Tag Archives: SIFF Reviews

Culture Clash, Documentary, Mystery, Religion

SIFF 2014: This May Be the Last Time ***1/2

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 31, 2014)

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Did you know that the eponymous Rolling Stones song shares the same roots with a venerable Native-American tribal hymn, that is still sung in Seminole and Muscogee churches to this day? While that’s far from the main thrust of Sterlin Harjo’s documentary, it’s but one of its surprises.

This is really two films in one. On a very personal level (similar in tone to a 2013 SIFF documentary selection, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell), Harjo investigates a family story concerning the disappearance of his Oklahoman Seminole grandfather in 1962.

After a perfunctory search by local authorities turned up nothing, tribal members pooled their resources and continued to look. Some members of the search party kept up spirits by singing traditional Seminole and Muscogee hymns…which inform the second level of Harjo’s film.

Through interviews with tribal members and musicologists, he traces the roots of this unique genre, connecting the dots between the hymns, African-American spirituals, Scottish and Appalachian music. The film doubles as a fascinating history lesson, as well as a moving personal journey.

Drama

SIFF 2014: African Metropolis **

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 31, 2014)

This omnibus of six short multi-genre stories provides a showcase for the talents of a half dozen emerging African filmmakers. The only connecting thread between the shorts is that each one is set against a modern urban backdrop (in the cities of Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi). The collection is somewhat hit and miss; for me it was an even 50/50 split, with half of the vignettes not really going anywhere. The standout piece is  To Repel Ghosts (from Ivory Coast filmmaker Philippe Lacote), which is a haunting, impressionistic speculation based on a 1988 visit to Abidjan made by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, shortly before his death at age 27.

 

Romantic Comedy, Social Satire

SIFF 2014: Blind Dates ***

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 31, 2014)

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Is there a level of humor below “deadpan”? If so, I’d say that this film from Georgian director Levan Koguashvili has it in spades. A minimalist meditation on the state of modern love in Tbilisi (in case you’d been wondering), the story focuses on the romantic travails of a sad sack Everyman named Sandro (Andro Sakhvarelidze), a 40-ish schoolteacher who still lives with his parents. Sandro and his best bud (Archil Kikodze) spend their spare time arranging double dates via singles websites, with underwhelming results. Then it happens…Sandro meets his dream woman (Ia Sukhitashvili). There’s a mutual attraction, but one catch. Her husband’s getting out of jail…very soon. This is one of those films that sneaks up on you; archly funny, and surprisingly poetic. Here’s a gauge: if you’re a huge fan of Jim Jarmusch (or his idol, Aki Kaurismaki), you’ll love this.

Con Game, Movie Movie, Thriller

SIFF 2014: Abuse of Weakness **1/2

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 31, 2014)

In this semi-autobiographical drama from writer-director Catherine Breillat, Isabelle Huppert plays a director who becomes partially paralyzed after a stroke. As she’s recovering, she brainstorms her next project. She is transfixed by (an allegedly) reformed con man (Kool Shen) appearing on a TV chat show. She decides he will star in her movie. The charismatic hustler happily ingratiates himself into Huppert’s life…with less than noble intentions. A psychological thriller recalling the films of Claude Chabrol.

Journalism, Mystery, Road Movie, Rock 'n' Roll

SIFF 2014: Lucky Them ***

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 31, 2014)

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This wry, bittersweet road movie/romantic comedy from Seattle-based director Megan Griffiths benefits greatly from the pairing of Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church, playing a rock journalist and first-time documentarian (respectively). They team up to search for a celebrated local singer-songwriter who mysteriously disappeared. What they find may not be what they were initially seeking. It reminded me of the 1998 UK rock ‘n’ roll comedy Still Crazy. And for dessert, there’s a surprise cameo!

Con Game, Male Bonding, Social Satire, Up the Workers

SIFF 2014: The Servant **** (Archival Presentation)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 24, 2014)

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One of my all-time favorite British dramas has received a restored print for its 50th anniversary.

Joseph Losey’s brooding and decadent class-struggle allegory features the great Dirk Bogarde in a note-perfect performance as the “manservant” hired by a snobby playboy (James Fox) to help him settle into his upscale London digs. It soon becomes apparent that this butler has a little more on the agenda than just polishing silverware and dusting the mantle. Sara Miles is also memorable in one of her earliest film roles.

Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe’s striking chiaroscuro composition and clever use of convex mirrors (which appear to “trap” the images of the principal characters) sustains a stifling, claustrophobic mood throughout. If you’re an aficionado of the 60’s British folk scene, keep your eyes peeled for a rare (and unbilled) screen appearance by guitarist Davey Graham, featured in a scene where Fox walks into a coffeehouse. Harold Pinter’s screenplay was adapted from the novel by Robin Maugham.

 

Adventure, Animated, Road Movie

SIFF 2014: Boy and the World **1/2

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 24, 2014)

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Brazilian artist Ale Abreu directs this animated fantasy about a little boy from the countryside making his first foray into the big city, to search for his father. Beginning with just a white screen, Abreu graduates to gentle pastels and simple line drawings, which morphs into an ever-more cacophonous mixed-media assault of sound, color and movement as our protagonist makes his way closer to the sprawling metropolis. In that regard, the film reminded me of Koyaanisqatsi (and seems to be making some of the same points about the price we pay for “progress”). While the film is definitely family-friendly, I have a feeling that it may ultimately prove too frustratingly slow and abstract for the younger kids (especially those who have been weaned on Pixar).

Dramedy, Family Issues

SIFF 2014: Family United **1/2

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 24, 2014)

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The lovely Spanish countryside provides an eye-pleasing backdrop for director Daniel Sanchez Arevalo’s audience-pleasing romp. Not that there’s anything wrong with an audience-pleasing romp (I’m not one of those kind of film snobs…am I?). This lively (if somewhat predictable) family dramedy centers on a wedding. The groom is the youngest of five brothers, who have reunited for the event at their father’s country estate (the parents are estranged). Something unexpected happens, postponing the vows. Further complications arise, leading to an acute case of nuptials interruptus. It’s a slight but likable enough mash-up of romantic comedy and telenovela, with a nifty soundtrack.

Drama, Family Issues, Journalism

SIFF 2014: 1,000 Times Goodnight ***

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 24, 2014)

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Juliette Binoche is magnificent (as she always is) as a fearless photojournalist torn between her addiction to the adrenaline-pumping unpredictability of her work and the grounding reassurance of home life with her family. After she’s nearly blown to bits while embedded in Afghanistan with a group of female suicide bombers, her husband (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and daughters give her an ultimatum. Erik Poppe’s film is a compassionate, sensitively-acted melodrama in the tradition of Shoot the Moon.

Drama

SIFF 2014: Red Knot ***

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 24, 2014)

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Bookended by an enigmatic dissolve as mysterious as love itself (Jesus, I sound like a Hallmark card), Scott Cohen’s film focuses on the complexities of human relationships. Newlyweds Peter and Chloe (Vincent Kartheiser and Olivia Thirlby) are honeymooning on a research vessel headed for Antarctica. They’re still getting to know each other; there’s nothing like being stuck together on a boat to bring latent issues to the fore. Increasingly squally seas become a metaphor for the couple’s increasingly tempestuous gulf. Will their love weather this storm, or dash them on the rocks, leaving them stranded, alone in their arctic desolation? Initially, I thought “Lost in Translation meets March of the Penguins“, but it’s more of a mumblecore take on Letter Never Sent. A meditation on love, nature, and the fact that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Recommended…but you must be patient, grasshopper.