#36: Slumdog Milionaire

BRILLIANT.

#35: 2 Days in Paris (2007)

#33: Please Vote for Me

Though China's government is Communist, the third grade election for the prestigious position of Class Monitor at the Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan is being decided by a democratic vote. In this enlightening documentary, filmmaker Weijun Chen captures all the action as the three candidates -- two boys and a girl -- go all out to win: performing in a talent show, debating each other and delivering speeches to their classmates.

WOW. This is a puppet show in so many ways, but it's still compelling. I don't believe children are pure as puppies, but they are highly suggestible -- and the combination of parental suggestion and pressure to excel, on the one hand, and what looks like sheer manipulation of elementary school cliques (by teachers, parents, filmmaker?), makes it difficult to tell what's really going on. What the kids say is certainly a reflection on their values -- the values of their parents. And it's interesting to listen in on that.

#27: The King of Masks (1999)

Nearing the end of his life, Wang -- a locally renowned street performer and wizard of the venerable art of mask magic -- yearns to pass on his technique. But custom prescribes that he can only hand down his craft to a male successor. Anxious to preserve his unique art, the heirless Wang buys an impoverished 8-year-old on the black market. When the child divulges a dreaded secret, Wang faces a choice between filial love and societal tradition.

Lovely and kinda plot-heavy, surprisingly. The summary above really only captures a piece of the film -- there are many little twists and turns, nearly all revolving around Wang's desire for a male heir to whom he can teach his art. So many things about these lives are hard: the selling of children, the lack of value placed on girl children, the need for a male to inherit knowledge and name, life on the street, infant/child mortality, et cetera.

A couple things that struck me while viewing:
There was something about the score and cinematography seem very melodramatically Western to me at moments, but that's likely an artifact of my own limited film knowledge. Is there a parallel with Sichuan opera? (which has a minor role in the film)

Calling the boy "doggie" was more than a little odd, though -- it would be interesting to hear from someone who can offer an alternate translation of the actual dialogue.


And hm... with King of Kong and King Corn, this is kind of a humorous run I'm having here (though I had to abandon King Corn for now due to audio problems). I wonder what else there is... the Last King of Scotland (which is already in the queue), the King of Comedy (haven't seen for a LONG time), the King of New York, King of California (Michael Douglas), and Ping-pongkingen (the King of Ping-Pong). The last is now at the top of my queue.

#26: Free Zone (2005)

Hana Laszlo won a Cannes Best Actress award for her portrayal of Hanna, an Israeli taxi driver, in this drama. Headed to the Free Zone to collect money owed to her husband, Hanna picks up Rebecca (Natalie Portman), a frazzled American who begs to come along. But retrieving the money won't be easy; the two wind up on a strange journey with a Palestinian woman (Hiam Abbass) who reveals that Hanna's debtor has vanished, along with all of his loot.

Disappointing, but still interesting. The film feels long, as if this very long day in the film is compressed only slightly to bring the viewer along. The purpose and details of the journey are revealed over time, along with the situation of Rebecca, who is still not terribly clear to me by the end of the film. There's some superimposed footage at times, of things each woman was remembering. The technique was effective, and seemed to fit the rest of the mood of the film. And all the performances were understated but intense (these are three powerhouse actors), and the nuanced look at life in this tumultuous part of the world was interesting. But in the end, I'm not sure it's a satisfying way of telling a story.

#20: The Forest For the Trees

Naive educator Melanie Pröschle (Eva Lobau) leaves her small town behind to teach at an upscale metropolitan high school in this engrossing character study. Determined to make a good impression, the socially inept Melanie instead commits one faux pas after another -- unwittingly alienating nearly everyone she meets. As she struggles against a tide of loneliness, aloof colleagues and disorderly students, she slowly begins to melt down.

This film had good reviews by Netflix members, and I've rarely disliked a Film Movement title. But it was hard to get through -- partly just because of the way it was shot (on DV, in harsh lighting).

20/10

#17: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

In the last days of communism in Romania, Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), a young college student, wants to end her unplanned pregnancy. With the help of her best friend, fellow student Otilia (Anamaria Marinca), she seeks an abortion, illegal under the oppressive Ceaucescu regime. Director Cristian Mungiu's searing portrait of life under dictatorship received a slew of film festival awards as well as a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film from the Golden Globes. 113 minutes.

Intense. This'll take a few days to comment on.

By now, I'm sure most anyone reading this has heard about the lack of added sound on this film (Palme d'Or winner at the 2007 Cannes festival) -- no music, no effects, just dialogue and any additional sound the mics picked up. It makes for an intense experience, and one without the usual breaks to remind you that you're just a viewer, watching a film. It's bleak and hard and completely unsentimental. The hard work just of living, let alone the work to obtain an abortion (punishable as murder, if the pregnancy has progressed to 4 months) isn't a romantic sort of struggle, it's just a struggle.

#15: Dolls (2002)

Director Takeshi Kitano demonstrates his masterful storytelling technique with this movie that interweaves three somber love stories featuring three star-struck protagonists. Young Matsumoto is chosen by his company's president as a fitting man to marry the president's daughter, but complications arise. An aging Yakuza boss keeps a date and takes a fateful chance. And pop idol Haruna Maraguchi realizes how deep fan obsession can become.

Lovely. The summary above doesn't really do it justice. The film is told as if it were a traditional puppet play brought to life (and begins/ends with the puppets themselves). The pace is slow, but it didn't bother me. Actually, slow isn't really accurate; there's a rhythm to the varying tempo, and it's easy to settle into it. I have a feeling it would have been a better experience in the theatre, though, or at least on DVD. I watched on Netflix' streaming service, and it has its limits (not to mention the limits of my 15" screen).

Definitely recommended.


Random thought alert:
I wonder how much of the filmgoing experience is dependent on (and how much the filmmaker relies on) shared culture? Presumably, my experience watching this is going to be very different from a Japanese viewer, and very different from a Norwegian viewer, etc. An American with knowledge of Japanese culture and film would bring even different things to the film, as well.

15/9

#6: The Way I Spent the End of the World

"In 1989 Romania, plucky 17-year-old Eva Matei comes of age as she schemes to escape the country's tyranny with help from her recalcitrant neighbor. Meanwhile, as her parents endure the brutal dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, Eva's 7-year-old brother plots to kill the despot."

Films like this always make me feel very inadequate in my knowledge of political history, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Cute kid, taciturn teen, and lots of heart all around.

6/2

#5: The Bothersome Man (2006)

The Buzz: "Mysteriously deposited in a perfectly serene but colorless city where every need is met, Andreas soon realizes that not even a new lover can change the sterile banality drowning him. Is this placid life a dream come true or an inescapable hell? Is the lovely music coming from a crack in the basement his ticket out?"

My take: Though the plot conjures up films like Being John Malkovich, Dark City, and The Forgotten, this one holds its own as a very, very dark comedy. The cinematography is gorgeous (though intentionally monochromatic through most of the film), and our guy is compelling -- though not entirely sympathetic, really. 91 minutes. Also from the Film Movement (screened via Netflix watch-instantly).

5/2

#4: Men at Work (2006)

The Buzz: "An allegorical comedy, this Iranian film follows the strange quest of four old friends as they return from a ski trip. When Sahar, Mammad, Moshen, and Jalil spot a giant rock jutting from the edge of a cliff, they become obsessed with shoving over the boulder. Repeated failures only push them to succeed, and their absurd efforts with the phallic stone begin to reveal some deeper issues."

My take: Funny times 10. It's such a treat to find comedy like this -- no tricks, no falls, no jokes, just people being people. Once again, Film Movement does not disappoint. And, at 75 minutes, it makes a very easy latenight viewing.
4/1

#1: Into Great Silence (2005)

Buzz: Documentary of life in an isolated monastery in northern France. Very very very long.

My reaction: The film is gorgeous, but it's painfully slow and intense, and tested the limits of my cinematic patience. It wasn't a great choice for a day cooped-up in the house with a cold -- I'm already too aware of the time passing, and keeping this up for more than 2 1/2 hours was nearly unbearable (though I did... mostly out of a sense of loyalty and first-day-motivation re: the project). Though I can appreciate the film, that appreciation ended about 40 minutes in. Not exactly an exciting start to the project.

film 1 / day 1