BFI 53th London Film Festiwal 2009

I've been accreddited during the 53th London Film Festival. In this thread I'm going to put all my reviews and short impressions about the event.

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All those reviews are also available on the special festival page on Filmaster: http://filmaster.com/lff with a ranking of all festival movies and licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.


The festival website is: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/ where you can find the info on movies and all other materials.

A Single Man by Tom Ford

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A Single Man tells a story of loneliness of a university lecturer who has lost his life partner in a car accident and tries to figure out what to do next, if anything at all.

Review by: Borys Musielak

George (Colin Firth) lives in a glass / wooden house in a posh district of Los Angeles. He seems to lead a life many dream of. He's wealthly (did they really pay teachers so well in California in the fifties?) and respected. And very unhappy.

He cannot be very honest with people as he has to be hiding his homosexuality all the time, even though he's lived with Jim (Matthew Goode) for 16 years and all his friends know it. Well, to be precise, he's got only one friend -- Charlotte (Julianne Moore), a woman approximately his age who not so secretly loves him, or at least has stronger feelings towards him than the other way around.

George lives like a ghost. He does the usual things. Many people may not even notice there's anything wrong with him as he's never been a very social person anyway. But he does not have an aim and he does not seem to care anymore. One morning, he decides to get a gun and finish the misery. But before, he makes a strong commitement to live this last day of his life like no other day. To try to be kind and helpful. And honest. Perhaps for the first time in his life.

As we follow George's actions and his miserable attempts to commit suicide, we start to symphatize with him and hope he eventually changes his mind. But we also start to understand him. And this, if anything, is the main achievement of the film. We are allowed very deep inside George's emotions, his dreams and his fears. And the more we get to know him, the more we understand him and... what may sound frightening, start to understand and support his final decision.

Tom Ford: the bold and the beautiful

Tom Ford, for whom A Single Man is the first feature, is a world top fashion designer. Excuse my ignorance, I haven't heard about him before watching this movie, but obviously I'm much more into film than into fasion. As his main character, he's also very rich and also homosexual, which is probably the reason why George's character is very convincing. The other reason for that is the tremendous performance by Colin Firth. We know this actor mostly from goofy roles like the one from Mamma Mia or Bridget Jones Diary, so it was easy to classify him as an average actor, a good fit for the supporting roles in second-rate movies. In A Single Man he proves his dramatic skills and makes me only wonder: why so late, why no one seemed to get him do it before? The winning of the best male performance of the Venice Film Festival is by no means coincidental. He truly deserved it.

So how did Tom Ford do as a director? As mentioned before, the psychology of the characters convinced me, I believed they could have behaved like this in real life. And I'm not talking only about George, but also about the supporting characters: Nicholas Hoult as George's student, and Julianne Moore as Charlotte. They're both interesting, with their little secrets which they may or may not decide to reveal.

As far as the cinematography is concerned, I found it a bit too ostentaneous, too pushy. Starting from the first scene where we see naked male bodies floating under water, there are all those visual choices that I would not call cheap, but I also would not call very sophisticated or even necessary. Same goes for the music. It seems fine at the beginning but eventually tries to overwhelm us. It's not accompanying the action but rather attempts to influence the way we perceive single scenes, influence in a bad way, meaning -- it tries to make us cry or make us care and make us suffer. It just tries to hard. It's kind of old fashioned in a way and many may find it touching or inspirational. To me it was rather irritating, but I found Slumdog Millionare irritating so don't listen to me.

Academy Award, anyone?

Talking about Slumdog... I believe A Single Man is a very strong Academy Award candidate. It has almost all the ingredients of an Oscar-winning movie: a strong plot, a minory distrimination issue. It would be a no-brainer if George was a war hero losing his lover in Badgad perhaps, but even with this flaw, I'm counting on at least 5 nominations (best movie, best director, best adapted screenplay, best actor and best supporting actress) and most likely - more.

So, is Tom Ford a new Hollywood golden boy? It's certainly quite an achievement to simply step into the film business as the screenwriter, director and producer at the same time and create a thoughtful and engaging movie that is being talked about. We're yet to see if it is going to attract wider audience, but my wild guess is that it will be a success.

Official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtIqc7ba4Gs

This review is part of my BFI 53rd London Film Festival coverage.coverage.

Up in the air by Jason Reitman

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Written by: Borys Musielak

Up in the air, which I have just seen at the BFI London Film Festival, is not a typical festival movie. It's rather a typical blockbuster, a smart (romantic?) comedy with lots of great lines and fabulous acting. It's the sort of movie that gets both the critical acclaim and a wide audience. Quite an accomplishment of Juno director, Jason Reitman.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a "terminator". He sacks people for living. And in the current economy climate, he's got a lot of work to do. He spends 300+ days a year traveling around the States only to tell people, whose bosses are "too much of a pussy" to tell it themselves, that they are being fired. He loves his job. Or maybe it's not that he really loves the job itself, but he rather enjoys the type of life he's allowed to lead because of it. No relationships. No home. Always in the run. Always busy. No time to really think about his future.

If you were to leave and were only allowed to carry a small bag-pack, what would you put inside? Ryan has to answer this
question daily. And he's got no problem with that, because -- just like Rober De Niro in Michael Mann's Heat -- he's got nothing he could not get rid of in just about a minute. No things, no relationships. Nothing.

Well, at least until he meets Alex (Vera Farmiga). She's a beautiful woman about his age, also a traveler-for-living. "Think about me as of yourself with a vagina" -- she says. And she really means it. They seem like a perfect match. Both in the run, with no time for proper relationships. They set up a schedule to meet in hotel rooms in random cities and have fun together. So far so good...

But then things start to get complicated. Both in Ryan's work, family and the so called "relationship". There is no point going into details here. Some of them might spoil you the fun of watching the movie. I might just say, don't expect the typical things to happen -- the film, even though still pretty conventional, has a few surprises for you. And the best part is that it keeps the balance. It's very funny, but not just a comedy. It talks about problems, but it's too lightweight to be called a drama. Still it somehow finds a perfect mix to provide us with 1.5 hours of great entertainment, part of which is George Clooney himself, who seems like a perfect match for the role, and really drives the movie. A few sentences, like those about marriage or commitment, seem like the things he might be actually saying himself, like they are really his opinions on those matters, which made it only more real and true.

Official trailer is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIUtRrTlgo
The movie opens world-wide in early 2010. Go see it when you want something light and funny!

Lebanon by Samuel Maoz

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Written by: Borys Musielak

Lebanon is the movie I've been waiting for since the Venice Film Festival where it grabbed the main prize. I finally watched it on a DVD in the London Film Festival mediateque as I managed to miss the press screening. At first I was afraid that I wasn't going to experience it completely on a small screen. After watching it, I changed my mind. It was actually a good idea. Stealing the phrase from an Orange commercial: The movie like this is too big for the big screen. Here is why.

It starts in the middle of the war in a tank. You don't really have the time to meet the soldiers, get to know them better. You are thrown into the tank with them and are expected to adjust. And they expect you to stay there for the whole movie. It's very stuffy inside the tank. It's dark, you don't get to see much of the outside. It's a tank after all. Sometimes your mayor comes and gives you orders: "destroy any car coming in our direction", "shoot this guy on the roof together with all his hostages", "devastate the whole village". But you don't really know what you're doing here and neither do your comrades. You are expected to follow the orders but you are not given any explanation. You can't see the whole picture and it's for your own good. There is a chance you are going to die and you are expected to accept that. What you are not expected to do is to ask or show any human emotions. This is war.

Lebanon is an ultimate war movie. There is no plot, there is hardly any dialogue. And it's very real. So real that you feel you're there, so real that you hold your breath and expect the worst to happen. This is the biggest value and the greatest achievement of the film.
It doesn't really say anything new about war, suffering or hope. It's the approach which reminds me of Black Hawk Down, but with the brave Americans replaced with uncertain and scared Israeli soldiers, a tank instead of a helicopter and most of the action missing. And with some poetry added which somehow managed not to look cheap at all after all the miserable things we are forced to experience.
It also reminds me of Waltz with Bashir, another Isreali production about the same war, from a year back. Both movies share the exact same kind of uncertainty and cluelessness. The characters are floating, not walking. They act mechanically and in despair. They don't seem to share any common values. They are lunatics.

After exiting the cinema I had a thought that Lebanon might have just joined the league of the historic war masterpieces like Full Metal Jacked or Apocalypse Now!. I don't think that anymore. I was just overwhelmed by its intensity.
Watch it yourself if you want to experience the war in a raw form, with no heroes, no love stories and no deeper sense. It not "a film everyone ought to see" but it's a huge cinematic achievement, close to a masterpiece, anyway.

Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vfAVtguQnM

These are all the festival reviews I have written so far, but as I have watched many more movies, I'll share my short impressions from each of them below as well:

Lourdes (7/10)

An unexpected picture of the pilgrims summiting Lourdes (a popular Christian saint place in Europe) and "the helpers" (army of sisters of mercy and soldiers and regular girls looking for fun and willing to help others -- or at least thinking it might be a good way of spending their vacation). The former expect a miracle (or at least not being lonely for a couple of days), the latter are there to help them make it happen (or at least provide a good-enough imitation).
Too literal at times, and balancing on the edge but at the same time detailed in observing people's behavior and telling the story that can touch. Recommended.

Vincere (6/10)

Properly told story of Ida Dalser, Mussolini's first wife, abandoned by him and locked in a madhouse. Pros: A couple of wonderfully thrilling scenes, nice idea with old film footage merged in order to present the historical events as the characters saw them. Great music choices. Cons: it lacked something undefined, some freshness, some power. It did not managed to engage me enough or make me really care for Ida. I learned a little known fact from the history of Italy, but that's it.

Metropia (4/10)

The biggest disappointment at London Film Festival so far. A ridiculous screenplay better suited for cheap action movies is accompanied by a dark and troubling vision of post-apocalyptic Eutope. But the unique atmosphere is missing because of the pure stupidity of the script. Tarik Saleh should definitely take the next bond and leave Metropia to his more experienced friends like Roy Anderson (Songs from the Second Floor). Waisted time, not recommended unless you switch off reasoning.

We live in public (7/10)

Interesting documentary (to me especially, as very much into the subject) about an internet visionary, the creator of Pseudo.com, who invented such concepts like the web TV with live comments or Big Brother. And then instead of making more money, he... decided to spend it on some freaky arts projects which (together with the internet bubble) swallowed his fortune. As most biographic movies, it was a bit to idealistic about Josh Harris, but still one has to admit that the person is extraordinary.

update: more short reviews added below

Father of my children (7/10)

"Father of my children" is a very detailed picture of a niche film director, a workaholic who loves movies so much that he loses touch with the reality of the film industry and invests in features that have no chance of commercial success. It very realistically shows the slow demise of his family and the studio leading to the unevitable end. Quite a depressing screening which changed my mood for the whole day. Not recommended if you're just starting a business.

Ajami (6/10)

Winner of the Sutherland Trophy at London Film Festival 2009 turned out to be disappointing. The script just seems so much better than the execution, perhaps partly because of very low budget. The way of telling multiple interwining stories reminded my of Amores Perros, although Ajami is much smarter but inferior technically. Worth watching mostly to get a feel of living under constant stress and terror in Israel and Palestine.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (8/10)

Herzog flirting with the mainstream. You can still feel the unique touch of the German master but the film is way more conventional than his other features. The risky project of remaking the classic turned successful because of two things: Nicolas Cage being the ideal candidate for a cocaine-addicted cop on the edge of falling and the fantastic absurd humor that Herzog added to the previously serious script. Great fun and very touching at the same time. Best film of the London Film Festiwal.

Nymph / Nang mai (7/10) by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

A dark, cold and weird love story set partly in forrest, partly in the city. Even though you watch it from the distance, you can still feel the thrills. And Porntip Papanai is simply beautiful!

The Touch (7/10) by Ingmar Bergman

A completely unknown Bergman feature shot in London where the director's favorite actors speak English and Swedish interchangeably. It's a history of a woman who loves two men. Amazing performances by Bibi Andresson and my favorite actor, Max von Sydow. Unfortunately, even though I tried hard, I could not force myself to believe in the passionate feeling between Karin and Davidem, which spoiled the movie for me a bit. Still, it's a narrative masterpiece with great cinematography.

Taking Woodstock (6/10) by Ang Lee

A surprise feature from Ang Lee, a small family drama with hippies in the backgroud. Made me laught lots of times and managed to bring back the atmosphere of these days. I probably missed the point the director was trying to make it or perhaps there simply was none. If only the script was better we could have had something much more powerful and engaging. Still, a good choice for a fun evening.

Cracks by Jordan Scott

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Review by Borys Musielak (Filmaster.com)

I watched Cracks by accident. Literally. The tape with Sweet Rush which I went to see turned out to be unusable and the nice lady from RichMix cinema anounced that instead of the Polish master's latest feature, we're going to see a second film by the daughter of Ridley Scott. 80% of the audience left so I had an extraordinary experience of watching a London Film Festival movie in an almost empty screening room.

And I'm happy I haven't left like others because it turned out to be a mysterious movie. And I like mysteries. Especially when they make sense.

So, Cracks is about a group of girls living in a dormitory located on one of the British islands. They attend classes and swimming lessons given by beautiful Mrs G. (Eva Green), play games and generally have a lot of fun. The teachers are not very strict and Mrs. G is their best friend. It seems like a paradise school. It seems...

One day a Spanish girl, Fiamma (María Valverde), arrives and joins the class. She's different than the English girls. She's prettier, smarter and can rotate upon completion of the dive. She has read the wise book and travelled all around the world. The leader of the girls, Di Radfield (Juno Temple) cannot stand the fact that she's not the one that sets example anymore.

That's all normal. What is more strange, Mrs. G changes upon arrival of Fiamma. The teacher, who also happens to be a traveller and a bibliophile, finds the new situation disturbing. She thinks she's losing the authority among girls and desperately wants to make friends with Fiamma, to prove her position.

And then more and more mysterious things start to happen which I'm not going to share here to keep you interested.

Cracks is astonishing in its visual form. It's a pleasure to look at the gloomy school building contrasted with the colorful beauty of the surrounding forrests, meadows and the sea. The atmosphere of the film constantly changes from a cheerful picnic to a dark mystery. And the mystery seems so dark that we get a bit disappointed when it eventually resolves and turns out to be a rather simple story.

This is my only complaint about the movie. I haven't read the book on which it's based, but it certainly seems that the film oversimplifies the original. Still it's a nice little feature and I'm very looking forward to the future projects of Mrs. Scott.

This review is part of my BFI 53rd London Film Festival coverage.coverage.