Month: May 2011

On paper, this film should not work. Much of the plot is a recycled cliche. Aside from the lead actress, there’s little or no character development. The premise of a “mirror” earth and moon is preposterous and presented in a way that completely ignores all physical laws. Combine those weaknesses with several over-telegraphed scenes and the repetitious over saturation of set content (more sci-fi books, planets and empty bottles are not better) and you’d expect this production to sink deep into the realm of silly. But as a whole, it sort of works though I don’t know why.

Rhoda Williams (played by Brit Marling) has just been accepted to MIT. Looking at her bedroom, I’d say she wants to be an astrophysicist. But Rhoda is reckless, likes to drink and drive, and manages to kill the son and wife of some Yale professor in a head-on collision. That incident pretty much ends her life when she’s sent to prison for 4 years. On the same night of the accident, Earth #1 discovers the existence of Earth #2 (an important fact that spawns an even more important plot point towards the conclusion of the film).

Marling’s performance is very solid and I enjoyed it. She’s also the screenwriter for this film. See it and keep an open mind, try not to be too critical and just absorb the planet rays from the other Earth.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-fi

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Standing in line, there was a movie poster of Win/Win on the wall next to me. The photo was of Paul Giamatti and some high school wrestler sitting atop gymnasium bleachers. My first thoughts were: “What does an Amsterdam brokerage firm have to do with interscholastic athletics? and Does Paul Giamatti really speak Dutch?”

I often find it interesting how film premises debut in pairs (recall in 1997: Volcano + Dante’s Peak, 1998’s Deep Impact + Armageddon, 1999’s Joan of Arc + The Messenger, 2000’s Mission to Mars + Red Planet, and 2002’s 8 Women + 9 Dead Gay Guys = confused movie goers). The simultaneous release of two movies with identical name (yet completely different plot) is rare.

Win/Win is the story of a young analyst working at an Amsterdam investment bank during the recent, global, economic upheaval. Ivan is somewhat of a savant when it comes to patterns and numbers and predicting trends. That, along with his high level of energy and confidence, catapults this character into an upward spiral of success as those around him plummet to their death. The protagonist of this film is moral and caring of those close to him, but a little bit detached from the action and effect of his daily financial transactions–to Ivan it’s more like an enjoyable and challenging game.

I liked the lead role played by 27 year old Oscar Van Rompay, as well as this feature debut by director Jaap van Heusden. Some of the camera angles and cinematographic techniques were interesting (for example, Ivan’s game of hopscotch in the courtyard). The film requires a bit of energy to sit through, but has a rather short running time of 84 minutes.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
Country: Netherlands
Language: Dutch
Genre: Drama

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Eleven-year-old Marek dreams of a trip to Venice. He even owns a portable, fold-up model of the city. In his spare time, the boy likes to memorize Venetian street names and nag his parents to take him to Italy the “next time” they go. Why the f&@% he wants to visit Venice, no one ever says–Maybe Venice is just a fairytale vacation he will never have, whereas WWI will soon be his and everyone else’s reality.

This movie opens with Marek’s alcoholic mother and visibly nervous father picking him up at boarding school. The boy is whisked away to an aunt’s farm in the Polish countryside where he has been sentenced to spend his summer vacation. As other aunts and cousins arrive at the farm, the mood is almost that of a family reunion. The mood is almost festive.

However… keep in mind that Poland is part of Eastern Europe, and Eastern European dramas rarely end happily. I think the last scene of this film where a crazed Russian soldier-turned-piano player sprays the room with bullets and kills the last character we even care about sums up my point nicely 🙂

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
Country: Poland
Language: Polish, German, and Russian
Genre: Drama

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Marjane Satrapi introduced people to modern, Iranian culture with her graphic novel ‘Persepolis’. In some ways, Maryam Keshavarz’s film ‘Circumstance’ is a live action version of what Satrapi describes about her life growing up. We’re taken into backroom black market music stores, private dance clubs, ultra strict schools, and extorted by the morality police–It’s always seemed ironic to me that the morality police can [and must] be bribed.

This is the story of Atafeh, Shireen, and Mehran. Mehran is Atafeh’s brother. Atafeh and Shireen are lovers. Mehran is a musician and recovering drug addict who joins the morality police. Mehran becomes obsessed with Shireen. The three are living together in Atafeh’s and Mehran’s parents’ house. For some reason, Mehran has outfitted the house with CCTV cameras and is monitoring everyone’s movements. The circumstance of their living arrangement seems like a recipe for disaster.

I like how the movie is shot, and I appreciate the plot more as time passes. Oh, and in their spare time, the young women and their friends like to dub porn and other movies into Persian (that’s the humorous part of the film).

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
Country: France, USA, Iran
Language: Persian, English, French
Genre: Drama

IMDB

A young couple must wait 30 days to adopt an injured cat. These are their last moments of freedom before they become “animal parents”. But, they’re not responsible people. They forget to pick up the cat from the shelter and it’s euthanized. Maybe I’ve given away too much about the plot, but the cat’s demise is foreshadowed early on.

Miranda July’s first feature film (Me and You and Everyone We Know) had some hilarious scenes, but this new feature has a dreamy, drugged feel to it. I found the characters’ lives depressing, and their self-destructive actions unbelievable. “What if I just quit my job, or What if I have an affair, or What if I … etc.” If you’ve ever considered radically altering your life just to see what happens, maybe this movie will provide you with some ideas of how to go about that.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2011
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Comedy

IMDB