29th Oct. to 5th Nov. 2009
Click here to read 11th MAMI - Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) -.2009 - PART-I
No doubt the 11th MAMI fest had a wide choice of acclaimed or award winning International films with directors of class. But then some good films were show cased at the main venue (Fun Cinemas) at odd time viz; either early morning or late night show. A few I had to miss because of “blocking of seats”. But still I could see a good number of well written, crafted, acted and directed films. This is strictly my own assessment and rating and not influenced by any hype, hoopla and only those films which I have seen.
VERY GOOD Films
THE INFORMANT (USA)
This film was also an opening film of the festival which was befitting and deserving. The academy award winning and acclaimed director- script writer film maker Steven Soderbergh, has skilfully made this film. “The Informant” is also on the theme of whistle blowers - a la his earlier critically acclaimed “Erin Brockovich” which had earned him an Oscar Nomination as a director. This film is scripted by Scott Z Burns.
Film is based on a true story of a Sr. Executive Mark Whitacre from Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), who decided to spill the beans about his company’s illegal price-fixing deals. ADM is a global giant food processing company that produces
ingredients and food additives that go in almost everything that is eaten by the public. On prodding of his wife, he decided to co-operate with FBI as their stooge by stealing, taping and collecting documentary evidences of such illegal and unethical liaisons with Japanese and Korean companies. None in the company suspected since he was a buddy. Ultimately the company gets exposed and penalized as per laws.
Right from first frame to the last, the film is absorbing and made lively by the actor Matt Damon who emoted in each act appropriately getting emotional support from his wife played by Melanie Lynskey. Steven Soderbergh has excelled in his directorial treatment and may once again get nominated for ensuing Academy awards. The film was also showcased in most top International film fests, except the Cannes in 2009
APPLAUSE (DENMARK)
This is the third feature film of the young director Martin Pieter Zandvliet, a graduate from the Danish Film Institute Copenhagen. The film deals with a universal theme of how the glamour and show world spoil the life style of the performers. Critically acclaimed and famous veteran actress Thea Barfoed (Paprika Steen) has gone thru’ turmoil which resulted in a divorce and loss of custody of her two sons. After each sterling stage performance, her attempts to pick up the pieces of her shattered personal life – stemming from a long bout of alcoholism fail repeatedly. She now desperately wants to break up with her past, regain control over her life and get her children back. Her husband is understanding and gets persuaded by her to give her another chance to prove normal to both herself and to him; and agrees to keep the children with her alone periodically to ignite the mutual bond afresh. Now Thea is up against the rigorous demands of stage life and a past that haunts her. Now she must face her inner demons while clinging to the goal she sets for herself.
Besides the flawless direction of Martin, the lead performer Paprika Steen has given a heart wrenching performance of her wrecked life. She deservedly had won the best actress award at 2009 Karlovy Vary Film Festival for this role. She repeated the honour by clinching the best actress award at this MAMI fest too. (See her photo at the top)
SWEET RUSH (POLAND)
The Polish master film maker Andrzej Wajda, is back with a bang after his last acclaimed film “Katyn”. Based on a story of Polish acclaimed writer Jaroslaw lwaszkiewicz; the story deals with Marta (Krysty Janda), a middle aged woman married to a small town doctor. She searches for happiness in the arms of a much younger man, Bogus’. But their relationship is as innocent and fresh as the smell of the sweet rush that grows in the river where Marta and Bogus’ swam on their first date. Bust just when everything was going well for them, Bogus’ drowns, entangled in the roots of sweet rush he was trying to pick for Marta. Original story had ended at this point; bute director –script writer Wajda went further by confronting fiction with reality. He intertwined a fictitious story with heart rending monologues from the lead actress Krystyna about the death of her real life husband, the acclaimed cinematographer Edward Klosinski, to whom the film is dedicated.
Wajda and Krystyna both had received vast acclaim for this film at the 2009 Berlin I F F.
MAN ON WIRE (UK-USA)
A marvellous breathtaking docu drama by James Marsh.
The destruction of the twin towers in the terrorist attacks in New York of Sept. 11, 2001, revived the memory of French dare devil Philippe Petit’s journey on a tight rope strung illegally between the two tallest towers of the world at World Trade centre. This was on Aug. 7, 1974 when he had nearly danced for an hour on the connected wire by his wonderful balancing acts, before he was arrested. The Docu- film, without any trace of boredom for full 100 minutes, visually depicts the hard work, practice and preparation he had to do for eight months prior to his wonder coup. Of course, he was aided by a team of friends and accomplices, who helped him to bypass the strict security to smuggle heavy steel cables and rigging equipments on the rooftops of towers. What transpired in a breathtaking way each night in complete secrecy put the viewers in suspended belief. On the D day at 7.15 in the morning, Phillipe took his first step on the 1350 ft. high wires above the sidewalks of Manhattan and made HISTORY. Of course by the time he was arrested; the public (Mostly office goers) witnessed his deadly acrobatics in awe at such height from the street below with baited breath and gave him a big applause.
This marvel documentary not only had won the Academy award in 2008, but many top awards too in other International Film Festivals. Cinematography by Igot Martinovic was simply brilliant and the dare deviltry acts of tight rope walking were deftly handled and executed by Phillippe Petit himself.
GIVE ME YOUR HAND (FRANCE / Germany)
Screenplay writer and director Pascal-Alex Vincent simply deserve kudos for creating such an interesting film. It can be called a “complete film” as it contained all shades of human life and follies.. Pascal has a mere 8 year film making career but full of creativity fetching him awards and recognition for his earlier efforts in many International Festivals including Cannes. The film also reminded me about an acclaimed Chilean film “Diary of a Motor Cyclist” a colorful wandering, adventurous account and experiences.
Two eighteen year chisel-faced identical twin brothers Quentin and Antoine embark on a journey to Spain to attend their unknown mother’s funeral. As they did not have enough money to undertake a comfortable journey, they decide to do this by hitch –hiking, jumping onto trains, trucks, spending nights in the woods (with or without company).
On their way, they first meet a poor young girl at a petrol pump who gets enamored with Quentin; then other two beautiful girls in an old car on highway and experience love making in true French fashion. To earn money they also work in farms on the way. One day Quentin hangs out with another young man Hakim and they have homo experience. This is abhorred by Antoine who becomes vile. In an Urban roundabouts in a Coffee shop Antoine signs his brother up with a potential “Customer” for a few Euros.
Thereafter, Quentin violently disappears, but after attending the funeral of their mother, traveling separately.
Snubbing logic in favor of a piquant concept, “Give me your hand” gets many mileages for the writer director Pascal for offbeat premise of the film. Actors Alexandre Carril and Victor Carril who played twin brothers as Quentin and Antoine respectively were superb and gave a brilliant portrayal of their persona. This film had earlier participated in almost all Trans –European Fests.
RAIL TRUCK (Japan / Taiwan)
MAMI MFF had the privilege to have the World Premiere of this movie, a piece of sheer emotional brilliance out of simple human acts and nature’s beauty. Based on a short story “Torocco” by the legendary Japanese writer RYunosuke whose tales were incorporated by the Great Akira Kurosawa for his “Rashomon”. Script writer – director Hirofumi Kawaguchi makes his brilliant debut with this film and gives audience a visual-soulful experience.
A beauteous Japanese young girl Yumiko who also has had her career as an author, had a love marriage in Tokyo. After having two sons elder named Atsushi and younger named Toki; she lost her husband. Since then she had struggled in stubborn determination to raise her sons. To fulfil the last wish of her late husband, one day she traveled from her home Tokyo to the parental home of husband carrying his ashes, to the mountain village in South Taiwan. Having been raised in a big city, the boys are wide-eyed at the verdant rural scenery. Elder son Atsushi strongly conscious that in eccentric Japan he was different; he comes to a state of rebellion against the society in which he has grown up and also against his own Mom, who he feels loves more to the young Toki which was not a fact. One day both the boys undertake a long jungle journey on the old rail track on which their late father used to travel as an adventure; Abut his journey the boys did not inform the mother or anyone. When they did not return late after the dusk, Yumiko becomes engulfed with anxieties and worries, searches all over the village, ultimately filing a “missing” complaint to the forest department to launch a search. During journey, the elder brother re-discovers the love and affection for his kid bro. When they reach home, the mother out of natural love first embraces the kid Toki, scolding the elder Atsushi for not being a responsible son and brother. Then comes a piece of dialogues which are real gems.
Weeping Atsushi finally rebels asking mother angrily “Do you want me or not?” That shocks mother Yumiko, she instantly realizes her follied emotional burst, leaves the weeping Toki and comes running to Atsushi, tightly embraces him with tears down her eyes and blurts "Yes my dear by all means. I want you much more than anything in the world”. That clinched the film. When she wanted to remain with the old grand- in- laws in the village; the Father- in- law since convinced of good breeding for his grand sons; persuades her to shift back to Tokyo.
For the debutant director Hirofumi; this film is a cinematic triumph. Earlier he had worked as an Assistant director for a few International award winning films with a graduation in script writing from Japan Academy of Moving Images”. Acting by Machiko Ono as Yumiko and by wonder child elder son Atsushi was not only superb but natural to the hilt to move the viewers to tears. Grab a DVD when available.
WHISPER WITH THE WIND (Iraq)
This film is also the first film of the script writer- director Shahram Alidi. having one a few International awards already in 2009, including the prestigious critics Jury award at Cannes. This was show cased as the Indian Premier at MAMI fest and was a part of competition films.
This is a moving tale of brave Kurdish people who were massacred in genocide by the brutal Iraqi army under Saddam Hussain. How the peace loving Kurdish people survived in the mountain and still dreamt of their own independent Kurdistan, is depicted effectively.
Mam Baldar, the winged uncle traversing all the mountainous parts and villages like a postman on his rickety Van, recording and delivering people’s messages to & fro in secrecy or thru’ the banned radio width. One day a partisan Iraq army commander, requested Mam uncle to do a secret job for him as he was afraid of exposure. His wife in a particular village was to deliver their first baby and he wanted to hear the first cry of the baby when he / she is born. Mam uncle was supposed to get that recorded on his dilapidated tape recorder and deliver to him. Mam agrees, travels to the village but then told by men folks that all the children and women of the village have been evacuated at a safe mountain side remote village. Mam sets to go there, meets the pregnant wife of the commander and delivers his message of wish. He instructs the elder women how to tape the first cry of the baby and get back to him. Job was done. Elated Mam came back to the commander and gave him the recorded tape. The tape was also played on the banned radio width of Kurdish people to serve as a clear message to the entire Kurdish population as well as to the Iraqi army that in spite of all the atrocities perpetrated to finish them, Kurdish people are safe and happily growing / thriving.
Following Cannes example, this film had also won the Mumbai young critics Jury award at this MAMI Fest.
Besides the fantastic cinematography by Touraj Aslan and bright directorial touches by Shahram Alidi, the film is embellished with the moving portrayal by actor Omar Chawshin as the Mam Baldar.
VINCERE (Italy – France)
Veteran script writer –director (And actor too) Marco Bellocchio had started his career as neo –realist film maker of Italy. His politically engaged works attack the Italian symbols of conformism. His latest film VINCERE is also in the same genre, having already been acclaimed at the Cannes and Toronto Fests.
The film covers the Italy’s intrigued politics sowing seeds of socialism to oust the rule of King, creation of a separate Papal (Church) State and then a brief period of fascism with Benito Mussolini as the dictator till his fall in 1937 turning the Italy in the State of Republic. But all this also had an in-built story of love and passion of the then socialist Benito Mussolini (Filippo Timi). Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) is a beautiful, sensuous woman who is fully enamored of Mussolini’s revolutionary ideas and prowess. They fall in a passionate affair and get marred. Ida and Mussolini have a son named as Benito Albino which Mussolini had acknowledged but denied afterwards, when he became politically powerful. Film follows Ida’s descent into madness and desperation as Mussolini refuses to acknowledge their affair and their son. During First World War Mussolini disappears but again reappears in a military hospital and marries a nurse Rachele. When Ida lashes out at his wife, she is kept locked in an asylum, then in mental hospitals as long as 11 years and their son Benito in an Institute. But Ida refused to give in and fought for her and son’s lawful rights.
Marco bellocchio’s direction and treatment is electrifying. Added to enhance the effect of the film, tragic but mesmerizing performances was pulled out from both lead players Mezzogiorno as Ida and from Timi as Mussolini.
OTHER GOOD FILMS
ANITICHRIST (Denmark- Germany- France)
This film by Danish film master Lars Von Trier was perhaps the most hyped film of the MAMI Fest and carried big hoopla; may be because it is full of Gory and violent sex, unlimited sadism and masochism. It is bare all, sexually perverted film with sick consequences between a passionate couple. Except perhaps the shock value, it did not offer much for the intelligentsia. When media and people called the film bold and controversial, was it for violent sex coupled with physical and emotional extremes?
This grim fantasy film deals with a married couple retreating to an isolated cabin in woods, to recuperate after the accidental death of their baby boy when they were having sex. Husband is a psychologist, keeps his balance, but the wife fails to deal with the shock and turns a maniac and sexual pervert. She also becomes irrational, sadistic and explosive. For such a performance the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg had won the best actress award at 2009 Cannes Fest.
Better to forget the tragic end, but one cannot forget the hellish and nightmarish vision of this film.
Just to add that the Enlighten Film Society of Mumbai has purchased the Home Video rights for this film for India. May be they thought that such an expletive film with hot sex and gory violence will be a money spinner. Yes, provided our orthodox Indian censors and Indian moral brigade allow such a film uncut and undisturbed. Will it be possible?
The Girl Friend experience (USA)
This was another highly hyped film by the well known director Steven Sodenbergh but failed to make any apparent impact for lack of substance.. Not because we expected sex as it was a story of a high society call girl, but the emotional and dramatic experience it offferd was also minimal. Chelsea (Shasha Grey) is a pretty young, shapely good looking call girl in Manhattan who offers more than sex to her rich clients. Sometimes, there is no sex at all but what she sells instead or in addition, is a stimulation of intimacy. She is priced $ 2000 an hour. A great Escort girl and a good companion for conversations. A few times her services were hired merely to get favors or financial deals from power wilding men. Her boyfriend is aware but happy with her life style.
The film has a sleek, tailored look appropriate to its setting, but is short of a fulfilling experience. Film is also edited and photographed by the director Steven himself. For this 2009 film MFF was the only International participation.
CAN GO THROUGH SKIN (Netherlands)
MFF HAD an Asian Premiere for this film, although earlier, it was a part of this year’s Berlin, Edinburgh and San Francisco International Film Fests and earned appreciation. After making several award winning documentaries, this film is her first feature film and the young director Ms. Esther Rots has done a good job with her own screenplay.
The film touchingly and visually depicts the trauma a rape victim feels and does not get vanquished by the action legal machinery takes. A cheerful carefree woman Marieke, lives a fast life in Amsterdam. When her boyfriend suddenly leaves her, she wallows in grief, rings up her friends and in a drunken daze acts as if everything is fine. Then a Pizza delivery boy breaks into her house (when she was in bath tub), assaults her criminally and rapes her. A friend comes to her aid and then they escape in panic. The rapist criminal gets caught and punished as per law. She shifts to her derelict cottage in countryside to shake off her painful experience. But she does not feel safe. She can’t forget her perpetrator. One dialogue, which she spoke to her friend narrates all about her mental agony "He got only a year’s jail but he has given me a lifetime jail”. Eventually how she gets her revenge is all about the film.
As Marieke, actor Rifka Lodeizen is more than adequate in emoting her trauma.
Made In Pakistan (Pakistan)
This was a docu-entry from Pakistan, scripted and directed by Nasir Khan. The docu drama unfolds for Pakistan labeled by Newsweek, as “The Most Dangerous Place in the world”. But the film also show us certain un heard aspects of our neighboring Muslim country with few good shots of Lahore and other cities. There are four Pakistani individuals who are defying the prevailing stereo typing of Pakistanis and are progressive in their outlook. If they are able to decide directions on their own, the Pakistanis themselves can care to live in peace and progress. Till before the emergency imposed by the then President Mushraff and the subsequent assassination and political developments in Pakistan, several things looked hanky dory or near normal. Of course, now no more.
There are three more movies which are so-so but nothing spectacular to write about more except the mention. They are “Memory” (Germany) with a natural climax as changed by the director Matthias Luthardt (himself was present for screening) from the original story climax which he felt was flawed. “Women Without Men” (Germany) by Iranian director Shirin Neshat – dealing with 1953 Iran revolution visa-vis women’s liberation. “Out of Control” (China) directed by Weidongn Yuan - a psychosomatic- analytical film with fast inter-cut shots necessating the “home work” to understand by lay filmgoer.
Films like "Bitter / Sweet” (Thailand-USA) directed by Jeff Hare and the closing film “DUST OF TIME” (Greece-Italy-Germany) directed by the veteran Theo Angelopoulos were reported to be good films but I am unable to write about as I could not watch those films for the reasons mentioned in Part-I of this 11th MAMI – Mumbai - Fest report.
Add new comment