The 2007 Miami International Film Festival

Sound of Sand : This director also helped write the screenplay for Frédéric Fonteyne's mournful, well-acted '30's drama of adultery La Femme de Gilles (2004), and she produced the highly regarded Denis Tanovic film No Man's Land (2001).

I can appreciate your concern about the change of directors for the Miami festival. Just the departure of the Press director of the NYFF, Graham Leggat, to head the SFIFF, meant pain for me. He seems to be doing a good job in San Francisco, but his New York press successor seemed to have had some trouble filling his shoes. Things just didn't seem to be as sharp or well handled last fall compared to the previous year under Leggat's regime. In your case, the whole character of the festival may change. But somebody else usually directs the "programming," I think, i.e., oversees the selections of films. Do you know anything about this new (French) guy? Why a French guy in Miami, by the way? I'm not sure I'd let just those two preferences spook you but this Patrick de Bokay guy seems to have a more commercial background.

re: press screenings

I don't know how the TIFF works on press screenings, but the VIFF has all of the press screenings you can handle a month prior to the festival.
Usually 5 days a week, they all begin at about 10 am and run about 4 films a day (before most of the "art" theatres begin their evenings' screenings).
Your butt can get sore.


Please check the 'ol e-mail Oscar.

Johann:
Thanks for the e-mail. If you haven't received my response let me know. Man, that's a lot of press screenings. At MIFF, it was never more than three-a-day.

Chris:
*We discussed Marion Hansel on page 2 of your "New French Films..." thread.
*During his introduction on Closing Night, de Bokay joked that he was hired because of his accent. Like Nicole, he opens his mouth and you know he's French. You hear a lot of French in Miami: there's a large Haitian community, many French ex-pats, and lots of Quebecois with second homes in South Florida.
*Programming here is by committee, but the director has a major influence. Programmer Monika Wagenberg stays with the fest and that relieves my anxiety a bit. De Bokay is well-connected and experienced but I won't relax until February '08. Will films like Juventud em Marcha, Hamaca Paraguaya, Hole, and Life can be so Wonderful continue to be included? Indeed, Bokay seems to have a more commercial background than Nicole Guillemet. Would he have brought the amazing Jean Rouch retrospective/conference that came here in '05? De Bokay doesn't "sound" like the type who'd go through the trouble.

GOD WILLING (Sweden)

I see I repeated some information you had already given about Hansel and La femme de Gilles. I get tangled up in these crisscrossing threads sometimes and I have a really hard time keeping track of people whose films I've never seen. Fougeron's Mon fils a moi might appeal to me. But you didn't go to see it? It sounds up your alley too.

If I were you I would relax about this new director. Go with the flow. He may too.

The Swedish Syrian hiphop director's name is actually Amir Chamdin, with an M. Maybe it relates to an old name for the Syrian region in Arabic, al-Sham. You've generated some interest with this thread, Oscar--it's gotten a lot more hits than your MIFF reviews or mine of the Rendez-Vous. This Chamdin film interests me, for the images and music and the Syrian angle too, though I wonder why he chooses to call himself "Juan" and thus denies his Arab origins. The Variety review, the only one of many on IMDb that's in English, is quite favorable, at least about the look of it, and the many Swedish ones suggest there's been a lot of interest, and obviously a fair amount of festival play. A new face on the festival circuit is always welcome. Finnish tango comes up again here, as in Aki Kaurismäki's new one, Lights in the Dusk. I'll have to tell my American friend Steve, the Aki Kaurismäki fan who lives in Paris with his Swedish wife. We met in Morocco, and he met her there, so there's an Arab angle for us too.

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Fougeron's Mon fils a moi might appeal to me. But you didn't go to see it? It sounds up your alley too.
I watched it during the fest proper with a large audience. I still have 20 reviews left to post.

If I were you I would relax about this new director. Go with the flow. He may too.
Ok

The Swedish Syrian hiphop director's name is actually Amir Chamdin, with an M.
Thank you very much. I've corrected the spelling.

You've generated some interest with this thread, Oscar--it's gotten a lot more hits than your MIFF reviews or mine of the Rendez-Vous.
Many locals have commented they've read my reviews. They invariably find them here and not under "Festival Coverage".

This Chamdin film interests me, for the images and music and the Syrian angle too, though I wonder why he chooses to call himself "Juan" and thus denies his Arab origins.
I was curious but couldn't find an explanation. The film plays down the immigrant character's specific background. It's really cool how the film ends with the newspaper photo that, along with his parents' romance, inspired Chamdin to make the film.

But the hits are shown, 1080 for this thread and 375 for your Festival Coverage reviews thread. If you click on a review link here, it adds a hit on the reviews thread. And there are nearly three times as many here than there Could they be pulling the wool over your eyes? 20 more reviews, gosh, you never stop. But you are actually done, then? Aren't you tired? Your last link, God Willing, doesn't work. By the way of course God willing is a common Arabic expression: insha'allah.

I forgot a key detail. I started the thread here on Feb. 20th and the one in "Fest. Coverage" on March 4th.

I still have a dozen reviews to write (but I have notes) including 2 that will be difficult to write: Drained from Brazil (because of my complex reaction to it) and Pedro Costa's Colossal Youth aka Juventud Em Marcha (because Costa is the most innovative new director around and this is my first exposure, and because others have captured the film perfectly in their reviews.)

Are you attending SFIFF this year?

SONJA (Germany)

I will attend SFIFF screenings, we'll see if I can cover as many as last year. I'll look forward especially to your Drained and Colossal Youth reviews--the problematic complex ones oft are the most interesting ones.

Chris- no replies allowed anymore on your website?

I wanted to reply to your dead-on "Sorceror's Apprentice" piece.

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I will attend SFIFF screenings, we'll see if I can cover as many as last year.
Bravo

I'll look forward especially to your Drained and Colossal Youth reviews--the problematic complex ones oft are the most interesting ones.
For Colossal Youth, I probably will use quotes from 2 or 3 different critics who have written quite insightfully about Pedro Costa. It's the only festival review in which I feel inclined to do that. It's been a long time since a director has emerged who has inspired such admiration from the most devoted cinema freaks worldwide. I'm a novice like I said. I'm still not quite sure he's at that Kiarostami-WKW-Tarr level. Same goes for Lucrecia Martel and Carlos Reygadas. Put the Portuguese Costa is in the running. The first time I heard of him was an interview of Jacques Rivette who said Costa was "one of the greats". It took years to finally get to watch one of his films. There are two more available in Europe on dvd. Having dvds shipped from Europe is too expensive though.

THE OLD GARDEN (S. Korea)

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Johann:
Chris- no replies allowed anymore on your website?

I wanted to reply to your dead-on "Sorceror's Apprentice" piece.

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(Johann is referring to a political not a film piece.]
I figured it's not really a discussion site, and I had got spooked by the hackers, so...but why don't we have a discussion of this here on the LOUNGE section-- I started a thread there with my "Masters of Terror" AKA Sorcerer's Apprentice piece, and you can have at it.

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Oscar:
For Colossal Youth, I probably will use quotes from 2 or 3 different critics who have written quite insightfully about Pedro Costa. It's the only festival review in which I feel inclined to do that.

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It always makes sense if they say interesting things and a lot of critics have already had a go at a film before you get a chance to write about it. You can say where you stand in relation to them.

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It took years to finally get to watch one of his films. There are two more available in Europe on dvd. Having dvds shipped from Europe is too expensive though.

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Maybe so but it's a bit cheaper than going over there to get them.

Now that's way beyond my budget nowadays. I'm glad I traveled a lot in the 80s and 90s. Foreign movies are like a vicarious form of travel, aren't they? Well, here's an American one:

IRA & ABBY

I realize after checking just now with a friend who's used that service that shipping by Amazon.fr or FNAC of DVD's or books from France is quite expensive. So one would do it only in extreme cases where one had a dire need for something. If you need a couple DVDs from France ask me and next fall if I go there as I very well may I can get it for you. I think the shipping charges via those businesses are a bit inflated; one can ship cheaper from a local French P.O. via surface, which really seems to go air nowadays and which is always faster than they say it will be from the UK, France, or Italy.

IRA & ABBY (USA)

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It's an "indie" picture that could perform like a "major" at the box office if handled properly.. . .Ira & Abby moves like a sitcom but the material is a notch above. . .

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I'm afraid an indie performing like a major if handled properly and something a notch above a sitcom doesn't sound particularly exciting, and this film will probably turn up in Berkeley's Landmark theaters. I hope you found some more interesting new US work in the whole Miami festival.

Thanks for your offer. FNAC has the better prices but the shipping is outrageous. They have outlets in Spain, France, Portugal,etc. I have bought some UK dvds from Bensons and the shipping is only 1.25 pounds per. But the Costa dvds have not been released in the UK. I could ask my father-in-law to send me the discs from Spain, but the Costas are not available in Spain yet. There are some American sites that sell dvd-r of Euro dvds but it's been a while since I checked what's available.

The MIFF screened 7 "Amerindies". "Bella" and "Full Grown Men" were bad. "Padre Nuestro" (same title as a Chilean film I reviewed already) won Sundance '07 but got slammed by Variety. I skipped the press screening of "Thanks To Gravity" and I was told by colleagues I made a wise decision. "Ira & Abby" is a NY comedy for adults that's better than most studio comedies and still not "particularly exciting" as you correctly inferred from my review. "First Snow", starring Guy Pearce and opening soon, looks promising. And Choking Man which is good and I hope gets released.

You'll know when I'm headed for France and can put in an order. The big FNAC stores in Paris do seem to havepretty good DVD selections.

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There are some American sites that sell dvd-r of Euro dvds but it's been a while since I checked what's available.

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Can you tell me more about those sites? I'd like to check them out.

Thanks for the rundown on the English stuff--Miami seems to have been weak in that area but I'll have to read the rest of your reviews. I did read the Choking Man one.

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Can you tell me more about those sites? I'd like to check them out.
This American site sells dvds from all over the world:
xploitedcinema
This site sells much cheaper conversions (dvd-r) of import dvds and vhs:
Superhappyfun
There are others.

Thanks for the rundown on the English stuff
You're welcome. That's the American stuff.

I meant in English. I'll look at those sites, thank you very much indeed.

There were other fiction films in English: Jindabyne and Cate Shortland's The Silence from Australia, Red Road from Scotland and Nick Broomfield's Ghosts.

The Page Turner

MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD (Mexico)

Sonja and Fraulein sound real good.

Your reviews remind me of the press screenings in Van.

The new foreign and obscure films unfolding before your eyes that have a long shot at a decent release.
Some are outstanding, extremely well made.

The sad reality is most of these films won't be seen by anybody in the mass public unless you attend a festival or seek them out.

A lot of these movies won't even make it to DVD.

DENIS DERCOURT: THE PAGE TURNER/LA TOURNEUSE DE PAGES.

As you may remember this was in the Rendez-Vous series this year and I reviewed it in that Festival Coverage thread. One small correction: since the Césars are already over, we have to say that Frot and Francois were nominated. And they didn't win and Frot for Best Actress lost to the young Marina Hinds for the much admired Lady Chatterley (which hasn't been shown at a venue I've been to yet, it made a splash at the Berlinale) and Most Prosmising Actress (Meilleur espoir féininin) went to Mélanie Laurent of Rendez-Vous film Don't Worry, I'm Fine/Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (another good entry in the Rendez-Vous, though I prefer The Page Turner), rather than to Francois. There's one thing in your review that puzzles me: "Jean tells Melanie that his wife is emotionally fragile and afflicted by stage fright since she was hit by an unidentified driver (was it our young protagonist?). " There's no indication our young protagonist even has a car, and Frot's presence in Greggory's household appears to be a complete surprise, but maybe we shouldn't even go into these details since the suspense rests on slow revelations. The comparison with Chabrol is inevitable, but I don't really agree with you if you're comparing this unfavorably with Chabrol, who has been very uneven, with high and low points. It's different, not inferior. In a way, due to the command of the musical milieu, Dercourt's work carries more conviction and at times is more subtle than much of Chabrol's, even though Chabrol is the greater, more productive, destined to be the more remembered, director. And hence I remain convinced that this was one of the best of the Rendez-Vous this year -- which contained much else of interest and high artistic accomplishment-- and will probably do well critically with art house distribution here. However it is an extremely dry and wooden kind of story, the storytelling to some extent partakes of that dry woodenness, and I might not disagree with the Film Freak Central writer on the Toronto Festival who wrote

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I question whether Denis Dercourt's Chabrolian The Page Turner (La Tourneuse de pages)--which more than earns its presumptuous double entendre of a title--actually has anything of consequence to say, but I sure got a charge out of it.

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A pretty strong charge, too, thanks in no small part to the excellence of the principals.

P.s. It's a lucky thing that somewhat by chance I bought a DVD of Dercourt's previous MY CHILDREN ARE NOT LILKE THE OTHERS (or whatever it's called in English)/MES ENFANTS NE SONT PAS COMME LES AUTRES in France two years ago, because the comparison is very interesting and enriches my understanding of what Dercourt's doing considerably--but I don't think you can get that title here, or through those two sites you gave me, which seem to lean toward the dark and backroom kinds of titles rather than the host of good more mainstream stuff from France that we never get access to.

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johann:

The new foreign and obscure films unfolding before your eyes that have a long shot at a decent release.

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Yes, but my observation from my slightly closer scrutiny of current French cinema lately indicates that it's not just the obsucre ones that have a long shot, but some excellent fairly mainstream French ones. We just don't have universal inter-national distribution, and wouldn't it be nice if we did. But maybe download technology eventually will bring us that, and they'll come through the air, computer bank to computer, in a cyberwonderland. Trouble with that: money's involved. Competition. Which means "free enterprise," which means really restricted enterprise.

Originally posted by Johann
Sonja and Fraulein sound real good.
Good movies. I think Fraulein has a better chance at distribution because of winning the top prize at Locarno, one of the top 10 European Festivals.

The new foreign and obscure films unfolding before your eyes that have a long shot at a decent release.
Some are outstanding, extremely well made.
Indeed. Often there's no rhyme or reason as to why some films get picked up for distribution and others don't. The British film A Way of Life (a BAFTA winner) and 2005 MIFF audience fave Accused (from Denmark) didn't get distribution, but New Yorker Films picked up the very downbeat "difficult" The Forsaken Land from Sri Lanka. These are films from the past two festivals. It's going to take a year or two to find out whether some of the films at 2007 MIFF will get distributed. I forgot to say in my review that Tartan USA will release iThe Page Turner a week from tomorrow. Also, the Brazilian films Antonia and Alice's House and the Colombian A Ton of Luck were purchased at the fest and will be distributed. There are films that don't have distribution and, sadly, won't get picked up, and a few of of them probably shouldn't, no matter how brilliant they are. I mean Hamaca Paraguaya (reviewed), Life Can Be So Wonderful (reviewed) and Colossal Youth (not reviewed yet) are not meant for commercial theatres. These amazing films belong at festivals, cinematheques and art museums.

The sad reality is most of these films won't be seen by anybody in the mass public unless you attend a festival or seek them out.
I didn't realize to what extent we have access to only a small portion of what's good until I looked into the "World Poll" at Senses of Cinema a couple of years ago. Here's the 2006 Poll: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
There's one thing in your review that puzzles me: "Jean tells Melanie that his wife is emotionally fragile and afflicted by stage fright since she was hit by an unidentified driver (was it our young protagonist?). " There's no indication our young protagonist even has a car
True, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that the hit 'n run driver was Melanie. I think it's a little "tease" by Dercourt. I'm convinced I'm not the only one who thought about it.

...and Frot's presence in Greggory's household appears to be a complete surprise
I don't know what you mean. Do you mean Melanie coming to work as an au pair there? If so, that doesn't rule out her being the driver either. Dercourt simply throws this possibility into the mix. Not a major plot point or anything.

The comparison with Chabrol is inevitable, but I don't really agree with you if you're comparing this unfavorably with Chabrol, who has been very uneven, with high and low points.
I mean exactly this: "The Page Turner recalls Claude Chabrol's suspense thrillers, particularly La Ceremonie for its locale, This Man Must Die for its theme of obssesive revenge, and Merci Pour Le Chocolat for its classical music milieu. Dercourt's film lacks the irony, humor and sharp social commentary of Chabrol's best films."
If you actually agree with the comment you quoted then we're not far apart re: The Page Turner.

I'm in agreement with the line I quoted, but not with your apparent inference that I'd agree with you seeing Dercourt somehow as a Chabrol manqué. "Dercourt's film lacks the irony, humor and sharp social commentary of Chabrol's best films." Yes but so do the films of Bruno Dumont. No, Dercourt is no Chabrol, but one can say approvingly that he creates a Chabrolian atmosphere in his latest film. I don't see how your listing three Chabrol films that have elements in The Page Turner makes an interesting or useful comparison. What's the value? In his own more limited vein of a specialist in classical music (Dercourt is a conservatory music teacher and musician as well as writer-director), Dercourt goes deeper than Chabrol, and a look at Merci Pour le Chocolat shows that. Dercourt has something unique to say. He takes us into a less severe, more subtle, and more specialzed realm than Chabrol's. Other names also come up, Hitchcock, Dominick Moll, even Maupassant, but Dercourt, however limited is also unique and in this case I think very effective in a vein we can relate to classic thrillers.

I think you ought to give up the idea about Mélanie's hypothetical role in the car accident. Such a plot element would be jarringly out of keeping with both Dercourt's methods and Mélanie's.

You start the post: "I'm in agreement with the line I quoted,..." in which the writer questions whether the film " actually has anything of consequence to say". A liitle further down you write: "Dercourt has something unique to say." I'm confused.

Melanie's hypothetical role in the car accident is like a amuse-bouche, like a little "teaser". I knew I wasn't the only one who thought about it:
"She is taken on as a nanny for the couple's young son and soon she is not only caring for him but also tending to Ariane. The imperious pianist of old has been made fragile by a recent hit-and-run incident (the possibility that this was carried out by Mélanie is left tantalisingly open.) "
Sam Jordison
Channel 4 (UK) Critic


STRAIGHT TO THE POINT (Brazil)

I had actually meant to say I don't think despite his ironic comments on the bourgeois life Chabrol actually has anything of consequence to say either. So both have something unique to say, but not of consequence. Examples of films with something of consequence to say are too numerous to mention, but among recent ones I'd suggest The Lives of Others, or Days of Glory, or Letters from Iwo Jima. Your hypothesis and the UK TV reviewer's seems to me out of keeping with the style of the narrative and the personality of Mélanie, and it would mean she knew Greggory was Ariane's husband when she got the job, which we aren't told, so that would mean we aren't being told anything. You have found one English-speaking writer who agrees with you, but I could refer you to a dozen French-speaking ones who have written about the film and have not the slightest suspicion that Ariane's fragile condition has anything to do with Mélanie. I don't think this is "tantalizingly left open," I think it's a whole segment of the film where the girl is set up for her revenge that is really not very clearly worked out, but which presumably just happens fortuitously for Mélanie. We'd need to see how it goes in the screenplay or what Dercourt or his co-writer Jacques Sotty would say. I don't think it's an amuse-bouche, this uncertainty, but an indigestible element which, however, I don't think we're meant to be tantalized by so much as just accept. But since there's a question mark, you have pointed to a weakness. Thrillers often have such leaps or gaps, including Chabrol's. That's how I see it anyway. You're welcome to your opinion. If I find out anything further, I'll let you know. The film's coming to Berkeley for a one-week run in a week and I'll try to get somebody to go with me and get their feedback on the plot issues, see if their bouche gets amused.

I'm convinced Melanie knew Greggory was Ariane's husband when she got the job (even though we aren't told) and I don't believe Melanie was the hit-and-run driver even though I enjoyed entertaining the possibility.

MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN (USA)

I'm glad you're not pushing Mélanie's having a role in the accident as either a fact or an authorial tease any more. The husband's identity is equally unsupported, as you acknowledge. I don't use that approach. I don't like to get "convinced" of things for which there is no justification in the piece. I take a more rational and skeptical approach to interpretation. I try to stick to what I'm actually given; there's quite enough with that. It's a pity you focus on these pure hypotheses, when there are other real false hints, such as that Mélanie may be preparing to get Tristan drowned. As I said before, the whole sequence of events by which Mélanie is set up in a position to exact her revenge on Ariane years after she loses the scholarship is not very clearly worked out. But it's still evident that Mélanie just gets lucky.

I was never "pushing it". I never said it was a fact. It's still an authorial tease. It's not a "weakness". Film is fine if limited. And regarding Chabrol...better than some from the prolific master (who has admitted to accepting projects he shouldn't have just because he likes the shoot) and not as ambitious and significant as the best dozen films Chabrol directed.

FISH DREAMS

SWEET MUD (Israel)

Perhaps the most challenging film to review. My reaction to the film was very complicated. I wish I could have seen it again before reviewing it. The source novel is a dark, absurdist tragedy with an anonymous and nefarious protagonist. I concluded that the film's added humor and efforts to ellicit some sympathy for the character clash with the many elements from the novel that survived the translation to film. I think those are the reasons why I found most of the film both smart and unpleasant. But I'd have to watch it again to solidify my opinion. Anyway, here it is:
DRAINED (Brazil)

Probably your most interesting review of the festival. It pays to agonize. If done intelligently. And it was.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was hard to write. I hope it's shown at the upcoming Brazilian Film Festival (which now travels from here to NYC, and China!) so I can give it a second look.

THE CUSTODIAN (Argentina)

BLACK BOOK (Netherlands)

Black Book -- scheduled to open NYC and LA April 4.

Indeed. Thanks. I think I spoke too soon when I predicted Black Book would be the highest grossing foreign-language film of the year. It's going to go wide before the end of April. But not to over 1000 screens as Pan's Labyrinth did. It won't match that film's amazing b.o. take ($36 million) but it should surpass Volver's $12 million (quite respectable for a subtitled film in the USA).

It's nice that V. has gone back to Dutch and I hope I like it, but I'm a bit doubtful it will do as well critically as, or better financially than, Volver, just from reading about it. I guess the latter depends on levels of distribution and promotion -- unknown factors, presumably, to us?

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I'm a bit doubtful it will do as well critically as, or better financially than, Volver, just from reading about it.
It won't do as well critically as Volver. It will do at least as well financially if properly marketed. If the trailer emphasizes the sex and violence and de-emphasizes the fact that it's subtitled, pic will do real well at the box office.