The Vancouver International Film Festival is over, and it is time to reap the benefits. The festival sifts through 377 film screenings to deliver the favorites for the rest of the year, no more nippy October rush lines required. Screen the best of VIFF at the Vancity Theater in luxurious seating at student prices. Film judgment is hardly necessary, only the most redeeming films continue playing in Vancouver.
The festival is an opportunity to showcase unique films the majority of society does not reserve patience for. The appeal of an artistic direction may be at the expense of the audience understanding.
Festival Follies unlikely to be seen again:
Sea Point Days
If you speak Swahili this is not a terrible film, however, the rest of us endured 1/2 of a non-subtitled film. This had half the audience feeling cultured while the rest grumbled through the beautiful scenic representation of Sea Point, Cape Town. Sea Point Days would have made a better postcard.
Where Are You?
This Japanese film begins with 5 minutes of a subtitled song and a blank screen; it did not pick up pace from there. Boredom had me resenting the destitute starving boy with a dying mother. I am sure that was not the director’s intention, maybe I am just insensitive.
The Agony and Ecstasy of Phil Spector
A heinous man commits murder and proceeds with a documentary film crew. The production strokes Spector’s ego as a music producer while mocking his eccentricities. Phil Spector took the life of Lana Clarkson and continues to rob people of their time in this loathsome autobiography.
Festival hits to look for at Vancity:
Unmade Beds
A love tangle between three immigrants living escapist party lives in London. Dealing with life’s turmoil to the beat of a memorable UK soundtrack, they find salvage in intimacy and friendship with one another. The characters are easily relatable, providing unique insight into their atypical endeavors.
Cooper’s Camera
The Cooper’s 1983 Christmas is a complication of uncomfortable holiday moments from a home video perspective. The belligerent grandmother hits a nostalgic note during the non-stop laughter of an empathetic audience. Staring The Colbert Report’s Samantha Bee, Cooper’s Camera is a Christmas must have.
Boy Interrupted
It was not a surprise when 15 year old Evan took his life through his bedroom window. His blatant obsession with dying began in preschool and by age 10 he wrote and starred in a school play about suicide. Boy Interrupted is insights the complex tragedy that was more than a momentary lapse in judgment.
The Jazz Baroness
A privileged Rockefeller abandons her family for the 1960’s jazz scene in New York. This BBC film documents the love story of the British Baroness giving up everything to be with Jazz legend Thelonious Monk. Every glamorous note of cigarettes and whisky is portrayed to a soulful soundtrack.
Festival fanatics are exhausted from the 16 day event, and despite the blustery economy VIFF 2009 was as successful as always. The end of the festival means those below average height can cease worrying about theaters reaching maximum capacity, making subtitled films like dodging trees. Also, the temporary social acceptance of bringing picnics into the theater has been lifted. Irritating noisy wrappers no longer state “I am a festival die hard with no other time to eat.”
The Cavalier, October 2009
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