L'enfant d'en haut (Sister)

Ursula Meier really know how to do great films that also are very disturbing. As soon as started watching this movie recognized some elements that immediately made me see inside my head and from beginning to end, her previous movie Home. It took me a few seconds to see the complete movie in my head, but definitively set my mind in the right mood to continue watching this movie.

As camera follows young Simon we are introduced to his world where what we see doesn't match at all the civilized Swiss society as he is a small-time thief that during ski season steals skies, skiing gear, sun glasses and food. He sells to other kids until he finds in workers better shoppers. With the money he buys food for him and his sister. You like Simon, you try to understand why he's doing what he does, you don't like his sister, you feel sorry for Simon. Then after a while at the precise moment when you already started to see differently everything about Simon, the bomb comes and explodes heavily.

The last sentence uses an image as there is no explosion in this film, as a matter of fact before and after the "bomb" nothing much happens but thanks to great performances by Kacey Mottet Klein (he was also in Home) who plays Simon and Léa Seydoux who plays his sister plus the amazing Meier filmmaking and storytelling style you will feel a lot of contradictory intense emotions. At least, that's exactly what happened to me.

A very, extremely unusual family drama that plays with all kind of borders and border-crossing; about "up there" and "down here"; is set in Switzerland but story is universal. Really wish to forget about my golden rule for NO spoilers as this film deserves an analysis of everything we see, everything that happens and what we see more with expressions, silences and camera moves. So much deserves the analysis that makes me think I should start a blog called 'movie spoilers' where I can talk freely. Yes, is a very good movie, one that you should not watch alone, so you can talk and talk about it. Sigh.

Believe that film as film is quite simple but recognize that while is "up there" a style prevails that changes when we go "down here" which makes this not fast paced movie, faster than many I have seen. It's an interesting resource that Meier calls "vertical film" and is the contraposition of Home that was an "horizontal" film. As film has the vertical movement, worth mention and kudos to editing; also, as in Home the highway becomes a character, I believe here the ski lift ride becomes the third lead character in film.

Film is the Silver Bear Special Mention award winner at the 2012 Berlinale and collected more honors while traveling the fest circuit. Is one of the films competing to be the Swiss submission to Oscar and wonder if will be the selection due to the Swiss process as definitively I do not think this movie is for general audiences. Still, among English-language critics reception was more than acceptable, but somehow less than those I read in French.

A must be seen movie for those that like great European cinema, already have seen Home and like it, and don't mind to feel intense emotions.

Big Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Day 8 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

Some interesting films but what really surprised me as was very unexpected is how elegant young Hollywood actresses look today at their film photocall; check photos at the end of post.

Venezia 69

Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty) by Marco Bellocchio

Definitively must be seen for me not only because is a Bellocchio film but also for the outstanding cast that includes Toni Servillo, Isabelle Huppert and Alba Rohrwacher. The three stories rotate about a not easy to watch and highly controversial (especially in a Catholic country) theme, euthanasia; that's why Eluana Englaro's, Italian famous cause-celebre, six last days are the frame where movie moves. The synopsis.

The film takes place in various parts of Italy over six days, which are Eluana Englaro’s last and whose story remains in the background. The stories of fictional characters from different faiths and ideologies are connected emotively to that case, in an existential reflection on the reasons for living life and for hope despite everything. A senator has to choose whether to vote for a law that goes against his conscience or not, going against the party line, whilst his daughter Maria, an activist in a pro-life movement, demonstrates outside the clinic where Eluana is being treated. Roberto, alongside his brother, is on the opposing secular front; an “enemy” who Maria falls in love with. Elsewhere, a great actress looks to her faith and a miracle to save her daughter, who has been in an irreversible coma for years, and for whom she has sacrificed her relationship with her son. Finally, there is the desperate Rossa who wants to die, but a young doctor called Pallido opposes her suicide with all his might. And against all expectations, at the end of the film, there is a reawakening...

Somehow surprising is to learn that film has wry humor, but then I came to realize that definitively will ease whatever we will see in movie. It is clear to me that Bellocchio's vision of Englaro's case will be emotional, as emotional as situation was for him. This is what Servillo said in a interview.

E' un film che piuttosto che occuparsi dell'aspetto fisiologico del coma, si occupa del coma dei sentimenti. Si occupa del coma delle idee, di un'anarcosi generale che viene raccontata come una possibilità di risvegli.

Plus see what Bellocchio says in the director's statement.

The film stemmed from the powerful emotions (and amazement) I felt at the death of Eluana Englaro. However, I also felt that this involvement risked limiting my imagination; I felt that it was necessary to broaden the horizon... I waited for two years and in that time the other stories were developed that were not far from Eluana’s but independent of it. They were “fished” from a distant time, from my whole life, childhood, adolescence, family, Catholic education, political compromise, moral principles. They came from the need to be consistent with one’s ideas, from the refusal to give up when faced with a life in danger that nevertheless retains all the potential for recovery and rebirth. Without Eluana dying there would be no Bella Addormentata (Dormant Beauty), who wakes up.

Has to be emotional. Films inspired in controversial real-events usually become also controversial and don't doubt that film will not be the exception. Still according to Italian media, film was received with applauses, so there is hope that film will not be that hard to watch.

Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine

Not really interested in watching this film because of cast (really dislike James Franco) and director, as I didn't liked his 2007 film Mister Lonely. But since is in competition decided to talk a little about it to share what is being said in the Net about film.

Headlines from "serious" reviewers (English and non-English) are not positive while some trendy English-speaking reviewers tend to say that film is great, even if is the director's most mainstream film and style. The last comment is important to conceptualize inside Korine's world as even his most mainstream will be really further away from standard mainstream movies.

I imagine film will become a cult movie in American Indie cinema, as many of Korine's film have become. My suggestion: watch at your own risk, as film has been labeled as bordering teen-ish porn. Sigh.

Out of Competition

O Gebo e a Sombra by Manoel de Oliveira

Can't say that I'm a director's fan but for sentimental reasons have to see Jeanne Moreau and Claudia Cardinale in the big screen as has been so long especially the last one. Also here great Michael Londsdale. Story could not be easy to watch but then the spoken language perhaps makes it easier as film is in French. The synopsis.

Gebo lives with his wife and his daughter in law, his only son’s wife, in a humble house. Their son has been silent in a while, to the mother’s despair. The father suspects his son is devoting himself to not so commendable activities, but he does what he can to keep it from his wife. The daughter in-law takes care of them as if they were their own parents. Nonetheless, she waits for her husband. Suddenly one night the son shows up. The mother believes in his return, but the father has no illusions. Intentionally or not, the father doesn’t hide the colossal amount of money he’s been keeping, belonging to the company in which he works as the treasurer. His son shamelessly steals from him. The father has no choice and keeps from his wife their son’s fraud against his employer...

From what I have seen film seems like theater and seems I'm not that lost as somehow there may be a relationship according to the director's statement.

The idea for this film stemmed from having been approached by a friend who asked me to make a film about the poor. Yes, that was a good idea, but making a film about the poor isn’t easy. Subsequently I recalled Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, which was highly discussed by the most prominent intellectuals. Accordingly, José Régio, who had always been a quite farseeing critic, reminded that, after all, Raul Brandão’s play, The Hunchback and His Shadow, was already the anticipation of what would become Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Which leads me back to Brandão’s The Hunchback and His Shadow, because despite being a play from the past century it easily adapts to our current situation, both ethically and economically, without any preconceptions. On the contrary—it remains contemporary and universal. Also, it’s not the first time I’m using France as the scenery of my films. The film is spoken in French. I’m a great admirer of France, a country which invented the cinematographer which gave birth to many works of art, essential today and in the future, I suppose. As the great Mexican director Arturo Ripstein said: “Cinema is the mirror of life.” Besides my acknowledgement of France as the country of invention, I also have a personal debt to the French critics as they welcomed my first film presented at the 5th Congress of Film Critics, in Lisbon, in 1931.

No matter the story or film style, the great cast makes movie highly appealing to me.

Venice Days

Heritage (Inheritance) by Hiam Abbass

I'm huge fan of Hiam Abbass performances and her debut as a filmmaker makes me very curious to learn her vision translated into the screen. Still, film is must be seen because Abbass also performs in what I call a classic story about Palestinians living in Israel explored thru human/family drama. The synopsis.

A Palestinian family living in northern Galilee gathers to celebrate the wedding of one of their daughters, as war rages between Israel and Lebanon. When the father falls into coma and inches toward death, internal conflicts explode within the family - secrets are revealed and lies are unmasked.

Have seen many films with similar stories and could watch many more. But, not often we have the opportunity to see this story told by a woman director, much less from a Palestinian born in Israel as Abbass describes herself. An excerpt from her comments.

As a Palestinian born in Israel, I´ve always wondered about my identity as a woman and an artist who grew up in a traditional society. I felt I was on the margins of non-Arab society in Israel, foreign to its tradition and ways of functioning. Yet I felt just as alienated from traditional Arab society laden with conservative values. The Palestinians of Israel are torn between tradition and modernism. They feel partially excluded from Israel, and therefore try to preserve what is left of their traditions in order to protect this threatened Palestinian identity. They embrace these traditions in a strong family structure that gives them the impression of creating a "true home" In this context, the men take power over the women, giving them little room to build their independence as individuals. Women are forced to fight for a certain form of equality. The path followed by the main character (Hajar) is similar to mine.

Hajar is played by none other than Hafsia Herzi, an actress that I also enjoy. As I imagined film had to be a very personal vision. Great. What do I expect from film? Great performances in a difficult family drama that reflect larger -political, social- conflicts.

International Critics' Week

No Quiero Dormir Sola (She Doesn't Want to Sleep Alone) by Natalia Beristáin

Lately have been very interested in learning more about the "new wave" of Mexican filmmakers that definitively are doing very unconventional films while telling not that uncommon stories. I have not enjoyed all films that have seen but do recognize that there is "something" going on in Mexico cinema, a new movement that is gestating and comes after what I call the "Carlos Reygadas movement". Very interesting indeed.

Finding this movie in the most unconventional section of any festival makes me think that Natalia Beristain probably belongs to the above trend, but also according to the movie clips I have seen in several director's interviews. The synopsis.

Amanda lives in a flat offered by her father, a famous actor with whom she is in bad terms. Although she has grown up in affluence, she is now adrift without a stable job. Besides this, she has also a psychological problem: she cannot sleep alone. Every night, she looks for someone to sleep with her, but the next morning this person is felt like a burden to her. This fragile balance is further shaken when she has to assist her grandmother, once a famous actress, and now an old person facing alcoholism and Alzheimer. Grandmother and granddaughter will slowly get to know each other to discover their respective human and affective spheres.

As expected story seems common, ordinary; how the story is told is what I believe it will matter. One of the few Latin American films in this year festival had a full theater plus collected applauses after the press screening. Italian media praises film and "unexpected" end. Good. Could this film be the Opera Prima award winner? Maybe.

News

The 2012 Robert Bresson Award for lifetime achievements went to Ken Loach.

Not So Serious

Let's start to speculate. More than half of the 18 films in competition has been screened, some with speculation that could be fest top award winner. If jury behaves like Italian and international media then NO doubt that the front contender for this year top award is The Master and not surprisingly both Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman are contenders for the Copa Volpi. Also a contender, Toni Servillo for any/both of his performances. Strangely enough there has not been much buzz about the Best Actress or Best Director, as seems media hasn't been impressed until today. But jurors do not behave like media and doubt that in their minds The Master is the movie to beat from first position.

Photos

Young Hollywood invades Venice. Very well-dressed and elegant Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez.

Day 7 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

Not many interesting films today, but today we have the latest work by one of my most admired master filmmakers, Kim Ki-Duk.

Venezia 69

Pieta by Kim Ki-Duk

As many say: Kim Ki-Duk films are an acquired taste. Agree and yes, I have the taste. Most of his films are visually stunning but I think that maybe this one could be different as from what I seen film stays in urban settings. Still trailer shows a magnificent use of light and darkness. The synopsis.

Hired by moneylenders, a man lives as a loan shark brutally threatening people for paybacks. This man, without any family therefore with nothing to lose, continues his merciless way of life regardless of all the pain he has caused to a countless number of people. One day, a woman appears in front of him claiming to be his mother. He coldly rejects her at first, but gradually accepts her in his life. He decides to quit his cruel job and to live a decent life. Then suddenly the mother is kidnapped. Assuming that it would be by someone he had hurt in the past, he starts to track down all the people he had harassed. The man finally finds the one, only to discover most horrifying dark secrets better left unrevealed.

Puzzling story that tickles my interest as seems movie explores one of the devils of the capital society, money. Check the director's statement.

Money inevitably puts people to the test in a capitalist society, and the people today are obsessed with a fantasy that money can solve anything. Money is the problem for most of the incidents that occur today. In this film, two people who give and receive pain over money, unlikely to meet, comes across each other and become family. And through such family, we realize that we are accomplices to everything that occurs in our period. Money will ask sad questions until the people of this era die. Ultimately, we will end up becoming a money to each other and grind ourselves on an asphalt. I again cry out towards heaven with a meager faith today. God, have mercy on us.

First reviews mention that film is hard-to-watch for its violence but tend to be positive; surprising is to find that most already out reviews come from media agencies (!) which is not common at all. Good as there must be more people with the acquired taste than what I could imagine. Some Italian media see film as a strong contender for top award.

Linhas de Wellington by Valeria Sarmiento

A period film prepared by Raúl Ruiz and completed by his widow Valeria Sarmiento. Film has a truly amazing cast, but imagine that most will have more cameos than developed roles. Still take a look at the great cast with the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Pérez, Chiara Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Elsa Zylberstein, John Malkovich, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Popupaud, Marisa Paredes and more. Impressive.

Take a good look at movie photo; yes they're together and talking to each other. How many times can we see Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert in the same scene? Not many, just for this scene movie is more than must be seen for me. The synopsis.

After the attempts of Junot and Soult, in 1807 and 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a powerful army, commanded by Marshal Massena, to invade Portugal in 1810. The French easily reached the center of the country, where the Anglo-Portuguese army, led by General Wellington, was waiting for them...

Seems like a classic tale from a classic director, but definitively I'm curious to find out what his widow did with this film that also will become a TV miniseries. The director's statement

When Paulo Branco asked me to carry on the film about the Napoleonic wars that Raoul Ruiz had been preparing, it seemed an almost impossible task. Reading Carlos Saboga’s script, however, everything was a surprise: I discovered the exodus of the Portuguese people, the typical fate of the common people, the everyday life existing in a conflict, perspectives that allowed me to appropriate the story. The rest was to outline the actors, especially the female characters, who suffer so much during a conflict, and, above all, to feel the landscape following with the camera a paradoxical tactic of war: this contradictory pilgrimage which was the retreat to the “Lines of Wellington.”

So, indeed, film seems could be more Valeria Sarmiento vision than Ruiz, which is good news for me as sometimes Ruiz's films become "too soapy" for my eyes.

International Critics' Week

O Luna In Thailandia (A Month in Thailand) by Paul Negoescu

There is nothing surprising with me interested in a Romanian film, but what is surprising is that after learning about film, I'm still interested. Check the synopsis from fest official site.

Radu and Adina, a young couple of graduates, have just made love and are now ready for New Year’s Eve. She is profoundly in love with him and cannot wait to move to his place; instead, he has a few reservations on their relationship. While going shopping in a superstore, he bumps into (or thinks to bump into) his ex girlfriend Nadia, and his intolerance becomes palpable.

Very nice isn't it? But then found another synopsis.

During the New Year's Party, Radu realizes that he is not satisfied with his love life and decides to break up with his girlfriend. Soon after, he departs in a journey through several nightclubs of Bucharest in the search of his true love. But is the woman he's looking for really the woman he needs?

Awful isn't it? Well, this is a good example why you shouldn't learn too much about a film, as official trailer shows more the second synopsis than the first. But yes, will watch it as not only is screened at a section that in any festival screens "strange" movies but by the time I finally see film I will have forgotten everything about it. Sigh.

Collateral Events - Premio Lux Award

Io Sono Li (Shun Li and the Poet), Andrea Segre

One of the three films in competition for the 2012 Lux Award. If one Italian film I've been impatiently waiting to see is this one that during the 2011 festival circuit collected many honors. This is the best opportunity to share with you all some info about film. The synopsis.

Shun Li works in a textile factory in the outskirts of Rome, in order to get her papers and enable her eight-year-old son to come to Italy. She is suddenly transferred to Chioggia, a small city-island in the Veneto lagoon, to work as a bartender in a pub. Bepi, a Slavic fisherman, nicknamed "the Poet" by his friends, has been a regular at that little pub for years. The friendship between Shun Li and Bepi upsets both the Chinese and local communities, who interfere with this new journey, which they are perhaps simply too afraid of.

Very, very curious about film that I believe is the frontrunner for this year Lux award. What do I expect from film? A visual poem.

News

Gianni Amelio wins the 2012 Pietro Bianchi award given by the SNGCI.

Photo of the Day

Great looking Pierce Brosnan.

2012 World Film Festival Award Winners

Festival closed yesterday and I'm curious about the top award winner as seems to have an interesting story plus great visuals. The following are the honored films.

Grand Prix des Americas: Atesin düstügü yer (Where The Fire Burns), Ismail Günes, Turkey

Special Grand Prix of the Jury (tie)
Invasion, Dito Tsintsadze, Germany and Austria
Miel de Naranjas (Orange Honey) by Imanol Uribe, Spain and Portugal

Best Director: Jan Troell for Dom över död ma (The Last Sentence), Sweden and Norway

Best Actress: Brigitte Hobmeier in Ende der Schonzeit (Closed Season), Franziska Schlottener, Germany and Israel
Best Actor: Karl Merkatz for Angfang 80 (Coming of Age), Sabine Hiebler & Gerhard Ert, Austria

Zeniths for Best First Feature
Golden Zenith: Casadentro, Joanna Lombardi, Peru
Silver Zenith: Zdjęcie (The Photograph), Maciej Adamek, Poland, Germany and Hungary
Bronze Zenith: Inn i mørket (Into the Dark), Thomas Wangsmo, Norway

FIPRESCI Prize - World Competition: Atesin düstügü yer (Where The Fire Burns), Ismail Günes, Turkey
FIPRESCI Prize - First Film Competition: Casadentro, Joanna Lombardi, Peru

Ecumenical Prizes: Ende der Schonzeit (Closed Season), Franziska Schlottener, Germany and Israel
Special Mention: Anata e (Dearest), Yasuo Furuhata, Japan (starring Takeshi Kitano)

Cinemathèque Québécoise Audience Award for the most popular Canadian Feature Film: Karakara, Claude Gagnon, Canada and Japan

To check all award winners go here. All three winners of the best first feature awards seem very interesting, been reading a lot about Karakara and anything starring Takeshi Kitano is must be seen for me. Perhaps festival doesn't generate much buzz in international media, but fest is one of the few festivals that screen many international films which makes it a good source to learn about great films.

Cheers!

Day 5 and 6 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

Unintentionally skipped a day but here I am, back to the movies that interest me from those two days.

Venezia 69

Lemale Et Ha'Chalal (Fill The Void) by Rama Burshtein

I'm very curious about this film as not often we have an opportunity to view Hasidic traditions in film much less from a female director point of view, who on top is a Hasidic Jew by choice, not birth. Add that she says "The Orthodox world is so interesting it does not need to cope with the secular. It can be very interesting and the drama can be very strong inside" and my curiosity grows more. The synopsis.

Tells the story of an Orthodox Hassidic family from Tel Aviv. Eighteen-year-old Shira is the youngest daughter of the family. She is about to be married off to a promising young man of the same age and background. It is a dream-come true, and Shira feels prepared and excited. On Purim, her twenty-eight-year-old sister, Esther, dies while giving birth to her first child. The pain and grief that overwhelm the family postpone Shira’s promised match. Everything changes when an offer is proposed to match Yochay—the late Esther’s husband—to a widow from Belgium. Yochay feels it’s too early, although he realizes that sooner or later he must seriously consider getting married again. When the girls’ mother finds out that Yochay may leave the country with her only grandchild, she proposes a match between Shira and the widower. Shira will have to choose between her heart’s wish and her family duty...

Maybe synopsis sounds similar to other movies, but seems that this film goes could go deeper as suggested in the director's statement.

Love and relationships form the main object of my interests. To be honest, careerism, independence, and self-fulfillment are less important to me than love, my husband and my family. What drew me to the world of the Jewish faith was its approach to decoding the enigma of relationships between men and women. This process stunned me. Lemale Et Ha’Chalal tells a love story based on the spirit. It resembles the experience and feeling of an early love, which resides only in the heart, and is based on nothing reasonable. The humming of the heart towards another, combined with a desire that is consciously restrained, is the winning formula for my heart in seeking long-lasting delight.

I'm always fascinated by films that show me the unfamiliar so even when story could be familiar, so film continues to be must be seen for me. First reviews from trade magazines tend to be highly positive with some emphasis on film as a film. Great.

To The Wonder by Terrence Malick

Too soon to have to think about a Malick film, especially when I did not enjoyed much his last one. But obviously film is must be seen for me even when got both applauses and boos at press screening and not positive reviews. My biggest surprise is to find that according to press conference comments, Olga Kurylenko is the "real" star of the film as others like Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams have smaller roles. But, as always, Malick's film is a mystery that will be solved when you see it, no matter what media has said. The synopsis.

After visiting Mont Saint-Michel— once known in France as “the Wonder”—at the height of their love, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems soon arise. Marina makes the acquaintance of a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane. An exploration of love in its many forms.

Of course synopsis doesn't say much and no surprise, there is no director's statement. So the mystery continues. My only hope is that I enjoy this movie more than his last but against my hope is still the shadow that Ben Affleck is acting here and I do not like his performances. Sigh.

Can help but to share that many Malick die-hard fans immediately went to question "bad" reviews/comments in twitter and elsewhere. So funny. One example: "Screw the boos: I'm in love with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder". Then, my favorite harsh-critic says film shows his "B-side", lol.

By the way, Malick just finished filming another film, Knight of Cups. Hope film will not be in Cannes next year, but since he has become a "film machine" there are two other projects that could get there. Only one has some info, Voyage of Time, which seems is an examination of the birth and death of the universe, oh! not again. Film is narrated by Emma Thompson and Brad Pitt, both could look very nice at any red carpet. Sigh.

Autoreiji: Biyondo (Outrage Beyond) by Takeshi Kitano

Simply love Takeshi Kitano. His film and his performances. So, no surprise that this film is must be seen for me. The synopsis.

The Sanno crime family has grown into a huge organization, expanding its power into politics and legitimate big business. The Sanno’s upper ranks are now dominated by young executives, and the old-guard members are penting up resentment while being pushed to the sidelines.

This vulnerable spot in the Sanno hierarchy is exactly what anti-gang detective Kataoka has been looking for, as the police force prepares a full-scale crackdown.

With secret plots and dirty tricks, the ambitious Kataoka instigates confl ict between the Sanno and their long-time ally, the Hanabishi, in the hopes that they ultimately destroy each other. But Kataoka’s trump card is the arranged release from prison of Otomo, the rumored dead boss of a family once crushed by the Sanno. 

Otomo’s surprise return adds to the deception and betrayal among the families as everyone watches out for the other’s next move. It’s impossible to guess who will come out on top in this fierce power game. It’s not over until it’s over.

Another gangster film as is the sequel to Autoreiji (Outrage). Seems film has been controversial for including scenes/references to Japan's recent disaster.

Après mai (Something in the Air) by Olivier Assayas

Not one of my favorite French directors but this film calls my attention beyond my love for French cinema as tells about the famous 70's Paris revolts. The synopsis.

Paris, in the early 1970s. Gilles is a young high school student completely swept up in the political and creative effervescence of the times. Like his schoolmates, he wavers between radical commitment and more personal aspirations. Passing from sexual relations to artistic revelations on a journey through Italy and ending in London, Gilles and his friends have to make crucial choices in order to find themselves in a tumultuous age.

Seems that at least some of his own experiences had to inspire this film, check the director's statement.

I don’t really believe in autobiography at the cinema. One always writes about recent and distant memories that are more or less distorted and more or less idealized. This is particularly the case when talking about adolescence, an age when our strongest images are etched almost unbeknownst to us. Instead I believe in youth as a source of inspiration, as an intimate truth that we should constantly measure ourselves against. I grew up during the 1970s. I didn’t choose them and I am returning to them. This violent, confused and contradictory period, overshadowed by the events of May 1968, continues to be the object of misunderstandings. I experienced those years and I am their worst witness, my face to the ground, a tributary of an irreparably falsified perspective. But perhaps that is not the worst point of view for understanding the chaos of those years...

Lately Assayas seems to be the only French filmmaker willing to talk about what many call "ugly" recent incidents in French history as first was Carlos and now Paris in the '70s. Yes, I'm curious to see his vision.

Out of Competition

Den skaldede frisør (Love is All You Need) by Susanne Bier

Defined by many as more mainstream than her previous films plus "a crowd pleaser" seems that director is taking a break from doing great movies. Tend to believe those comments thanks to the presence of Pierce Brosnan in film; still, does not discourage me from watching as a must be seen. The synopsis.

The film is a warm, funny and life-affirming story about how, just when you think it’s all over, it just might be about to begin. With warmth, affection and confidence, Susanne Bier has shaken a cocktail of love, absurdity, humor, raucous dialog and delicately drawn characters that will leave no heart untouched. Two very different families meet in a beautiful, old Italian villa, in the middle of a lemon grove. The occasion is a romantic wedding, meticulously planned to the smallest detail. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and yet everything works out in the end. Den skaldede frisør is a liberatingly different comedy, which will inspire hope in anyone with their heart in the right place.

Even if I know is not related at all (except for Brosnan), synopsis plus trailer make me think about Mama Mia! (lol). Anyway here is the director's statement.

I wanted to make a film about vulnerable people; about the things in life we’d rather suppress but, if depicted with humor, might lift our spirits. In Ida and Philip we found main characters whose vulnerability carried both the weight of the subject matter and the lightness of a humorous touch. We transported them to the most romantic place imaginable, alongside a host of comedic characters. We used humor and romance as means, not of softening their hardship, but of demarcating it more clearly, to allow the contrasting universes to emphasize each other. That way we could portray each of our characters, in all their fortune and misfortune, with the precision and tenderness they deserve.

Don't have high expectations for a great movie, expect good entertainment with great actors under the hand of an acclaimed director; still, deep inside me hope for a surprise.

Orizzonti

Leones by Jazmín López

Debut film by Argentinean López calls my attention for the project credentials plus the lack of formal narrative to use symbols and magic realism. I believe could be a film of extremes, either is a great film or a pretentious disaster. Hope to find which after I see it. The synopsis.

Deep in the forest a group of five friends wander around like a lion herd. Lost in their word games, they play and seduce each other while going back and forth into adulthood territory, in a desperate search to avoid their already written story.

What synopsis doesn't mention is that all characters are dead and all committed suicide, which I think is important to know before watching. Director's statement is long with too many words to state something clearly and seems her press conference also had too many (useless) words.

Death is a lived life. Life is a death that comes” (Jorge Luís Borges) A white page, a shape, maybe a point without pre-design, allows me to move eternally into time. Leones is an essay about death, from the point of view of a mortal being, death seen as a beautiful landscape. Youth and its obsessions; death, its beauty and incomprehension. How weak can the human body be in comparison to an intellectual construction? These kids are always in the moment. References to temporality are downplayed, or even denied. They are not only in the moment but immersed in it, anxious and bored, almost beyond temporality. The decay of these flowers and the dirt of their clothes exert pressure on memory. Their extreme presence is more than eternal. End of time: they are not aware of their past. Leones explores the fantastic boundaries of film as a language. The kids are more real than the fi ction of the fi lm. Their purpose is an empty pursuit of arriving—nowhere—Animals. The feeling fi lls the whole space. We have to translate it within ourselves. And only if we stay sensitive towards the world, will we be able to go through it... A correspondence is established. Different times are tied, entangled.

Not really happy with what I read as I'm leaning toward pretentious disaster, but will watch movie anyway.

Venice Days

Blondie by Jesper Ganslandt

Not familiar with director as have not seen his previous films, but film calls my attention for story as seems like an intense drama that I could enjoy.

Then there is always the fact that one of the blonde leads (in photo) was at the Swedish Big Brother show and that's where director met her, as his assignment was to follow her. The synopsis.

Three sisters, all adrift and in crisis, come together again at their childhood home for the celebration of their mother´s birthday. The festivities soon come to an end though, and repressed conflicts rise up to the surface. Old wounds are opened and a new family is born.

European reviews headlines tend to be positive, with some calling film "a splendid portrait of women". Seems like my kind of film.

Acciaio by Stefano Mordini

Film is competing for the Queer Lion and to be honest, is the main reason why film called my attention as story maybe could be not that much interesting. Still, always there is hope that a great lesbian interest film will appear; hope is this one. The synopsis.

Here, the steel worker works on a continuous cycle, twenty-four hours a day and never stops. There, by the sea, on the island of Elba, is a paradise so close, yet so unattainable. 

In the middle, neither here nor there, Anna and Francesca, young but already old, have a friendship as special as love itself. The same love keeps Alessio, Anna´s brother, going. A factory worker to the core, the only girl he wants is Elena, the girl he cannot have. One day love arrives, as powerful as it is unexpected for all, and life suddenly accelerates until it cracks, bleeds and breaks.

International Critics' Week

Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die) by Gabriela Pichler

Very curious about film and more with the news that got standing ovations at Venice premiere. Not an easy story for a country that seems doesn't talk too much about its immigrants. The synopsis.

Is not easy for a girl like Raša – a Swedish citizen of Balkan origin and Islamic religion – to find a new job. She is fired from the factory where she used to pack lettuce into plastic bowls. She has not a high school degree, and she has to maintain her beloved father. She attends classes of psychological support for the unemployed and tries her best to find a new job. Under this harsh circumstances, she suddenly realizes that the Country in which she decided to live does not grant everyone equal opportunities.

Other News

Spanish filmmaker David Victori's La Culpa (The Guilt) won the 1st Your Film Festival. Michael Fassbender gave the award that includes US$500,000 to create original online content for YouTube.

Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be The Place, Francesco Bruni's Scialla, Perfrancesco Favino in A.C.A.B. and Barobar Bobulova in Immaturi, Il Viaggio are the top winners in the Kineo Diamanti Al Cinema awards. To read full list go here.

Not So Serious

After many years not present in the festival, today in Cannes two very famous Italian actresses Gina Lollobrigida and Claudia Cardinale.

Today's Photo

Michael Fassbender, David Victori and the award.

First Your Film Festival Award Winner

Today the winner was announced and is the entry from Spain. Michael Fassbinder gave the award.

La Culpa (The Guilt), David Victori Blaya, Spain

We know that eventually his new film will be at the festival YouTube channel for us to enjoy.

Congratulations to organizers for a great initiative.

Cheers!

The award winner short.



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8/7
A few days ago (August 1st) YouTube and Emirates in partnership with Scott Free Productions and the Venice Film Festival announced the ten (10) finalists that will attend the Biennale to compete for a US$500,000 prize towards producing more content with the help from Riddley Scott, Michael Fassbender and a world class crew.

Ridley Scott and Michael Fassbender are part of the jury that will select the grand prizewinner after the films are screened at the fest on September 2.

The ten finalists are market in *BLUE. To watch the finalists go here.

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6/12
If you like to watch short films this is your opportunity to see 50 semi-finalists in this festival where you can vote for your favorite. I just started watching and because the quality of the films decided to invite you all to this festival.

This is a copy of today's press release.

On June 11, YouTube and Emirates, in partnership with La Biennale di Venezia (the Venice Film Festival) and Scott Free, announced the 50 semi-finalists in the Your Film Festival competition - a global search to find the world's best storytellers. Scott Free had the difficult task of narrowing down more than 15,000 submissions from more than 160 countries across the globe. It is now up to the YouTube community to view and vote on the semi-finalists at youtube.com/yourfilmfestival thus helping decide which 10 filmmakers will attend the Venice Film Festival and compete for the $500,000 grand-prize.

These are the 50 semi-finalist short films.

*88:88, Joey Ciccoline, USA
Aisha's Song, Orlando von Einsiedel, UK
*Bat Eyes, Damien Power, Australia
Befetach Beity (On My Doorstep), Anat Costi, Israel
Bench Seat, Anna Mastro, USA
Biondina, Laura Bispuri, Italy
Boot, Damien Power, Australia
Café Turco (Turkish Coffee), Thiago Luciano, Brazil
Camino Al Cementerio, Mijael Milies and Carla Pastén, Chile
La Carta, Angel Manuel Soto Vazquez, Puerto Rico
*Cine Rincao, Fernando Grostein Andrade& Fernanda Fernandes, Brazil
Cortometraje Teta y Sopa, Alberto Gómez, Spain
*La Culpa (The Guilt), David Victori Blaya, Spain
Das Tub, James Cunningham, New Zealand
The Debt Collector, Alan David Morgan, USA
Dr Grordbort presents: the Deadliest Game, James Cunningham, New Zealand
*The Drought, Kevin Slack, USA
Ebony Society, Tammy Davis, New Zealand
La Guagua (The Child), Sebastian Mantilla, Spain
*El General, Diego Pino Zamora, Bolivia
Fish, Shaun Escayg, USA
Good Pretender, Maziar Lahooti, Australia
I'll Keep an Eye on You, Torben Bech, Denmark
Kiss, Alex Murawski, USA
Learning Spanish the Hard Way, Eric Stolze, USA
Letting Go, Daniel McCauley, South Africa
No Exit, Jesper Isaksen, Denmark
*North Atlantic, Bernardo Nascimento, UK
Перешкода (The Obstacle), Maxim Neafit Bujnicki, Ukraine
Photo For Baba, Harel Yana and Moti Malka, Israel
Picnic, Gerardo Herrero, Spain
El Porvenir- Episodio 1 Hermanos, Manuel Alejandro Anell, Mexico
Reflexiones de un Picaporte (Doorhandle Thoughts), Carlos Crespo Arnold, Spain
The Return Address, Abi Varghese, USA
*Scruples, Adrian Powers, Australia
Secular Quater #3, David Gidali, USA
Skatesistan: To live and skate in Kabul, Orlando von Einsiedel, UK
Skin of Glass, Lukas Dhont, Belgium
Sold, John Irwin, USA
Включи мотор и сдай назад (Start the Engine and reverse), Andrey Zagidullin, Russia
Stop. Watch. Love, Brad Herbert, USA
*Super.Full., Niam Itani, Lebanon
The Telegram Man, James Francis Khehtie, Australia
Tempestade (Storm), Cesar Cabral, Brazil
Ter Ter, David Lucchini & Fabien Carrabin, France
Then and Now, Paul Johannessen, Japan
هذا الزمان *(This Time), Ramy EL-Gabry, Egypt
Vi Ska Plocka Pascal I Natt (Our Mission: Pascal), Johanna Pyykkö, Sweden
Wickate, Niralji Ravishanker, Malaysia
Wylacznosc (An Exclusive), Krzysztof Szot, Poland

There are some directors that have excellent credentials like for example, short being at Cannes 2012 or being Bigas Luna assistant, which I share just to confirm the quality of the shorts. Among the jurors that helped to select the semi-finalist we have Ridley Scott and none other than Michael Fassbender.

To watch shorts please go here and VOTE - you have until July 13th- after all is OUR festival. According to rules, you can vote for 1 short each day, so if you have several favorites, you can vote for them but remember that is only one vote per voting day. Cheers!

Enjoy!!!

Avé

A film by Konstantin Bojanov that looks and feels like the work of an accomplished director, but is only his second film. I don't think will see his first film, a documentary called Invisible-This Is Your Life on Heroin as tells the story of six heroin addicts, but surely I want to see more from him.

A typical road movie that uses the many times visited film structure; but Bojanov uses it like if it was his own with a fresh unusual story that engages us slowly, very slowly while telling the story of a young man, Kamen, travelling to his best friend funeral and a young woman, Avé, who seems to be a lost soul travelling the roads but that later we learn that she is not and indeed, she's far from being one. You can predict that they are heading into falling for each other and they do, but I believe that's about all you can predict in this movie as how and why the fall for each other is unpredictable. But you have to see movie to learn what story is really all about as will not tell you more.

I'm sure that because the story co written by Bojanov uses his life experiences, becomes very credible and easily you get inside, like the third person in the story, the voyeur that see everything but is invisible. Also no doubt that his nomad life, he has traveled all over the world, allowed him to so successfully and very credible use the road movie genre. But what marveled me is his impressive use of light and color palettes. When Kamen and Avé meet and for a long while he uses cold colors palette that as his characters start to open to themselves and to each other, the palette changes to warmer tones. He tells his story with words, with images, with silences but most of all with colors. This is impressive.

We know that road movies commonly are used as metaphors of life and this is no exception as what we see in the screen with two strangers meeting, travelling together, fantasizing to avoid accepting/telling truth, opening, tell truth, fall for each other and discovering/accepting each other as they are or will be from now on, is a great tale that represents life as it is in its very raw way with not much melodrama or drama, just like it happens in real life. All these plus director's ability as a visual storyteller makes movie must be seen for many that enjoy great European cinema.

Performances are incredibly good for actors that do not have that much experience, as for Anjela Nedyalkova (Avé) this is her second film while for Ovanes Torosian (Kamen) this was his third film, noteworthy is to note that both worked in Kamen Kalev's Eastern Plays. To complete the picture will share that film as a film has above average production values, was premiered in 2011 Cannes at the Semaine de la Critique and got awards as well as honors while traveling the fest circuit.

Last, I believe that film has all the right credentials to be the 2012 Bulgaria submission to Oscar, let's hope whoever selects the film in that country, will chose wisely and send this film.

Enjoy!!!

Wattch trailer @MOC