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January 19, 2005
BKIFF mini-report
Just brief comments on the movies I caught:
1) Yasmin
Very powerful, controversial movie, quietly moving. Very raw in the recent aftermath of the 9/11 reports. We don't feel it here. But there are societies where it really matters. Loved the way the movie ended.
What happens when you are unwillingly tossed to the other side the society by default - by your skin colour? What happens when the society you trust, you chose to trust, turns against you and makes you the Outsider/Enemy? Do you still accept your fate? Embrace your previous rejected faith? Or do you turn into a fundamentalist with a vengeance?
2) Kontroll
This movie is an absolute trip! Totally fun, fantastic soundtrack and full of energy and laughs, and yet...full of heart. Kinda reminds me of Old Boy - just less melodramatic.
Protogonist stays underground in Subway station 24/7. By day, he works as a train inspector; by night, he sleeps on train platforms. We learn later that he had a high-flying job UP THERE but he escaped underground. So while trying to sort out his personal [i]hell[/i] , he has to be in a physical underground [i]hell[/i]. [color=white]He has to battle a phantom (is it real or a figment of his imagination?), real-life problems like defending his bumbling team-mates and falling in love with a teddy bear.[/color]
Well worth a watch over and over again!
3) Boats Out of Watermelon Rinds
The movie is a bit too slow to start my day with but it was poignant enough with good moments. The boys' love for movies - which resulted in their amateur attempts to build a projector and start their own village cinema was heartbreakingly hopeful. Of course, one of them had to fall in love and have his heartbroken. Just like every movie with adolescents in it.
4) Reconstruction
Caught this at SIFF last year. Still thinking of it. (check out my avatar!) and second viewing of it at BKIFF still managed to break my heart and blow me away.
5) The Nomi Song
I've no idea why I went in expecting something like Interstella. Instead it is a feature film/documentary on the short but stunning life of Klaus Nomi, New Wave Opera-pop singing of the eighties. This guy was an extraordinaire who sang with a falsetto and believed he was an alien.
We say it is on the life of Klaus Nomi and not Klaus Scherber (his real name) because it is really about the persona he became during the four years before his death. Totally funny and touching. Small audience but most of them have seen Klaus perform in NYC and the director was around to chat with us after the screening.
Need to check out some of his records.
6) Cafe Lumiere
My first Hou Hsiao Hsien's film. Fantastic. Slow...subtle and made me cry. The only film that made me cry. Supposedly a homage to Ozu...maybe must rewatch Ozu.
7) Short Films
Got lost. Didn't know the theatre it was screening in was sooooo far away. So by the time I got there, missed half of them already. Saw a documentary on Nigawli's youths who are brash and violent. That was a pretty good docu. Saw a short story about how a Thai village boy went to Bangkok to make his mark, only to have his dreams dashed and his life end tragically. Saw a super melodramatic Korean short. And saw Royston Tan's Cut.
So basically, the best thing abt the screening was discovering the theatre. House Rama at RCA. It is a arthouse cinema and they are having a Kitano showcase there too. So worth a checkout. Too bad it was my last day. But really nice theatres. Fantastic interiors.
8) The Birth of The Seanema
Ok. Was late for this screening too. Try lugging your luggage around and going to the wrong cinema and having to walk across the opp. mall to get to the right one. With a tummyache at that. So walked in to the cinema. Saw movie stills and words flashing across. Very cinematographically(is there such a word?) excellent stills. Very poetic words. But I realised the entire movie is silent without dialogue or any sound at all. It's just stills and words flashing on the screen. I fell asleep. My movie-mate fell asleep. We decided it was not worth being late at the airport for (we initially decided to take the risk) and walked out of the film and headed to the airport.
All in all, it was wonderful. I got mildly depressed knowing how many other films I failed to catch. The volunteers were extremely helpful and friendly. Had many a good chat with them. And the cinemas were so cool! The new theatres are totally comfortable and the old rickety ones...just reminded me of my Capitol and Picturehouse days. Made a mental note to come back for the FULL programme next year and enjoyed myself tremendously. Can't wait for SIFF now.
Posted by lainey at January 19, 2005 12:47 AM