Month: January 2017

Film Review: THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT (USA) Animation/Comedy

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERTHE GRAVEYARD SHIFT, 2min, USA, Animation/Comedy
Directed by Lara Arikan

It’s long past midnight when the tired and jumpy waitress decides to go and investigate the ominous noise she hears right outside the roadside coffee shop she’s working at.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Coming to us from Laura Arikan, Graveyard shift is a quick comic splash of fun, sprinkled with some horror. Sweet and largely silent, Graveyard Shift is a great example of the trite cinematic rule of “Show, don’t tell!”. A young girl, bored and alone at the night shift at her truckstop cafe is terrified to find her small coffee shop filled with Zombies. But no, they don’t want her brains. They want coffee.

 

It is not totally clear if coffee magically cures the zombie truckers, or if it is a metaphor for the long and solitary transport job putting its’ patrons into sluggish grey stupors, but it is likely the latter. No worries though, because this quick two minute animation delivers enjoyment whichever way you interpret it! A delightful cinematic romp into imagination, now comes with a caffeinated kick.

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Film Review: BIRTH WEAVING LIFE (Japan) Animation/Documentary

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERBIRTH WEAVING LIFE, 6min., Japan, Animation/Documentary
Directed by Arisa Wakami

This is a documentary animation on the very beginning and the mystery of life, told from the point of view of a mother.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Welcome to the incredibly personal stories of three women as they recount the birth of their children. Each tale exquisitely told from a unique voice and animated differently, Birth-Weaving Life will make you laugh and hit you right in the “feels” with it’s honest emotional portrayal of new parenthood being a time of panic, pain and fear, but also utter joy.  

 

Each story is set against simple artistry that nevertheless creates effective storytelling, masking the intimacy of childbirth with the colorful visual metaphor. Waves and Rollercoasters are used to describe something that is hard to imagine if one has not been there.

 

These film is a collaboration piece, making it a rich tapestry of human experience. Most beautifully, perhaps, is the tender honest and authenticity that can be felt through the subtitles and transcends the different language it is spoken in. This film recounts an essential human experience that speaks across any social barrier.  

 

Birth- Weaving Life is a beautiful and poignant look at child rearing from inside the mind of the mother- the fear, the worry, the pain and the incredible, unmatchable happiness that accompanies the creation of life.

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Film Review: MAN’S BEST FRIEND (UK) Family

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Played at the December 2016 Best of Family/Animation FEEDBACK Film Festival.

MOVIE POSTERMAN’S BEST FRIEND, 7min. UK, Family/Animation
Directed by Rob Sprackling

10 year old Zach loves his football – and his football loves him back. They enjoy playing in the garden, going to the park and spending time together, just like a boy with a faithful dog. But when his ball gets lost, Zach must team up with his neglected Mum, to find his best friend. In doing so, Zach and his Mum re-find each other.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Man’s Best Friend, written and produced by Rob Sprackling, is a classic story of companionship with an unusual twist. Hovering somewhere between My Dog Skip and Toy Story, Man’s Best Friend takes a look at the relationship children develop with the objects in their life that carry significant weight. In this case, a soccer ball.

Our young hero has a steadfast and deep connect with his soccer ball, which has been cleverly anthropomorphized with the simple addition of an animated smile. A clear metaphor for a boy with a pet, the two characters are inseparable and find deep joy in each other’s company. But while out one night the ball is kicked into neighbors yard by bullies, and our hero cannot find their friend. He and his mother attempt to locate the ball, and even consider getting a new one, but no dice- this ball cannot be replaced.

Beside the clever metaphor for the ball being a pet, what makes this film unique is its’ utter simplicity. The film has no dialogue and functions with only one beautiful piano song throughout. The acting, directing and cinematography are all to be commended. The animation is simple but incredibly effective and the whole movie is wrapped up in a family-friendly feel-good bow. Yet there is also deeper meaning lurking in this piece. On the surface it is a boy and his friend, but it is also a story about a boy and himself. It is a story about what happens when we lose a part of ourselves. Unlike a dog, that is dependant on their owner, this boy has lost the passion of his life- his ability to play soccer via the ball. And unlike a dog, which may need to be returned by another person, this ball returns to his master all by itself. Or, rather, our Hero reconnects with his passion, on his own terms. A simply story with some profound undertones, Man’s Best Friend it a true delight.

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Film Review: THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ (Canada 1974) ****

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duddy_kravitz.jpgDirector: Ted Kotcheff

Writers: Mordecai Richler (screenplay), Mordecai Richler (novel)

Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden

Review by Gilbert Seah

 It has been a long spell (thanks to its recent restoration) since the Canadian classic THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ got a release again on the big screen. The film is the autobiography of the author, Mordecai Richler based on his best selling novel of the same name.

The film is the story of Duddy (pronounced doo-dee) Kravitz (Richard Dreyfuss), a brash, restless young Jewish man growing up poor in Montreal, Canada. His taxi driver father Max (Jack Warden) and his rich uncle Benjy (Joseph Wiseman) are very proud of Duddy’s older brother Lenny, whom Benjy is putting through medical school. Only his grandfather (Zvee shows the motherless Duddy any attention. But Duddy rises the ranks.

There is a scene in which an old Jewish bearded man says that a man without land is a nobody. (This scene is seen in both this film and the Woody Allen comedy LOVE AND DEATH). In this film, it is Duddy’s grandfather who tells his grandson the maxim.

Duddy starts a serious relationship with a hotel employee, French-Canadian Yvette (Micheline Lanctôt). One day, she takes him on a picnic beside a lake. Duddy is stunned by the beauty of the setting, and his ambition crystallizes: taking to heart his grandfather Zeyta’s maxim “a man without land is nobody” to heart. The film traces Duddy’s accomplishment, but not without dire consequences. It is a film of both coming-of-age and growing up – and a very effective one at that.

This is director Ted Kotcheff’s best film. His attention to detail, which is evident throughout the film is what makes the movie tick. The best example can be seen in the opening sequence where Duddy in military garb marches in a band while goofing around. The military tune “O When the Saints” bookmarks the ilm, while the lyrics also have some meaning in the story.

It is reported that Richard Dreyfuss hated his performance so much in this film that after seeing the film’s final cut, he decided to take the role in JAWS, that he initially turned down. But in my opinion, Dreyfuss delivers an almost flawless performance as Duddy in the film . He captures the juvenility and ambition of the growing Jewish boy. Dreyfuss has proven himself as an actor in the the later AMERICAN GRAFFITI and also in THE GOODBYE GIRL winning an Oscar for Best Actor in the process.

I have a few complaints of the film despite it being a classic. Being a film set in Montreal, I would prefer it being shot in France or at least have more French spoken in the film. The other is the list of Americans playing Canadians and an Englishman playing the American Hollywood director.

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz screens as part of Canada on Screen on Sunday, February 5 at 6:30 p.m. Beginning in January and running throughout the year, this free programme will present moving-image installations, special events and guests, an extensive online catalogue, and screenings across the country, all based on a list of 150 essential moving-image works from Canada’s history, and compiled through a national poll of industry professionals. Canada on Screen is a co-production between TIFF and three core project partners — Library and Archives Canada, the Cinémathèque québécoise, and The Cinematheque in Vancouver — for Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017. The Government of Canada and RBC are Presenting Partners of Canada on Screen.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYkgUm-ImHw

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Film Review: SPLIT (USA 2017) ***1/2

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split_poster.jpgDirector: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson

Review by Gilbert Seah

 The first thing on the mind of anyone venturing to see a new M. Night Shyamalan film is whether the film is going to be a bomb like AFTER EARTH and THE LAST AIRBENDER or a hit like his early films THE SIXTH SENSE, SIGNS and UNBREAKABLE. His last film THE VISIT pleased the majority of filmgoers and SPILT should do the same.

The film begins with the abduction in a car in broad daylight of three teenage friends Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and difficult outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). The three girls get seated in the car while the father of one of them puts their gear in the trunk. “Can I help you?” the father says to a stranger whose face is off-camera.

From the car mirror, Casey senses something is wrong when she sees their bags on the road. She turns to get a glimpse of the man who has just moved into the driver’s seat and it is not her friend’s father. This is top notch camera work worthy of Hitchcock and proves a hard act to follow. True enough, none of the rest of the film can match the first 10 minutes of pure suspense.

Their captor Kevin (James McAvoy) locks the trio in a windowless room, then proceeds to frighten and baffle them. One minute he’s wearing eyeglasses and obsessive about cleanliness, the next he is presenting as female (PSYCHO style), and later he acts like a nine-year-old boy. It is revealed that Kevin exhibits 23 alternate personalities, and in order to escape, his captives must convince one of the personalities within him to set them free, before the arrival of the 24th and final personality, the “beast”.

James McAvoy delivers a really creepy performance worthy of Heath Ledger’s Joker. Teen actress Taylor-Joy need not have to do much. The film is scary enough and all she has to do is register fear in hr face. Shyamalan often has the camera in close-up.

To add more to the simple plot of abduction, the story of Casey’s life is told in flashbacks. Her father has passed on from a heart attack and she is looked after by a creepy uncle who may be a pedophile. Kevin is a patient under study by Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) who hopes to rehabilitate him.

As in all Shyamalan’s films, there is a surprise twist – the best of which were in his first two films. There is a big surprise at the end of this one too, but only consequential to the goings-on. Still, Shyamalan fans should not be disappointed.

Shyamalan’s films all make money even his two big critical flops. SPLIT only cost a paltry $10 million to make, primarily for its use of inexpensive stars and absent unneeded special effects. SPLIT is expected to gross $20-25 million this weekend alone which means that there should be another Shyamalan thriller/horror the next year. No one should be complaining.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI

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Film Review: THE PASSIONATE THIEF (RISATE DI GIOIA) (Italy 1960) **** [The Films of Magnani]

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the_passionate_thief_poster.jpgDirector: Mario Monicelli

Stars: Anna Magnani, Totò, Ben Gazzara

Review by Gilbert Seah

This rarely seen Italian comedy gets a release after its recent 4K restoration.

THE PASSIONATE THIEF (RISATE DI GIOIA) marks the collaboration between dramatic actress Anna Magnani and famed comedian Toto. It is a perfect match as director Monicelli’s film is a perfect blend between drama and comedy. RISATE DI GIOIA literally translates to ‘laughter of Joy’, Joy also being the name of Magnani’s character.

The film follows two friends, Umberto and Gioia (Toto and Magnani) who live by their wits working as comedians and cabaret at Cinecittà (the famous cinema production studios centre in Rome), before being invited to friends’ parties or masked balls during New Year’s Eve in Rome. The two, however, even though they make people laugh all the time in public, live an inner conflict, namely that the two have always to be aware to give a smile to someone, but they can never be rich and happy because they are street artists and with a precarious wage. The meeting with another thief, the well-dressed Lello (Ben Gazzara who appears to speak perfect Italian) throws their relationship into peril. Lello is low-life, classy con-man, while Umberto tries to save Gioia from the wolf’s clutches.

Monicelli captures the plight of the poor. The segment where the trio enter a rich German party complete with ornaments emphasize the indifference of the rich. ‘The rich loves expensive ornaments that are useless,” says Gioia humorously.

Magnani is pure joy to watch – the perfect Italian drama queen. Wearing a gaudy evening dress complete with shiny spikes, her dress only underlines her loudness. The best scene has her screaming aloud when by accident, fireworks are thrown next to her during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The film is more drama than comedy. The audience can clearly sympathize with both the characters of Umberto and Gioia as they both grab at straws to escape the drowning from poverty. Gioia is hoping for love in the much younger Lello while Umberto finally goes clean in order to save Gioia from Lello.

The ending of the film is both sad and humorous. The audience sees the two after a major setback in their lives trying still to be happy and to enjoy the good life. They dance and laugh while hailing a taxi with comical results.

THE PASSIONATE THEIF looks like a simple film on the surface, but is deep in mood, atmosphere, feeling and life under deeper scrutiny.

The Passionate Thief screens on Sunday, January 29 at 2:45 p.m. as part of TIFF Cinematheque’s Volcano: The Films of Anna Magnani, running from January 27 to March 11. Curated by James Quandt, Senior Programmer, this deluxe series celebrates the ferocious Magnani, who was known as “La Magnani” or “La Lupa” (“The She-Wolf”) for her volatility and voraciousness. Equally at home in farce and tragedy, melodrama and comedy, she starred in films by some of the greatest auteurs of all time and won her country’s adoration for embodying characters that regular people could identify with, including fruit vendors, prostitutes, molls, convicts, stage mothers, film extras and (most frequently) long-suffering proletarian wives.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFwFYySSWS8

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Film Review: MALIGLUTIT (Canada 2016) ***

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maliglutitDirectors: Zacharias Kunuk, Natar Ungalaaq
Writers: Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk
Stars: Benjamin Kunuk, Karen Ivalu, Jonah Qunaq

Review by Gilbert Seah

 If the English title of this movie sounds familiar, it is because the film is taken from the plot of John Ford’s classic John Wayne western THE SEARCHERS. The Inuk title translates literally to ‘followers’. The simple plot involves an Inuk man searching for his kidnapped wife and daughter.

The film begins with a quarrel as an Inuk man is upset that a man has been fooling around with his wife. The words ‘f***ing asshole’ and ‘***ker’ (in Inuk) are exchanged frequently. It is the omen of what is to occur. The Inuk man has his wife and daughter are later kidnapped by marauders. He and his son set out to find those responsible and rescue the wife and daughter. The revenge plot gives the film, at times the feel of an action flick like TAKEN.

The film is a bit confusing at the start. All the characters are heavily clothed and it is at first hard to tell who is who and which one is the villain. It does not help that the Inuk man and son as well as the maunders take out an expedition at the same time, so that one has to recall the faces to figure out what is going on, in terms of plot.

What is most fascinating about the film is the Inuk culture depicted. The daily routines like making tea, eating and sewing are on display. If one has never seen what he inside of an igloo looks like, the film offers plenty of opportunity to see both the insides and exterior, as well as the brief construction of one. The chopping of frozen food that makes the daily diet, as well as eating of the food frozen.

The cinematography of the real ‘great white North’ is nothing short of stunning. Like David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia where a lone figure stands in the vast spaces of sand, lone figures are seen in the mountains of snow and ice with no other signs of civilization. One wonders how the filmmakers managed to get all the filming equipment way up to the Arctic.

The film is necessarily violent from the kidnapping to the revenge scenes. The latter is satisfying, seeing how director Kunk has primed his audience for anger and a thirst for revenge. The tracking of the kidnappers, Inuk-style is like nothing anyone has seen before. Suspense is also heightened as the Inuk man has only one bullet left at the end, so that he has to kill two men with one bullet.

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk broke into the film scene 15 years ago when his film, the excellent ATANARJUAT: THE FAST RUNNER won the prestigious Caméra d’or for Best First Feature at Cannes. SEARCHERS can nowhere can be compared to ATANARUAT, but the film is still definitely worth a look. The film has also been selected as Canada’s top 10 films of 2016.

Trailer: http://www.isuma.tv/Maliglutit/Teaser

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Interview with Festival Director Jonatan Petré Brixel (Berlin Experimental Film Festival)

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Berlin Experimental Film Festival focuses solely on Experimental films of all kind from all around the world. The Festival takes place at Kino Moviemento, the oldest Cinema in Germany, founded in 1907 located in Kreuzberg in the middle of Berlin. Regardless if its a quiet sensitive film about personal pain, an angry roar against society, a light hearted documentary about a grandmother, a visual portrayal of sound itself or an insecure attempt to wander into an unknown sexuality – the Experimental Film making as such is what the curated program is be built upon.

Visit the website for more information.

Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Jonatan Petré Brixel: We’ve had it once and we aimed at having quality fundamentals – paid accomodation for filmmakers, properly present and advertise the films and film screenings and to invite Film organizations that work with distribution, screening and promotion of experimental films. We succeeded which was real nice, we had full house on the Festival.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

JPB: A festival much like the first but with more films, more attending film makers and more attending film organizations. We’re looking at screening around 70-80 films in our 2nd edition, while still having a proper presentation and promotion for the films.

MT: What are the qualifications for teh selected films?

JPB: The foundation for the Festival and the guideline for film makers submitting and for us who curate the program is the experimental method as such and the personal approach of the filmmaker, regardless of who made it or what it is about. We then have different sections for Narratives, Non narratives, Documentaries and Berlin Originals but all of them builds on the same core principle – a lust to experiment using film and the personal approach of the film maker.

MT: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

JPB: I think many established festivals tend to push their own ideological agenda and then choose films that fit and that irritates me but hey, it’s not like they owe me to promote my film.

All these festivals and other forms of film promotion places popping up – ours included – basically fill a need that has been growing and I think as a film maker it is more important to seek out the people you think promote your sort of film instead of complaining that the ones you know doesn’t. And if you cannot find any – do it yourself. That’s what we did, and funnily enough we discovered we were far from alone there were lots of people and organizations out there doing amazing things. Ever since we started working with the festival we’ve come in contact with alot of
people doing some really great things.

MT: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

JPB: It is really great promoting other people’s work and making things happen. Organizing an event seeing all the impulses you sent out coming together is real fun even though it’s is a enormous amount of work and involves both monotomous grinding as well as stressfull sudden changes.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

JPB: Excellent, they have a superb platform they keep improving all the time. Easy to work with too.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

JPB: We’re working on several things, hopefully some of them will see reality even at the next edition 2017.

MT: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

JPB: Escape from New York followed by Big Troubble in Little China, I had them on a 4 hour VHS tape that i kept watching over and over.

MT: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

JPB: If I feel that they went for it may it be in the script writing, acting, directing or post production or of course at best all of them – it’s a great film. Sometimes it’s young kids unknowingly reinacting all hollywood movies they ever seen, sometimes it’s the life work of someone with a long career behind them, sometimes a manic up and comer, and sometimes it’s a failure and others a success for whatever reason but to go for it is the absolute essence of any great film in my opinion.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

JPB: All over the place. Berlin has both the established Institutions as well as a gigantic amount of people doing their own thing with or without money. And of course all sorts of scenarios and collaborations in between.
berlin_experimental_2.jpg

*******

Organizers:
Festival Director, Jonatan Petre Brixel (b. 1984 Sweden) has a background in Philosophy and started making films 2007, first Film titled “Pig Man gets a Visit”. He has since made several short films and is currently filming his first Feature Film “Sven Harald’s Adventures”.

Festival Manager, Andrija Jovanovic (b. 1982 Serbia) made his first film the moment he laid his hands on a digital photo camera. His first stop motion project “The big bad bag” was broadcasted on a Swiss SRF2 in 2012. Since then he made several short films and is currently working on his first feature project “Ana”. He has a background in literature and painting.

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held at least twice a month in Toronto & Los Angeles. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Interview with Festival Director Loren W. Lepre (Freedom Shorts)

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Now entering it’s 5th year, the film industry of Philadelphia has come together to make this city an active spot for short films from around the world to be screened and celebrated. Average Superstar films has stepped up and lead the way for this massive event. This event truly gives both local and international filmmakers their due over a 3 day weekend! It is held at the world famous Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. With a $60,000 sound system, and a FULL screen, the theater seats up to 600 movie-goers.

Go to the website for more information.

 Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Giving filmmakers from around the world a major stage to shine on. Philadelphia is one of the biggest cities in the U.S. and our main stage The Trocadero is an amazing place to have an event. PhilaMOCA is another great place to have a screening and is active weekly with screenings. This event really makes the filmmakers shine and our venues are a great place to showcase their films.

MT: What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2017)?

Expect the best short films from around the world! Our team selects the best of the best and the event keeps growing and growing. Freedom Shorts is FUN! The Audience always seems to walk out with a smile with the entertainment that comes along with our events!

MT: Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

I can only say that when a film is submitted to our event. It’s fully watched by our team no matter how good or bad if somebody took the time to submit to us we got the time to watch. We only run short films and charge low punk rock prices to submit. It’s only “a short film” I think it’s gross seeing the fees at some of these festivals. The price they’re charging to watch a short flick! I see some charging $40-$60 at some these things! IT’S A SHORT FILM! How can you ask a price like that? The higher the price to submit at a fest I wonder if everybody is getting a fair shake or not. I will say that The Trocadero Theatre can match or come pretty damn close to any of the heavyweight festivals in the world. I don’t think that gives me the right to charge the filmmakers out the ass.

MT: What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

I’m an actor and director myself and I can tell you that I LOVE watching all the films from around the world that are submitted. It makes me want to be better actor . It allows me to see as a director where I need to go. Where the bar is set. The watching process is the most enjoyable part. I did ALL of this myself for the first 2 years. Than help came strong help Brenden Hubbard (Curfew 2013) he is part of the Curfew Team. He has seen it all and was a great help with upgrading Freedom Shorts. Steven Carino (The Unsung Hero) of the event. This guy has endless thanks for what he brought to the table. The rest of my Average Superstar T.V. team helped take this event to the next level.

MT: How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

I can tell you that FilmFreeway was the spark that opened the doors to the world for Freedom Shorts. They really have been great.

MT: Where do you see the festival by 2020?

We hope “A Must Stop” for a filmmaker and the torch of Philadelphia as far as Film Festivals go.

MT: What film have you seen the most times in your life?

Red Dawn (1984) Lost Boys, Young Guns, Porkys 1,2,and 3.

MT: In one sentence, what makes a great film?

Taking your time with pre production, filming and editing.

MT: How is the film scene in your city?

Philadelphia has a sea of problems that won’t be fixed anytime soon. I try to be a good help desk where I can. Philadelphia is well mislead on how to make a film as far as independent films go. Most films made here are by actors that have been in a few films and than decide it’s time to direct. The problem with that is most of the films that they’re in had NO LIGHTING, NO SOUND, NO SHOT LIST, NO STORYBOARD, NO funding for an editor, NO funding to shoot, NO funding for marketing. When these films finally surface and are screened in front of family and friends they get praise. This leads to the virus growing and growing. Philadelphia needs cleansing the ACTORS should be outing these people. The ACTORS should also hold DIRECTORS accountable on completing a GOOD project. Philadelphia has a awful sea of directors that start and don’t finish the film or shelf it and move onto the next one. This boils my blood. Whats about all that time that actors gave you? What does that do for him or her? You wasted the actors time! This person believed in you and got NOTHING out of it. These directors should be dragged out in the street and beaten with hammers. The city is filled with directors that cast and than roll the dice with Indie Go Go and this is NOT how you fund a film. Philadelphia is filled with false directors that are more about the praise on social media than putting out the work itself. I would like the see the actors show stronger backbone and put these directors in check or stomp them out. 90% of the independent actors CAN’T direct family and friends to anything to watch due to poor leadership. To put all that time and effort into something and yet you can show off your skills by showing it to anybody is NOT helping The Philly actors advance. 90% of the actors work full time jobs and act on the weekends for free hoping this can be the one that launches them to the next level. It’s a shame because Philly is filled with good actors that deserve a shot at the dance.
freedom_shorts_2

*******

Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held at least twice a month in Toronto & Los Angeles. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Film Review: 20th CENTURY WOMEN (USA 2016)

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20th_century_women_poster.jpgDirector: Mike Mills
Writer: Mike Mills
Stars: Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig

Review by Gilbert Seah

Mike Mills hit it big with his coming out movie BEGINNERS based on his father who came out of the closet at the age of 75. Mills continues his personal films with 20th CENTURY WOMEN based on his upbringing by both his mother and her sister. The film has clout since, it is based on his life. This is a heartfelt feature.

The story is set in 1979, Santa Barbara, California. Single mother, Dorothea (Annette Benning) seeks the help of Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and Julie (Elle Fanning) to raise her son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). Abbie and Julie rent the rooms upstairs of Dorothea’s house.

Despite the film title, 20the CENTURY WOMEN is not solely about women. It is also about a boy being brought up by three women, only because the mother deems she needs help in his upbringing. So, the film should cater to a male audience though the ads and trailer do not make this point known. It is quite clear where the film is leading. Not only is the boy learning from the women, but the women are slowly influenced by the boy – by the boy’s reactions and deeds.

Mills demonstrates that minimal dialogue can also be used to highlight the drama in a confrontation scene. This is evident in the one where the boys argues with his mother after she chastises him on the ‘choking stinge’. The boy just walks away. The tactic of not using lengthy flowery arguments or screaming matches heighten the credibility of the story.
Mill’s film emphasizes details the characters indulge in that help the audience understand them. Dorothea smokes like a chimney – because it is stylish. But she smokes Salem menthols believing the harm is reduced. Julie sleeps with Jamie, sneaking into this room each night, but there do not indulge in sex.

A lot of effort seems to be put into the hairdo of the characters. Jamie and his mother have very curly hair while Abbie and daughter Julie noticeably straight hair. Abbie’s red hair symbolizes her desire to be different as she is.

The film is put into perspective by titles as well as Jamie’s voiceover. Still, one wonders where the film is leading to, and whether there is some hidden message.

Annette Bening shines in her role as the unsure mother. I am not really a Bening fan as she usually undertakes roles of unlikeable women like in AMERICAN BEAUTY and RUNNING WITH SCISSORS. But this sympathetic role suits her. Elle Fanning has been taking roles of and doing well with weird characters lately (LIVE BY NIGHT and THE NEON DEMON) and her role in this film will add to the list.

It would be interesting to see what kind of film Mills will be involved with next – after he has used up all the stories in his family and personal life.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JnFaltqnAY

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