On my first night here in Sitges I had the good fortune to run into Spanish cult film maker Cesar Velasco Broca, he of the much loved - and Cannes-playing - short film Avant Petalos Grillados. Velasco Broca is one of the most distinctive film makers in the world today and so when he said he had to introduce me to his friend Javier Chillon, I knew I had to pay attention. And, frankly, even if Velasco Broca hadn’t been the one to introduce us it would have taken less than a minute of Chillon’s film for me to realize that these two must be close. In fact, while I haven’t confirmed this yet I’m reasonably confident that Chillon must have borrowed Velasco Broca’s vintage camera equipment to achieve the authentically grainy feel of Die Schneider Krankheit.
A mock-propaganda film, Die Schneider Krankheit is a stunningly - and lovingly - accurate reproduction of 1950s film techniques, a purported newsreel detailing the beginnings of a viral outbreak throughout Germany following the crash landing of a Russian space capsule containing an infected monkey. Shot on grainy film stock in a long-since abandoned ratio, with seamless makeup effects and brilliantly squishy creature effects that could easily be the product of some forgotten 1950’s b-film, Die Schneider Krankheit perfectly captures the ‘We Can Do It’ attitude that marked the 1950s, an era when we still believed that technology would be the solution to all of our problems despite obvious evidence that it was actually a major cause of many.
Chillon has passed us a series of five lobby cards from the film for your perusal and enjoyment. The images used on these are in color while the finished film is black and white, so they’re not precisely what you get in the film itself but it’s more than close enough to give you a good feel for it.
2008 is the year of the horror-western, apparently, and one that we have been tracking for quite some time here is Swiss director Olivier Beguin’s twenty minute short Dead Bones, which has just premiered at the Sitges Festival. What do we learn from this film? There is a reason why people might be inclined to name a town Dead Bones, dammit, and maybe it’d be best if you just went ahead and rode around it.
The film tells the story of a bounty hunter who rides into a remote town in pursuit of a pair of criminals only to discover the town itself is far more dangerous than his quarry. Shot on location using the still-existing Spanish sets that hosted the large majority of spaghetti westerns through the 1970’s Dead Bones has a remarkably authentic and cinematic quality to it, and full marks go to Beguin for having the good sense to start things off right by going back to the land that made westerns popular in the first place.
As is often the case with a project such as this in which virtually everybody involved is working outside of their first language - it’s shot in English with a multi-ethnic cast and crew - the rhythms of the dialog can feel forced and unnatural in places but Beguin shows his chops in a pair of extended set pieces that crank up the tension nicely: an underground chase through a series of tunnels with bounty hunter and prey chained together at the wrist and an extended, tightly choreographed outdoor gun battle. Also very noteworthy are the stellar gore effects, the first gouts of blood splattered on the screen by Cannibal Holocaust director Ruggero Deodata, appearing in an extended cameo.
Genres are borrowed skins. Filmmakers adopt them and adapt them to fit the stories they want to tell. In the case of Tomas Alfredson’s Swedish coming-of-age vampire tale Let the Right One In (Låt den Rätte Komma in) the tale is so dense with nuance, so textured with masterful indirection and tender delights, so imaginative in how it reconfigures established tropes of the vampire mythos that it stretches the skin taut, rendering it nearly translucent to reveal its wondrous heartbeat within, like the vulnerable pulse at one’s temples. With Let the Right One In, Eli’s coming and, no, you won’t want to hide your heart.
As Dead Channels programmer Bruce Fletcher announced proudly to his opening night audience, ”Let the Right One In is perhaps the best genre film since Pan’s Labyrinth.” By programming Alfredson’s Bay Area premiere, Fletcher once again proves how much he loves his San Franciscan audiences and how dedicated he is to bringing us the finest of the world’s fantastic films.
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As some might remember, executive producer Xavier Gens talked about the new film La Horde with Blake Ethridge at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in July 2008. According to CineEuropa, the seven week shoot on the film, which is being directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher, has begun. The official synopsis from the film’s international seller Films Distribution is as follows:
North of Paris. In order to avenge the murder of one of their own by a group of ruthless gangsters, four corrupt cops go on a rampage in a condemned building serving as the mobster’s hideout. Now trapped, the officers are about to be executed when the unimaginable occurs: hordes of bloodthirsty, cannibalistic creatures invade the building, savagely attacking everyone. Unexpected alliances are made when their lives are threatened by the unthinkable.
The CineEuropa article adds that ”The Horde is presented as a combination of the series The Shield, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead and Rec.” Dahan and Rocher’s journey towards La Horde actually began with a short prequel entitled Rivoallan (2007). The short film features the same characters and actors (Eriq Ebouaney, Alain Figlarz, Jean-Pierre Martins, Jo Prestia, and Claude Perron) as in La Horde. Curious? Check out the teaser for Rivoallan underneath the fold, and stay tuned to Twitch for further updates about La Horde.
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In the second part of my two-part interview with Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn - you’ll find the first part, revolving around his upcoming feature Bronson here - we move away from talk of British criminals and on to his long-gestating Viking film Valhalla Rising, which stars Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) as a mute warrior. You’ll find the complete conversation below the break.
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There’s a line of text in the closing moments of Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah (Gomorra in Italian) that states the Camorra crime families depicted in the film have contributed funds to the rebuilding of the twin towers in New York. This revelation alone provokes a greater emotional response than anything in the preceding two hours of criminal activities.
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The 31st Mill Valley Film Festival ("MVFF") is set to begin this Thursday, and since posting my first program overview, we’ve seen two new films added to the line-up. The first is Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire—arguably the film with the biggest buzz from this year’s Telluride and Toronto festivals—and the other is Rian Johnson’s follow-up to Brick, the Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz-starring The Brothers Bloom.
What follows are (mostly) quick takes of nine MVFF films I’ve had the chance to preview in recent weeks. The first three were screened for press, and the remainder were seen on DVD screeners. Wendy and Lucy and Lemon Tree are due for U.S. release and therefore restricted to 75-word hold-reviews.
Continue Reading "2008 MVFF31—Michael Hawley’s Quick Takes"...
The Global Film Initiative announced today ten award-winning narrative, feature films from Argentina, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Morocco and Mozambique that will headline the Global Lens 2009 film series.
“This year’s lineup of films, from Central Asia to Latin America, is artistically strong and well balanced—it’s one of our best yet,” says Susan Weeks Coulter, Board Chair of The Global Film Initiative.
Global Lens 2009 features three North American premieres, The Photograph, Sleepwalking Land and Songs From the Southern Seas, and one U.S. premiere, I Am From Titov Veles. Also included are critical favorites Getting Home (Ecumenical Jury Prize, Berlin International Film Festival), Mutum (Directors’ Fortnight) and Possible Lives (Pavilion les Cinémas du Sud, Cannes Film Festival).
I Am From Titov Veles and Possible Lives were produced with support from The Global Film Initiative’s granting program. I Am From Titov Veles is also Macedonia’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2008 Academy Awards.
Global Lens, now in its sixth year, will premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on January 14, 2009 before embarking on a yearlong tour of over forty cities across the United States. For screening-dates and locations, please visit: the Global Lens calendar.
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Sure, this is coming to you a couple days after the festival ended but because they’re showing three films from the festival today at the Alamo Drafthouse for free I think I still have an open window to write one more review. That, and I completely forgot I saw this [not a good sign] and Todd said he was going to write it up, but didn’t. Too busy looking handsome I suppose. The Brothers Bloom, Rian Johnson’s follow-up to his much lauded teen-noir flick Brick was one of the secret screenings as this year’s festival.
Continue Reading "Fantastic Fest 2008: The Brothers Bloom"...
It’s been dividing audiences wherever it’s been seen and now here’s another chance to draw your own conclusions on Vinyan, the latest from Calvaire director Fabrice Du Welz: the complete opening sequence has just been put online at French film site Premiere, joing the previously released trailer and a trio of clips. Check it out at the link below.
In the current wave of Nordic horror films Roar Uthaug’s Fritt Vilt is the undisputed champion, the film whose runaway success triggered the current wave of hackers, slashers and ghost tales. And though Uthaug is not directing it himself he is following the cardinal rule of horror film by producing a sequel to his hit film and there’s no reason at all to believe that Fritt Vilt 2 won’t be every bit as successful as the first installment. The initial teaser was impressive and now there’s a full trailer available and the more I see from this the more I like. The action picks up right where the first volume left off with this one looking to up the action and violence quotients by a good amount.
Check out the trailer and the initial teaser below the break.
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For a nation with an animation history as rich and diverse as Russia’s the nation has produced very little of interest in the animated world in the past few years but that changes with the arrival of Fedot the Hunter. Based on Russian folk legends this looks to use an animation style very similar to that used in Michel Ocelot’s Azur and Asmar, though the character designs are obviously quite different and Fedot opts for a much higher energy approach to story telling. Richly detailed and loaded with gorgeous artwork, this one looks absolutely fantastic. Check both trailers and an early reel of footage in the Twitch Player below the break.
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The latest Danish director to join the wave of noir-oriented titles currently coming out of the Nordic nation? Dogme co-founder Kristian Levring, who joins the party with Fear Me Not. Fresh off of its appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival a trailer has just arrived for the film and - just like the rest of the recent Danish noirs - this is looking exceptional.
When Michael hears about a clinical trial for a new anti-depressant, he signs up on a whim. Unfortunately, the pills turn out to have serious side effects and the trial is abandoned. Michael refuses to give up his new-found sense of calm and self control which the pills have provided, so he decides to continue the experiment on his own. Intoxicated by his immediate success, Michael feels an urge to take control of other people’s lives as well. Slowly, his psychological games grow more drastic, until he makes a discovery which forces him to view his actions in a terrifying new light.
Noir seems to suit the Danish sensibility perfectly and this one comes from one of the nation’s very best. Check the trailer in the Twitch Player below the break.
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I’ve said many times in the past that I think the sword and sorcery film is about the hardest genre there is to pull off believably - one small mis-step on any number of points and the whole thing just falls apart. Slightly easier, but still pretty damn tough, is the straight up sword film, a factor that has led to the virtual end of the genre, though it now seems to be making a comeback. There are the Arn crusader films coming out of Scandanavia, a big period epic in the works in Spain, and now medieval teen adventure De Brief Voor De Koning out of the Netherlands.
Thiuri is nearly a knight. He only has to complete one test and he will be knighted. He only has to wake one night in the chapel without talking and without opening the door. Then someone knocks at the door of the chapel and asks for help. Risking his knighthood Tiuri opens the door and helps the guy asking for help. Tiuri has to deliver a letter to a knight in the forest which contains an important message for a befriended king. When Tiuri finds the knight, the knight is deadly wounded and asks Tiuri to deliver the letter. Tiuri hesitates, but accepts the mission. The adventure begins....
Period detail is very nice on this and the action quotient looks surprisingly high for a teen oriented film ... check it out in the Twitch Player below the break.
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The film scene in Turkey is expanding so quickly it’s just scary. Turkish arthouse film has been carving out a solid reputation for a few years now thanks to the likes of Akin and Ceylan but Turkey - notoriously - produces more than its share of pulp as well. And the undisputed champion of populist film? Without a doubt it’s hugely popular comedian Cem Yilmaz who had a massive international hit with his Mel Brooks style scifi comedy G.O.R.A. a few years back. And now Yilmaz is back with A.R.O.G., a sequel to his earlier film that inverts the entire premise. No future space battles for his hero this time out, no - this time they’re going back in time and the results look hilarious.
We posted a three minute sequence from the film a while back and now a quarter of teasers from the picture have arrived. Check them all out below the break!
Continue Reading "T-Rex and Cave Men and Yeti, Oh My! Four Teasers For Cem Yilmaz’s A.R.O.G.!"...
