Author: Ron Shaker

Mutafukaz is one of those films that looks good in the trailer. The animation is bizarre enough, techniques are appealing to the eye, but the story wanders toward a mumbled destination I don’t think I quite caught. Which is hard to believe when I rewatch the trailer. This appears to be Shôjirô Nishimi’s (?) first feature film as director, previously credited with animator on several works you might recognize but not have seen including Akira and Batman: Gotham Knight. Writer, director Guillaume Renard did both a short back around 2002 and this year’s film, which is based on 2006 Dark Meat City graphic novel.

The artist: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_(artiste)
The film: www.mutafukaz.com

This also made me wonder what’s used besides IMDB in the rest of the world, given IMDB’s clear allegiance to Amazon. Sometimes I find that foreign entities (especially French actors) don’t have entries in imdb.com.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2018
Country: France, Japan
Language: French
Genres: Animation, Drama

IMDB

Aubrey Plaza is as vile and rude in person as one might expect. Or maybe she just enjoys channeling a 14th century degenerate nun with tendencies toward pagan sacrifice, drunken cursing, and torture of innocent mutes. Either way, she will make you feel as uncomfortable on screen as she made me in person.

The substance of The Little Hours, inspired by selections from Boccaccio’s Black Plague-era classic The Decameron and shot on location in the rustic hills of northwest Tuscany, illustrates the huge gap between how we perceive the clergy of the Middle Ages today compared to what actually took place.

But what does the title “Little Hours” mean? Plaza explained that they are the fixed daytime hours of prayer at the convent, or in the Divine Office of Christians. They’re “little” due to their shorter and simpler structure compared to the “Night Hours”. Much of this post is plagiarized from the film’s production notes.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2017
Country: USA
Language: English
Genres: Comedy

SIFF
IMDB

A singer-songwriter (Casey Affleck) dies and becomes a ghost. Instead of crossing over to wherever a ghost should go, he chooses to return home and haunt the house where he and his wife (Rooney Mara) once lived. He really liked that house even though it was a rental, and regularly fought with Rooney about whether they would someday move.

Actually, I don’t know whether the couple was married or not. I don’t even remember their names, and neither IMDB nor the film’s official web site feel the need to disclose that information at this time.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter though. This is a quiet film without much dialogue in which a person wearing a white bed sheet (it really is Casey under the sheet) stands around watching time pass and all traces of his existence slip away. Time passes first in seconds, then in days, then months, years, and eventually centuries — not always in the forward direction. There are skyscrapers and indians, covered wagons and arrow-riddled settlers. Because the ghost isn’t able (or possibly willing) to move from its physical location, changes in time are what provide us changes in scenery.

And then there’s the 5 minute continuous shot of Rooney Mara eating a pie. If you choose to watch this movie, and you should, try to hang in there until at least shortly after the pie scene without giving up and changing the channel.

This is not a horror film, though the director did consider that option. This is not a comedy, though there are a couple of really funny moments. I did not give away the entire plot in this synopsis, because there really isn’t much of a plot (the script was only about 30 pages). This is an experience and opportunity to reflect on the ideas presented, not so much a story.

Side note: The movie’s musical score and songs are very good.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2017
Country: USA
Language: English
Genres: Drama, Fantasy

IMDB

In June of 1979, Phillippe Cousteau died during a high speed taxi of his PBY sea plane, the Calypso II. His death is one of the opening scenes of this film. After that, things rewind to Phillippe’s childhood, and we follow his life until the inevitable funeral.

It’s likely that many of the people reading this blog don’t even know who Jacque Cousteau is. That’s one of the problems with history, how quickly people are forgotten. But this movie is full of history that you probably never knew!

Never knew, that is, unless you’ve seen The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The Life Aquatic was a comedy written and directed by Wes Anderson, starring Bill Murray and the whole gang, and was released in 2004. The Odyssey is a “serious” version of that previously “funny” film. The Odyssey does not make fun of Jacque Cousteau’s catering to investors, or his obsession with churning out underwater films at a staggering rate, or his high volume of womanizing, or his forcing the Calypso’s crew to wear red, stocking hats all of the time.

Amélie plays Jacque’s wife, and she’s bitter.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2017
Country: France
Language: French
Genres: Drama, Biopic

SIFF
IMDB

Set in 1976 on the 4th of July, this is possibly Canada’s re-interpretation of Midnight Cowboy. The film opens with a 15 year old boy named Kit packing a small suitcase and setting out from a small town in Novia Scotia. With his girlfriend Alice in tow, the goal is to hitchhike to Sydney and take up residence with his estranged mother. And she is pretty strange when we finally get to meet her. Actually, she’s a very depressed, alcoholic, artist who needs quite a bit of help, highly unstable and not someone that would make a good parent (we’re guessing that’s why Kit’s parents are divorced).

It’s not hard to see what’s coming, because when your 15 year old girl friend keeps complaining that the two of you haven’t gotten around to having sex yet, and glares at you when you talk to cute boys that seem to fascinate you, well… you get the picture. In terms of a teen coming of age film, it’s quite good and I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes the festival’s audience award this year. The two leads are played by Dylan Authors and Julia Sarah Stone. Oh, and then there’s Kit’s imaginary “spirit animal” guide who gives Kit advice during this odyssey. The guide is played by Andy Warhol.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2017
Country: Canada
Language: English
Genres: Drama, Comedy, Gay, Coming of Age

SIFF
IMDB
Holdfast Pictures