| With the Calgary International Film Festival offering more than 300 films in only 10 days, making the most of your cinema-going time is of the essence. Our intrepid reviewers have been put to the test, screening a mountain of movies to help you navigate the festival’s epic schedule. Here is what they had to say.
ALTER EGOS
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Laurence Green
Sat. Sept. 25, 2:45 p.m., Uptown
Mon. Sept. 27, noon, Uptown
Growing up, I never had an appreciation for those animated shorts that appeared on CBC. Instead, I considered them an interruption from regularly scheduled programming. Now, 20 years later, I’m captivated by them, but more fascinated about the man behind the animation.
Alter Egos is Laurence Green’s documentary about Ryan Larkin, one of Canada’s premier animators, whose life has turned from fame to famine. His alter ego is rising Canadian animator Chris Landreth, who created his own animated film about Larkin based on a series of first-hand interviews with the artist. Today, Larkin is a panhandler in Montreal and has lost his creativity. Alter Egos documents Landreth’s attempt to depict Larkin’s life through animation.
Both Larkin and Landreth have created some of the most visually stunning animation, and from the first frame to the last, I was mesmerized with Larkin. He evokes sympathy, not for the life he is living, but for the personal anguish you see on his face as he watches Landreth’s interpretation of his life. Landreth, on the other hand, is torn between the story and the reality of the man. There’s no doubt this is an introspective film about how life can go wrong, but it’s also intensely entertaining.
ARAKIMENTARI
(U.S., 2004)
Directed by Travis Klose
Sun. Sept. 26, 9:30 p.m., EMMedia
Wed. Sept. 29, noon, Uptown
According to this wild biographical portrait of one of the world’s most notorious photographers, there used to be only two contexts for the representation of female nudity in Japan – high art and smut. Nobuyoshi Araki changed all that. Says one admiring colleague, "He made art and porn the same thing." Travis Klose’s doc captures the high-spirited, irrepressibly vulgar artist at work and play – tying up nude models in elaborate bondage set-ups, flirting with his subjects and rampaging through the streets of his beloved Tokyo in search of inspiration. More often than not, Araki’s inspiration comes in the form of a vagina and there’s a bounty of them on display in Arakimentari. But the film also contains a serious and considered appreciation of the artist’s enormous (and enormously varied) body of work from curators, fellow photographers and celebrity friends like Björk and actor-director Takeshi Kitano, who ruefully notes, "Araki seems to enjoy his work more than I do."
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
(Algeria/Italy, 1965)
Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
Sat. Sept. 25, 3:30 p.m., Globe
Watching The Battle of Algiers, it’s not difficult to understand why Gillo Pontecorvo’s neorealist drama about the 1957 uprising of Algerian freedom fighters against their French colonial oppressors is to this day considered an invaluable resource for international counter-insurgency experts. A remarkably impartial chronicle of the conflict, the film illuminates the mentalities that led to one of the bloodiest revolutions in modern history – the resistance army’s tactics are shown to be as brutally unconscionable as those of the arrogant imperialist soldiers sent in to dispose of them. What has made the film a timeless masterpiece, though, is the way it shows the folly inherent in any attempt to quell independence movements with brute force. Martyrdom has rarely looked so avoidable – or so self-evident.
BLOOD
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti
Tues. Sept. 28, 9:30 p.m., Globe
Based on the play by Tom Walmsley, Blood is a nasty but gripping two-hander about sex, drugs and shared DNA. Three months clean, Noelle (Emily Hampshire) is looking for money to score. Her reformed-boozer brother Chris (Jacob Tierney) shows up just in time to become entangled in her schemes – that is, when he’s not getting handcuffed to the bed. Rendered with great skill by Hampshire and Tierney, the siblings’ often vicious sparring is further enlivened by director Jerry Ciccoritti’s unorthodox methods. The actors performed the script from start to finish several times for Ciccoritti’s cameras, which captured different aspects of the performances with each pass, but otherwise left Hampshire and Tierney to their own devices. And rather than assemble the shots in a conventional fashion, the director carves up the frame via split-screen and other effects. Besides serving to amp up the intensity, Ciccoritti’s tactics cleverly subvert the raw naturalism of Walmsley’s drama.
CREMASTER 3
(U.S., 2002)
Directed by Matthew Barney
Sun. Sept. 26, 9:30 p.m., Plaza
A veritable Mount Rushmore of metaphor and dazzling visuals, Matthew Barney's Cremaster series is undoubtedly one of the cinema's most challenging and enviable accomplishments. Equally awe-inspiring and alienating, it's easy at times to assume that perhaps even Barney's unsure as to what it's all about. The series' epic story stretches over the course of five films that were completed and released non-sequentially – Cremaster 3 is the final chapter and climax – and range from a Busby Berkley-style dance spectacle in a football field (Cremaster 1) to a helicopter-shot motorcycle race around the Isle of Man (Cremaster 4).
At over three hours in length there are parts of Cremaster 3 that could undoubtedly be binned (its final sequence excised and released on DVD as Cremaster: The Order is the entire series' weakest moment), but Barney's overwhelming (not to mention overpowering) imagination provides the screen with several scenes unmatched elsewhere. At his most audacious and beautiful, Barney transforms New York's Chrysler Building into a green and pink maypole, and for that image alone it is worth plowing through Cremaster 3's harsh and difficult whole. Consider the series a film-lover's trial – love it or hate it, only the most dedicated of cineastes will survive.
CRIMES OF THE HEART
(Canada, 2003)
Directed by John Haslett Cuff
Sun. Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m., EMMedia
Crimes of the Heart is documentary porn. Not in the graphic fellatio-cunnilingus-double penetration way, but in the cheesy-music, shabby-film-quality, and exploitation-of-women way. It is John Haslett Cuff masturbating for an hour, exploring his past adulteries and failures to commit, and juxtaposing those with his own mother’s infidelities. It’s like watching a less intelligent Tom Green shame his mom for entertainment value, or a more attractive Howard Stern crucifying his ex-wives in an ironic attempt at self-degradation.
Cuff’s filthy mouth, shameless flirtations and attempt at personal sex therapy amount to an offensive, narcissistic, poorly-scripted documentary that smells more like a reality TV show than a serious consideration of adultery.
But it’ll find its way onto CBC one late night. How could it not when Cuff is a pushy, overbearing writer for The Globe and Mail? It’ll be taken too seriously. It’ll be seen as a work of documentary art. It might even be a minor cult favourite. But all it should be is shut out of film fests.
DEAD AND BREAKFAST
(USA, 2004)
Directed by Matthew Leutwyler
Fri. Sept. 24, Midnight, Globe
Line-dancing zombies? Banjo-pickin’ good ole boys singing about eating human flesh? David Carradine’s corpse being converted into demon-slaying bone daggers? Welcome to Dead and Breakfast, friends, and if you’re still reading this, there’s a chance you’ll get a kick out of this goofy, gory hootenanny.
A vanload of travelling friends arrives at a rural B&B, where they unwittingly unleash an evil spirit that transforms the locals into murderous zombie-like killers. That’s it – that’s the plot. Once that’s out of the way, the film piles up truckloads of hit-and-miss comedy, wacky redneck stereotypes, country music interludes (!) and lots of blood – 54 gallons according to the filmmakers. Amid all the chainsaws and hewed limbs, Zach Selwyn provides charming background and foreground music, even appearing onscreen as a sort of narrator-Greek chorus, à la There’s Something About Mary. The acting and the comedy are both uneven, but the splatter is classic ’80s-style unrated messiness.
Fans of From Dusk Till Dawn or better yet, Basket Case, will probably appreciate this cheerful little chunkblower. If you’re looking for a really good slapstick zombie hoedown… well, you’ll probably never find it, but if you’re looking for a reasonably entertaining one, look no further.
DIRTY WORK
(U.S., 2004)
Directed by Tim Nackashi
Sat. Sept. 25, 7 p.m., EMMedia
Tues. Sept. 28, noon, Uptown
A few minutes into this film and it dawns on you how useful it would be for any dieters trying to kill an appetite. Dirty Work tells the story of three men. Darrell is a septic-tank pumper who drives his honey wagon to rural residences to haul away human waste. Russ’s job is collecting bull semen. With a vagina-like receptacle handy, he excites a prize bull with the help of a "teaser" (cute cow). Failing that, Russ dons an elbow-length rubber glove and shoves it into the bull where the sun doesn’t shine. Bernard is a "restorative artist" whose daily task is to put a nice face on dead bodies so they’ll look good in their caskets. This involves some slicing and draining, tracked by camera work that leaves little to the imagination except the cadavers’ faces – presumably to protect some moviegoer from the shock of seeing a family member up there on the screen as his formaldehyde is being topped up. More than just a gross-out exercise, this entertaining, well-crafted documentary actually provides some intriguing insights into the three men’s lives and how each was virtually destined for his calling from early childhood.
ELEPHANT SHOES
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Christos Sourligas
Sat. Sept. 25, 7:15 p.m., Uptown
If life were like a rented DVD, you’d be able to fast-forward through the dull bits and hit slow-motion or pause to savour the sweeter moments. Elephant Shoes, subtitled A Modern Look at Love, takes just such an approach to romance and comedy.
It tells of Alex (Stacie Morgain Lewis) and Manny (Greg Shamie), who meet by chance outside Manny’s Montreal apartment. He invites her up for a drink. She’s due back in Toronto the next morning, and she declines, then cautiously accepts. Alex vows there’ll be no sex, but her reluctance soon melts as he charms her with disarming insight into her tastes in music, art and travel. The result is an intense, 12-hour affair into which the willing partners cram enough revelations, sensations, jealousies, disappointments and unabashed romance to occupy most couples for months.
Shamie and Lewis, the film’s only cast members, are splendid in their roles. Each expresses convincing vulnerability, though at completely different times, in a sharply written story by director Christos Sourligas. This isn’t a big-budget production, but the money’s all up on the screen, where two strangers manage to communicate volumes about love, gender roles and life’s bittersweet truths.
FLATLY STACKED
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Michael McNamara
Sat. Sept. 25, 5 p.m., Uptown
Who doesn’t like a good pair of tits? Certainly not Judy Holm and a cast of misfits in Michael McNamara’s documentary Flatly Stacked, a story of flat-chested women living in a society of big boobs and small minds. The movie explores an interesting concept, considering how many women suffer the ills of the A-cup. However, listening to Holm (a former model) and a gaggle of teeny titties talk about how their small boobs haven’t really affected them, isn’t the best way to spend an afternoon.
Flatly Stacked has its moments and certainly provides a degree of comedy that many women can relate to. But, ultimately these boobs are just boring and hearing their stories about bra stuffing, strap pulling and embarrassing training-bra moments seems more like an opening act for the Vagina Monologues than a film. The real issue behind Flatly Stacked – an issue that isn’t addressed as much as it should be – is the emphasis society places on size. Nonetheless, Flatly Stacked is mildly insightful with women of all ages, sizes and backgrounds (including Denise Clarke from One Yellow Rabbit) talking about life on the negative side of the padding. If you really want to know whether or not size matters, Flatly Stacked is the movie for you.
GINGER SNAPS: THE BEGINNING
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Grant Harvey
Sat. Sept. 25, midnight, Plaza
For what was once a fun werewolf franchise, Ginger Snaps is quickly dissolving into been-there, ate-that drivel. Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning is the third instalment in this Canuck-made horror series. Filmed back to back with Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, chapter three takes us back to the 19th century, complete with muskets, pelts and (what else?) gore galore.
Now, the original Ginger Snaps was a hoot – a hairy, horny collision of teen angst and werewolf lore. The main players, Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle, were just as concerned with menstruation as man-eating beasts. Unleashed wandered away from the humour that made Ginger Snaps so delicious and The Beginning strays even more off course – it has little to no sarcastic bite.
Perkins and Isabelle (once again named Brigitte and Ginger) return, only this time, they’re holed up in a Canadian fort during the winter of 1815 while you-know-what dines on the local frontiersmen. Now, are the girls ancestors of the siblings they portrayed in the first film, making this sort of a prequel? It doesn’t really matter. Ginger Snaps Back is a rather tedious exercise in terror – slow, sloppy and just too darn serious. We get to see lots of guts ’n’ stuff, but not the tongue-in-cheek this story needs.
HUKKLE
(Hungary, 2002)
Directed by György Pálfi
Sun. Sept. 26, 4:30 p.m., Plaza
Confused by pretentious foreign movies with subtitles? Here’s an opportunity to be bewildered by an unpretentious one without subtitles. This quirky, dialogue-free Hungarian film hides a mass-murder true-crime mystery behind a surreal nature documentary.
As the camera tracks restlessly through forest, field and village, swinging between close-up and panoramic views, the viewer may pick up clues as to who is doing what to whom, but most likely will just sit back and enjoy its affectionately idiosyncratic depiction of rural Hungary. Hukkle (Hungarian for hiccup), by first time director Pálfi, proves unexpectedly accessible for an almost plotless experimental film and was a popular favourite on last year’s festival circuit.
JU-ON (THE GRUDGE)
(Japan, 2003)
Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Sat. Sept. 25, midnight, Uptown
Like Ringu before it, this Japanese horror sensation is about to get the Hollywood treatment – The Grudge, a remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, will be out in time for Halloween. At least producer Sam Raimi had the good sense to retain Ju-On’s original director, Takashi Shimizu, to helm the remake and maintain the Japanese setting. Moreover, the story may actually benefit from some streamlining – Ju-On is baffling enough to make The Ring seem like a model of narrative clarity. Then again, the general air of confusion contributes to the sense of dread. What’s more, the star of the film is not any of the flesh-and-blood (and quickly dispensed) cast members but a cursed house – in a series of vignettes, havoc is unleashed on the lives of anyone who walks through the door. The pale ghost boy who cries like a cat is one of several sinister creations. Another scene will inspire viewers to check under their bedcovers for weeks to come. Although the influence of more accomplished Japanese horror directors such as Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hideo Nakata is easy to see in some of his scare tactics, Shimizu comes up with some novel shocks that belong in your next recurring nightmare.
KONTROLL
(Hungary, 2003)
Directed by Nimrod Antal
Sat. Sept. 25, 9:30 p.m., Uptown
There’s more than a few mouldy C.H.U.D. living under the streets of Budapest. In this comedy thriller – a massive hit in its native Hungary and a prize-winner at Cannes – the subterranean characters are a crew of subway ticket inspectors who endure horrendous and hilarious abuse from disgruntled commuters and competing crews. Things are so crazy underground, you can almost understand why our hero Bulscsu (Csanyi) hasn’t seen daylight in weeks. A twentysomething who’s lost his ambition, he’s hiding out from his life and clearly losing his edge. But he’s gonna have to take better care of himself if he wants to woo the mysterious girl in the bunny costume or outwit a killer who’s been pushing folks onto the tracks. Mixing action, comedy and mordant Eastern European humour, director Nimrod Antal fashions a very likable and energetic movie in the style of Trainspotting, albeit with actual trains.
LA PEAU BLANCHE
(Canada, 2003)
Directed by Daniel Roby
Fri. Sept. 24, 9:30 p.m., Plaza
La Peau Blanche is a very Canadian horror film – which is to say, ideas substitute for impressive effects and mood is more important than actual scares. The story follows Thierry (Marc Paquet) and Henri (Frederic Pierre), two roommates in Montreal who run into trouble when having a little birthday fun with a pair of escorts. When Thierry subsequently falls for the pale, mysterious Claire (Marianne Farley), things take a turn for the worse and it soon becomes clear that something is off about Claire’s coven-like family. Director Daniel Roby has a tendency to revert to bad slo-mo techniques, and his script never quite congeals into the racial allegory it wants to. But despite that, there are some intriguing details and solid performances from the young cast. Falling short of Ginger Snaps-calibre panache (and certainly of David Cronenberg, who Roby coyly references in a video scene), La Peau Blanche nonetheless makes for a creepy and entertaining 90 minutes.
SAVAGE ISLAND
(Canada, 2004)
Directed by Jeffery Lando
Sat. Sept. 25, midnight, Globe
Savage Island is a straightforward city-folk-versus-murderous-inbred-hillbillies horror yarn, shot on digital video in B.C. Steven (Stephen Man) and Julia (Kristina Copeland), a yuppified couple, bring their new baby to Savage Island (…you said the title! You get to wear the chicken hat!) to visit Julia’s parents. One tragic road accident later, the family has incurred the wrath of the island’s family of squatters, named the Savages. (See what they did there?) The Savage family consists of a bunch of stubborn hayseeds that get real angry when crossed and the two tribes are soon at each other’s throats, with the fate of Julia’s baby up in the air.
Competently made, but uninvolving, Savage Island fails to make the audience care about its less-than-fleshed-out characters. The heroes and villains both do such illogical things that audience sympathy is lost. Canadian films are least interesting to me when they try to copy American ones and, sadly, that’s what happens here. If you’re a horror fan in a forgiving mood you might like Savage Island, but you’re probably better off renting The Hills Have Eyes again.
SAW
(U.S., 2004)
Directed by James Wan
Fri. Sept. 24, midnight, Plaza
Few genres are as overdone as the serial-killer film, so credit Saw for putting a new spin on it. This often-grisly debut from director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell (who also stars) boasts a clever structure and some wonderfully creative cruelty, in the form of sadistic games the villain – an unhinged moralizer called Jigsaw – concocts for his victims. The film starts with Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Carey Elwes) and Adam (Whannell) waking up chained to the wall in a fetid bathroom, with no recollection of how they got there. The remainder of Saw is spent unravelling the puzzle, offering sly red herrings and tracing the progress of a detective (Danny Glover) obsessed with cracking the case. Regrettably, Wan’s dark esthetic can’t match the impressive script – Saw owes most of its look and pacing to David Fincher’s Seven and to mid-’90s Nine Inch Nails videos and, as a result, ends up looking quaint rather than genuinely creepy.
A SILENT LOVE
(Canada, 2003)
Directed by Federico Hidalgo
Sat. Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Plaza
Sometimes the most poignant form of communication can be silence. In Federico Hidalgo’s A Silent Love, that statement rings true when three lives are turned upside down in a quest for love and the inability to express it in words. It’s a simple, yet beautiful, story about two people seeking love and companionship, but confused about how to attain it. Norman (Noël Burton), a professor from Montreal, uses an Internet service to find Gladys (Vanessa Bouche), a schoolteacher from Mexico. They meet, marry and move to Montreal under one condition – Gladys’s mother becomes the third wheel to their bicycle built for two. Hidalgo’s portrayal of how the lives of these three lonely people evolve is certainly realistic. With a significant language barrier, several exaggerated gestures and a variety of facial expressions, the newlyweds and in-law learn to understand each other by not only communicating with words, but with emotions. Hidalgo offers a snapshot of how we approach relationships today and our desperate attempt to find that thing we believe will make us whole.
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