So, as I've probably mentioned in the last three consecutive posts, I've been seeing some films as part of the BFI London Film Festival. If it's okay by you, I thought I'd just give them a bit of a shake-down and then be on my merry way.
Yes, this is last years poster, but it is sooooo much better than the concept this year. Oh look, it's a magic red carpet all over London, except you'll only see it in real life for the big films at Leicester Square. No red carpet for the Curzons or the Ritzy.
Karen Cries on the Bus: I saw this a year to the day that I saw my first film at the last London Film Festival. I was a tad worried because last year, my opener wasn't very good and this film had hit most of the ticks to be a disaster. No recognisable names involved, no buzz (good or bad), a tenuous link to an influential piece of literature. I'm very pleased to report that this was a perfectly fine film; breezy and enjoyable. The story revolves around the titular Karen who, after a lengthy marriage has robbed her of her youth, escapes her husband. There's a passing reference to Ibsen's A Doll House, which leads us to believe that Karen is escaping an oppressive patriarchal homelife, but things are that clear cut. That last statement isn't meant to suggest any form of intrigue, as plot wise, there's not a great deal going on. Instead, I mean that Karen is no saint, though she can be caring and kindly. Her ex-husband is definitely no monster, but is inattentive This film does a great job of portraying people as people, it is well acted and the story quite engaging until the last 10 minutes. I am very eager to see what the first time director Gabriel Rojas Vera does from here. With the right material, he could emerge with a cross-over hit.
Last Screening: The first of the two French films that I viewed this year. For some reason, I see a lot of French films as part of this festival. I've totalled 4.5 (one was French Canadian) out of 10 over the two years. This is probably ranking 3rd on that list, but there's still work to be done. For a dark giallo-inspired work, there's a surprising amount of humour, but it seems lacking in most other regards. The central performance is as sharp as a disaffected loner with few lines can be and there's certainly a fair few dark chuckles. Recommended with a few drinks and friends who are well versed in horror.
The Future: I think I've earned major "bro" points for life after getting tickets for this. Like Last Screening, I went with my favourite font of film criticism, Jonny Hatfull. He's a huge Miranda July fan. Due to my lack of a BFI membership, we had to wait until the screening was open to regular people like us lot. Thus, not many seats left. In fact, our two seats were pretty much the last two together. Now, you may think me odd, but I quite like sitting close to the screen. I'm not adverse to sitting in the front row of a cinema, unless it's IMAX of course. However, I know many people do have issues with such proximity, so I booked them expecting some sort of "oh, shame they're so close" comment. Anyway, we found ourselves front row, direct centre at the West End Vue, Screen 5, mere feet away from Miranda July presenting a Q&A session on her wonderful new film The Future. I haven't seen her previous effort Me and You and Everyone We Know, but I shall definitely be seeking it out now.
The Screen Illusion: I knew very little about this going in. In fact, like a couple of these other films, my method of selection is adequately described by a conversation I overheard featuring a couple sat next to me:
'Why are we seeing this one again?'
'Because it was on at day and time we could go to. Because it wasn't sold out. Because it has Mathieu Amalric in it.'
Okay, now that last point is not true of any of the other films I saw. In fact, it's not true of this one either. He directed it as far as I can tell. And it's very good in an Ethan Hawke Hamlet kind of way. Although I didn't know it at the time, it is an update of L'Illusion Comique - a 17th Century play by Pierre Corneille. Not being a French speaker, I did spend a while wondering why the subtitles were translated in such a flowery manner. Soon I was noticing rhyming couplets fairly often and from then on it was easy to spot certain "this is an old play in modern times" conventions. Still, a very entertaining way to spend a Sunday morning. I must confess though, I did miss chunks of the film. I've not been feeling too great and I've got a bit of a cough at the minute. I was so conscious of bothering people, I was too busy biting down on my knuckles in an attempt to fight back the tickle in my throat.
Silver Bullets: My first Joe Swanberg (hmm, maybe I could write children's books about directors that they really shouldn't be watching until early adulthood - my first Jodorowsky anyone?). I really didn't think it would be as cohesive or as fun as that. After a little video introduction (bless, he was so polite - I'm compelled to email him now), the film cracked on fairly sharply. The plot involves an actress dating a small-time director of arty films. She starts working on a more successful director's werewolf film. Tensions rise. Now, in another director's hands, I would have loved to see the romance of studio lots, location shooting, but in line with Joe Swanberg's aesthetics, everything is very lo-fi, including an entertaining sequence with Ti West (playing the horror director) and the story of his first movie and its props. There are some very powerful moments in this, a couple of others are more confounding, but such is the nature of lower budget films. They have to take more risks with cognitive narrative.
Footnotes: Okay, I haven't seen this one yet. I'll be watching it tomorrow night, but I really wanted to get this post out there. I must admit to feeling a tad reflective and melancholic so I'm trying to be prolific. Expect some pretentious short stories soon.
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Other Musings:
For those interested, my ranking of films I've seen at the BFI London Film Fest is as follows:
1) Heartbeats
2) The Future
3) Silver Bullets
4) Elisa K
5) The Screen Illusion
6) Karen Cries on the Bus
7) Love Like Poision
8) Last Screening
9) Special Treatment
And from this list you can deduce my ranking of French films.
Next week is looking incredibly hectic. Thursday night, I'll be on a train heading back to the Wirral, then Friday lunch time, I'll be driving up with my Mum to Cumbria to visit my brother (he's on a medical placement there). Sunday driving back down, Monday at home, Tuesday morning on a train back to London in time for work. Then I'll have my Auntie, Uncle and lovely cousin Amelie (she's six years old and quite the madam) going on holiday in London and I'll go do some touristy things with them after work. Definitely looking forward to it though!
The week after all the tourist stuff goes down, I'll be on a two day conference in a hotel in Kensington as part of my actuarial exams. Expect me to be in the bar with a nice whisky at some point.
Other films I've caught up with recently: Midnight in Paris & Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The latter actual inspired me to buy a briefcase. The former inspired me to call people old sport, hold certain truths in my writing, wish that I could be a surreal as Man Ray and generally sigh a lot.
With Halloween fast approaching and all this talk of River Phoenix's last film finally seeing the light of day, I feel compelled to post this song. Ignore the bizarre fan nature of the video.
