Film Review: "EL CLUB"

Film Review: "El Club"
Official Submission of Chile to the 88th Academy Awards
AFIFEST 2015 Official Selection
November 2015

First this disclosure: I am a catholic and I know when my faith is being attacked, I get mad but I was taught to be more understanding and forgiving.

I had to compose myself before writing a quick review in my FB account of Pablo Larrain's Berlin-winning follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film "No" because I thought "El Club", a movie about priests with criminal pasts, was vicious, vile and offensive and I was so ready to rip it apart but I realized that it was the exact reaction the filmmaker was aiming for when he made this film and I have to respect  that because in all objectivity his film is a powerful indictment and an eye-opening expose of the apparent hypocrisy of the catholic church.

With that said, I decided to expand my review and give it a full one after I have given it much more thought.

This film is blatantly sacrilegious and it is obvious from the first moment you see the main characters train a racing dog and later engage in gambling which is forbidden by the church, specially among clergymen.

"El Club" tells the story of a group of defrocked priests exiled in a secluded villa in a remote seaside town as punishment and penance for the various sins and offenses they have committed -- their crimes range from kidnapping infants to sexually abusing kids.

They all surprisingly live in relative comfort with the town unaware of their presence or their past crimes but all that comes to a standstill one morning when a new priest is brought into town to join them. The priest is accused of the same crimes as the other tenants in the villa ran by a sweet-talking nun who has come to enjoy looking after the priests and the occasional dog racing they engage in. She considers it her "vocation".

Soon, a seemingly mentally unstable and disheveled stranger shows up at the gate looking for the new priest and starts exposing in lurid details the abuse he suffered at the hands of this priest. This disturbance will end in a tragedy that was so perfectly staged by the director. May I add here that the cinematography is brilliant!

But the tragedy only marks the beginning of what will become an odd investigation of the priests activities, their role in the tragic incident and the threat to permanently close down the villa. How the group resolve this intrusion is where I take strong issue with. The film depicts the group as a gang of criminals who would go to extreme lengths to protect their own, keep their crimes under wraps, while preaching the word of God but to try to condemn the filmmaker's interpretation of the events or to censor and dissuade others from watching this film would be tantamount to endorsing the grossly unchristian acts depicted in the film. I will not do that. Instead, i will give this film the rating it rightfully deserves even if i strongly disagree with its message of hate. I invite you all to watch it and form your own opinion about it.

Rating; 4 1/2 Stars

XXX

Raymond Lo

Film Review: "The Brand New Testament"

Film Review: "The Brand New Testament"

Official Submission of Belgium to the 88th Academy Awards

European Film Promotion Screening Series

Los Angeles, November 2015

How would you react if someone proposes that God not only exists but he actually lives in Belgium? 

That's the provocative proposition of Jaco Van Dormael in his latest film "The Brand New Testament", which tells the story of an unhappy young girl whose only escape is by envisioning a world where her father is the God who controls the world and his creations through a desktop computer inside a cavernous room in their downtown apartment. Her mother is the Goddess who loves to embroider all day, watch baseball and collect baseball cards. Her older brother is the dead JC (that's short for Jesus Christ, duh!) 

The story kicks off one day after another bad fight with her abusive dad. She decides to revolt by hacking into his computer and leaking to the world each person's death of date, prompting a comical countdown on each person's cell phone. She ventures the world and seeks out 6 new apostles to add the to the 12 to complete the 18 apostles her mother had always wanted to have. And the reason to add 6 more is so silly it will make you laugh so bad. 

This is an irreverent and fantastical film that on the surface may look like a harsh criticism of the christian faith but is actually a farcical, escapist comedy that's full of wit, sarcasm and deadpan humor. It's a compendium of stories about people who, like the girl, are in various states of loneliness and the only escape it seems is welcoming their impending deaths. The film is not about just believing in a God or a creator but in believing that, if we really want to, we can take full control of our lives and have a meaningful, bright, colorful day everyday.

The film offers wonderful performances from the cast composed of Pili Groyne, Benoit Poelvoorde, Yolande Moreau, Francois Damiens and the great Catherine Deneuve, who appears, as you'll see in the accompanying photo to this review, hilariously makes out with a gargantuan gorilla in the film.

Rating: 4 Stars

XXX

Raymond Lo

Film Review: "ZVIZDAN" (The High Sun)

Film Review: Zvizdan (The High Sun)
Official Submission of Croatia to the 88th Academy Awards
European Film Promotion Screening Series
Los Angeles, October 2015

Let me start this review by stating that this is one of the most beautiful films this writer has seen all year!

It's the kind of film that wills its audience to beg for that particular ending and when it's given, you just heave a big sigh of relief and give the movie the most rapturous applause you can give. This movie is a testament to the enduring strength of love and should be seen by as many people as possible.

"The High Sun" is a romantic drama and tells of three different love stories set in three consecutive decades. The first love story is set in 1991 between Jelena and Ivan during the first days of the war between Croatia and Serbia. This writer is only vaguely familiar with the details of the Yugoslav wars so when the two lovers are introduced as they spend a lazy summer afternoon on the banks of a lake, we are lulled into a false sense of peace with the very lyrical staging of the scenes until we see a convoy of military jeeps disturbing the tranquility of the area. Ivan is Serbian who is in love with Jelena, a Croat. Their families are against their union but they continue on believing that their love will conquer all. Their love story ends in tragedy.

The next story is set ten years later in 2001 between Natasha and Ante and set in the same village from the first story but with houses in ruins caused by the preceding war. Natasha and her mother returns to their village to reclaim their house and continue their lives after it was disrupted by the war. Her father and her brother died in the war and she still harbors strong feelings against their Serbian neighbors who she blames for their deaths. One day, her mother commissions a handyman to help them repair their house. The handyman is a Serb named Ante. They begin an uneasy relationship forged mostly by her dislike of his ethnicity. As Ante quietly goes about doing his work, Natasha starts to notice him more and she develops an attraction to him, which he mostly ignores. One day, she invites Ante to the lake and they both discover that they do like each other but the pains of the last war is putting a wall between them. We leave them with their story going nowhere.

The final story is set in 2011 between Marija and Luka. We are introduced to Luka on a road trip showing the wide expanse of the modern world trying to break away from the painful memories of the last war. We see new constructions, we see hope. Luka is on the road with his best friend. They are going to their village (same village from the first and second stories) to support one their friends who is organizing a rave party. They pick up girls on the way and everyone seems to be having a good time. But not Luka. He is mostly pensive and his thoughts seem to be far away. He seems wary, unsure of going home. He has not seen his parents after setting off for college in the city. Later, we learn the reason of Luka's behaviour: He abandoned his girlfriend Marija because she was a Croat and he was a Serb. I cannot tell you how their love story unfolds and ends but you should have learned from the preceding love stories that love, true love, endures. It may come to an end at some point for two lovers but you know it will find another lover to continue the story.

I love this movie! Super love it! It is structured masterfully with nothing, no scene, no minute wasted. All three stories are linked by the same conflict, by the same village and, astonishingly, by the same set of actors playing multiple characters across all three stories. This is a masterpiece from filmmaker Dalibor Matanic. I love how the movie is titled as well because like the high sun, love at its most pure, shines a light like no other and gives us all hope amidst conflicts and wars, amidst tragedies and estrangements, amidst death and birth.

Tihana Lazovic, Goran Markovic, Nives Ivankovic and Dado Cosic are among the actors who delivered excellent performances in this beautiful, beautiful film!

Rating: 5 superstars!!!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Film Review: "VIVA"

Film Review: "Viva"

Official Submission of Ireland to the 88th Academy Awards

European Film Promotion Screening Series

Los Angeles, October 2015

"Viva" is a poignant character study that was unfortunately hampered a bit by the introduction of a father-son dynamic to the narrative spoiling somehow the promising start of this beautiful and heartbreaking drama from Ireland that’s interestingly set in the poor slums of Havana.

Have you ever felt like your heart was being stabbed and you are breathing with extra effort because you want to cry and yet your tears are not coming out of your eyes and instead you feel like it is slowly drowning you inside and you just want to collapse and wail in immense sorrow? That’s how I felt from the very instant the film opened with a shot of a city from a distance and the entire cinema is engulfed in that sorrowful, bellowing ballad from a woman who is obviously in pain. My pain further intensified when the camera takes us inside a dimly-lit club where an aging drag queen is seen singing all her heart out and then we see from the corner a face that’s intently focused on the performer on stage. We are then introduced to Jesus and to his world, to his life. And, oh, what a tragic life, indeed! What a beautifully tragic life. A life where the struggle is not preparing for next month’s rent but for the next day’s meal, where the choices are limited to not what you are willing to do for work but how far you are willing to sell and prostitute your body and, in poor Havana, there are only two easy options it seems: to be a boxer and get your body beat up for money or to do tricks and get your body used and abused by horny men.

Aerial shots of the decaying neighborhood where our main protagonist lives adds an additional layer of forlorn to what is already a sad film. You will see the deterioration of what probably once was a bustling and vibrant city to a lifeless, joyless, poverty-laden slum. The narrative is compellingly punctuated with bursts of powerful and emotional ballads that further heightens the despair you are already carrying in your heart from the first moment the camera rested on Jesus' face. His sad eyes, which has a distinct sparkle of a small droplet of water out of a dripping faucet and makes him appear like he’s on the verge of crying anytime, longingly and forlornly watches his own life as it goes past him.

To mitigate the overwhelming despair, the narrative introduces us to several colorful characters that make up the world of Jesus. Some make us laugh with their antics including a street hustler who fakes various injuries because he thinks clients tend to be more sympathetic and generous when they see an injured hustler. There's a grandmotherly client who always pays Jesus short after he's done doing her hair. There's an aging drag queen who takes his time putting on make-up before he goes on stage. His world is alive and offers reasons to laugh but Jesus thrives in his unhappiness. He is not depressed but circumstances has made him treasure the misfortune he was born with. Oh, i am all dragging you into his miserable, beautiful life. 

Jesus is portrayed to perfection by Hector Medina and he is ably supported by Jorge Perugorria, Luis Alberto Garcia, Laura Aleman, Luis Manuel Alvarez. "Viva" was directed by Paddy Breathnach and was written by Mark O’Halloran. Benicio Del Toro is credited as Executive Producer. 

Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

XXX

Raymond Lo

Film Review: "AFERIM!"

Film Review: AFERIM!
Official submission of Romania to the 88th Academy Awards

Saw this film recently at the annual European Film Promotion screening series in Los Angeles. I loved it! It's a dark comedy about the roots of racism set in 1800s Romania or the region known before as Wallachia.

Like most films about slavery, the film is an atonement for this unforgivable sin but this one does it with biting humor that invites the audience to laugh along with every utterances of bigotry that by the time the end credits roll, you'll find yourself stuck in your seat, unable to stand, carrying the shame and the guilt for having been a party to the cruelty you just witnessed.

One will be reminded of the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained" when they watch this film but I find this film's treatment of the subject more masterful and its conclusion more resonant and powerful. The subject of racism is relevant today and will stay relevant as long as there's class discrimination and wealth inequity in every society. I love what the lead character said towards the end of the film, "We live life based on what we can and not based on what we want."

Aferim means bravo in English. Its usage in the film is designed to create a sense of irony whenever it is uttered but believe me when I say that the filmmakers, actors and craftsmen did a truly outstanding film that they deserve an Aferim! for their work.

This film won the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin earlier this year for acclaimed filmmaker Radu Jude. The cast headed by Teodor Corban and Mihai Comanoiu (they play father and son searching for a fugitive gypsy named Carfin played with superb restraint by Cuzin Toma) offer outstanding performances that will almost make you believe they did come from that period.

Aferim! will be released in New York and Los Angeles on January 22, 2016 by Big World Pictures. Watch it!

Rating: 5 glorious stars!

XXX
Raymond De Asis Lo

LAAPFF 2015: 8-Day 31st Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival kicks off April 23!

"That Thing Called Meant-to-be"

THE LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR ITS 31ST EDITION! - APRIL 23 - 30, 2015 IN DOWNTOWN LA, LITTLE TOKYO, KOREATOWN, WEST HOLLYWOOD

"That Thing Called Tadhana", the critically acclaimed and box office sensation  from promising filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone; and "Hari ng Tondo", filmmaker Carlitos Siguion Reyna's first film in 10 years, are representing the Philippines in the foremost showcase of Asian Cinema in the US!

Visual Communications (VC), the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced its program of outstanding films for the upcoming 31st edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) running April 23-30, 2015. This annual film celebration will be presented across Los Angeles from Little Tokyo to the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles to Koreatown and to West Hollywood featuring 134 films from over 20 countries.

VC proudly celebrates 31 years as Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind.  The LAAPFF launches the pre-celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 130 films from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international directors from over 20 countries.  For over three decades, the Festival has presented more than 3,700 films and shorts by Asian American and Asian international artists.  This year, a total of 134 films comprised of 32 feature films and 102 shorts will be showcased throughout the eight-day fest.

The 31st edition of the Film Festival kicks off with the World Premiere of Wong Fu Productions’ first feature film EVERYTHING BEFORE US from directors Wesley Chan, Ted Fu and Philip Wang starring Aaron Yoo (“DISTURBIA;” “21”), Brandon Soo Hoo (“ENDERS GAME;” “TROPIC THUNDER”), Brittany Ishibashi (“REVENGE OF THE BRIDESMAIDS;” “EAGLE EYE”) and introducing Victoria Park.  The film is the first feature film production to be developed and produced through the VC Film Development Fund in collaboration with Comcast.

EVERYTHING BEFORE US screens Opening Night April 23 at 7PM at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

“We are excited and proud to be opening with EVERYTHING BEFORE US,” states VC Interim Executive Director Francis Cullado.  “It is imperative for our organization to support our filmmakers and content creators by producing feature films. Through the VC Film Development Fund, we are able to work together with talented and groundbreaking creative artists such as Wong Fu Productions, one of the first successful filmmaking teams of the YouTube generation, with over 2.4 million subscribers. Funding their first feature gave us the opportunity to truly to nurture Wong Fu’s evolution to narrative feature filmmaking. This is a milestone.”

The Festival Centerpiece Presentation of the West Coast premiere of KTOWN COWBOYS from the talented Daniel Park takes us back to Los Angeles’ K-Town, home of designer hotels, noraebangs, Korean BBQ joints and more.  Park’s award winning web series by the same name is now a full length feature, and reunites that fun loving crew of young bucks trolling the bars and cafes and hangouts of LA’s Koreatown including Jason (Shane Yoon), Sunny (Sunn Wee), Peter (Peter Jae), Danny (Danny Cho) and Robby (Bobby Choy) back together again. KTOWN COWBOYS will screen Saturday, April 25 at 8PM at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

The Festival Centerpiece documentary presentation is the West Coast premiere of the award winning TWINSTERS from Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto.  TWINSTERS is the real-life story of actress Samantha Futerman and budding fashion designer Anaïs Bordier - twin sisters separated shortly after birth and respectively adopted by American and French families. Discovering their existence for the first time via social media, their unique experiences are documented through a series of video blogs, Skype conversations and real-time footage.  Every intimate moment is captured from their first meeting to the DNA test results, home visits and their first visit back to Seoul. The film explores the idea of family, adoption, nature vs, nurture, and the power of social media, ultimately redefining conventional definitions of “family.”  TWINSTERS screens Saturday April 25 at 5PM at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

Closing out this year’s celebration is the Los Angeles premiere of the acclaimed MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW from director Shonali Bose. Based loosely on the experiences of the director’s own sister, MARGARITA is a winning film with vitality and heart. Kalki Koechlin stars as Laila, a Delhi University student and aspiring writer who crafts lyrics and electronic sounds for an indie band. A wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, Laila is an adventurous soul who doesn’t let much get in the way of her life. When Laila is admitted to New York University and leaves India with her mother (Revathy) for Manhattan, she meets a fiery activist, Khanum (Sayani Gupta), who challenges her beliefs, sparks her creativity, and, eventually seduces her. Thus, she embarks on a journey of sexual discovery that threatens the relationships between her family and friends, yet offers a way to gain a measure of independence and self-worth.

“Our lineup this year of the number of Asian American filmmakers and Asian American stories is impressive,” states Festival Co-Director David Magdael.  “Our Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Night films all represent stories and directors based here in the U.S.  Asian Pacific American filmmakers make up over half of our feature film lineup and we are very excited that our own filmmakers are raising the bar in terms of creating and producing feature films that add to the American cinematic experience and to our ever growing Asian American Cinema.”

This year’s Film Festival casts its Artist Spotlight on the award winning documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong.  Dong will present a re-mastered version of his classic FORBIDDEN CITY, U.S.A. accompanied by a live performance from the film’s legendary performers.  Dong will also present the Southern California premiere of his latest film THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR which tells the dramatic story about the most recognizable survivor of the Cambodian genocide – a man who became a world ambassador justice in his homeland, only be murdered in a LA Chinatown alley – a case still muddled with conspiracy theories.  This special Spotlight program takes place on Sunday, April 26 beginning at 4:30PM with FORBIDDEN CITY, U.S.A. and then at 7:30PM with THE KILLING FIELDS OF DR. HAING S. NGOR at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

“Arthur Dong is one of our most prolific filmmakers of our time and our community,” says longtime Visual Communications staff member Abraham Ferrer. “We are proud to have Arthur bring back the classic FORBIDDEN CITY, U.S.A. and then present his latest film and discussion around the controversial case of the murder of Academy Award® winning actor Dr. Haing S. Ngor.  This will be a very exciting and eye opening session at the Festival.”

The LAAPFF is again ecstatic to present at the Festival two programs with a long and historic significance to Visual Communications: The Armed With a Camera Fellowship and Digital Histories. The Armed With a Camera Fellowship nurtures the next generation of Asian Pacific American media artists to capture their world, surrounding, and outlook on life. Past fellows have gone on to premiere award-winning feature films as well as building a career in television. These short films will be a part of the crowd-pleasing program DIGITAL POSSE on Wednesday, April 29 at 8PM at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

Since 2003, Digital Histories has provided a professional and artistic work environment for underserved, ethnic-minority seniors in the LA-based Asian Pacific American community. Digital Histories will screen on Sunday, April 26 at 2:30PM at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM - Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles

The LAAPFF will also feature this year’s edition of C3 – the Conference For Creative Content where creative and Hollywood industry leaders join together to create a dialogue with the community discussing important issues and trends taking place in the entertainment arena.  This year’s C3 marks the fifth edition of this important gathering of creatives and decision makers both in front and behind the camera and in film, network TV, cable TV, and new media. The C3 theme this year is “Celebrating Normalcy.”

“As showrunner and creator Shonda Rhimes spoke in March, telling stories involving women, people of color and LGBTQ characters should not be considered rare and ‘diverse’. It’s a reflection of our world, and in this case ‘normalizing’,” states Milton Liu, VC’s Director of Programs and Artist Services. “Partnering with the industry guilds such as Writers Guild of America (WGA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), the SAG–Producers Industry Advancement Cooperation Fund, and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, this year’s C3 will be dissecting ways in which normalizing continues to be a constant battle in Hollywood.”

C3 takes place over the weekend of April 25 and 26 in the Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM - Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

Every year, the LAAPFF International Showcase of new works from Asian highlights films and filmmakers from throughout the continent.  This year is no different as the Festival boasts acclaimed features from Vietnam, the Peoples Republic of China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong.

“Our International Showcase is one of the strongest ever,” states Festival Co-Director Anderson Le. “We have some amazing films from all over Asia including award winning documentaries, romantic comedies, thrillers and outstanding dramatic stories.  This year, we have something for everyone.”

In addition, the LAAPFF is proud to present the following special presentations:

EAST OF MAIN STREET - Dir.: Jonathan Yi Conceived as a project to demonstrate the breadth of Asian Pacific American voices and stories, EAST OF MAIN STREET is a multi-part series created for HBO by independent producer Jonathan Yi of eyepatch Productions. Episodes exploring those who have pursued non-traditional careers, observed significant life milestones, and sounded off on what makes them happy or angry are part of the wide spectrum that comprise the series.  A special episode will be screened and a discussion will follow.  Friday, April 24, 5PM, Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM - Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles

HIMALAYA SONG - A multimedia presentation by Gingger Shankar, Mridu Chandra and Dave Liang from The Shanghai Restoration Project. HIMALAYA SONG merges film, live music, and narration in a critically acclaimed multimedia presentation conceptualized, produced, and performed by a trio of internationally renowned artists. Gingger Shankar is an extraordinarily gifted singer, virtuoso violinist, composer, songwriter, and only woman to play the double violin — a unique instrument that covers the entire orchestra range. Mridu Chandra has produced award-winning documentaries and narrative films that have premiered at Sundance and other prestigious festivals. Accomplished classical and jazz pianist, Dave Liang, is producer of The Shanghai Restoration Project, a group that blends Chinese instruments and culture with hip-hop and electronica. Today’s music blends with traditional instruments on a cinematic journey through past, present, and future — myth and reality.  This performance will include an exclusive work-in-progress preview of the trio’s upcoming production, NARI.  Saturday, April 25, 7:30PM, Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM – Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles

UNBROKEN BLOSSOMS - Staged reading of New Play by Philip W. Chung; Directed by Jeff Liu After accusations of racism dogged the release of his masterpiece THE BIRTH OF A NATION, director D.W. Griffith vowed to prove that he was not a bigot. So in 1919, Griffith directed and produced BROKEN BLOSSOMS — Hollywood’s first interracial love story featuring a Chinese man and a Caucasian woman.  And to make sure his film was “authentic”, he hired two Chinese American consultants: one an aspiring filmmaker and the other a devoted family man. UNBROKEN BLOSSOMS is the story of those two men, the making of a classic movie, and how even the best of intentions can go terribly awry.  Philip W. Chung is the co-founder/co-Artistic Director of the acclaimed Asian American theater company, Lodestone Theatre Ensemble.  He currently oversees the creative content for YOMYOMF, the digital media company founded by director Justin Lin (the FAST & FURIOUS franchise) and is a writer/producer on the upcoming Lin-produced feature HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES.  Monday, April 27, 7PM, Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM – Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles

TOP 8 - The #WeOwnthe8th Short Film Program Held at the creativity-inducing venue The Great Company, #WeOwnthe8th stems from the grassroots movement spearheaded by actor/artist Dante Basco (THE DEBUT, HOOK) and showcases its nationwide API filmmaking talent. Conceived as a response to the API community’s current role within the creative industries, this movement seeks to foster creation of opportunities while providing a platform for supportive and positive mutual growth. Tuesday, April 28, 7:30PM, The Great Company – the Arts District – Downtown Los Angeles

CRANE-KICK COMMENTARY: THE KARATE KID, PART II - A Film Screening and Live Commentary with Phil Yu and Friends Inspired by “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and local improv groups such as Cold Tofu, noted blogger Phil Yu (aka Angry Asian Man) leads an impromptu panel in a real-time commentary of THE KARATE KID, PART II — director John Avildsen’s follow-up to the 1984 blockbuster. Phil and friends re-visit what happens when Danny (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) travels to Okinawa to visit Miyagi’s dying father -— reuniting with the old sweetheart (Nobu McCarthy); meeting the winsome niece (Tamlyn Tomita); and encountering the local bully Chozen (Yuji Okumoto). And let’s not forget the famous “drum” technique. Tuesday, April 28, 7PM, Tateuchi Democracy Forum, JANM – Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.

The 31ST LAAPFF competition film line-up is as follows: 

COMPETITION NARRATIVES
ADVANTAGEOUS (West Coast Premiere) Dir.: Jennifer Phang
EVERYTHING BEFORE US (World Premiere) Dirs.: Wesley Chan, Philip Wang
KTOWN COWBOYS (West Coast Premiere) Dir.: Daniel Park
LOVE ARCADIA (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Lawrence Gan
MAN UP (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Justin Chon
MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Shonali Bose; Co-Dir.: Nilesh Maniyar
MISS INDIA AMERICA Dir.: Ravi Kapoor
THERE IS A NEW WORLD SOMEWHERE (World Premiere) Dir.: Li Lu

COMPETITION DOCUMENTARIES 
CHANGING SEASON (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Jim Choi
EVERYTHING WILL BE (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Julia Kwan
I HAVE SEEN MY LAST BORN (World Premiere) Dirs.: Samuel Gray Anderson, Lee Isaac Chung
JUNE BRIDE: REDEMPTION OF A YAKUZA (World Premiere) Dir.: Derek Shimoda
TOP SPIN (L.A. Premiere) Dirs.: Mina T. Son, Sara Newens
TWINSTERS (West Coast Premiere) Dirs.; Samantha Futerman, Ryan Miyamoto
VISIONS IN THE DARK: THE LIFE OF PINKY THOMPSON (West Coast Premiere) Dir.: Ty Sanga
WINNING GIRL (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Kimberlee Bassford

INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE

2030 (NUOC) (Vietnam) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo

CAT FUNERAL (South Korea) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Lee Jong-hoon

THE CHINESE MAYOR (PRC) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Hao Zhou

HOW TO WIN AT CHECKERS (EVERY TIME) (Thailand/South Korea/United States) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Josh Kim

IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SUN (Indonesia) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Lucky Kuswandi

KUNG FU KILLER (Hong Kong) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Teddy Chen

THE LAST REEL (Cambodia) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Kulikar Sotho

RIVER OF EXPLODING DURIANS (Malaysia) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Edmund Yeo

(SEX) APPEAL (Taiwan) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Wang Wei-ming

THAT THING CALLED MEANT-TO-BE (Philippines) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.: Antoinette Jadeone

THE VANCOUVER ASAHI (Japan) (L.A. Premiere) Dir.; Yuya Ishii

WE ARE MOLUCCANS (Indonesia) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.; Angga Dwimas Sasongko

WHERE I AM KING (Philippines) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Carlos Siguion-Reyna

THE WORLD OF KANAKO (Japan) (U.S. Premiere) Dir.: Nakashima Tetsuya

For the complete program guide and for tickets go directly to: www.vconline.org/festival 

See you at the festival!

XXX

Raymond Lo

Film Review: Conducta (Behavior)

Film Review: BEHAVIOR (Conducta)
26th Palm Springs International Film Festival
(Official submission of Cuba to the Academy Awards)

Saw "Behavior" from director Ernesto Daranas in Palm Springs and it's an instant favorite!

It's a moving portrait of a life-long public school teacher, Carmela, who has dedicated all her life pursuing only the best for her marginalized students. It also tells the story of a young kid, Chala, one of Carmela's impoverished students, who had to train dogs for fighting and trade pigeons so he can make money for himself and for his irresponsible mother.

The movie tells us their story but it also gives us a glimpse of Cuba and the children that the country is raising. It's bleak and quite depressing but the movie pays tribute to the importance of proper education and the selflessness of teachers in third world countries. In a communist country like Cuba, a teacher holds one of the most powerful positions in society and the movie could have used this theme and go overtly political but it did not. Applause, applause!

What we get instead is a subtle indictment of the structure that plagues every poor country and makes the system unfair to the poor and the marginalized through the story of a teacher who has spent all of her life lightly treading these unjust rules and working hard each day to give her students a reason to hope, an opportunity to dream and the freedom to express themselves -- and when the same rigid rules are used to try to stop her, you know she'll never have it. Nope!

I love movies about teachers.Teaching is a vocation. Our teachers are our second parents and we should celebrate them always.

The young kid who plays Chala (Armando Valdes Freire) and the magnificent Alina Rodríguez who plays Carmela are both marvelous. This movie will most likely be compared to other movies in the past bearing the same theme but this one, though a work of fiction, is a story of hope. And the final scene was just the perfect ending to the chapter we saw but an invitation to hope that in those exhange of simple greetings, a change has occured and a brighter future has now been made possible. Oh, in the movies, we can always dream!

Rating: 5 Stars

Oscars 2015: Ranking of Foreign Language Oscar Submissions

I want "Wild Tales" to win!!!

RANKING OF OSCAR 2015 SUBMISSIONS I HAVE SEEN SO FAR

1) WILD TALES (Argentina)
2) CONCRETE NIGHT (Finland)
3) TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (Belgium)
4) LEVIATHAN (Russia)
5) TANGERINES (Estonia)
6) TIMBUKTU (Mauritania)
7) CORN ISLAND (Georgia)
8) THE GAMBLER (Lithuania)
9) ACCUSED (Netherlands)
10) FORCE MAJEURE (Sweden)
11) MOMMY (Canada)
12) GHADI (Lebanon)
13) 1001 GRAMS (Norway)
14) BEHAVIOR (Cuba)
15) THE LIBERATOR (Venezuela)
16) COWBOYS (Croatia)
17) DIFRET (Ethiopia)
18) BULGARIAN RHAPSODY (Bulgaria)
19) TO KILL A MAN (Chile)
20) THREE WINDOWS AND A HANGING (Kosovo)
21) THE JAPANESE DOG(Romania)
22) THE WAY HE LOOKS (Brazil)
23) IDA (Poland)
24) SORROW & JOY (Denmark)
25) THE GOLDEN ERA (Hong Kong)
26) SAYANG DISAYANG (Singapore)
27) HUMAN CAPITAL (Italy)
28) TODAY (Iran)
29) SEE YOU IN MONTEVIDEO (Serbia)
30) LIFE IN A FISHBOWL (Iceland)
31) WHITE GOD (Hungary)
32) NORTE (Philippines)
33) A STEP INTO THE DARK (Slovakia)

Will update ranking after I have watched my screeners for the following:

LITTLE ENGLAND (Greece)
FAIR PLAY (Czech Republic)

Oscars will be presented February 22nd!

XXX

Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: 9 Films Advance in Foreign Language Race

Nine features advanced to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 87th Academy Awards®.  Eighty-three films had originally been considered in the category.

The lucky films are:

Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski, director

Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director

Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director

 Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director

Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director

Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director

Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director

Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director

Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2014 are being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based Academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 15.  The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the category’s five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and, for the first time, London.  They will spend Friday, January 9, through Sunday, January 11, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: "Human Capital"

“Human Capital” starts with a beautiful tracking shot of a confetti-strewn ballroom and rests on a waiter as he bus a cart of elegant dessert plates. The camera follows him as he gets on his bike and starts to head home. It’s a dark evening. The audience can feel that something terrible is about to happen and soon enough it does. In one treacherous bend, the bike is hit by an unknown SUV that does not stop and only careens past the accident site. The waiter is left blooded and presumably injured or even dead. This accident is the jumping point of an otherwise interesting film told in an engaging storytelling style that attempts to dissect a simple interaction, a seemingly harmless conversation or an apparent uncompromising act from three different perspectives, offering a different layer of truth depending on what one imagines it to be.

The story is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is about Dino, an ambitious real estate broker who invests his life’s worth into a hedge fund. The second chapter is about Carla, an unappreciated trophy wife who plans to renovate an abandoned theater. The third chapter is about Serena, Dino’s daughter and the girlfriend of Carla’s son. The fourth chapter is when all their lives coalesce in one united narrative again, when an event unifies the truth and their lives are threatened to be disrupted by a nuisance death of an innocent man.

This film from Paolo Virzi is an adaptation from the American novel of the same title by Stephen Amidon. I am not familiar with the source material but if the narrative structure is similar to the movie, I am guessing the book is one of those riveting novels that is hard to put down. The movie is pretty engaging but I can’t say if I would have liked the movie better without reading the book. As it is, the movie feels like an important film flashing with sheer brilliance on the surface but starts to lose its luster on closer look. When you start to revisit the plot, you start to question some of the motivations of the characters and when you do, you discover more flaws that only raises more questions. I did not particularly like the ending when the director decided to go the way of the printed epilogue to explain what happened to most of the characters leading to the explanation of the meaning of the title.

Apparently, 'Human capital' is a legal term to denote a person's projected earnings and is used in calculating insurance claims if their working life is cut short. It is what human life is worth according to the insurance calculators.

The movie would have worked better if it had ended with the lavish party after yet another tragedy and I would have been confronted with a powerful human drama about society's hypocrisy, greed and lust for money. Unfortunately, it decided to go further thus ruining almost everything for me. I wish I could really like the movie more because I loved the impeccable production design. The costumes are just plain gorgeous. And the performances amazing!

“Human Capital” is Italy’s entry to the Oscars.

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Oscars 2015: "1001 Grams"

How do you measure grief? Or guilt? Or love? These are some of the profound questions that you will find yourself thinking about while watching the gentle and heartwarming film “1001 Grams”, the new film from acclaimed filmmaker Bent Hamer and Norway’s entry to the Oscars this year.

It’s kind of a weighty proposition but the movie is actually a very entertaining and crowd-pleasing drama with a little romance and bursts of comedy mixed into the well-told story of a daughter trying to cope with her father’s untimely death while representing Norway in the international conference on the kilo. Yes, do not be put off by the title. It’s about weight, about the weight of the kilo to be exact, now that last sentence was a paradox, sort of.

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Marie and Ernst. They are father and daughter scientists whose connections are limited to cigarette breaks in a cramped alleyway and an occasional weekend visits to Ernst’s farmhouse by Marie. Marie is dealing with personal issues on her own and as the story progresses we get to see that she is slowly losing her personal belongings yet we could feel that physically she seems to be burdened with some heavy stuff that she’s carrying in her heart. What could it be? Guilt? Frustrations?

There are layers to the title and the subject matter that, I fear, putting it down all here, would ruin the experience for the audience. I could easily rattle off the charming relationship between the title and narrative references and the connections it makes with real life but it has to be experienced by the audience first hand to be able to feel the gentle power of this movie.

“1001 Grams” is actually very subtle in layering out the various subtexts to the story and for an introspective moviegoer who likes to have a little laugh and a little entertainment while at the same time being challenged by the story, it is definitely a gift that deserves to be rewarded with vigorous applause.

The performances by the cast are amazing and the photography, splendid. I so love the parade with the blue umbrellas in the middle of the movie because it somewhat reminds the audience that there is life, there is color, there is order, there is beauty, in even the most boring stuff in the world.

Can i also tease you on why the title is 1001 Grams and not 1000 Grams if it is about the kilo? Hmm...

Rating: 5 stars

News: Swiss film "The Circle" starts US theatrical run this November

"The Circle", Switzerland's official entry to the Oscars this year started its US theatrical November 14 in Palm Springs and will have a steady roll-out through 2015.

Screening schedules:

Nov 14-20: Palm Springs (Camelot Theatres)
Nov 21-27: New York City (The Quad)
Dec 5-7: Wilmington, DE (Theatre N)
Dec 5-7: New Orleans (Zeitgeist)
Dec 12-18: Fort Lauderdale (Cinema Paradiso)
Dec 12-18: Miami (Tower Theater)
Dec 14: Philadelphia (Philamoca)
Dec 18-24: Los Angeles (Laemmle Music Hall 3)

Jan 2015
Santa Fe (CCA Santa Fe)
Hudson, NY (Time & Space Limited)

The movie is set in 1958 Zurich and based on the true story of a bashful teacher Ernst Ostertag and a German cabaret artist Robi Rapp who met and fell in love after meeting and knowing one another in the Swiss underground organization called “Der Kreis.” (The Circle). As the two dissimilar men defend their love, they witness the heyday and decline of this Europe-wide pioneering organization for gay emancipation.

Founded in the early 1940s, the network around the magazine ‘Der Kreis’ (’The Circle’) was the only gay organisation to survive the Nazi regime. It blossomed during the post-war years into an internationally renowned underground club. Legendary masked balls at the Theater am Neumarkt in Zurich provided 800 visitors from all over Europe with a secret and safe space to act out their ‘otherness’ in a self-determined way. It is there that timid teacher Ernst Ostertag falls in love with drag star Röbi Rapp. Ernst searches for a way to fight for his gayness to be accepted as normal outside the boundaries of ‘The Circle’ network without losing his employment as a teacher. Röbi champions the joint fruition of their love. Following a murder in the gay community, violent repression against gay people also endangers ‘The Circle’ network.

Stefan Haupt’s new film uncovers the fascinating universe of one of the first gay liberation communities. Enriched by impressive conversational records with Ernst Ostertag and Röbi Rapp, the film depicts a decades-long love story—made taboo by society—and reveals the couple’s inspiring self-knowledge and courage.

Watch the trailer below:



See you at the movies!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Argentina: New Cinema 2014 at the Egyptian this month!

Following the success of previous years, the Argentina: New Cinema series returns with some of the best films to emerge from Buenos Aires and beyond in 2013 and 2014.

The annual event has drawn large crowds from both the local Argentine community and foreign-language film fans, and this year's 13th installment promises to be no different, with an impressive lineup including several Los Angeles premieres. 

This has been a very good year for films from Argentine directors. Four were screened  at Cannes: Damian Szifron’s WILD TALES, Lisandro Alonso’s JAUJA, Pablo Fendrik’s EL ARDOR and Pablo Lerman’s REFUGIADO; and four more at the Berlin Film Festival: Benjamin Naishtat’s HISTORY OF FEAR, Celina Murga’s THE THIRD SIDE OF THE RIVER, Ines Maria Barrionuevo’s ATLÁNTIDA and Matias Lucchesi’s NATURAL SCIENCES.

At the Egyptian, some of the finest recent Argentine cinema, ranging from thrillers (BETIBU) to comedies (THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE) and dramas about family (NATURAL SCIENCES), romance and friendship (THE MYSTERY OF HAPPINESS, and the need to find direction in life (Sundance favorite LOCK CHARMER) will be screened.

The powerful Cannes Film Festival selection REFUGIADO adds to the breadth and depth of selections.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see South America’s first home-grown film industry come of age on the big screen! All films are in Spanish with English subtitles unless otherwise noted. Series compiled by Pablo Maseda and Gwen Deglise. Program notes by John Hagelston.

This series is presented by the American Cinematheque and the Consulate General and Promotion Center of the Argentine Republic in Los Angeles. All screenings are at the Egyptian in Hollywood and will run from November 21 through 23.

LOCK CHARMER

A Grand Jury Prize nominee at the Sundance Film Festival, charming drama LOCK CHARMER explores the human need for direction by employing a touch of magic realism. The “Smoke Days” of 2008 in Buenos Aires leave Sebastian (Esteban Lamothe) with an unusual ability to see into peoples’ lives as he fixes their locks. The commitment-phobic locksmith is also dealing with a pregnant girlfriend and an unexpected house guest, and his strange new power may be the key to putting his own life in order. Screens Saturday, November 22.

NATURAL SCIENCES

12-year-old Lila (Paula Hertzog) is struggling with a lot of questions - most of them about her long-absent father. Enlisting a sympathetic teacher (Paola Barrientos), she sets out from her school in rural Argentina in search of answers. Director Matias Lucchesi’s feature debut NATURAL SCIENCES (CIENCIAS NATURALES) screens on opening night, Friday, November 21

See you at the movies!

XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest 2014: Winners!

AFIFest 2014 concludes today with the announcement of the winners. The announcement is currently going on at the cinema lounge inside the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Audience Award Winners

World Cinema Audience Award
RED ARMY
Country: USA | Russia
Year: 2014
Director: Gabe Polsky
Producer: Gabe Polsky
Executive Producers: Werner Herzog, Jerry Weintraub, Liam Satre-Meloy
Directors of Photography: Peter Zeitlinger, Svetlana Cvetko
Editors: Eli Despres, Kurt Engfehr
Music: Christophe Beck, Leo Birenberg
Featuring: Slava Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak, Scotty Bowman, Vladimir Pozner

New Auteurs Audience Award

GUEROS
Country: Mexico
Year: 2014
Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Screenwriters: Alonso Ruizpalacios, Gibrán Portela
Producer: Ramiro Ruiz
Director of Photography: Damián García
Editors: Yibrán Asuad, Ana García
Production Designer: Sandra Cabriada
Music: Tomás Barreiro
Cast: Tenoch Huerta, Sebastián Aguirre, Ilse Salas, Leonardo Ortizgris

American Independents Audience Award
10,000 KM

Country: Spain | USA
Year: 2014
Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet
Screenwriters: Clara Roquet, Carlos Marques-Marcet
Producers: Tono Folguera, Jana Díaz Juhl, Sergi Moreno
Executive Producers: Mayca Sanz, Pau Brunet, Danielle Schleif
Director of Photography: Dagmar Weaver-Madsen
Editors: Julia Montañés, Carlos Marques-Marcet
Production Designer: Laia Ateca
Cast: Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer

Breakthroughs Audience Award
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM

Country: USA

Year: 2014

Director: Sarah Adina Smith

Screenwriter: Sarah Adina Smith

Producers: Jonako Donley, Mary Pat Bentel

Executive Producers: Jennifer Wilson, Steve Pearson, Samuel T. Bauer

Director of Photography: Shaheen Seth

Editor: Sarah Adina Smith

Music: Ellen Reid

Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Aleksa Palladino, Jennifer Lafleur, Ross Partridge, Beth Grant, Michelle Hutchison, Shirley Venard 

http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/10/afifest2014-midnight-swim.html

Jury Award Winners

• Special Jury Prize for Collection to David O'Reilly for his three films: CHILDREN'S SONG, NDA, WRONG NUMBER

• Grand Jury Award Animated Short winner: YEARBOOK

• Special Jury Mention for Breakthrough Filmmaker winner: GRAY HAS AN AIDS SCARE

• Special Jury Mention for Vision winner: SOUND THAT

• Special Jury Mention for Direction winner: SHIPWRECK

• Grand Jury Award Live Action Short Film winner: BUFFALO JUGGALOS

• Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting: GUEROS

• Special Jury Mention for Cinematography: VIOLET

• The @VIZIO Visionary Special Jury Award: THE TRIBE

• New Auteurs Critic's Award: SELF MADE

Congratulations to all the winners!

XXX

Raymond Lo

Oscars 2015: "Life in a Fishbowl"

There are three interlocking stories in Icelandic filmmaker Baldvin Zophoniasson’s “Life in a Fishbowl” that are by itself interesting and compelling but together feels contrived and implausible.

There’s the story of Mori, an alcoholic writer who is drowning himself in liquor over an incident some twenty years before. Another story is about Eik, a young single mother who is heavily in debt and who moonlights as a prostitute to support her daughter. The third story belongs to Solvi, a young and charismatic former soccer player who finds himself trapped in the cutthroat and sleazy business of capital financing.

Their lives will surprisingly intersect (with relative narrative ease!) and each one will somewhat influence the course of the other’s life. The storytelling is deliberately slow and the director takes a long time to setup what I expected would be an explosive finale only to pull back and return to his easy, comfortable narrative style just when the movie is almost ready to take off. A quiet and reasonable melodrama, there are secrets that will be revealed close to the end of the film that would have otherwise heightened the drama but only managed to stir a nod from this writer because it only confirmed what is already obvious.

When I watch a movie, I want to somewhat feel what the protagonists are feeling but sadly, in this movie, that did not happen – there are moments when you feel like you are ready to be taken by the story but find hindered ironically by the same storytelling style that the filmmaker thought would work. It is so frustrating to watch a movie that you know wants to provoke a sense of empathy from you but somehow you can feel that there’s a hidden barrier that the director neglected to remove and his characters are left trying helplessly to breach the imaginary wall and connect with the audience who remain steadfastly detached.

I am writing this review a few days after I’ve seen the film and as I look back now and try to understand the film more, I am somewhat struck, right at this very minute, by the irony in the title: The characters and the audience never got to build a cohesive relationship in the two hours that they were together inside the theater because the audience never got to go inside the proverbial fishbowl that these characters were sadly stuck in.

“Life in a Fishbowl” is the entry of Iceland to the Oscars. I watched the film at the screening organized by the European Film Promotion.

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Oscars 2015: "Kauboji (Cowboys)"

"Cowboys"

There are movies that you fall instantly in love with after just a few minutes of watching it. Last week, I saw Croatia's entry to the Oscars this year, "Kauboji" ("Cowboys"), during a screening sponsored by the European Film Promotion and I loved it instantly!

It’s a funny and endearing film set in an industrial town in Croatia. It tells the story of Sasa Anlokovic and his troupe of wannabe actors as they try to mount a stage play in a town that has not seen one in over a decade.

Sasa is a successful theatre director who was lured back to his hometown to help revitalize the town’s arts and culture scene. And everything would have been perfect if only there were more actors who showed up during the audition process.

By some curious incident, only a handful of people showed interest in the production that Sasa was mounting and he was left with no choice but to take every single of one of them in as his actors. This group of wannabe actors is composed of a down-on-his-luck deodorant salesman, an unsmiling ex-convict, a confused young man, a handsome easy-go-lucky man, a woman and her mentally-challenged brother who speaks a dialect nobody could understand and one real actor whose dreams of headlining his own show is matched only by his pushy mother’s overbearing expectation of her son’s stardom.

"Cowboys" is a loving tribute to all the actors and directors who all struggle to realize their dream projects. For the director, the challenge was to mount a play because he needed to satisfy his commitment to his art. For the actors, they needed to ultimately prove to themselves that they could do and create something if they only set their hearts into it.

It is such a joy when the characters discover that even though they may not have the biggest talent for acting, each one sure has a talent suited for some specific part in the play. If we go deeper and examine the allegorical implication of this we can actually conclude that everyone is an actor just waiting for the right part to come along. That we all possess some form of creative talent that can be tapped anytime with just the right motivation.

The film’s biggest strength lies beyond the obvious comedy or the talented ensemble of actors whose performances I really enjoyed, and, although it may not be too apparent to casual moviegoers, there’s a powerful element in the film’s final act that highlights the lasting power of art: that no matter how dire things get, art, when it has taken form, will endure and continue to live on in the new set of talents it has taken roots in.

Why the movie is titled “Cowboys” is something that has been revealed in the press notes for the film but I would rather be vague about it and let the audience discover for themselves the reason behind the title because the scene that sets up the title – and the course of the story, for that matter, is a funny, if not poignant, homage to one of the universally-loved genre in movies.

I also wish to point out that director Tomislav Mrsic’s use of iconic songs from a different era and his decision to play them in their entirety to score key scenes is one of the main reasons why I so loved his film. I loved the nostalgia it evoked and how it made the film somewhat timeless.

Rating: 4 ½ Stars

Oscars 2015: "See You in Montevideo"

Milos Bikovic

World Cup soccer now rivals the Olympics in popularity. Some would even argue that the quadrennial competition of the sport many fans fondly call “The Beautiful Game” is the biggest sporting event in the world but I doubt if many of the present-day fans of the sport are aware of the game’s humble beginnings.

“See You in Montevideo”, directed by Serbian filmmaker Dragan Bjelogrlic, takes us back to 1930 to the first world cup competition held in the Uruguayan city of Montevideo. The film is based on the experiences of the Yugoslavian team as they compete against powerhouses Brazil and Uruguay.

But the movie is not just about soccer. It also tackles personal stories of some of the players on the team. One team member falls in love with a local woman. Another ambitious player chases after a notorious scout so he could play in America. There’s also the side story of the team’s star player who loses his love of the game when he encounters a group of children afflicted with leprosy. On top of the all these, the film also suggests that the first world cup was rigged in favor of the home team.

The film does not lack any entertainment value but one week after watching the movie it curiously does not invite much affectionate recollection from this writer. Sure, it offers a lot of scenes that are genuinely funny although some are bordering on slapstick thus rendering a few of the characters as mere caricatures. The subplot about Tirke and his girlfriend was hilarious and had moments of palpable tension but it, too, ultimately did not resonate much after.

The highlights of the film are the soccer matches and it is where I found the movie most wanting. The filmed sequences did not offer anything than just a mere retelling of what happened in real life. The camerawork and editing are not that memorable and no real suspense can be felt. For a movie that is supposed to celebrate the sport it depicts, it is rather expected that the matches be the best parts in the film.

The performances of the cast are admirable. The actors who portrayed the players looked their parts – I don’t know what I mean by this but they looked like they could play soccer. The production design and the costume seem authentic and are truly impressive.

"See You in Montevideo is the Serbian submission to the Oscars this year. The screening was organized by the European Film Promotion.

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Don't miss "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" this November!

Strange things are afoot in Bad City. The Iranian ghost town, home to prostitutes, junkies, pimps and other sordid souls, is a bastion of depravity and hopelessness where a lonely vampire stalks its most unsavory inhabitants.

One of the most awaited films of the year is finally showing in Los Angeles this month. Beginning November 21st, film buffs will now have a chance to watch "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", which has been enthralling audiences since its Sundance premiere last January. Yesterday, the film received an award at the ongoing Hawaiian International Film Festivals.

Here's a sample of some of the superlative reviews the movie is getting:

“'Funny, scary, oddly sexy and deeply gorgeous... Watching A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, you get the impression that you're witnessing something iconic and important unfold before you.”
--  Drew Taylor, The Playlist

“A beguiling, cryptic and often surprisingly funny look at personal desire that creeps up on you with the nimble powers of its supernatural focus. Grade: A”
-- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“'Middle Eastern feminist vampire romance' is likely to remain an underpopulated cinematic sub genre, but at least it now has a luminous standard-bearer in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”
-- Guy Lodge, Variety

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is cinema's first Iranian vampire western, Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour's debut feature basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mash-up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. Amped by a mix of Iranian rock, techno, and Morricone-inspired riffs, its airy, anamorphic, black-and-white aesthetic and artfully drawn-out scenes combine the simmering tension of Sergio Leone with the weird surrealism of David Lynch.

Ms. Amirpour is currently in Los Angeles doing the press round.

Credits:
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Screenwriter: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Sina Sayyah, Justin Begnaud, Ana Lily Amirpour
Executive Producers: Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Nick Moceri, Ben Conrad, Alexei Tylevich, Reza Sixo Safai, Daniel Grove, Patrick Grove
Principal Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Dominic Rians, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marno, Milad Eghbali
Cinematographer: Lyle Vincent
Editor: Alex O'Flinn
Country: U.S.A.
Language: Farsi with English subtitles
Runtime: 107 minutes

See you at the movies!

XXX

Raymond Lo