BRINGING BACK BIFF – BIFF 2007 PART II

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From GOMA I went and volunteered at the Regent on Sunday evening late and then went to work the next day. The week ahead would see no let up as he had bought tickets to see at least one movie every weeknight. I was working at QUT and so found it quite easy to walk uptown to the Regent Cinemas located in the Queen St Mall. A grand cinema and for me the heart of the BIFF I remember. All lost in time but here we go with some more memories.

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Walking On The Wildside:  Monday I went to Regent 1 at 6:50pm to see from China Walking on the Wildside. There was also a short from Thailand called Graceland directed by Anocha Suwichakompong about a man meeting a mysterious woman one night in Bangkok and setting off a new journey. I can’t quite dredge up memories of it I’m afraid. Walking on the Wildside a Chinese/French co-production and shot on 35mm was made in the Shanxi province by Han Jie. It follows a gang of youths in an industrial province. Not much happens and I kind of felt the film’s lack of structure hurt it in the end because it kind of became boring. However I was seeing a part of the world I’d never seen before and watching individuals who had been raised in a different culture while reflecting some of the West’s influence as well. That is what I really enjoy about going to film festivals and so while not a particularly strong film it offered something different with its low budget verisimilitude style.

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Bella: Bella started an hour later upstairs in Regent the same night. I’ve read some bad reviews of Bella but I really was moved by it at the time and it also won People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. I also don’t want to give away too much of the plot except to say that it follows a day in the life of two people. Jose (Eduardo Verastegui) is a beautiful man unkempt in the way that usually suggests something has hurt his spirit and now he’s just happy to work at his brother’s restaurant where there is a waitress named Nina (Tammy Blanchard)  who is dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. Written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde whose wife Ali Landry makes a small but pivotal performance too I was surprised to find that it is labelled a Christian film. Faith is certainly present and but I found it far from a religious film. These are people dealing with real struggles and yes they’re looking for answers but they find them in themselves and their choices. There is a very crucial flashback that I think says a lot. When you’re a moral person you go back when you want to leave. We find a person broken and wracked with guilt but in how he responded to his mistake reveals his future. Certainly a labour of love from all involved and a beautifully shot film and well told story.

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Away From Her: The next night I went to see Away From Her at 7pm in Regent 3 after work. My grandfather had dementia before he passed and I guess that may have informed this choice or maybe it the fact that Alison Polley who starred in Go and Dawn of the Dead was directing. Maybe I was just keen to see another Canadian film. I don’t know but it may have been the best film I saw that year. A Canadian film starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent as Fiona and Gordon. The kind of active good looking well off older couple we probably all aspire to be. Then Fiona gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and eventually the symptoms proliferate until she goes into a home. Then the film gets really interesting because not only is Fiona starting to treat Gordon like a stranger and crush on a male resident in the home but she also seems to be hinting at the fact that many years ago Gordon, an academic had an affair with a student. I think at this point we should commend Julie Christie on such a lengthy and stellar career. Christie bravely portrays someone with that condition but the emotional crux of the story is watching Pinsent as Gordon. It’s a slow burn of a film in the same way that the disease slowly takes everything away from a loved one. Under 30 and making her feature film debut Polley doesn’t put a foot wrong in terms of pacing and style effectively moving us to a knock out emotional finale.

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Waitress: Following in the same cinema Regent 3 at 9:20pm (yeah I got out after 11pm and went to work the next day a lot during this week) was Waitress. There was a lot of poignancy attached to the film when it screened at BIFF following Sundance. The director of the film Adrienne Shelly was murdered before it screened at Sundance, she was only 40 year old and had become a mother two years previous. Her husband has since set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation which provides stipends, funds and scholarships to artists. Waitress is about a waitress Jenna (Keri Russell) in a diner who makes pies that are the stuff of legends. She is married to an abusive husband who is beyond pathetic when she falls pregnant. The examining Doctor is a new guy in town played by the strapping Nathan Fillion as somebody who is not very strapping. They go at it like bunnies accordingly. Maybe the film won’t hold up today but as a young man it was refreshing to see two films in one night worlds apart in tone and focus but directed by two incredibly talented women telling stories with a female eye. Shelly herself appears as a wallflower co-worker/friend as does the ever dependable Cheryl Hines on hand to get some laughs. The film made me laugh but it also made me think and it made me angry. Angry for how women can get chewed up in this world by some pretty pathetic men. I don’t think its an accident that there’s no major negative female characters in this film but then again Jenna (Keri Russell) can be pretty hard on herself enough.

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Sankara: I would have had to have left early on Wednesday to get to Regent 3 at 5pm for Sankara from Sri Lanka. Directed by Prasanna Jayakody the film is about a Buddhist monk doing some restoration work on a monastery where he is entranced by the beauty of a local woman. A lot of work went into the sounds and look of the film reflecting natural beauty and spiritual turmoil but I found it slow and too ponderous. Maybe worth a reappraisal. After watching the central female lead Sanchini Ayendra walk around in film with a natural look and simple clothes I was shocked when she stepped forward for a Q&A after the film. Decked out in a green top and white jeans with make-up she immediately looked a stunning beauty. Image result for sachini ayendraI would had no idea watching her performance in the film that she had been Miss Sri Lanka. The juxtaposition has always made me wonder about the presentation and perception of what is beauty and how we can be fooled or just be plain foolish. But then again she looks quite pretty naturally in this promotion still. Either way it was a privilege to meet a star and have her as a guest at BIFF.Image result for sachini ayendra

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4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days: Starting at 9pm I had to make my way from Regent 3 to Palace Cinemas 1 for this winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes from Romania. I’ve seen some pretty hard going films at BIFF and this was up there. Directed by Cristian Munglu and starring Anamaria Marinca in a performance for the ages. It is set in the late 1980s at the end of Communist rule when abortions are illegal. Marinca is Otilla helping a friend get one in a state that does not allow it so of course what is to be a harrowing ordeal becomes even more so. There’s not a lot more I can say by that but Otilla’s need to maintain secrecy comes at cost in a variety of fashions and shows just what strong women will endure when they are left little choice but to get on with it. One of the best but also most harrowing films I have ever seen.

-Lloyd Marken

13 thoughts on “BRINGING BACK BIFF – BIFF 2007 PART II

    1. I wholeheartedly agree Pete and thought you might like this post given your appreciation for 4 Months and foreign films in general. Some interesting films coming up with BIFF 2008. Best wishes Pete.

  1. “Away From Her” sounds really interesting, especially due to Julie Christie’s performance, and as you’ve stated, it was the best film of the year for you. Prasanna Jayakody’s movie doesn’t sound good, although the concept might be. SL cinema is really good at ruining a story. And as you said, “it was too slow and ponderous”, am not really surprised. Am sure the actress was a beauty, but talents of stars here don’t necessarily match up, no matter how good a role they get. I recently watched Jayakody’s “28”, what a pathetic waste of time. But people here love it, but that’s more to do with their false nationalistic and extremist attitudes, of what a great country they like to believe, they live in.
    From your list, the other two that sound good are “Bella” and “4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days” (a movie I’ve wanted to see for ages, never got around to)
    It’s sad about Adrienne Shelly. And yesterday I heard Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. Sad. Going through my own stress and depression, in a depressive country, I can imagine, he must have felt really down, to do so. Am constantly fighting suicidal instincts, myself, including right now, but it’s not easy. My unfortunate roots, try to drag my down, beneath the mud, with them. It’s really difficult to stay afloat sometimes.
    Anyway, enjoyed your nostalgic blog post. A flashback to the previous decade!!

    1. Nuwan I’m sorry to hear you’re down and that you don’t like where you live. We all get down and stressed but if you are considering suicidal thoughts please seek help where you can. I’m sure you have a lot to offer the world. Thank you commenting about Sankarra and 28. I didn’t like Sankara but it doesn’t mean that it was a bad movie or that others couldn’t find value in it but it seems we have a similar reaction to the work from that director. I look forward to seeing other films from Sri Lanka in the future. Thank you stopping and commenting about BIFF 2007. I’ll be covering 2008, 2010 and 2017 hopefully in the future.

    2. Sometimes I get down to with things I’m going through so I don’t want to give you a trite generic suggestion but I guess we just got to keep punching. Yes that’s generic and trite but I think its true. When there’s no other options on the table it makes it easier to decide to just keep going but that’s not to say it isn’t fair or it doesn’t suck and if you need help the smart thing to do is to get it. None of us get through life without it.

      1. Thanks Lloyd, am fine. Some days are just worse than others. I do go to psychiatrist, every 6 months (just got an appointment for this Wednesday). And am on a milder form of stress medication. There is nothing more he can do but prescribe meds. He knows, that I love to socialize; but have to be recluse here, as it’s such a narrow minded extremist country. But I still try to meet people. I have both good and bad memories of Australia; but at least I had good memories too. Life is full of ups and downs, more downs than ups; but this country, argh, the people, they are just sooo nasty; and derive a sadistic pleasure by making others suffer.
        Do check out some of my more personal posts, as well, on blog. The last cathartic piece, was “The Evils of Sri Lankan Buddhism”, back in December 2017.
        Sorry, I vented all my stress onto you. The last thing I want to do.
        Take Care man.

      2. I think I read that piece. I’m glad you got a system and hope you have many good memories to look forward to. You have nothing to apologise for, you take care too mate.

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