Shadows off the beaten path< < F E S T I V A L O R P H A N F I L M S
unreleased and unreviewed See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL
R E V I E W S B Y R I C H C L I N E
Blog reviews from the 63rd Edinburgh International Film FestivalJun.09
Den du Frygter
scr Anders Thomas Jensen, Kristian Levring
with Ulrich Thomsen, Paprika Steen, Emma Sehsted Hoeg, Lars Brygmann, Stine Stengade, Josephine Marcher Sandig
08/Denmark 1h35
Ulrich Thomsen and Paprika Steen are terrific as a married couple stretched to the breaking point when the husband takes a leave from work and gets his brother-in-law to let him test some new anti-depressants. His changes of mood give him a creepy inner life that he completely hides from his wife and daughter, even as things get very, very scary. The film intriguingly asks whether the drugs give him an excuse for his erratic behaviour - and if there's any way back. Sleek and cool, and pretty scary too.16.Jun.09 eiff
Un Chat un Chat
with Chiara Mastroianni, Agathe Bonitzer, Malik Zidi, Mateo Julio Cedron, Dominique Valadie, Sophie Guillemin
09/France 1h45
Chiara Mastroianni plays a blocked writer in this extremely strange French comedy-drama. She's dealing with issues surrounding her mother and son, and all of this has left her lacking in confidence and losing her grip on reality. The film takes a similarly surreal approach to the story, which is sometimes clever and interesting, but also gets a bit annoying from time to time. Fortunately the actors are good enough to keep us engaged.
17.Jun.09 eiff
scr Jonathan auf der Heide, Oscar Redding
with Oscar Redding, Arthur Angel, Paul Ashcroft, Mark Leonard Winter, Torquil Neilson, Greg Stone, John Francis, Tom Wright
09/Australia 1h44
From Australia's penal colony days, this gritty dramatic thriller tells a story that's not easy to watch, as eight men escape from their guard and run into the woods. But it's rather a lot further to safety than they expected, and when they run out of food, they start eyeing up the most obnoxious guy as the potential next meal. Filmed with extraordinary style and skill, it looks fantastic, and really gets us into the environment. We can practically smell and, erm, taste it! And we kind of wish it wasn't quite so vivid. 16.Jun.09 llgff
R E V I E W S B Y R I C H C L I N E
Blog reviews from the 15th Los Angeles Film FestivalJun.09
with Natalia Almada, Plutarco Elias Calles
09/Mexico 1h23
Filmmaker Almada starts with a series of audiotapes recorded by her grandmother, talking about growing up as daughter of the norotious Mexican strongman President Calles. From here, Almada examines issues of memory and history in evocative, intriguing ways. The film includes a wealth of old footage (including beautiful scenes from Eisenstein's Mexican films), and instead of trying to nail down a firm history of her great-grandfather's life, she instead examines the intriguing difference between the politician and the father - and also between Mexico's past and present. Intriguing, but a bit open-handed.24.Jun.09 laff
See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL
© 2010 by Rich Cline, Shadows
on the Wall