Showing posts with label Film. Show all posts

I've always found myself disagreeing with those mainstream hollywood-exclusive awards. But in this case I do find my own opinions aligning with the oscar and the globe, and many others. Julianne Moore delivered yet another fantastic performance but the whole film is quite plain and not matching up to that level.

It was quite emotional, I know I teared up for a couple of times and the girl who sat next to me was weeping at the end of the credit roll. But a good film requires more than the ability to make your eyes water. The film focuses very much on Moore's character and how she struggles through losing her memories bit by bit. However, the very 'catchphrase', emphasised in the trailer and also in the movie, 'struggling to be a part of things'. A part of what things? As the camera focuses primarily on Moore I had pretty much no idea what other characters were doing. Yes we did see that her eldest daughter got a twin, which took up about, 1 min of the entire film? And then what else? We know that her husband, played by Alex Baldwin, was planning to move but it also lacks much in-depth look into the conflict of interest of these two characters at the end of the event especially. And Kristen Stewart's character, how about her career and everything?

By the end of the film I couldn't help but feel that the heroine was only a part of her own struggling, which by itself is fine but somehow due to the skew balance amongst the characters her family members just appear to be very, very flat.

It sort of reminded me of a Japanese film that came out last year called 'Our Family', starring my fav Satoshi Tsumabuki. Both centred on the mum of the family who's gradually losing her memories, only different causes but still very similar symtoms at the beginning. The difference is that 'Our Family' did indeed emphasised the 'family' concept and paid a large amount of screen time on other fam member's actions. How they react, how their lives are affected and how they struggle to overcome. At the end you get a much more heartfelt movie that really explores the true impact of such illness.

Of course 'Our Family' is probably going too far away from what the director of 'Still Alice' wanted to achieve as they obviously have different centres and purposes and thus they can't be directly compared against each other. But in my personal humble opinion, 'Still Alice' sacrificed itself to maximise the halo around Julianne Moore's already impeccable performance.

Last thing I would like to add is that I did find some of the cinematography quite appropriate and helped to amplify the protagonist's emotional shifts throughout the film.

Overall rating: 6.5/10



Still Alice will be officially released in Australia this Thursday 29 Jan.


Our Family (ぼくたちの家族) was shown during Japan Film Festival 2014.

First of all, I have to say this to all inexperienced hikers, this film is not a guidebook. It is based on a true story but that doesn't mean that you will survive as well. Always train before a long hike and Know Your Limit. It's a good thing to be determined but you need to know when to stop and have the courage to give up (especially when you're hiking in group, the last thing your friend would want is seeing you dying in front of them trust me).

And don't ever litter.


Ok back to the film. It was a stunning flick. Not just the landscape or Reese Witherspoon, but the emotions flooding through the screen. As a hiker myself (a hiker that's too broke to do as many hikes as they want to), I could relate to the heroine so well. I mean, my mum's still alive, I've never tried heroin and I don't sleep with every guy that offers. But all those things that she felt on the track, I've experienced them many times before as well, and that makes the movie a bit special to me.

Also I appreciate the feminism and subtle anti-hunting message in the film. Portraying a hunter as sexual offender and a fox as intelligent animal. It could be just me looking for excuses to like this film more but that's just my honest thought.

Reese Witherspoon delivered such a transformative performance in this film. Haven't seen Walk The Line yet so to me Witherspoon was still that Legally Blonde girl (and Rachel's sister to a lesser extent), until I saw this film. The rage, loss, confusion and that sorrow. It was so convincing and made it really easy for me to enjoy the story. Deserves ten rounds of applause. I am going to see Still Alice next week so let's see whose performance I like better.

And I was surprised to see Laura Dern (you can tell that I never do much research before a movie), great kind of surprise. I've had a girl-crush on her ever since Jurassic Park and it's great to see her back. Thanks to Witherspoon and Dern the key mother-daughter relationship was so heartfelt and sincere.

Last thing I want to add, I did know the director's the one that did Dallas Buyers Club but I had no idea he also directed C.R.A.Z.Y, which had such an important role in my teen years and I strongly recommend to all of you who don't hate Drama.

8/10, very biased maybe but it's my rating

Wild is coming to Australian cinemas next Thursday 22nd Jan.

I'm adding PCT to my hiking bucket-list now.

C.R.A.Z.Y (2005) is right now on SBS On Demand. Would just like to give my Aussie readers a heads-up (reckon SBS is only accessible to Australian ip addresses?). Saw this film first in my high school english class (I know, what) and it somehow just managed to stay in my mind for such a long time.

keywords: LGBT, family, Quebec, 60s, 70s, 80s, Christianity

It's only available for a limited time Here

For all of you who are unfamiliar with the service, SBS On Demand provides a huge collection of movies and TV programs for you to watch online for a limited amount of time for FREE. I'm thinking of putting up more recommendations here every now and then.

Went to the Open Night gala of Birdman at Sydney on Wednesday night (complimentary drink baby) and had such a great time (even minus the alcohol effect). I was to post a review that night but the Paris bloodbath happened and completely ruined my mood.

The movie was a dark comedy per official description and I actually did laugh, which was quite unusual for me in the American film scene. I love the quirkiness and weirdness and I felt like the director did a good job at finding the balance between comedic elements and more serious discussion of how the protagonist deals with the loss of fame and sense of importance. I do think it would've done a better job in terms of philosophical content of the film if it was a drama, which I would probably prefer, but out of all the dark comedies I've seen this one is one of the few that managed to maintain a certain level of depth whilst being funny enough.

Acting wise, the casting is just brilliant. The main cast delivered such convincing performance, especially Michael Keaton, those awkward, lost, confused, anxious faces definitely deserves a round of applause (was a bit disappointed at the fact that I was the only one who clapped my hands after the credit roll, Dendy usually has more appreciating audience)

However, structure wise it's not really my cup of tea. Personally I just really don't like films that can be clearn-cut into first and second parts (or more parts). What happened before and after the climax was just so different in terms of styles and mood, which is expected so I can understand, and some of the main characters were even mentioned after the climax it's just a bit too odd I suppose. I do quite like the ending though but maybe they could've given the ending a few extra minutes to tie in the whole film a little bit better.

To sum it up, it is absolutely worth your money and your time if you like dark comedy or drama, highly recommend. 7.5/10

Birdman is publicly released this Thursday 15 Jan in Australia.

Such an unexpected flick, thought it'd be another highschoolmusicalkindof musical comedy (because of the poster) but the story actually develops into a sorrowful tragedy (hence the title I guess). It's still got a positive message, which I don't like (I know, such a killjoy), but it managed to get rid of most of the cheesi-ness that positivity usually brings and weaves it into a sea of regret, loss, confusion and heartbreaks. Can see how it got so many Guldbaggen nominations.

It's a film built on Håkan Hellström's songs, would be a lot more fun to watch if you're a fan of his. But I'm sure that everyone can enjoy this film even if you haven't heard of him before (which I reckon is the case for most non-Swedish speaking folks)

Also kudos to the film crew for making Göteborg looking this charming.

I'm not sure if there's English sub available now but fingers crossed for you guys.

Rating: 7.5/10

Känn ingen sorg för mig

Bonus:

Saw this wonderful documentary last night at George's Event, hosted by Queer Screen.

Synopsis from IMDb 'A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.'

It is hands down one of the most emotional films I've seen this year. So powerful that I had to try so hard not to burst into tears during the entire film (and just FYI, I failed at the end). Last time I cried so bad at cinema was last year's Blackfish, which you should all watch, but unlike that time, I wasn't crying of anger, sadness or disgust, I was crying of joy. I was so happy for them, so proud of them and so grateful of them for what they did and what they went through.

The director said that the film is coming to cinema for public audience this early October (Dendy Newtown for Sydneysiders) and also they're planning for a special screening in a few weeks time at the Australian parliament with Ted Olson coming over, a pro-gay-marriage American conservative to a bunch of homophobic Aussie conservatives.

Highly recommend to everyone interested or affected or involved in LGBTQIA activism. Also highly recommend to everyone who thinks f*gg*ts should be burnt in hell. Although if that's the case you should really just get off my blog and f*ck off before that.

Rating: 8/10

I'm gonna be honest with you, the synopsis didn't really interest me because I'm not usually a crime fic person but what got me to see it was that it won this year's Berlinale, which for some reason is probably my favourite international film awards (maybe because Miyazaki won it with Spirited Away)

The film was a bit bizarre and a bit confusing, could be due to the translation or maybe crime films tend to be this way, but that actually adds to the charm of this movie. The English title suits pretty well with the bleak base tone, which an immediate big plus for me. But compared to most Nordic films which tend to be very cool tone as well, this one is definitely more vivid, if that makes any sense at all.

What I have to mention is how beautiful the shots are. Not beautiful in the same way as Monet's paintings but basically if you screencap the film every 2 seconds you get a stunning photography book of a Northern Chinese city. Unpolished streets, rusty factories and out-dated cars, probably not your best-city-to-live-in type of photos but definitely artistic.

During the Q&A session the director (I was shocked how young he looked but then I realised he's Asian..) said that the female protagonist in the movie represents the passive female position in traditional Chinese culture and even modern Chinese society, an oppressed figure in a patriarch society. And so I was disappointed that he didn't really explore further in that direction. Of course I'm not saying that every good film has to promote women's rights or only political films are worth watching but since it was mentioned in the film personally I'd love to see it digging slightly deeper.

Which also led to the police force in the film. The director said again in the Q&A that the crew did their best to realistically represent police forces in Northern China and the actors went in training with the cops and stuff. Again, shocking (like basically their cops are doing the same thing to Chinese citizens what our people are doing on Manus Island to asylum seekers) but a bit of a shame that the film didn't expand that further either.

All in all, great crime film with 10/10 artistry, shame to me that the director seems to lack of political ambition.

Rate:
7.5/10

ps. the female lead reminds me of Eri Fukatsu (and coincidentally she also starred in a well received crime romance film)

Sydney Film Festival Day 3

As expected from Anna Odell, provocative and thought-provoking.

Keyword: Bullying, Documentary, Art, Stockholm, School Hierarchy

I won't say too much on this but I definitely highly recommend this to everyone. To everybody that's been bullied, isolated and hurt during school, to everybody that has bullied, isolated and hurt and to everybody that has seen people being bullied, isolated and hurt and done nothing. It doesn't necessarily make you cry or laugh or moved or any of those emotional climax that for whatever reason one may expect from a good movie but it makes you think, which I think could be much more important.

To me it's more of an art/social project than a film, which any of my friends would know I love.

Rate:
 As a film per se, 7-7.5/10
 As an art project, 8.5/10

Can definitely see why it won guldbaggen

Punk ÄR INTE DÖD!' (Punk not dead!)



Sydney Film Festival Day 2

Keywords: Punk, 1980s, Stockholm

Again another film so up my street! So lighthearted and fun and energetic it was just a fantastic experience! Not necessarily a film that'd make its way into my top list but it is definitely memorable.

And girls with mohawk and boyish short hair, seriously! And Ebba grön! And KSMB! And so many swears!



'Det spelar ingen roll vad ni säger, Vi är ändå bäst' (No matter what you say, we are still the best)

Rate:
7/10

Biased Rate:
7.5/10

'Du är så jävla vacker att jag spyr.' (You are so fucking beautiful I want to vomit.)



A beautiful fairy-tale.

Keywords: Gender-queer, Stockholm.
It's like a film specifically caterred for me. So relatable that it was almost painful to watch.

Compared to my last year's favourite romance film, Blue is the warmest colour, Something must break is somehow harsher, and softer. Harsher because it exhibits the struggle of gender-queer people so, real that when everybody else in the cinema was laughing at the puns I was feeling like someone was squeezing my lungs. Softer because unlike Blue is the warmest colour, which was an entire journey of Adele growing up and you know there will be an endless regrets and sorrow after the ending, this film felt much shorter. It was still real love and there were still heaps of tears but you know, or rather you hope that the scar will heal and Ellie/Sebastian will get up again one day.

And it will get too personal if I keep on going.

Another thing, it is as expected very very cool-toned, a distinct feature in Northern European cinemas, which I love. I mean I still like sunny Italian or French flicks but it is this gloomy palette that I'm the most comfortable with. The lonely coldness that numbs your face and your heart.

Also why were both actors so darn good-looking? SÅ. HIMLA. SNYGGA att jag dör. Like the fudanshi inside me kept making squeeky sounds during the kissing scenes.

Rate?
7.5/10

First Sydney Film Fest film, bra start!

Bought a Flexi 10 pass again this year

It's that time of the year again and it's hard as always to pick 10 films out of three hundred millions of great looking films in their program. So as always I just went for instinct and chose the films I was most interested into before even checking the synopsis, because I know that'd only make things harder.

So my SFF this year will be:

Something Must Break

We are the best!

The Reunion

Black Coal, Thin Ice

Abuse of Weakness

Fell

Tom at the Farm

My Neighbour Totoro

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

(click the titles for synopsis and tickets)

Typical that I went for almost all the Ghibli films they have to offer (except for Grave of the Fireflies, for obvious reasons)

Check out their full program here

Warning: minor spoiler and major fan bias

Went to see Godzilla last Sunday after the march and let me just say, it was unbelievably GOOD!

Maybe it's because the 1998 one was just too horrible except that cute giant dino and I was so prepared to be disappointed again... It was just so good that I want to kiss the director.

Not that it was a perfect film, on this subject I do have to agree with some negative critics that it certainly did not pass on specially character development. Many characters appear a bit plain or too dull to me, so if you're looking for a nice tailored story with well developed characters you should probably look away.

But really, who watches Godzilla for the human characters? Certainly not me and heaps of Godzilla fans out there. And for those fellow fans out there, I can tell you with confidence that,

The King Is Back.

It's been 8 years since Final Wars and nobody knows if and when Toho is going to make another one. But this film, ladies and gents, I will put it in the Godzilla main filmography, along with the Showa, Heisei and Millenium classics. If you only likes the early Showa Godzilla films you'll probably find this one a bit too tamed or soft-core like late-Showa and Heisei but for everybody else I ensure you that it's definitely something you would not want to miss.

It did change a couple of details like how the radioactive ray looks but nothing too major, especially if you still remembers how traumatising the 1998 one was. I also would prefer it more if Godzilla could get more screen time, which is kind of a shame considering it didn't do that well on character development, could've spent that time on Godzilla instead, but I'm very overjoyed already.

The design of Godzilla also changed a little bit, which I guess is not a big deal for the franchise fans, partly because it's shifted from special effects (特撮, Tokusatsu) to CGI. It looks way more 'hunky' than it has ever been but to me that's just made it even sexier. Yes, that's the right word to use for me. I'm attracted to Godzilla and aliens and giant monsters, more than I'm to human actually. TMI? Well, you're welcome.

Lastly and the most importantly, the reason I love this so much is because it managed to keep the environmentalist soul in the original series, which the 1998 one obviously failed to do. And to me that's the one thing that really makes the franchise stood out for me and that's why I just wanted to cry at the end of the film. I cannot describe how grateful I am that the production team actually captured the core, it's such a difficult thing to do and considering cultural diversion and commercial factors most Westernisation of classic Japanese films always either purposely or not choose to neglect. Out of all the Western remakes I've ever seen, this is for sure the best one.

Anyways, I would highly recommend this to anybody that's either a Godzilla fantaic (like me) or monster film fan or just generally, looking for some entertainment flicks with epic SFX. Heard that it's had an awesome opening week in terms of global box office, and that makes me happy.

Ok I know most people in the Northern Hemisphere have seen it already and it's been featured heaps in most major film critic sites so nobody really needs my review. But anyway just a few words.

Saw this last week (15th Jan) at Dendy's special preview screening at Circular Quay (sorry for being so terribly late, have been busy, and lazy as always) and it was fantastic.

To be quite honest with you the directing was not really of my favourite style, but since it was kind of a biopic I think it did a pretty good job, as in dramatising and tailoring the story. The plot was clearly not of the creative and original type, per se, as it was based on the self-bio of the protagonist so there wasn't much room for making up a out-of-the-world intriguing plot. So yeah, if you find drama boring you can be well assured better off to look for another film that fills the time slot when you hit the cinema. However if you don't specifically hate this type of film I do strongly recommend this to you. It really does worth it.

The actors' performances were of course wonderful, there's nothing too much to say about it except that. Though I don't really think it was the kind of film can really showcases the actors, as it surely forces most focus on the story itself (and my bad again, since I saw it more than a week ago it's getting pretty faint in my head, apologies, I will try to update asap next time)

It's not a film that I would go mad about, but it was indeed a very fine piece that deserves recognition (and it did, which I'm glad about).

As for the theme, racism that is, I'm not quite sure how well it can do in tackling modern days racist issues but it's always nice to have productions that can somehow put in some positive thinkings to this messed-up problem.

12 Years A Slave will be in cinema from 30th Jan 2014 in Australia. (Though it seems like some cinemas have advanced screenings this couple of days)

I was very lucky to be amongst the audience at the pre-release screening of The Turning last Wednesday night at Dendy Opera Quay, it was indeed a very special experience, compared to all other film screenings I've been to.

Received a beautifully printed film guide at the entrance, which was just extremely helpful, for someone like me who hadn't got a chance to read the book, to better understand the plot (though I wouldn't say it's essential to know what's exactly going on, I only read the booklet when I finished the film and that worked just fine).

The film, as the book, is split into 17 sections, 17 clips produced by different people. The arrangement isn't exactly unheard of, but it surely is quite unique and, per my own interpretation of the film, is just crucial. Because it's not a film about just one ore two specific Australians, it's a film that tells the stories of Australians, people with different lives and minds. So whilst it does make the film a bit un-organised, it gives the whole production to a realistic dimensional feel.

My favourite 3 pieces, which I have to tell you is really difficult to pick but if I really need to, Immunity, Sand (I guess you can somehow see my type through these two) and Ash Wednesday (although I have to say that the spearing sharks scene did make me uncomfortable). I decided to go for the screening because of Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Miranda Otto and Mia Wasikowska but surprisingly none of them were in these 3 clips, I still love their performances (and as for Mia, her directing) nonetheless but these three were just really right on my spot.

One last note to keep in mind, if you don't normally watch short films, because of the time restriction it's really hard for short clips to tell a complete story and have a major climax that shakes your heart. I like short films (as much as I like feature ones) because they are usually very interesting (and I don't know why but short films often give me that warm nostalgic feel). A length of only several minutes means that the budget is much lower and it's easier to realise ideas that fail to interest big investors. Doesn't matter if it's indie or commercial works, short film is an important component of the entire industry.

 

Beyond The Hills (Romania) 

official trailer   

Best Screenplay and Best Actress at 2012 Cannes, that tells you how good this was.

Religion and Homoromatic Love. sounds like a very old school theme but this film didn't emphasise much on the 'homo' part. if the protagonists were of different genders the story would definitely be different, but most likely only a tiny little bit. In this sense the plot was actually quite similar to a lot of Japanese yaoi/yuri manga/novels (which totally awoke my fanboy heart, i mean seriously if you like yuri you'd probably enjoy this film a lot, the first half at least)

The film is based on an actual event in 2005.

The title basically summarises the whole theme. 'The Hills' act as a barrier separating two worlds with different values and beliefs. The film itself focused mainly on the one beyond the barrier, an orthodox convent. While it clearly points out the giant hole in such communities it remained relatively neutral (trust me in the case of this film it could've easily gone way too criticising) and at the same time from a few snapshots of the 'outside' world we can see that it ain't too much fancier. Therefore even though the major cause is still within the convent there's a part of it that mutually exists in the whole society.

-spoiler-
To be very honest with you I've never ever liked a priest or reading bible and I really do enjoy films that criticise (some) Christianity but this film i really don't think it went that far. Even though they did terrible things in this film you can still see that the starting point was good. However that cannot justify anything and I guess that's the other theme and conflict brought up in the film. A good cause leads to a tragic ending. Does your bible tell you that it's ok? I don't know but in a society that's built on a legal system this is still guilty. The law says no but what do we say?
-spoiler ends-

Child's Pose (Romania)

Golden Bear at 2013 Berlinale. Another amazing film and coincidently another Romanian film. Now i'm just fracking in love with this land and its language.

Same language same country but very different perspective. The protagonists come from a wealthy family, a spoiled son and a spoiling mum, against a family of much lower 'social status'. While it intentionally did a whole bunch of sarcasm of the governmental system the main focus was still on the relationship between the mother and son, or more specifically the mother. How she tried to please her son, help her son and worry about her son. Is she a good mother? Probably not the best. (frankly speaking she's not a good citizen either) But she does share some of the most fundamental emotions that (most) mum carries.

-spoiler-
The unexpected blackout leaves the film a kinda open ending. I guess you can go with a more negative explanation of the end but I personally prefer to think that the son could finally relate a bit to the mum, from seeing what his mum did for him or seeing the victim's parent mourning his boy, probably not so much but enough to give him the courage to go out and apologise himself. Did they actually realise what kind of damage they've made to the poor victim's family? Maybe, more or less. They may be snobby and mean and selfish but from some details in the film they're not that stone-hearted.  
-spoiler ends-

Both films are just so beautifully made and constructed and deserve every prize that they've won. I was surprised the cinemas weren't full. Highly recommend to everybody, especially if you are looking for a different taste from hollywood productions.

Extra note: if i have to pick, Child's Pose would be my favourite drama this SFF.

Four films in total actually but one is short film so I'll put that review at the end of the festival.

The Rocket (Australia/Laos) 

Laotian Road movie. To be honest the plot wasn't very creative or impressive but the whole setting made the entire film stand out. All the fascinating Laotian cultural details and historical background differentiated the film from just a ordinary adventurous road film. It was entertaining and eye-catching. The Aussie director Kim Mordaunt's love towards the local culture clearly helped to earn a round of applause in the audience but i think most claps goes to the local actors' convincing acting, or perhaps that wasn't that much of an acting for them. Which was why i felt like rushing to the stage to hug everyone of them when they presented themselves as a 'surprise' after the end roll.

Closed Curtain (Pardé) (Iran)  

This is a film i definitely need to re-watch. Weird, confusing yet utterly interesting.

I don't know how to describe this film. The intro text on the festival pamphlet says it better 'a portray of melancholy'. It doesn't have a clear plot, or rather the plot is insignificant in this film. A sht load of surrealistic metaphors and symbolism (or maybe just me reading too much). The film is not to tell you a story, it's more of expressing something. The something could be melancholy or something else that maybe cannot be easily described in a few words, which may be the reason why director Jafar Panahi made this art piece.

I've seen a few reviews that the second half gets really confusing and not as good as the first hour. I agree with the confusing part, but to be honest it was the confusing part that thrilled me so much that i nearly couldn't contain myself and had to bend my body over so I could get closer to the screen. So many characters and scenes that hardly make any sense but to me that's what makes this film so interesting. I literally had goosebumps, yes i was THAT thrilled!

As i've said i just have to watch it again. Amazing creativity.

Also if you're reading this, go google the director Jafar Panahi. He deserves respect, and his Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay.

A River Changes Course (Cambodia)  

Another documentary in my film fest schedule. This one focuses around Cambodian villagers as they struggle through life trying to adapt the changing environment and economy.

Being a doc film itself it's slightly less organised compared to Blackfish. It's somehow segmented, which i understand because there were just too many subjects to cover within this topic. But that leaves it a broad intro into the villagers' lives, not that it's bad.

I don't really know how to review documentary as always. And I do always believe that most documentaries deserve watching. This definitely belongs to one of them.

The scene of some garment factory workers made me think, what were they thinking when they were sewing out clothes? One piece of clothing on their hand could cost most than their monthly wage. What were they thinking when they are working so hard and gave up their dreams to work for people they don't know just so their families can have a slightly easier life?

And those companies, their thirst to cut down more forest and clear these villagers lands to make more money. Their world looks oh so corrupt but their world is our world too. Our actions will eventually affect their lives and future and their forest and the animals that live there.

This is why I believe filmmakers continue to make documentaries that are basically repeating one major theme. That's because we need to know, we need to remember and then we need to act.

A slightly longer review on Blackfish and Gloria

Blackfish (USA)

I still have to say that this is a must see. If you are unsure about documentary, at least check out the trailer:

As a documentary itself I don't know what i should say because I generally love documentaries more than many other genres and scenes of orcas swimming in open water in the wild can easily make me cry like a baby in the cinema. So obviously i wasn't whatsoever bored or anything during the entire film. The background soundtracks were kinda cheating, took me a hideous amount of effort to stop my mental breakdown in the cinema.

I still don't know how to describe this film. I wish someone went there as well so now i can harass your inbox with my enormous sorrow and anger.

The film will be in cinemas/theatres on 19 July in the U.S. so my American friends please check this out! You won't regret it I promise! (dates: http://www.magpictures.com/dates.aspx?id=df6cf88f-28aa-4be9-8293-06213d2e5b50)

I'm not sure if it's going to have a general release in Australia or other areas of the world but feel free to check out their facebook page Blackfish

Gloria (Chile)  

I'm glad i chose this after the heartbreaking documentary. The leading actress Paulina García definitely deserves her Silver Bear (my b*llshit Spanish tells me she's called the Latin American Meryl Streep according to Wikipedia)

Romantic yet bitterly realistic. But I promise you this is nothing depressing. Personally I would put it in a more Comedic Drama group. Besides the silly jokes that cracked up the entire cinema (again the fact that I failed to find any generation gap between me and the other audience (60+) upsets me greatly), the heroine Gloria is just adorable (now it does sound horrifying that I'm using that word on a 58 yr old woman). She might have been lost and depressed and frustrated and done stupid things but at the end of the day (well we all know it always takes longer than a day) she can still stand up and dance to music with a smile on her face. She might not have the strongest heart but she does deserve an applause, which was why we all gave her that at the end of the film.

Two very pleasant hours even though a few unexpected nudities scarred my pure heart a little bit but they weren't anything unnatural or odd, which is really nice (well i don't think explicit love scenes with two 60 yr old wrinkled bodies can attract any audience anyway :b)

And now I really want to go to Chile, or learn Spanish. Maybe I'll do both.

ps. I like the random Swedish reference lol

I would be ashamed if i don't rave about this film

This is a film that everybody should watch. I don't even know how to describe the heartbreaking inspirations it gave me. For everyone who used to love training shows in zoos or circus as a kid like me, this is something you need to know. They don't deserve these inhumane treatments they've been given to. All animals deserve freedom and families.

Many Thanks to Sydney Film Festival for the screening.

FREE THE ORCAS!

What Richard Did (Ireland)

i wish it could be longer as to me the film didn't quite dig that much but i guess that's intentional. Instead of spending massive length to discuss morals and guilt etc it was more storytelling. Tells the story of the event and leaves the discussion part to its audience. Which i find quite interesting, though i do wish i wasn't going alone so now i could have someone to discuss to.

On another note, Irish accent ftw.