The Woman with the Five Elephants
Authentic. Magical. Unassuming. Poetic.
Captivated by Swetlana and her love of words. She translates Dostoyevsky from Russian into German and reveals her process and her life story. As she works on translating one particular passage, she describes the difficulties, the differences in essence and sound between the two languages. She says that in Russian it is so eloquent, but when I translate it to German, to sounds like a stuffed mattress. By Vadim Jendreyko (Switzerland)
Arsy-Versy
Funny. Inventive. Beautifully shot.
An absurd and delightful 50-year-old Lubos lives with his endearing if slightly disappointed mother and loves to take pictures of bats. He ventures into caves and mines with his body covered in lights or hangs upside down in trees, capturing hundreds of images of his bat friends. By Miro Remo (Slovakia)
Osadné
Wryly funny. Charming. Kind.
Three characters that you would follow anywhere. The mayor, the local orthodox priest and the leader of the Ruthenian Revival Movement. They all have ideas of how to revitalize their tiny, dwindling Slovakian village in the easternmost part of the EU. Includes a trip to the big city (Brussels) to try to persuade EU leaders to support their cause. By Marko Skop (Slovakia)
The Peddler
Humanity. Character. Wit.
Another lovely one. Cinematic. It’s the kind of film we would do. This older fellow travels from village to village in Argentina in his old, beat-up car. At each village he barters for lodging and food in exchange for directing a feature film starring the locals. He doesn’t even have a camera, just a script and the will to make a movie. He gets everyone involved. He’s a master improviser, working with what he has. He edits it all together on VHS and screens it for the locals to see. He brings laughter and community to the village. Then on to the next town. By Eduardo de la Serna, Lucas Marcheggiano, Adriana Yurcovich (Argentina)
La Belle Visite
Beautiful. Relaxed. Subtle.
Purely observational with stunning cinematography. Captures a profound, reflective portrait of the final years of life. Take a breath, sit back and enjoy the slow pace and the clever moments of humor. The last scene, a slow walk around the hotel-turned-home, is lovely. Made by a young filmmaker with a great, humble presence. He could be a cohort of ours. I look forward to seeing what else he does. By Jean-Francois Caissy (Quebec)
Peter in Radioland
Tender. Imaginative. Powerful.
An excellent short character portrait of the director's 63-year-old father. He’s home on sick leave, depressed and wanting to go back to the comforts of an analog world of vinyl records and long-wave radios. Interwoven moments of stop motion animation with observational footage. Remembrances and longings. Peter talking about his life: “When I was working, I was Peter with a capital P. And now I feel very small in this world. I can feel I’m shrinking.” By Johanna Wagner (Sweden) Watch it on YouTube.
Marwencol
Unexpected. Remarkable. Original.
A story well told. Masterfully edited. Unfolding layers. After a brutal beating, Mark constructs a miniature WWII-era town in his backyard as a form of therapy. Using dolls that represent people in his real life, he creates stories and photographs the scenes. Fantastic photos. It was a surprise that they were his photographs. It’s a movie that you can’t fully describe. Just go see it. And I’m sure he must be Rob Brock’s brother (One Buccaneer). By Jeff Malmberg (U.S.)
Freetime Machos
Genuine. Candid. And really funny.
A great friendship between two guys. Engaging characters that draw you in despite their faults. They are part of a rugby team in Finland that does more losing than winning, constantly aggravating their coach. See them on the pitch and in their homes. Also seamlessly integrates local issues like Nokia’s cutting of jobs, without detracting from the main portrait. Just a wonderful story told well. By Mika Ronkainen (Finland)
Space Tourists
Memorable. An adventure.
The changed world of the Soviet space program. Combines the experience of a millionaire’s childhood dream to go into space and rural Kazhaks on the ground who salvage space parts that drop from the sky after launches. Each has a purpose. A great experience. Love the poster (see below). By Christian Frei (Switzerland)
The Parking Lot Movie
Fun. Informative. Engaging.
Not very polished, but well-structured. Amusing characters. Parking lot attendants at a small lot in Charlottesville, Virginia. A mixture of grad students, philosophers, musicians and marginal-type characters. They endure long stretches of tedium followed by brief moments of aggravation with customers such as one who quibbles over paying $1 as she drives out in her SUV. They talk about cars, capitalism, drunkenness, justice, spirituality and working in the service sector. I liked the different texts on the gate bar. We watched it outside on top of the Cumberland parking garage at night, shivering uncontrollably. By Meghan Eckman (U.S.)
Seltzer Works
Beautiful. Succinct.
A short about the dying industry of seltzer bottling. Followed one of the only guys left in the country who does it (in New Jersey). The process was beautifully shot. High quality cinematography. Good main character. Well done. By Jessica Edwards (U.S.)
And my two favorite posters:
No comments:
Post a Comment