47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as seen by yours truly
Part 2: Film Recommendations
Although The Hunt was my absolute favorite – as you may have guessed based on my last post – I did see other great films. What were those exactly? Well, read on, you’re in for a treat! (Not necessarily for reading this post, but most definitely if you find a way to see these movies.)
Absolutely enthralling. I loved this film and, mind you, I’m not usually one for magic realism. But the fierce little kid Hushpuppy and her story completely grabbed me. So I guess I’m a fan of magic realism, if it’s done right. Despite your current opinion of magic realism, you should go see this movie – you might really like it. This film offers a great cinematic experience. The lead actress delivers an amazing, raw performance. The film masterfully balances its portrayal of this family’s life: it shows the extremely poor conditions in which they live without playing it for the cheap emotions. While I felt sorry for them at one level, the film also showed me their great strength, resourcefulness, and pride, which made me truly admire them. This film’s heroes are proud people who love and enjoy life, and who can take care of themselves and wouldn’t have it any other way.
A great portrayal of a romantic relationship and its destruction by drug abuse. Oh yeah, it’s a gay relationship. Does it matter? Not really. I mean, I love that there are movies where the fact that it’s about two men in love doesn’t matter, because it is about the relationship (yes, I realize this is not the first film to do this, but I still think it’s a great thing, and this movie does it exceptionally well). This story could’ve just as easily happened to a straight couple – and by that I mean that a version of it has happened to many couples, gay and straight. The two well-developed and interesting main characters go through emotions and motions that inherently go with being in love and with the drug problem that they encounter. It’s a heartbreaking, yet hopeful, honest story of love told with light but steady hand of a good filmmaker.
A really great family drama, flavored with political ideologies and the climate in Iran versus that in France/the West. It is a story of a western intellectual from Iran, who returns to his home country after 22 years abroad to teach a semester at a local university. The disturbing state of both his family and country fully hits him when he is about to go back to France. The script tells its difficult story in nuances that are adequate for the culture and situation: his family doesn’t talk openly around the protagonist, the university administration deceives him, etc. The filmmakers have managed to keep the story understandable and accessible despite these subtleties, and they deliver a great treat. Nothing too inventive but an interesting, thoughtful, and engaging film that gets to you.
A bizarre and intriguing film. Ecstatically entertaining to say the least. I also found it to be a fascinating symbol for our voyeuristic culture that just cannot help but watch whatever is violent, disturbing, or engrossing. That goes for the film as a whole. The little episodes that its bulk is composed of each attack or mock one specific attribute of this society of ours. It is a very weird film. It is also very noteworthy, and while you may find it disgusting, it will keep your attention, its violence and grossness will enthrall you – see what I did there?
Good old-fashioned filmmaking at work on this understated, poignant drama. The story – a young East German doctor who’s trying to move to the promised land of West Germany, to her lover, and gets stuck in a small East German town – may not be the most original, but the execution is great. The cine works really well, although not innovative in any way – just really well done. The actors bring their characters alive, put emphasis in the right places, which is crucial, given the film’s subtlety. This is a film driven by a character’s inner struggle that actually works!
Directed by Cristian Mungiu (yes, the 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days guy), this very long, and for most of its duration also very subtle drama tells a story of two girls meeting years after they both left the orphanage they grew up in as best friends forever. One of them has settled as a nun in a strict, backward convent, the other one is in a difficult situation and needs to find her place in the world as well as a place to live and a way of supporting herself. Her assumptions about her friends’s views and a complete lack of understanding of her situation trap them both in a really difficult position….. The dramatic events at the film’s end can hardly be described as subtle, but the film’s message – or central question, rather – is exactly that. This thought-provoking film kept my attention for 152 minutes, so I dare say it deserves yours, too.
Full of gentle humor, Wrinkles is a poignant look at the sadness of old age. This old-school-animated film follows the life at an old folk’s home, showing the small, private tragedy and irony of the many moments we see its heroes struggle with the difficulties old age brings. What I really appreciate about this film is that while it shows the trouble of the old age with deep empathy, it does not judge its heroes’ offspring for putting them in the home. It shows their situation with understanding – it may be very difficult to take care of an aging relative, and they have their own lives to worry about. As I said, lovely and poignant.
Danish bodybuilder travels to Thailand looking for a bride that will love him – a very unwise move considering what the bride business in Thailand works like – yet finds love in the end. Yes, not the most inventive or original plot you’ve ever heard. But this film works. With gentle humor and good music, but most importantly deep, human understanding for its characters, it will win you over and make you root for the aging body builder. It is an age-old, conventional story and it relies on age-old, conventional filmmaking. Next to all the films that try to be inventive and put form before function, it is actually rather nice and refreshing to see this done, and to see it done right. This film will warm your heart, even if just a little bit.
(Side note: I saw this film the same day as Paradise, a huge festival hit about older German women traveling to Kenya for the young and poor local beauties, thus earning the nickname “sugar mamas.” Both films explore the emotional emptiness of sex tourism, and while both their protagonists are looking for is real love, I found Teddy Bear to be better in showing the emotions and desires of its lead. Paradise, on the other hand, merely shows the rich European woman’s journey to getting it on with young Africans, and while it was made in an unconventional way, and there are many great things to be said for it, it really doesn’t go beyond describing a phenomenon.)
A 1999 film shown in Tribute to Reha Erdem. Really fast-paced movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tells the story of a hardworking family man, who suddenly gets very rich by an accident. He is afraid that he might be discovered, but at the same time cannot resist spending the money on things he would have never even thought of as his old frugal self. The film makes some great points about what money can do to people, and it manages to transform this abstract idea into an engaging thriller full of great moments.
This István Szabó helmed film is the one that played to honor Helen Mirren when she received her life achievement award at the festival, and it truly showcases her craft. The actress, famous for portraying British monarchs, plays a whimsical (not in the fun sense) and mysterious old lady, who lives in a shack with her beloved cat, and makes money by sweeping the street and cleaning the houses of the rich. With reportedly zero make-up on, Mirren is the film’s greatest asset, as she lures the audience in, makes them wonder, keeps them on the edge of their seat: who is this person, what’s her story? The otherwise conventional film features several highly stylized and visually striking sequences; it has a great, captivating atmosphere, but it is Mirren’s performance that drives it forward. While I was disappointed in the film’s very ending, I did find this movie remarkable – mostly thanks to her.
Em Solarova 