Melbourne International Film Festival kicks off next week, I have my series pass and I'm excited !
I am attending a number of different screenings and these have been "locked" in. If you and anyone else you know would like to come along to any or all of these times then you would be most welcome to join me. I would welcome the company.
The films being screened at MIFF this year are placed in many categories and it is of course impossible to get a taste for all of them. The Australian and Asian sections seem a little more limited this year with a greater input of European films and new categories such as "horror" , "Forbidden Pleasures", "Israeli" and "African". The documentaries section seems to be somewhat expanded also.
In my selections I have eschewed the European sector and have ended up with
3 Aussie films; 3 Asian films; 2 docos; 1 horror; 1 US; 1 collection of fiction shorts; and 2 "classic" screenings. A varied menu and no mistake.
If you would like to come along then you would be more than welcome. I suggest you book online as the evening sessions in particular are very popular.
My program then :
During the day
Thursday 26/7, 3pm, Eve & Marilyn plus Behind the Veil, documentaries on photographer Eve Arnold, one with Marilyn Monroe as her subject and the other a "rare glimpse into the world of the harem"
Thursday 2/8, 1230pm, The Ballad of Narayama, "classic", 1983 Japanese drama on the cycle of life and death by auteur director Shohei Imamura
Tuesday 7/8, 3pm, a collection of fiction shorts, 8 short (from 5min to 15min) fiction films from around the world
During the week
Tuesday 31/7, 9pm, Time, South Korean, much anticipated by me, by director Kim Ki-duk who most recently released 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring' and '3 Iron'. He has another film at this festival, 'Breath' which time will not allow me to see. I note that this film has just been released in America and scored a 3.5/4 review on release.
The Long Weekend
Friday 3/8, 7pm, Teeth, US "occasional teen comedy, sometimes horror, laced with sex"
Friday 3/8, 9pm, September, Australian, "Ed and Paddy have been fast friends for as long as they can remember but Ed is white and Paddy is Aboriginal. The winds of social change are blowing their way, threatening to fracture what was a rock solid friendship"
Friday 3/8, 11pm, Dog Bite Dog, "Hong Kong action film of the year…distinguishes itself even by Hong Kong standards with its uncompromising toughness"
Saturday 4/8, 11am, Prater, documentary, "Vienna's Prater is the oldest amusement park in the world - the beguiling images in this film provide a giddy ride through the carnival and Vienna's history"
Saturday 4/8, 1pm, The Phantom of the Opera, Classic, this should be highlight of the festival : 1925 silent classic starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin, at the Regent Theatre with live musical accompaniment of "one of the world's finest Wurlitzer theatre organs"
Sunday 5/8, 1pm, In the Company of Actors, Australian, "Two of the world's finest actors, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, prepare to perform the Sydney Theatre Company's version of Hedda Gabler in New York."
Sunday 5/8, 3pm, Hana, Japanese, director Hirokazu Kore-eda, a period film about a "gentle samurai on a mission to take revenge on his father's death"
Sunday 5/8, 5pm, Run Rabbit Run, Australian, written directed by Bob Ellis (journalist, writer, speechwriter) portrait of SA premier Mike Rann "as he negotiates the maelstrom of his re-election campaign.
And One More
Saturday 11/8, 7pm, Black Sheep, NZ horror about mutating sheep that eat people. Sounds hilarious. Something that Peter Jackson might have come up with.
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