September 8:
9am – Beauty (4.7) – “again, questionable representation of gays; if film’s abt yearning for youth, why show Francois’ circle in such seedy light?”
12pm – Pina (6.3) – “I wish this experiment were a bit more Bausch-specific (i.e. another quality choreographer would’ve worked just as well), and I hated the interjecting non-insights into her life and work by the dancers, but it served to make the dancing all-the-more abstract.”
6pm – Into the Abyss (6.6) – “Herzog has way of making an iPhone image of a fetus or calluses on a hand resound like modern hieroglyphics.” unfortunately, a very ugly film, clearly made for easy TV transition.
10:15pm – Historias Que So Existem Quando Lembradas (5.6) – “Seduces as a quasi-ghost story in which everyone is clearly living; otherwizzze…” …it’s a bit familiar, and ‘deliberately paced’ for the sake of it. Chiaroscuro FTW!
September 9:
10:45am – Whore’s Glory (6.5) – “perhaps best-looking Digital doc ever, esp. Der Fishtank’s neon playground; Coco Rosie nice, but overused; lengthy. Sympathies clearly lie w/women, but the La Zona third wipes out much of its reserved distance & made me view project in very different light.”
1:30pm – Twilight Portrait (4.0) – “By the end of TIFF I doubt I’ll be able to make eye contact with women; God love’em for putting up w/all that rape.”
4:30am – Fable of the Fish (4.9) – “pure ridiculousness; terrible filmmaking, but, they baptized a fish with a straight face, so points for commitment.”
6:45pm – Goodbye First Love (7.0) – “The compression of movie time makes the leap from 2000 to now-ish much more affecting than it probably should be. I’m still crushed enough from Camille’s sadness in 2000 that I want her to get her man, even if she’d have been over it 10 years later. Camille & Sullivan have amazing chemistry for a couple we meet in the throes of departure. Credit to Hansen-Løve for really getting youth’s ideal projections.”
9:15pm – Wavelengths 1: Analogue Arcadia (no feature films) – For now, just a general order of preference: 1. Loutra Baths 2. 99 Clerkenwell Road 3. Edwin Parker 4. Sack Barrow 5. American Colour 6. Ars Colonia 7. Empire
September 10:
12:30pm – Faust (5.0, or rather, ??.?) – “one of the most mixed bags I’ve seen in ages; it only really started clicking for me when Humonculous showed up.”
3:15pm – House of Tolerance (8.4) – “old lady sitting next to me, about 15 min. before the end, to her husband: ‘The dog’s gonna eat him.'”
6:30pm – Wavelengths 2: Twenty Cigarettes (6.1) – “most cerebral Benning film I’ve seen; or rather, the only one to not work my viscera in some capacity; strong anyway.”
9:15pm – Wavelengths 3: Serial Rhythms – really liked Bouquets and Preface to Red. Sailboat is hilarious, and everybody still has no idea how T. Marie makes her images.
September 11:
9:15am – Almayer’s Folly (Inc.) – napped through at least 1/4 of it; can tell it’s good stuff, though, so will try again on Thursday I think.”
12:15pm – Damsels in Distress (6.7) – “worried at the outset, as it felt almost parodic of Stillman’s charactrs & style, but saved by typical keenness. Never realized how much of a doppleganger Gerwig is for Sevigny until now; Stillman definitely has a ‘type’.”
7:00pm – Wavelengths 4: Space is the Place – Not considering Coorow-Latham Road, I’d put them in this order from best to worst: Black Mirror at the National Gallery, 349 (for Sol Lewitt), Space is the Place, Untitled, Young Pines.
9:30pm – Wavelengths 5: The Return/Aberration of Light – Another beautiful Dorsky. Aberration of Light disappointing in the end. I’d basically have the same criticisms for it as I have with American Colour, actually.
September 12:
11:30am – The Cardboard Village (4.3) – “Knew I was in trouble when Immigrant X unpacks her cache of dynamite, guards it like it’s her Snickers stash. And when will Italy learn how to properly dub a film?!”
3:00pm – Low Life (6.6) – “On strictly cinematic terms, it sits next to Bonello as my favorite of the year; my attention ebbs & flows re: its content, though. The inky darks in the digital image, dubstep-ish score, and moments of just plain strangeness make the overall experience quite sublime.”
6:15pm – The Student (3.4) – “Not necessarily bad, but if I were to make a Top 20 list of things I value in cinema, 0 of them could be found in this film.”
9:30pm – Bonsái (4.2) – Boring.
September 13:
9:00am – The Loneliest Planet (7.2) – “Extremely elegant depiction of survival instincts and an apocalypse of the learned instincts of companionship. Blasé moments of potential depravity in 1st half kept me on edge until *the* event revealed its theme, which is a bit oversold. Chapter-dividing establishing shots evoked Kiarostami’s minimal zig zags, as well as Meek Cutoff’s excursions through the arid desert. And I imagine that Loktev was intentionally nodding to Glass’s Einstein in the Beach with the Chimpanzee handstands and ‘Bitch on the Beach’, but, it kind of feels a bit too spare, and Bernal is flat as usual. Another, better actor could have really made this movie hit hard. That opening shot was horrifying; I have no idea what in the world it was about. The following 45min. quiver from its power.” After a bit of reflecting on this got me choked up, I was tempted to bump up the rating to 7.8, but I’ll just wait until the next time I see it to adjust that. Regardless, great movie.
12:30pm – Wuthering Heights (3.0) – “Utter hackery without a single moment that felt at all genuine. What a way for UKFC to go out.”
4:00pm – Land of Oblivion (5.8) – “Two very different halves, where the 2nd just gets progressively weirder, letting us feel the psychological abyss.”
7:30pm – ALPS (6.4) – “Not sure why everyone is acting like they’re in Dogtooth… those girls were awkward because they’re secluded from society, but I love the web of ideas (tabloid celebrity, role playing, grief place-holding) and how loosely they all relate to each other. Not as funny as DOGTOOTH, but not sure it’s meant to be. Could do w/o violence, which feels a bit gratuitous despite its brevity.”
September 14:
12:15pm – Crazy Horse (7.6) – “About conformity (rather than titties), and how performers & auds alike surrender their distinction to the ‘creator’. There are at least 6 knockout dance numbers, many not out of place in Clouzot’s L’INFER footage. Glorifies women while stressing their sameness. Footage of tourists flowing through Seine, shelves of bottles of champagne, both promising equal experiences of splendor for all participants, broke my heart.”
2:45pm – Killer Joe (6.0) – “Really like this stage of Friedkin’s career; doesn’t seem to give a damn about anything but most insane product possible.”
5:45pm – Chicken with Plums (3.6) – “Uses that Jeunet style I’m allergic to; bit of inspiration in its ‘creativity’, but a lot (most of it) feels hollow. Its homage to WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOME at the end made me feel absolutely nothing…so, yeah.
7:45pm – Dark Horse (4.0) – “so literally misanthropic that I worry Mr. Solondz thinks that his work up to now hasn’t been getting its point across.”
9:30pm – Nuit #1 (5.0) – “I loved everything about this except the banality of what they’re saying, and this is a talkathon.”
September 15:
9:45am – Invasion (4.5) – “Expected a lot from Borges, but this can stay in the archives.”
12:15pm – Twixt (4.6) – “Good fun before it became tired studio vampire flick. 3D 100% unnecessary (it’s only used for two scenes anyway).”
3:00pm – Love and Bruises (2.6) – “May be a masterpiece of rape.”
5:30pm – Century of Birthing (6.3) – “As with his MELANCHOLIA, dabbles in performance art, GOD, Being, filmmaking, and – ultimately – insanity. He’s still pretty bad with actors, but I consistently find myself not caring after about the 200-minute mark. Editing borders on kitsch. I’m sure you’re not supposed to say this but, his films could be shorter.”
September 16:
9:00am – That Summer (6.5) – “Seems light for Garrel, but that’s probably why it feels so good (via feeling so bad); Céline Sallette: Marry me.”
11:30am – Cut (5.7) – “really, Really committed to didactic and heavy-handed metaphor for rep cinemas’ demise via money-grubbing entertainment whores. The last 25 minutes either a dumb ode to Naderi’s own cinema tastes or an awesome, bloody takedown on all-time listmakers. I’ll go with the latter. Naderi made guerilla intro @ P&I screening, promised that if we didn’t feel something @ the end he’d cut off a finger. Keep them all, sir.”
2:30pm – A Mysterious World (6.4) – “Very pleasant; reminded me of SILVER CLIFF & Guerin (esp. SYLVIA), but remained peculiar; I’m adopting that celeb name game for my next party.”
6:15pm – The Turin Horse (7.1) – “Obviously masterful, & certain to be canonized (esp. if Tarr really does cease filmmaking), but I was never as devastated by this as I was by WERCKMEISTER’s naked old man, nor as transported as by that film’s opening bar scene. It’s a cold monolith. Petty Distractions: wind machines (only grass & bushes near camera are moving); that Vig song – I didn’t like it, nor its overuse. The only scene that really hit me was when we see tears dribbling from the horse’s eyes. But anyway, it’s still the best movie about a horse or donkey I’ve seen.”
9:30pm – Carré blanc (4.4) – “Starts out promisingly w/its abstract dystopia, cryptic love quarrels, PRIMER vibes, & Lanthimos-esque games, but it’s just a cluttered mess that’s aiming to confuse. Not tragic or thought-provoking at all – just an icy blur.
September 17:
11:45am – Back to Stay (5.8) – too ‘early Martel’ for its own good, but spats of endearing moments (most are set to music, of course) make for a sweet aftertaste.”
3:30pm – People Mountain People Sea (6.2) – “I feel like something profound happened at the end, but ‘what’ is anyone’s guess. Not knowing works, too.”
6:15pm – The Deep Blue Sea (7.3) – “Unlike his late-80s films (of which I’m not a fan), it’s perfectly nostalgic without being about nostalgia (hence sappy). Has the two best lines of the year. Not entirely convinced of Freddie’s insensitivity over the letter.”
8:30pm – Life Without Principle (5.7) – “Love the audacity of pumping so much hermeneutical stock market jargon into what is superficially a suspense thriller. Problem for me is that its role as convoluted thriller takes over and climaxes to a tidy, inevitable conclusion.”
September 18:
10:00am – Crane World (5.0) – 5.0 is pretty much my default rating signifying ‘this seems like something I would like but, on first viewing, it didn’t click.’ So that’s how I felt about this one here.
12:30pm – Fatherland (4.2) – “Closing shot aside, I just don’t think this should be in any medium other than performance art; reminded me of the essential differences between a visual essay and an essay film; this is firmly in the latter genre, and these almost never work for me. Structure evokes Benning’s durational ploys (length of shot dictated by length of text & each reader’s speed), but it ends up being inconsequential.”
3:15pm – Kill List (4.8) – “Really? That expertly crafted mystery & dread amounted to that? A genre remake of AURORA, with hints of BLAIR WITCH and dumb.”
6:30pm – Almayer’s Folly (6.3) – “I think I enjoyed this more when I slept through it than when I was wide awake; when the DVD is released, I’ll see how well it works upside down.”
9:00pm – Samsara (4.6) – “Could just as well be called ‘Andreas Gursky: The Movie.’ You just know we’re getting another one in 2030 – more chickens, more aboriginals, more life.”
Titles That Are Missing Because I Saw Them in Pre-Festival Press Screenings:
Amy George – Yonah Lewis & Calvin Thomas (6.2)
Café de Flore – Jean-Marc Vallée (5.0)
The Cat Vanishes – Carlos Sorin (6.0)
A Dangerous Method – David Cronenberg (5.5)
Doppelgänger Paul – Dylan Akio Smith & Kris Elgstrand (1.6)
Le Havre – Aki Kaurismäki (5.0)
Headhunters – Morten Tyldum (4.5)
The Ides of March – George Clooney (5.6)
Keyhole – Guy Maddin (5.9)
Lena – Christophe Van Rompaey (5.2)
Pariah – Dee Rees (5.8)
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi (7.4)
Shame – Steve McQueen (4.5)
Take This Waltz – Sarah Polley (4.8)
Think of Me – Bryan Wizemann (3.7)
388 Arletta Ave. – Randall Cole (4.1)
Titles That Are Missing Because I Already Saw Them in Cannes:
Arirang – Kim Ki-Duk (1.5)
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius (4.3)
Beloved – Christophe Honoré (4.0)
Breathing – Karl Markovics (4.9)
Dreileben – Beats Being Dead – Christian Petzold (5.7)
Dreileben – Don’t Follow Me Around – Dominik Graf (5.1)
Dreileben – One Minute of Darkness – Christoph Hochhäusler (5.6)
Drive – Nicolas Winding Refn (7.2)
Elena – Andrey Zvyagintsev (7.1)
Footnote – Joseph Cedar (2.7)
Good Bye – Mohammad Rasoulof (6.2)
Habemus Papam – Nanni Moretti (5.3)
House of Tolerance – Bertrand Bonello (8.0) [I’m seeing this at TIFF anyway, because it rules]
The Kid with a Bike – Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (6.5)
Martha Marcy May Marlene – Sean Durkin (7.4)
Melancholia – Lars von Trier (8.3)
Michael – Markus Schleinzer (5.0)
Miss Bala – Gerardo Naranjo (5.2)
Mushrooms – Vimukthi Jayasundara (5.8)
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan (7.9)
Oslo, August 31 – Joachim Trier (4.7)
The Other Side of Sleep – Rebecca Daly (2.8)
Outside Satan – Bruno Dumont (6.3)
Play – Ruben Östlund (6.9)
Porfirio – Alejandro Landes (6.4)
Restless – Gus Van Sant (4.8)
The Silver Cliff – Karim Aïnouz (6.6)
The Skin I Live In– Pedro Almodóvar (5.9)
Sleeping Beauty – Julia Leigh (5.5)
This is Not a Film – Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (6.9)
Volcano – Rúnar Rúnarsson (3.8)
We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lynne Ramsay (3.7)