sad and we don't need to see someone cry to drive home that fact.

blurbie:
i generally find artists very interesting and was inspired by an entire family that seemed to fully embrace making art as a serious commitment. however the editing felt a little undisciplined which made the movie just ok for me.

VIFF: Tiger Factory

rating: 3/5
country: malaysia
type: drama

loved:
- that it was a film by young, new filmmakers
- that they didn't care that the story was super depressing

didn't love:
- the jittery camera got tiring after a while. what's wrong with a steadicam, i ask!
- i've seen many super depressing asian films and felt that Tiger Factory wasn't offering anything new in this genre.

blurbie:
i kinda thought this was a less cinematic and less layered malaysian version of The White Meadows.

VIFF: Himalaya, A Path To The Sky

rating: 3/5
country: France
type: documentary

loved:
- having the opportunity to glimpse into the rhythm of life in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalaya
- the interplay between the female documentary filmmaker (who spoke their language) and the monks who were all men.

didn't love:
- there were a number of moments when the documentary filmmaker asked leading questions rather than open-ended questions.
- i thought the editing didn't allow us to really get to know the child monk with the old soul. there were small fragments here and there but i wonder if she wasn't given the type of access to allow that.

blurbie:
the main subject is an 8 yr old boy who, at the age of 3, kept asking to go back to the monastery because he left behind his prayer books. we see him attending philosophy classes, starting a fire using wood and playing with his fellow child monks. we even see him visiting his family. although i felt the film didn't go deep enough into this child's life there was definitely a happy devotion that exuded from him and all the other monks.

here's an excerpt i found on youtube

VIFF: The Fourth Portrait

rating: 4/5
country: taiwan
type: dramatic narrative

loved:
- the acting. the stepdad's scariness was subtle but overwelming. the scene where the mom talks about when her son went missing was brilliant. the funny elderly janitor and the small time crook were also perfectly toned.
- the cinematography was excellent except for the overall colour palette.
- where the story started and where the story ended.
- the baby that never cried. why did we always see the dad caring for the baby and never saw the mom holding the baby?
- lots of great tracking shots

didn't love:
- i found the soundtrack lacking. the music was either too strong for the scene or i kept wondering if the filmmakers actually received permission to use a song that should be quite expensive.
- excessive use of the yellow/green colour palette.
- i thought the brutal and the comedic parts could have been better balanced or better transitioned into each other

blubie:
this film was just excellent. i really lost myself in the story about a boy who's dad dies and he ends up with his mom (who is a prostitute at a brothel) and a sociopath stepdad. the time the boy spends with the school janitor and the not very aggressive thug was the comedic relief that helped us deal with the scary and stressful other parts.