by Takis Garis (@takisgaris)
The #TIFF13 Connection: Take 4
Sometimes it just happens so the hors d’oevre ends up the best dish served overall. A crowd-delight, a tiny flimsy confection Philomena was for my quality- starving palate. Stephen Frears , helmer of numerous brilliant titles such as Dangerous Liaisons, Grifters and the late hugely successful The Queen, served me up this “human interest” real drama of a deviant nun (title’s Philomena) in the Irish swinging 50s who lost chastity to subsequently deliver baby out of wedlock, which meant adoption by fellow Catholics living in U.S. Another 50 years later, Philomena connects with Martin Sixsmith (co-star, writer and co-producer Steve Coogan), a cynic atheist- has been - BBC journalist - turned - Russian history writer. She wants him to help her find her lost son, born Michael. He wants a hit story to bounce back from obscurity. Their odd relationship is hilarious and dramatic in turns. Frears is a gracious suspense builder and know when to wear his heart on a sleeve, aided by terrific performances, especially by Dame Judi Dench, who is bound to receive showers of end-of-year awards recognition. Classy tearjerker, it’s not the Queen, yet worthy of multiple viewings.
R100, fourth film by Japanese TV comic sensation Hitoshi Matsumoto came next. Felt like a good warm up before diving into the filthy, sadistic world of South Korean Master Kim Ki Duk. R100 is a movie within a movie, based upon the ultra kinky premise of a fifty year old bed salesman (Matsumoto himself starring), father of a little boy, living with his father in law while his wife stays comatose at the hospital, who decides to obtain membership of Bondage, an S&M club that provides 24/7 service, meaning out of the blue sadomasochistic acts performed by multi-talented mistresses, in the weirdest places. Hence poor Hitoshi starts getting beaten up, scorned, humiliated in presence of his colleagues and eventually family, when finally he decides to cancel his membership, although it’s now too late to withdraw. There are several mildly amusing scenes of campy extravaganza behind of which there’s a pretty straightforward social commentary on hapless, hard-working, duty-slavish Japanese middle class.
Moebius, the latest shock fest by legendary provo-ca(u)teur Kim Ki Duk, was the talk of Venice a week ago, certainly for a reason. Following Pieta, the killer “incestuous” relationship between a thug and his “mother” (I never came to terms how this obsessive film snatched the Golden Lion from The Master), Moebius is probably named after the famous mathematician and astronomer of the 19th century, so the title might suggest that there is a hidden mathematical formula of shorts mainly between a family trio (mother-father-teenage boy) sexual exchanges, which include repetitive acts of castration, rape, abuse and incest (of course). All these in silent mode without a musical score or dramatization, in order to give it a sense of painful realism. On the one hand Kim is to be commended for being bold and uncompromising in his Freudian underpinnings. On the other his films have become virtually insufferable even by the most bona fide cinephile standards. There is a fine line between art and trash and he’s constantly flirting with the latter.
Moebius, the latest shock fest by legendary provo-ca(u)teur Kim Ki Duk, was the talk of Venice a week ago, certainly for a reason. Following Pieta, the killer “incestuous” relationship between a thug and his “mother” (I never came to terms how this obsessive film snatched the Golden Lion from The Master), Moebius is probably named after the famous mathematician and astronomer of the 19th century, so the title might suggest that there is a hidden mathematical formula of shorts mainly between a family trio (mother-father-teenage boy) sexual exchanges, which include repetitive acts of castration, rape, abuse and incest (of course). All these in silent mode without a musical score or dramatization, in order to give it a sense of painful realism. On the one hand Kim is to be commended for being bold and uncompromising in his Freudian underpinnings. On the other his films have become virtually insufferable even by the most bona fide cinephile standards. There is a fine line between art and trash and he’s constantly flirting with the latter.
With utmost pleasure I visited my first Greek feature film at TIFF13, The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas by newcomer Elina Psykoy, a crowd funding project which reflects, in and out of the story, how fundamentally wrong things have gone from Greece ever since its Eurozone entry back in 2001. Paraskevas is a TV persona fallen out of grace who stages his own abduction, finds refuge in a reclusive hotel (poorly lent from Kubrick’s The Shining) and wonders around before it’s finally…showtime. The depressed hero opts to start hovering in the countryside by the third definitive act, and that’s exactly where the film loses focus and interest in general. Accordingly, what could signify a kick start for another representative of new weird wave of Greek cinema falls finally flat on its feet, only leaving promises for a more coherent sophomore effort.
Metallica Through The Never is a greatly anticipated heavy metal documentary by the myriads of sworn devotees of the likes I saw flocking many squares out and around of the Scotia Bank Theater for the show, as I was happily exiting the building after an all-in-all satisfying 1.5 hour. LA based Hungarian director Nimrod Antal (Predators. Kontrol) is competent enough to pull this off, despite his contriving narrative choice to inject several needless skits with evidently a Metallica fan (The Place Beyond The Pines young actor Dane DeHaan) fighting with police squads and radicals alike in order to reach the arena where the concert is taking place. Perhaps a Pink Floyd’s The Wall homage was premeditated, however Terminator 2 somehow sprang in my mind instead. Metallica Through The Never is a guaranteed high octane rock concert, from Kill’EmAll and Justice for All to Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman. Lars Ulrich and Co is in itself sufficient justification to draw enthusiastic crowds and this IMAX 3D production amply compensates specially those who haven’t had the experience to watch them play live.
gaRis
