Short Film Movie Review

Film Review: MARIA FERNANDA IN TIME (2017)

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Played at the January 2017 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Festival

MARIA FERNANDA IN TIME, 9min, Spain, Sci-Fi/Comedy
Directed by Xavier Pijuan

An overprotective mother produces an accident with terrible consequences in the space-time continuum in the scientific laboratory where his son works.

Review by Kierston Drier

A mixture of slapstick, bawdy, comic timing and recapitulation humor make MARIA FERNANDA IN TIME a hilariously enjoyable piece. Coming to us from Xavier Pijuan, this film explores the classic comic relationship between a loving but overbearing mother and her struggling-for-independence adult son. This classic comic duo is overlaid with the sci-fi twist of time travel, when our hero tells his mother not to touch the time-loop machine, and of course, she does.

Playing off the comedy found in the technology generation-gap lends itself well to this type of tale, as our hero realizes the only way to save himself, his colleagues and the world, is to get his mother to fix whatever she has done to mess up the machine. Thus our plot is complicated by both escalating tension and steaks, and our characters’ being doomed to repeat all the misfortunes of the last few moments.

What delightful about this piece, is that it’s plot is complication, but its’ humor is effectively simple. You love every character, despite their conflicts, you root for everyone regardless of their tragic flaws. You understand each character’s motives, and the humor is palpable, strong and engaging. A wonderful, short, brilliant piece of comedy that goes out with bang.

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Film Review: IM PERFEKT (2017)

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Played at the January 2017 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Festival

IM PERFEKT, 7min, Hungray, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Directed by Zsuzsanna Koszti

The short film aims to show a date in 2046. How the technology can shape our lives in an everyday situation. What if someone else controls your senses.

Review by Kierston Drier

What happens when we can no longer create distinction between where we end and technology begins? How does create us? Define us? Reshape our views of the world and of each other? IM PERFEKT coming to us via director Zsuzsananna Koszti explores the world in the-not-too-distant future, when humanity can seamlessly move between the human/techno gap, and what joys and concerns come from that.

Our two young heroes have met for coffee after meeting digitally. Each of them has a perfectly designed prosthetic hand. Sexual and romantic tension runs overtly between them and the casual seductive flirtations create an instantly engaging dynamic between our characters. Yet, when the female’s hand loses power, her date suggests they switch hands to charge. Once they do however, they can still experience the physical sensations of their own hand, even while it’s in the power of the other. It’s titillating, although somewhat invasive, when our male protagonists puts the fingers of his counterparts’ hand in his own mouth, and rubs her hand up his own leg. And the flirtatious mood turns somewhat embarrassed and awkward, when she tells him to stop. A date turned busy by jumping in too fast might be a theme that rings as current no matter how far in the future it is. A refreshingly modern take on the online dating hookup scene, with the comic twist that hooking up might just as easily mean plugging into power. Despite the clearly inappropriately liberal use our male hero takes with his female counterparts’ hand, we still feel empathic towards him, that his flirtations went one step too far and ruined an otherwise lovely coffee. Which is why you have to smile when the twist comes. Technology gets a bad rap in this day and age for dividing us all, but in IM PERFEKT we get to see it bring us closer together and unite us all, despite our differences. With the slight moral of remembering to ask permission before you take your dates’ hand.

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Film Review: INTO THE DARK (2017)

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Played at the January 2017 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Festival

MOVIE POSTERINTO THE DARK, 14min, USA, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Directed by Lukas Hassel

Sometime in the future, two men strapped in back to back, on a journey from Moon to Earth. Real Justice. Just Reality.

Review by Kierston Drier

 Director and main actor Lukas Hassel, brings to us the intense drama that is Into The Dark. A film that starts with no easy explanation, we open on our hero in a two person ship jetting through space. He is strapped in a pod, which is pressed back to back with his traveling partner, a slightly more optimistic fellow, we never see, but do hear. The discourse the two share is a fascinating breakdown of two people with completely different goals. Our hero’s counterpart seems to want to make a friend during this journey, and yet our hero seems bent on controlling what little he can, including the conversation. What is uncovered is that both our characters are in the process of paying the ultimate price for wrong doings we never learn about. The twist? It’s being live broadcast from space to the general public for entertainment and as a guard against other potential wrongdoers.

Fascinating as the concept alone is, Into The Dark has much to unpack for its short fourteen minutes. A prediction on the future of reality television? Maybe. A commentary on justice and the nature of punishment? Possibly. But what really hits this piece out of the park, as a piece of cinematic entertainment, is the acting. Hassel is our main character, and due to the nature of the film, nearly the entire piece is a close up on him, almost completely unmoving, in a tiny space. This is a dangerous and daring choice in filmmaking. It runs the risk of creating visual stagnation. Yet every moment in this piece is riveting. This is testament to intense and dramatic filmmaking, that is utterly simple, and that indicates incredible story telling.

A classic science-fiction in its form and function, Into The Dark nevertheless fails to entertain with dramatic and exceptionally engaging characters, story and twist.

 
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Full Review: TONI ERDMANN (Germany/Austria/Romania 2016) Best Film of the Year

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toni_erdmann.jpgDirector: Maren Ade
Writer: Maren Ade (screenplay)
Stars: Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn

Review by Gilbert Seah

Chosen as the BEST FILM of 2016 by Sight and Sound’s international critics poll, this much talked about Cannes hit is everything an excellent film can be. It is an entertaining hilarious comedy with the darker theme of life. TONI ERDMANN delivers a message on life, as subtly revealed through this-matched relationship between a practical jokester father and his over-serious corporate daughter who has forgotten how to laugh.

Germans are renowned for their obsession with organization, punctuality (they are known to alway arrive at scheduled meetings early) and rules. People have also mentioned that the lack of humour in Germans is partly due to the structure of their language. I would like to think then that writer/director Maren Ade (this is her third feature, after FOREST FOR THE TREES and EVERYONE ELSE) understands this and has a made a film based on these beliefs as her biggest joke on the German people.

Winfried (Peter Simonischek) is a retired piano teacher, a divorcee who delights in persistent pranks and impersonations that alienate (and occasionally alarm) everyone in his German suburb. He has not been much for staying in touch with his daughter, Ines (Sandra Hüller), a high-ranking management consultant in Bucharest who is as controlled and rigid as her father is impish. Ines also possesses finely tuned radar for the nuances of social interaction — a trait that serves her well in the corporate world but only intensifies her discomfort when Winfried pays a surprise visit. Whenever Ines is meeting her clients or friends, father always shows up unexpectedly with his ruffled hair and fake teeth, often pretending to be a character called TONY ERDMANN.

The film’s prized sequence has father and Ines showing up together unexpectedly at a family party. Father suddenly announces that they will perform a song. He plays the piano while she breaks out delivering Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All”, sung not perfectly but from the heart. This is an intimate scene between father and daughter, the song sung by actress Huller herself. The words are true to what the film is all about, which makes this perhaps the best scene in a film this year. This segment got that rare standing ovation mid-way during its screening at Cannes. It is followed by another key one, in which Ines’s guests show up to an unannounced ‘naked conference’ supposedly for work team building.
Ade’s film looks so effortless that its success and effect is alarming – but in a good way. The occasional jittery framing reminds the audience that Ade is using hand held camera and mostly that an excellent film can be created without the use of special equipment, special camera or special effects.

Ade must be congratulated for her finely devised comedic set-ups, just as surprising as the unexpected times the father shows up on her daughter. She displays a prefect gift for timing and a keen eye on the surroundings.
TONI ERDMANN s a comedy on life that everyone can relate to. This is the main reason the film is so endearing. It is hilarious with so many laugh-out loud moments and also an observant piece on what corporate society has become. I have watched the film a second time – a true test of a good film if it can stand a second viewing, and I must say the second viewing was more rewarding than the first. It is so good to laugh about life and relationships. The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) which I am a member of, has awarded the film the Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actress and best Director Awards.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imRcz9atLfo

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Film Review: I AM DYSLEXIC (Norway) Animation/Music Video

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

I AM DYSLEXIC, 6min. UK, Animation/Music Video

The animated short film I AM DYSLEXIC expresses what it feels like to have a learning difference in our current school system. Those with learning differences should be proud of who they are and should never be made to feel alone.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

A masterful piece of short cinema is a rare gem. To be truly spectacular a short must do three things exceptionally well: It must tell a compelling and engaging story, it must establish, build and deliver an emotional goal (Comedic or Dramatic) and it must be visually breathtaking. Enter I AM DYSLEXIC, directed by Mads Johan Ogaard and Katie Wyman. Majestic in its visual metaphors and brave in it’s delivery, I AM DYSLEXIC is a powerful cinematic short that provides all three of these elements. The story is remarkably simple- following the metaphorical journey of two school age children desperately trying to learn literacy through the conventional education model. Instead of following their actual progress, we see them climbing an unfathomable high mountain of books, scattered pages, text and block letters. A vibrant and powerful metaphor, strengthen in part by its simplicity. To anyone who has ever struggled with conventional education, the metaphor is disarmingly accurate. Perhaps this is what elevates the film- the abstract approach to explaining what learning can be like, for those of us who learn differently.

 

Our heroes’ deal with road block after road block, and stumble constantly. There is no easy path, and no well marked trail for their journey. And although there is no dialogue at all, there is a dramatic original musical score “I’m Not Stupid” which aids in epic atmospheric elements to this piece.

 

I AM DYSLEXIC is an emotional powerhouse of a film. Stunningly effective in its representation and utterly unique and transformative in its symbology, this is a film everyone should see. It reminds all the viewers that  unconventional learning is not a crime, and that, pun intended, there are many paths up the same mountain. Despite the difficulty, they all will lead to the top. This reviewer, (a dyslexic, as it happens) gives this film a 10.

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Film Review: GRANDMA: A TRUE STORY (UK) Animation/Family

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

MOVIE POSTERGRANDMA: A TRUE STORY, 5min, UK, Animation/Family
Directed by Viviane Peo’h

A grandmother and a granddaughter love and understand each other truly, without the need for speaking. One day, the grandmother has a stroke and is transported urgently to hospital. There is no hope. As the night gets deeper a miracle is on the way. A true and compassionate story.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Touching and lovingly put together, GRANDMA is one of those stories that will pull on the heartstrings of anyone who has bridged the gap between generations with friendship. This story recounts in heartfelt detail, the relationship our narrator forms as a young girl with her grandmother, before she has a fall in her home and is in danger of passing away in the hospital. Within the same timespan, our narrator, is also put in the hospital after a car accident, where she silently begs God to keep her grandmother alive. The good she has done in the world surely outweighs’ the narrator’s own, and that certainly earns her more time on this planet.

 

It is hard to say what is more touching, the narrative tribute our narrator crafts for her grandmother, or the painstaking time spent on the stop-motion claymation used to animate the tale. Stop-motion is an incredibly time consuming process which requires an enormous amount of attention to details. GRANDMA shows all the signs of an unmistakable labour of love.

 

GRANDMA is one of those shorts that is so clearly built on a foundation on authenticity and love that it is hard to dislike. The style of the piece may be raw, or arguably not as polished looking as a digital counterpart, but there is no lack of story here, and certainly no lack of feeling. A touching piece, indeed.

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Film Review: AFRO CRAB (Taiwan) Animation/Comedy

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

MOVIE POSTERAFRO CRAB, 4min, Taiwan, Animation/Comedy
Directed by Chen Liang Yu

A-SIE,the crab, was watching TV with his friend, the fish. Suddenly, Cook came and took the fish.To save his friend, A-SIE left his comfort zone and fight with Cook!

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Directed by Light Fish Chen, is a film that ties in action, zany larger-than-life characters and comedy together through the adventures of- you guessed it, a Crab with an unusual haircut. All seems well for our hero as he sit sits on the couch with his unmoving and blank-staring Fish companion. However when his friend is seized by a villainous and dastardly chef bent on making a fish-soup, Afro crab must spring into action. What results, is a colourfully bright and high-impact combination of epic fighting between our Hero and the evil Chef.

 

This film packs a colourful and imaginative punch. A special nods must be given to the various ways AFRO CRAB calls back to other well-established children’s animation. Despite the difference in animation style, AFRO CRAB’s character design is slightly reminiscent of SpongeBob Squarepants, and the Ninja-esque fight between our Hero and the evil chef play off many popular anime for children, such as Dragon Ball Z and Kung Fu Panda. Also worth mentioning is the specific type of musical choice for the fight sequences- a distinctive heavy metal piece that re enforces the epic nature of the battle.
In the end, our afro crab is reunited with his fishy friend, but he might have to make do with a slightly altered version. AFRO CRAB is a fun, action packed way to spend a few minutes with anyone you would like to escape with. Enjoy the show!

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Film Review: SISTERS (USA) Animation/Music Video

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

SISTERS, 4min, USA, Animation/Music Video
Directed by David Chontos

A fragment of some lost, tragic opera. Trapped in the ruins of their former glory, a pair of performers bound together and abandoned by time rise up to sing once more. Conjured up by the song to which it’s set, the film represents a sincere vision of inspiration derived from the music of Karin Dreijer Andersson (Fever Ray).

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

David Chontos, the writer, director and designer of Sisters, uses If I had a Heart by Fever Ray, to backdrop his stunningly beautiful animated short. Spellingbindingly gorgeous, this piece deals with the reanimation of two robotic marionette sisters, come to life on their rundown vaudevillian stage. Delicately laced with details in every shot and frame, Sisters is a masterful work of animated cinema. Not a single detail is lost in the vivid animation.

 

The tone of the film feels dark, perhaps because of the overtly decadent nature of the setting. Perhaps also, the irony of the song plays a part, as our characters appear closely connected and yet their motives are never completely clear. They come to life very slowly, and them seem to struggle to stay animated. The result is a haunting but graceful dance that is entrancing, although unknowable.  The world of the sisters, as machines, is unfathomable to the audience. There is an undeniable sense of similarity between Sisters and the opening of the recent smash-hit Television show, West World, and not without good reason. In both, the visuals are gorgeous, and in both, you want to see more. An expertly executed piece of musical animated cinema.

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Film Review: CACOPHONY (USA) Animation/Drama

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

CACOPHONY, 2min, USA, Animation/Drama

Directed by AiHsuan Shih

Through the eyes and ears of a young girl, the viewer can escape the harsh sounds of the urban environment and find solace in a serene inner world.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

Coming to us by Melody Shih, Cacophony is hard to look away from. Filled with bright colors, high contrast, rich textures and expertly crafted blend of artistic styles, this is a movie to capture the soul of an artist.

 

Our hero, an introvert in a crowded metropolis, deals with the high-octane, high-stimulus noise and visual clutter around her. Sounds pop, honk and tweet incessantly and synesthetically in every direction. Somehow, despite the vibrancy and high-color world outside her, we find our way inside her. Whether we are seeing her mind’s eye, or her metaphorical spirit it is left for the viewer to decide. Regardless, the effect is masterful. The internal world of our hero is serenely still, with contrasting dark undertones against brilliant, effervescently bright simple designs. Like music made visual, like liquid made light, our hero reverts into themselves before the hum of the outside world draws her out to real life.

 

If you appreciate art or experimental cinema, find a way to see Melody Shih’s Cacophony, a beautiful tribute to the people who may see the world differently- as energy, as sound and light and texture. And if you do not love experimental film, see this anyway, as it may change your mind.

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Film Review: PHANTOM CITY (Canada) Animation/Crime

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

PHANTOM CITY, 6min, Canada, Animation/Crime

Directed by Patrick Jenkins

A woman with a mysterious suitcase and a man in pursuit… just one of the tales in the Phantom City. A magic realist detective story.

REVIEW by Kierston Drier: 

If film Noir and silent animation had a baby, it would be Phantom City, written and directed by Patrick Jenkins. The plot is simple, a woman enters a movie theatre to watch a mysterious spy versus spy style cat-and-mouse story, only for it to end in a supernatural twist that comes vibrantly to life. A simple, yet utterly engaging story line. What makes Phantom City sparkle, is how much it uses artistry in its work. It uses color sparingly, so as to add emphasis, it uses texture within its black and white frames. It makes dynamic use of sound, while minimal use of of dialogue. Artistically speaking, it is a film of depth, richness and visual complexity.

 

The story-within-a-story aspect is equally compelling with a nod to the classic Pulp Fiction. The supernatural twist at the end leaves the viewer with questions they long to have answered. But why should we watch Phantom City? See it because it effectively straddles multiple types of artistic mediums. See it because it is a compelling and visually entertaining piece. See it for its’ Noir-esque overtones and its’ rich animation. See it, if for nothing else, because it is a joy to watch.

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