September 5 to October 5

September 5:
The Farewell
Korean Film Festival

September 12:
Animals
Freaks

September 19:
Italian Film Festival - 3 films reviewed

September 26:
Buoyancy

I'm early this week as I am taking a (hopefully) well-deserved break from the movies.  I leave you with a few morsels to keep you going. Check out the Italian FF in advance to be ahead of the game, and my pick for the forthcoming weeks is definitely Buoyancy. Obviously much, much more is releasing in this time span and I hope to make a mammoth effort to catch up and fill you in upon my return to the coal-face. Among others releasing are: Downton Abbey, Halston, Birds of Passage and more. 

The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Length: 98 min

© Roadshow - a family tries to hide the 
truth of Grandma's illness. 

Billi (Awkafina) is a young Chinese American, living in the USA and in regular contact with her beloved grandmother, Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao). When Nai Nai is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the family use the forthcoming wedding of a grandson as an excuse to gather in China for a farewell. But they also agree that Nai Nai will not be informed of her impending demise. How the family copes with this, and the stark differences between Western and Eastern ways of dealing with illness and death, is the theme of this endearing film. I'm not a huge fan of Awkafina; to me she should be "awkward-fina"; her uneasy presence bothers me, maybe because she seldom changes facial expression from one of hang-dog down in the dumps. (Note: most other reviewers love her - I'm completely out of step here). But overall, this is a film with universal themes - family, love, and how we choose to show (or not show) our emotions, and as such it has relevance and charm, mostly created by the stand-out performance of Zhou as a most lovable and pragmatic grandma. General critical acclaim has been off the charts, so I'm obviously the odd gal out here - again.
3.5 - well recommended!

Korean Film Festival
September 5-12, Melbourne
For other states, times, program and ticketing visit www.koffia.com.au

The Korean Film Festival returns for its 10th year. For those who missed the Cannes Palme D'or winner for 2019, the brilliant Parasite (reviewed by me on July 7) there is a chance to catch up with it. Meanwhile I highly recommend another fine film I've had the opportunity to preview:
Another Child: This is a surprisingly powerful story of two schoolgirls who become enemies when they learn that the mother of one is having an affair with the dad of the other. To make matters worse, the mother is pregnant. The dynamics of every relationship in this film feel so authentic. Dialogue is strong, characters' motivations easily related to, and generally the level of emotional engagement is compelling. And what an ending!!

In my absence . . .

September 12
Animals
Director: Sophie Hyde
Length: 109 min

© A smart story of female friendship, with wit
and plenty of fun

Aspiring writer Laura (Holliday Grainger) and sassy Tyler (Alia Shawkat) are inseparable best friends, sharing a flat in Dublin. They indulge in witty intellectual bantering and party hard with drugs and casual sex. When Laura meets classical pianist Jim (Fra Fee) the women's friendship is threatened, and Laura is suddenly faced with serious decisions - whether to change from the hedonistic adolescent lifestyle she's been leading, into a more mature, conservative mode of behaviour, which will of necessity jeopardise her relationship with Tyler. This clever film takes a fresh approach to a fairly well-worn subject. The women are open and strong characters, opposed to traditional female roles, yet both somewhat traumatised about approaching 30. Grainger and Shawkat feel highly credible together and are a lot of fun to watch. It's lovely that there is no judgmentalism towards any of the characters. They all just exist - struggling with their lives and choices, foibles and desires. Still it's nice to see both men and women being equally jerks and engendering both our sympathy and scorn.
3.5 - well recommended!

Freaks
Director: Lulu Wang
Length: 98 min

© Icon - a mysterious mish-mash of outsiders,
superheroes, abnormal folk and paranoia.

Seven year old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) is kept under lock and key by her father (Emile Hirsch). He warns her never to go outside, not even to look out the window. One day Chloe spies an ice-cream truck outside the window and escapes. She meets Mr Snowcone (Bruce Dern), and her life is transformed. Billed as a psychological thriller/horror, this film really confounded me. I initially thought I'm watching a simple story of a paranoid Dad, but gradually things reveal themselves - think "abnormal" people who bleed from the eyes (and are known as Freaks), folks with superpowers of telekinesis and thought control, possible government experiments, and more. I must confess I wasn't totally clear what was going on here. Maybe because I'm not really so au fait with all the elements woven here, or maybe because it's just somewhat confusing. My recommendation stems largely from the fine acting, rather than the tricky plot. 
3 - recommended!

September 19
Italian Film Festival
Melbourne 19 Sept - 16 Oct
Palace Como, Kino, Balwyn, Bay, Westgarth, Astor
For other states, ticketing, session times visit: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au

One of Australia's favourite festivals returns with plenty of excellent offerings, including the premiere of Ron Howard's much anticipated biopic Pavarotti.  And, as usual, lucky me has seen a few. Time to get organised as to what you will book to see, well in advance. 

Fiore Gemello (Twin Flower): Anna (Anastasia Bogach) has seen her father murdered, and now the man responsible is pursuing her. When she meets illegal African refugee Basim (Kallil Kone), the pair team up - him to protect her, and for mutual companionship, while keeping out of harm's way. The lead actors are the backbone of this film; they have a fragility and a strength that is nuanced. Their developing relationship is instinctual, as the traumatised Anna refuses to speak. The film reveals slowly why why of Anna's situation, and a gripping tension builds as a great counterpoint to the delicacy of the youngsters' friendship. Despite the grim settings, there is beauty in the film's humanity. 

The Vice of Hope: A much-awarded film. Set in Castel Volturno, north of Napoli, here is another grim drama dealing with the seedy side of Italian life. This time it's young women, many African, being kept as prostitutes, and the side-line - the sale of their babies as soon as they give birth. The central character is Maria (Pina Turco), who has suffered in her young life, finds herself pregnant and unwilling to remain  in her "job". This is a hugely confronting film, dark, sad but in a way strangely beautiful, with odd glimpses of compassion and humanity shining through. The soundtrack is noticeably splendid, and despite the depressingness of it all, I found myself completely drawn in. 


Banghla: This award-winning comedy is about a young man Phaim who, despite being Italian born, is always mistaken for being Bangladeshi. It is based upon the director's life and he in fact plays the lead. When Phaim falls for an outspoken Italian gal, Asia, trouble is guaranteed. There is something awkward about the lead character; he doesn't totally ring true, and of course the usual conflict of cultural values looms large in the plot. But it's a bit of light-weight fun, that will no doubt appeal to lovers of Italian comedy (which has never been me - give me the grit and sadness any day - they do it so well!)

September 26
Buoyancy
Director: Rod Rathjen
Length: 92 min

© Umbrella - a riveting film of slavery and 
exploitation

Winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Buoyancy is the story of Chakra (Sarm Heng), a 14-year-old Cambodian boy who is sick of working in the rice paddies and leaves home optimistically to seek work in Thailand. He is whisked away to work on a fishing trawler, where he and the other workers are literal slaves to a ruthless and cruel captain. (Rom Ran is amazing in this role.) Living under extreme privation, Chakra and the other enslaved workers are always a hair's breadth away from death. This brilliant and confronting film is inspired by the real-life tragedy of workers in the south-east Asian trawling industry. It is an important eye-opening insight into the modern slave trade, which, according to the film, affects more than 200,000 boys and men. Since the south-east Asian industry supplies 40% of the world's seafood, it makes one rethink just which prawns and other seafood we should be buying to be ethical in our choice.
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended!