... And sometimes when you are on
Holiday, plans change. More on that a little later
My first film of the festival was on Thursday night, which was new for me. Another first was dragging someone along to a screening. Never really had much luck finding someone with the same interest in films and the same schedule! Other than catching Serendipity and I Heart Huckabees a couple years back with Steph, it has never really happened. This year I was able to get Mick (the lover of film, and the hater of the actual theatre experience) to join me for a couple of screenings at the festival.
We jump in a cab and head north the Varsity to catch:
Slumming: Austria/Switzerland 2006.
Two Rich friends play a ‘trick’ on a homeless man with unexpected results.
The plot sounded pretty interesting to me, so it was an easy pick. This is a good, well crafted film. The director, Michael Glawogger was there. At the opening of the film he stated that it was to wonderful to present the film to a crowd that knew what “Slumming” meant. He was tired of explaining the title. To be honest I am not convinced that the crowd did know, including this blogger, what the term meant.
For those who are interested: “Slumming (derived from slum) originally referred to a practice, fashionable among certain segments of the middle class in many Western countries, whereby one deliberately patronizes areas or establishments which are populated by, or intended for, people well below one's own socio-economic level, motivated by curiosity or a desire for adventure. Most often these establishments take the form of bars or restaurants in low-income areas.”
Mick and I disagreed on the motifs of the two main characters. He felt that they were trying to inflect positive change on people, to be helpful and kick start their lives in a different direction. While I thought they were bored Rich kids that liked to fuck with people, with no concern for them what so ever.
August Diehl, a massive star in Germany we were told, gave a solid performance as Sebastian, However the stand out was Paulus Manker as the homeless man who ends up on receiving end of Sebastian’s prank. The director mentioned that what you see on screen is what you get from Paulus, a crazy man!
A good film that will likely never ever hit the big screens here in North America.
Mr. Black’s rating : B-
And the end of a slow starting Q/A session with the director we head out into the warm Toronto night for what else, a beer. Hey, I am vacation after all! Mick and I walk all the way down to the Paddock, and find ourselves sitting under a full moon while more than one Becks disappears. My head hits the pillow at 3:05am. Next film starts 9:15am.
Tired, but feeling pretty good I walk down to the morning screening of Takashi Miike ‘s Big Bang Love: Juvenile A Japan (2006).
Nothing like a Miike film at 9 O’clock in the morning! Pretty sure this is the forth Miike film I’ve seen at the festival over the years. He has never once been at a screening. Looking at his IMDB listing, one suspects he is normally busy working on a new film.
Seeing a Miike film is normally a pretty unpredictable experience. Each one I have caught at the festivals over the years have been a very different experience. Ichi the Killer and The Great Yokai War are very different films, so it was no surprise that this year’s selection was a new film going experience. Unfortunately it was a disappointment.
“A boy confesses to the murder of another in an all-boy juvenile detention facility.”
This prison is like no other, bathed in spot lights, no bars to hold back the prisoners. And oh yeah, a pyramid and rocket ship just outside the window.
In the words of Bono, "We don't know what it is, so it must be art."
Never cared for these ugly characters, and no interest in what happened to them. Some unique images, but to me they really didn’t amount to much. Look forward to the next Miike film, but hope to never see this again. Chances it will ever hit the North American screens: none.
Mr. Black’s Rating: C-
It’s early and there is no screening until 6. Head home and actually manage to catch some sleep.
Before any more films, its time to party a bit. I am on vacation after all! On the way down I get some bad news concerning a couple of former co-workers. Kinda puts a bad taste in my mouth about the party, but promised David so had to go. Ran into some folks that I never expected to see there so that made the experience bearable. After setting David free from this boring experience I went around to press some flesh. Ok, it’s getting close to screening time, but damn the free beer was going down well.
The first causality of the festival for me: The Jade Warrior. Oh well, when you are on vacation unexpected things happen.
Ron, his very beautiful sister and this fat bastard head out to Yorkville to see some famous people. Lots of people standing around, lots of limos line the street. We walk up to Sassafraz just on the off chance that we could get in; low and behold there is room! Now it is through the bathroom doors and upstairs but damn, we actually manage to get a table. Celebrity Sightings = 0. Number of disappointed faces as we walk out the front door and folks realize we are far from famous = 3. The thrill of stealing the pen from Sassafraz = priceless.
After the wonderful meal we say our goodbyes and I head off to the Midnight Madness screening of The Host (Gue-mool) 2006 South Korea.
“A mutant emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people.”
Midnight Madness screenings are usually the most fun of the festival. The crowd really gets into the films (when they are good) and this years “The Host” is no exception.
This is fun, especially the opening 30 minutes. You just have to let things go and enjoy this film. The effects work extremely well, they reminded me of the look of Incident at Loch Ness where the creature blends in perfectly with everyday life.
To be honest I feel the film drags in the middle when the story moves away from the family in the center of the action. It slows a bit, until the family comes back into focus.
Seoul looked beautiful, should plan a trip to visit my cousin there.
The director Bong Joon-ho was in town and took time at the end of the screening to answer questions from an appreciative crowd. He had many fans in the crowd. One story he told was interesting, during a screening in Europe a journalist from Al Jazeera News asked if the creature in The Host represented the United States. The character that created the Host was an American, and there is some interesting Trivia behind that story. Can’t remember if said it did or not, but it is hard for me to understand why the United States would be considered the biggest threat, especially in South Korea!
Mr. Black’s Rating : B
Fun time, and naturally there will be a bad North American remake.
It is late. There are no street cars running on Queen. It is time for Cab #2 of the festival. Hit the pillow at 3:13am. 4:43am text message from Mick saying he will need a wake-up call. Oh Christ. Next Screening 10am.
Up early and feeling pretty good. Raining out side so I jump on TTC. The second wake-up call gets an answer, so that worked out OK. 9:35am sit my ass down in the Paramount for:
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) Germany 2005.
“Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck's movie debut focuses on the horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany. In the early 1980s, the successful dramatist Georg Dreyman and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland, a popular actress, are big intellectual stars in the socialist state, although they secretly don't always think loyal to the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple, but their life fascinates him more and more..”
The best film so far. Interesting and understated performance from the German actor: Ulrich Mühe. The director stressed that this film would have never ever been made without Ulrich Mühe on board. He laughed that even his screen play seemed to get better reception once Ulrich decided to be part of the film. Like “Slumming”, this is another great all around group of appealing actors.
The director, Florian Henckel-Donnersmarck said he never thought the film would be seen out side Germany. I am sure glad it did make it out.
Being a Canadian the idea that a government could have so much control over ones life was more than a little foreign. Surely there was some artistic license in the story telling? Walking along Queen Street Mick shared some of his own personal stories from his early years in Hungary, funny as hell… now.
Rant on: Why can’t people just shut up during a screening? It seems impossible to some folks to go 10 minutes without talking to the person beside them. This pair behind me at the screening refused to be quite. Movie going tip: When someone turns around and stares you in the eyes during a screening. They are not hitting on you; they want you to just shut the fuck up! Sorry… rant over.
Mr. Black : B+
Next up, the Documentary “Shot in the Dark”.
“Today, Adrian Grenier is best known as a film and television star, seen most recently in The Devil Wears Prada and HBO’s “Entourage.” But he’s long had an interest in moving behind the camera. Before his success as an actor, he began work on this touching personal documentary about tracking down his distant father. In Shot in the Dark, we get a privileged view of a young man discovering secrets about his family and his own identity.”
Curious, IMDB lists the film as 2002. With the timeline of the film, that year certainly does make sense. Not sure why it is running in festivals in 2006. Nothing to do with the success of Entourage do you think?
Ok, might as well be up front about this. I picked this film for two reasons, my enjoyment of HBO’s Entourage and the subject itself. We have similar family backgrounds, and from the looks of things… some of the same questions.
It follows Adrian as he makes a road trip to finally see his father after 18 years. There are some awkward, but yet touching moments like when Adrian first talks to his father, and finally does meet him face to face. Laughter as well: his father saying that he wanted to spend some “quality time” with Adrian, his therapist not quite getting where the title of the film came from!
Adrian seemed happy to be at the festival, and there was a longer than normal question and answer session. And oh yeah, the ladies just LOVE Mr. Grenier.
Mr. Black : B-
So… the question is. Did this documentary trigger any desire in me to track down the old man after all these years? No. And that is ok. Life goes on.
I was able to take this picture out side on Richmond Street.
The extra long Q/A made me 25 minutes for the next screening.
Too late.
The second causality of the festival: “Fido”. Oh well, what the hell... I’m on vacation! Overcast, looks like it is going to piss rain. Walk home and hit the sack for a quick nap. Wake up, and start to update the Blog. It does not take long to fall behind.
Next up: Russell Crowe in “A Good Year”.
