page one (miff film #16)

The (almost) best of MIFF was saved till last. Page One: Inside the New York Times is another brilliant documentary, directed by Andrew Rossi. As someone who works in the publishing industry, there were many, many moments during this fly-on-the-wall-style film that resonated very strongly with me (what with the constant question of survival being asked at every turn now that electronic media has no intention of going anywhere). And being introduced to journalist David Carr was a revelation.

Page One is a true celebration of journalistic talent that is, sadly, being eroded by lesser, but more popular, media outlets. While the main theme of the film is the struggle of The Times to survive in the internet age, it also reminds, or rather shows, viewers what it would be like if it ceased to exist.

Again, there are too many highlights to discuss in this blog post and really, they will wack a better punch if you’re seeing them without previously reading about them. I think this documentary should be seen by everyone, just as a reminder of why we still need quality newspapers (whether they be printed or read electronically) and reporters.

5 stars!

life in a day (miff film #15)

Faith restored! After the debacle of film #14, I was so, so happy after coming out of the screening of Life in a Day. Not only was my faith restored in the MIFF program, it was also restored in this crazy, digital age we live in.

The film, which was produced in conjunction with youtube, put out a call, asking people from around the world to film the day as it happened for them on July 24th, 2010. These budding filmmakers could then send in their footage and the most compelling and distinctive pieces would be used, and thus Life in a Day was born.

Kevin Macdonald, the director, introduced the film and mentioned that 14 Australian submissions made the cut. Pretty impressive considering around 4,500 hours of footage was submitted.

It’s so hard to pick my favourite parts of this documentary. They were all so brilliant and worked so well together. I didn’t feel like I was just watching snippets of home movies. The film was edited to show the full span of the day, starting with sunrise, and ending at sunset. The day was anchored by questions asked of the filmmakers, which were ‘what’s in your pocket?’, ‘what do you love?’, and ‘what do you hate?’.

I think the main reason I loved watching this documentary is because it showed me that if we work together, using all the social media currently available to us, we can create something with meaning, beauty, hopefulness and humour instead of wallowing in our own narcissism and shallowness.

5 stars!

shut up little man! (miff film #14)

The wheels finally came off the terrific streak I was having with my MIFF selection. What caused the wheels to come off? The documentary, Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure. It probably didn’t help that the screening got off to a terrible start. One of the audio tracks wasn’t synching so we missed the audio for roughly the first ten minutes of the film. That’s fine. Things happen. But the crowd were horrid. They kept booing and asking for the film to be started again. Ridiculous behaviour from grown ups, really.

The MIFF program describes the film as…

In 1987, Eddie and Mitch found themselves living next door to Peter and Raymond - a flamboyant gay man and a raging homophobe who fired abuse at each other during nightly liquor-fuelled stoushes. The guys recorded these 'colourful' exchanges through the paper-thin walls and inadvertently created one of the world's first viral sensations - one which inspired a cult following on the cassette-zine circuit, spawned a stage play and multiple film projects, and made its way into the work of comic artist Dan Clowes (Ghost World) and the music of Devo.

Spaning issues of voyeurism, art, privacy and exploitation, this riveting documentary charts the unconventional story of an underground phenomenon.

I think it was the ‘privacy’ and ‘exploitation’ that I had the most trouble with. The in-fighting between Eddie and Mitch and those wanting to use the material they’d recorded seemed petty. Plus, I felt bad for the neighbours, who, while pretty crazy, had no idea the money and notoriety being made off them. I don’t know. Something about it just didn’t sit right with me. I just didn’t get this film. But that’s okay, there was bound to be one.

2 stars!

our idiot brother (miff film #13)

Unlucky thirteen? I think not! Considering Our Idiot Brother starred Paul Rudd, it would have to have been pretty terrible for me not to like it. I mean, he’s the cutest! But it was the support cast that really helped round out this film. Zooey Deschanel (love!), Elizabeth Banks (love!), Rashida Jones (love lots!), Adam Scoot (love! hot!), Hugh Dancy (hot!), Emily Mortimer (love!), Steve Coogan (some others love!). And I haven’t seen T.J Miller before but he’s hilarious. There was another cute dog in this film, but he didn’t quite steal away the pic. Paul Rudd is pretty much as cute, if not cuter, than most dogs.

This laugh-out-loud funny, sweet film is very heavy on the family dynamic. That’s my favourite kind of film! And Paul Rudd's Ned isn't really an idiot. He's just very sweet, and a touch naive - that's not a bad thing!

Our Idiot Brother is getting a general release so go see it. Like, now!

5 stars!

martha marcy may marlene (miff film #12)

Creepy creepy creepy creepy. I mean, any film about a cult is going to be creepy, but Martha Marcy May Marlene was extra creepy. Director, Sean Durkin won best director for this film at Sundance. That, coupled with an Olsen (Elizabeth!) made me add this film to my list. I had no idea what it was about until a day or so before seeing it when someone mentioned it was ‘the one about the cult’. Right.

For me, I think, the film was all about the amazing cinematography and direction. Each shot was beautiful and the director really did create a certain atmosphere that was felt by everyone in the cinema. I had to actually tell myself to start breathing again after some scenes and the rest of the time I flitted between feeling claustrophobic, uncomfortable and utterly on edge. And everything I felt was completely apt for the subject matter of the film. Brilliant.

The acting was terrific as well. John Hawkes was suitably creepy as the cult leader, Elizabeth Olsen holds her own and is mesmerizing in each shot, and Sarah Paulson is a standout (with Hugh Dancy thrown in for some eye candy). I also have to say that the Catskill mountains were a character unto themselves. They were terrifying, haunting but also a little intriguing when you think about the kind of fucked up shit that goes on there.

3 stars!

beginners (miff film #11)

After seeing Ewan McGregor on Graham Norton (my favourite late-night variety show, seriously, watch it, if you’re not already an addict) I put Beginners on my MIFF list. And I’m glad I did. Apart from featuring my girl-crush of the moment, Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), Beginners features the cutest dog ever and he basically walks off with the film.

Beginners is a beautifully sad journey, and at the helm is Oliver. Through flashbacks and flashforwards, the audience sees Oliver dealing both with the death of his father (played by the enigmatic Christopher Plummer) and the fact that at the age of 75, his father ‘came out’. It is also a journey of love, another subject Oliver struggles with when he meets Anna (Laurent).

Director Mike Mills has created a deeply personal film with Beginners (it’s based on true events) and is well worth seeing.

4 stars!

win win (miff film #10)

Win Win

I had wanted to see Win Win for a long time. I’d happened upon the trailer at the Apple site and in those 2 minutes and 23 seconds, I was hooked. I’m happy to report the wait was worth it and since this film (along with many that I’ve previously reviewed) will be getting a general release, I’d urge you to see it.

This engaging, sweet film tells its story beautifully and the characters have enough dimensions to leave every viewer satisfied. While for me, Bobby Cannavale kinda stole the show, I loved Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan (from The Office and The Wire) and Alex Shaffer, in his first, but definitely not his last film.

Win Win tells the story of struggling attorney Mike Flaherty (Giamatti) who takes not-entirely-ethical steps to increase the financial aid his family needs. This one action sets off a chain of events that I found an utter delight to see play out. I don’t want to give anything away, since my highlights will be your highlights and you should get to watch them without knowing they’re about to happen, but I’ll just say it’s a funny, heartbreaking, touching film.

Thanks MIFF for featuring this film in your program, it was a gem.

5 stars!

matchmaking mayor (miff film #9)

The subject of this Czech/Slovakian documentary is right there in the title. Jozef Gajdos, the mayor of the small town, Zemplínske Hámre, is fed up with his citizens. Namely, those over 30 who are still single. Don’t they realise Earth will cease to exist if they don’t pair up and start procreating immediately?

At his wits end, as evident by his increasingly hysterical announcements to the town via a PA system, the mayor decides its time to take matters into his own hands. He’s going to organise a singles night to help his town’s people, and those from the neighbouring area, a chance to meet, fall in love and make babies. What could go wrong?

An amazing array of characters come out of the woodwork, in this well-intentioned documentary, to explain why they are indeed, still single. The women seem to be content living with their mothers and going about their daily work, and don’t seem all that fazed about whether they find a man or not. As for the men, one has a newly renovated house and all it’s missing is a wife, and another realises if he’s spent less time working on cars, he might have had more luck settling down. Such sweet people, how could you not want them to find love?! (Especially when one lonely guy shows the Metaxa he purchased in Greece and is planning to drink with his wife…or on his deathbed.)

I love hearing about small towns, European or otherwise. I was completely smitten with Northern Exposure and ever since, have been drawn to film and tv shows about small-town eccentrics. This documentary offered me that and while I wanted the non-reality ending (i.e. everyone finding their soul mate at the singles night and the mayor falling asleep knowing he’d done the right thing), I wasn’t all that surprised when the town’s folk all went home alone.

2 stars!

submarine (miff film #8)

I loved every part of Submarine. From seeing Noah Taylor again (where have you been? And, man you got skinny!), to the terrific acting of Craig Roberts (he plays fifteen-year-old Oliver, whose coming of age the film documents), to the score by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner (i.e. my husband).

Initially, I was somewhat distracted by Oliver’s face as I tried to think of who it reminded me of. I finally had my ‘ah ha’ moment and decided it was James McAvoy. And after being slightly distracted by thinking of James McAvoy, I returned my concentration to the British gem unfolding before me.

I don’t want to say too much about the film, just that everyone should go and see it. Really.

5 stars!

tiny furniture (miff film #7)

I tend to make a habit of seeing any film at MIFF whose description includes the words ‘New York’, ‘twenty-something graduate’, ‘what now?’, and in this specific case, ‘the Woody Allen of Generation Y’. This year, the honour went to Tiny Furniture.

Lena Dunham writes, directs and stars in this film, which chronicles what happens when you finish uni and have no idea what to do next.

Aura is in just this situation so she moves back into her mum’s New York apartment, which also houses Aura’s younger sister (Lena’s real mum and sister take on these roles). Once the stage is thusly set, the rest of the film explores Aura’s uncertainty about what she should be doing with her time and newly minted uni skills – apart from a hot, young chef.

I always enjoy films that offer a snap shot into someone else’s life and this is exactly what Tiny Furniture gave me. There aren’t any explosive moments, and I even wondered exactly what the ending would be, but it made me feel that after the screen went dark, these characters were still going on with their lives, and I quite liked that.

3 stars!

london burning

The riots currently tearing England apart have been the source of countless pieces of writing. I’m not going to add to the number. Instead, I’m going to point you in the direction of this piece, Panic on the Streets of London, by Laurie Penny who has been watching her city burn over the past few days.

Rather than making snap explanations and racist remarks about why the riots are taking place, Laurie takes the time to see the madness for what it is. Indeed, to see what happens when those shown no respect rise up and tell the world that this time, they’ve got the control and they’re going to do anything they want with it.

mad development (my new favourite blog/website/tumblr #5)

I know there are many people out there convinced that an Arrested Development film is just around the corner. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Instead, I’ll just keep looking at this tumblr, which is freaking hilarious.

magic trip (miff film #6)

I think I was around sixteen or seventeen when I first read The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test. I loved it. I was going through a Tom Wolfe phase, which quickly turned into a Ken Kesey phase. When I saw that Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search by a Kool Place was on the MIFF program, I was definitely on the bus.

Directed by Alex Gibney, Magic Trip wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. It was much better. Ken Kesey, his ‘Merry Pranksters’, and a bus called Further drove across the USA soon after America lost it innocence, with the assassination of JFK. Their trip (in all its connotations) was filmed but hadn’t seen the light of day since Kesey et al had been editing it for thirty years. I really didn’t expect the documentary to make much sense, what with all the acid, but Gibney (and the narration skills of the brilliant Stanley Tucci) did a terrific job in bring out a cohesive and fascinating story.

With audio from those actually on the bus, including snippets of the speed-mad Neal Cassady, aka Dean Moriarty, I really felt like part of the journey in a way that Wolfe’s book hadn’t quite delivered. It was also quite thrilling to see cameos of Kerouac and Ginsberg. So for those fans of the Beat Generation, Kesey or the sixties in general, this documentary is a must see.

4 stars!

littlerock (miff film #5)

LiTTLEROCK Trailer from Small Form Films on Vimeo.

I was immediately drawn to Littlerock after reading it described as a ‘clever fish-out-of-water indie’. While a very accurate description, the true heart of this lovely film is in its gentleness.

After their car breaks down, travelling siblings Atsuko and Rintaro find themselves stuck in the very small Californian town, Littlerock. The brother and sister quickly make friends with their party-ing motel neighbours so begins a quietly heartfelt journey for the Japanese tourists and the American locals.

What struck me most about this film was how the friendships developed between Atsuko and the locals (namely Cory), regardless of the fact that she doesn’t speak English and they didn’t speak Japanese. The scenes between Atsuko and Francisco are particularly engrossing, comical and heartwarming. (They work together in a kitchen, speaking to each other in their own language that the other doesn’t understand. Brilliant.)

This terrific film is another MIFF win.

4 stars!

cute dog tucks himself in

Just taking a little break from MIFF madness so...look at this!


see more Gifs

client 9 (miff film #4)

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer has been an absolute highlight of the festival. It's a well-crafted documentary (unsurprising since it's directed by Alex Gibney) about a fascinating man.

Hearing the full story behind the Spitzer scandal put a whole new light on the subject, and I fell for him, hard. I think I was still a little bruised from having watched Inside Job a few weeks ago (and I highly recommend watching this first and then Client 9), and knowing that Spitzer was there, trying to regulate Wall Street made me respect the crap out of him. Even though I knew how the story was going to play out, I wanted more for him. I wanted him to become Governor so he could keep doing good and honest work. But he made too many fat-cat enemies and they went after him and brought him down. (Okay, Spitzer had a hand in bringing himself down, what with the prostitutes and all, but I don't think that's the point.)

Politics and sex will always go hand-in-hand and I think this documentary shows how devastating the repercussions can be when promising people make bad choices. And get caught.

5 stars!