Argentina is the up and coming nation of South American film these days, producing not only a huge volume of genre film these days but also a good amount of serious drama thanks to a growing indie scene. And coming out of that scene is Liliana Paolinelli’s Proper Eyes, an intimate drama revolving around a group of college women shooting a documentary film about prisoner’s wives. The trailer looks to be exceptionally well shot, very intimate stuff with a strong cast. Very nice. Check it below the break.
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Many Brazilians of a certain age are very familiar with José Mojica Marins and his character Coffin Joe (Zé do Caixão), who first appeared in the 1963 film At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul. Marins was an unknown quantity to most of the world until the release of his films on VHS cassettes by Something Weird in the early 1990s. The release of these films was revelatory.
The Coffin Joe character, a grave digger by trade, is some sort of Nietzsche-like misanthrope who takes delight in causing misery everywhere he goes. The early black and white films are steeped in the familiar components of early United States and European horror, including the charismatic evil doer (Coffin Joe) with a hunchback assistant (Bruno) and an endless supply of diabolical schemes. Unlike horror films from the U.S. and Europe, the Coffin Joe films have an exotic vibe. The stories are overtly anti-religious, the sexual element is aggressive, the faces are ethnic, and the geek show antics (blood, guts, live snakes, spiders, frogs, rats, and roaches) go further than similar fare of the time. Marins’ later films are really off-the-map, and includes works like the ultra-bizarre full-length compendium of freak out sequences entitled Hallucinations of a Deranged Mind. The genuine “otherness” of these films puts Marins more in league with Luis Bunuel, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Fernando Arrabal than regular horror directors.
Some decades after the last Coffin Joe film, Jose Mojica Marins has created a new entry in the cycle: Embodiment of Evil (Encarnação do Demônio). The film played at Brazil’s RIOFAN Festival earlier in the year but is now set to screen at a most unexpected venue: the Venice Film Festival. What Venice audiences will see on August 29th and 31st, 2008 is a mix of blustery philosophizing and gory surrealism that will appeal to the Coffin Joe faithful but will probably leave everyone else confused.
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It’s been a long time coming but Chilean super hero comedy Santos is finally complete and ready to have its world premiere at the upcoming Fantastic Fest next month. And what better way to celebrate than with the full, theatrical trailer! Glee! Or, at least it would be glee if I weren’t currently stranded at the paying job where streaming video is blocked. So you can see it, but I can’t. Sigh. Oh well, glee for you ...
Birdsong (El Cant dels Ocells)—Albert Serra, Spain. Stunningly shot using only natural light, El Cant dels Ocells is a contemplative reinterpretation of the Biblical journey of the Three Wise Men in search of the newborn Messiah. With a cast of non-professionals performing an improvised script, Albert Serra’s second feature builds on his ongoing interest to cinematically express real time through the exquisite exploration of earth and sky. At The Greencine Daily, Dave Hudson gathers the critical response from Cannes08, where El Cant dels Ocells screened in the Directors’ Fortnight. Robert Koehler reviews El Cant dels Ocells for Cinema Scope and—though not available online—in the same issue Mark Peranson (who portrays Joseph in the film) diaries on his participation with the project. At l’Humanité, Jean Roy declares “this contemplative, sensitive film takes us on a quest for the essence of cinema.” Duane Byrge drivels alliterative disdain at The Hollywood Reporter, describing the film as “tiresome twaddle” and “pretentious piffle.” North American Premiere.
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Just as a reminder that animation pretty much everywhere in the world other than here in North America is not reserved strictly for children, here comes a trailer for Argentinian feature Boogie El Aceitoso. Based on characters created by famed Argentine comic author Fontanarrosa, the film follows the adventure of a surly, misanthropic hitman out to prove that he is still number one despite the rise of a younger rival. Violence? Check. Bloodshed? Check. Ball scratching? Check. And that’s just the trailer, which you can find below the break in the Twitch Player.
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At last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, my favorite tennis match was between the Discovery and Masters programs, which I wrote up for Greencine. I’m tempted to replicate the sport this year.
As indieWIRE noted when they recently interviewed Cameron Bailey, the Discovery program has doubled this year—26 titles up from 13—and there’s a noticeable increase in American fare—7 films up from 2—but, notwithstanding, it’s still an eclectic mix of regions, with 18 countries being represented overall. When asked the reasoning for the increase in slots, and what Bailey’s general thoughts were regarding what emerging filmmakers are up to, he responded: “Well this one is by design. Discovery was one of the sections I wanted to work on this year and I’m really proud of how it’s turned out. I wanted Discovery to be the place that people go to discover new talent at our festival where we show what we consider to be some of the most exciting new voices in cinema from all over the world. To do that I took off some of the restrictions we had on the program in the past in terms of the premiere status and distribution status. We had quite a number of limitations on what was eligible for our Discovery section in the past. That’s changed and as a result I think this is really just a great showcase for new talent in the movies.”
It’s certainly where I intend to catch some of the festival darlings from Cannes08: Better Things, Hunger, Snow, Tony Manero and Tulpan. And, of course, I couldn’t be prouder of SF homeboy Barry Jenkins’ Medicine for Melancholy for being included in the line-up. If removing some of the program’s previous restrictions accounted for that, I’m all for it because it puts Barry in the running with the other 25 feature-length Discovery titles to be eligible for the Diesel Discovery Award chosen by the Festival press corps, which consists of over 1000 accredited media from around the world. I can honestly say, however, that I doubt I’ll catch much of the U.S. fare, presuming these indies will travel Bayside in due course. I’m more prone to take a chance with Zift from Bulgaria, or The Paranoids from Argentina, or the Israeli/Australian animation. Or maybe I’ll just let myself be creeped out by Tale 52 from Greece? Ultimately, it comes down to the calendar.
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With the full line-up for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival officially announced, I can finally begin to effectively obsess. And with 312 films from 64 countries screening at TIFF08, including 249 feature-length films, 76 per cent of which are world, international or North American premieres, and 61 of which are feature directorial debuts … well, needless to say, there’s a lot to obsess about.
Never let it be said, however, that I am not methodical in my obsessions. I begin with a preliminary review of the Contemporary World Cinema sidebar, with special thanks to Bay Area filmbud Carole Rutherford whose raids on IMdb and Wikipedia got me motivated. I also shout out to my Evening Class cohort Michael Hawley, the Twitch and Row Three teams, Dave Hudson at The Greencine Daily, Darren Hughes at 1st Thursday, the crew around Girish Shambu’s water cooler, and Anthony Kaufman at indieWIRE for their welcome recommendations. This will be a slightly amoebic entry that gains mass as recommendations pour in. That being said, recommendations welcome!
Off the cuff—being an avid supporter of Spanish cinema—I’m intrigued by José Luis Cuerda’s Blind Sunflowers (Los Girasoles ciegos), primarily because it features one of my favorite Spanish actresses and spooky Simón from The Orphanage (Maribel Verdú, Roger Príncep). Also, I found Juan Carlos Tabío’s Strawberry and Chocolate both sexy and hilarious so I’m primed for more sensuous laughs with Horn of Plenty. And after the visually stunning Bonbon El Perro, I’ll look through any cinematic window with Carlos Sorin.
Having seen both Ramin Bahrani’s Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, I’m keen to his compassionate observations of marginalized lives and anticipate that Goodbye Solo will not disappoint. With a cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Jérémie Rénier and the incomparable Edith Scob, I’m curious what kind of B-movie vibe might be present in Olivier Assayas’s most recent L’Heure d’été (Summer Hours). Impressed with last year’s Jar City, and appreciative of his production credits on The Amazing Truth of Queen Raquela, I’m inclined to check out Baltasar Kormakur’s Brúðguminn (White Night Wedding). As a board member on The Global Film Initiative, I’m steeped in Indonesian auteur Garin Nugroho (Of Love & Eggs, Opera Jawa) and am anxious to follow through with Under the Tree to monitor his strengthening creativity. Upon Anthony Kauffman’s recommendations, I’ve become interested in Two-Legged Horse and Treeless Mountain; the latter especially because Girish Shambu introduced me to So Yong Kim’s In Between Days, which I very much enjoyed.
I could roost fully in the World Cinema selection and will have to make some difficult decisions to sample TIFF08’s multiple sidebars.
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I am shocked. Shocked I tell you, that no one here has yet told everyone about the second wave of announced titles at this year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. Giddy-up Buckaroos cause this lineup is going to kick you stronger than an ornery bronco! ... ... ... okay… .... stopping with the cowboy lingo now… So what else have they added to their already stellar roster of films this year?
Chilean Superheroes? Check.
Autistic Thai Chicks Kicking Ass? Yes please.
The Muscles from Brussels? You had me at ‘the’.
Naked Lesbian Wiccan Frolicking? If there is a better type of frolicking I haven’t heard of it.
Hot damn, there is so much good stuff going on at this year’s fest. And word is there is still MORE room to fill. TWITCH will be in Drafthouse if full effect this year. I think I am going to overload my senses on the first day alone. The official press release, including titles and descriptions, is below the fold.
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As the opening of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival draws nearer expect a fistful of major announcements to come rolling down the line over the next couple weeks, the first of which came today in the form of a slew of Asian and Spanish language titles. The big guns? Mamoru Oshii’s Sky Crawlers, Takeshi Kitano’s Achilles and the Tortoise and Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Still Walking. Check the complete announcements below the break!
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Throughout the 1960s and 1970s in Mexico there were a series of high profile bandits who seized the public imagination, becoming if not folk heroes then something not far off. And new Mexican documentary Los Ladrones Viejos asks the very simple question of what happened to these men. The film maker tracked down six of them, along with the man tasked with hunting them down, to profile both their lives, their behavior and where they’ve ended up now. And the results, apparently, are fantastic, with the film becoming one of the most critically acclaimed Mexican films of the year. Curiosu to see more? Visit the official website at the link below and check the trailer below the break in the Twitch Player.
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Kicking off the “Streets of No Return” series with a screening of Delmer Daves’s Dark Passage (1947), PFA curator Steve Seid outlined in his introductory remarks that hopefully—along with the series’ objective of spotlighting the work of a lesser-known pulp writer like David Goodis—would be an attempt to gain a sense (over the length of the series) of the concept of filmic adaptation of literary works; to finesse what’s left behind when novels are adapted, or what is included to make them screenworthy; and to determine if justice has been done to the writings of David Goodis.
Succinctly profiling that Goodis began writing in the late ‘30s, with a brief irreconcilable stint in Hollywood in the late ‘40s, Goodis parted ways with Hollywood to return to “a decrepit life” in his hometown Philadelphia until his death in the ‘60s. Even while he was alive, however, non-Hollywood film directors began adapting his books and Seid boasted that all but three of those adaptations would be included in the series.
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[Our thanks to Fernando Verissimo for the following review.]
I was lucky enough to catch an avant-premiere of the new Coffin Joe film, Encarnação do Demônio (Embodiment of Evil), that took place in Rio last week. José Mojica Marins, Mr. Coffin Joe himself, was there to present the screening, as were his cast and crew, and producers Paulo Sacramento and Fabiano Gullane.
Although the general feeling was one of celebration, since the audience consisted mostly of guests, the expectations towards the film were incredibly high – and there was plenty of reason for that. First of all, this is Mojica’s first film in more than two decades, his first horror feature in thirty years and the first film in the Coffin Joe series in forty years. Second, the screening took place in the same day the film was announced as an official selection of the next Venice Film Festival – an achievement that helps to raise Mojica’s reputation as a true creative force in cinema, and that is very welcomed by his fans in Brazil, a country that insists in regarding him as a maker of trashy, low-quality films, even after all these years.
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Introducing Emilio Fernández‘s Enamorada, PFA curator Steve Seid admitted that the film’s English translation “Woman In Love” isn’t entirely accurate. Quoting Judy Bloch’s PFA capsule, Enamorada speaks more interestingly “about a man in love.” Enamorada—which translates more correctly as “Beloved”, in the sense of a man’s love for his beloved—expresses the love General José Juan Reyes (Pedro Armendáriz) feels for Beatriz Peñafiel (María Félix). But then again, it’s not only his love for her as a woman but for the civilizing power of the Catholic faith that she represents. “[W]hat captivates, even mesmerizes, is the film’s portrayal of revolution and religion as conjoined elements of the Mexican character,” Bloch writes. “The general,” she adds, “confuses Beatriz with Jesus.”
Continue Reading "Hecho Por México: The Films of Gabriel Figueroa—Enamorada (1946)"...
“Figueroa skies.” The image conjures the big sky country of the Mexican desert, embraced in high contrast by billowing cumulus clouds enhanced by infrared filters, and limned by the persevering thorn of the impoverished agave and the heartfelt offerings of ubiquitous cala lilies. Beneath these immense skies, Mexicanidad toils the soil, tolls cathedral bells to call the common soul to mass, and tells fiery stories of evolving revolutions.
In his introduction to the PFA series celebrating the artistry of Gabriel Figueroa—Hecho Por México—curator Steve Seid writes: “Gabriel Figueroa was more than a cinematographer. A consummate artist, he captured with grandeur a sense of Mexico that would—as the poet Carlos Fuentes affectionately observed—bring us to ‘see Figueroa’s Mexico and not the one that really existed.’ Beginning in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, Figueroa’s rich chiaroscuro embodied Mexico’s entrenched contrasts—the monumental faces weathered like the arid land, the expressively lit cathedrals dark against turbulent skies, the timeless agave, stark and prickly. The painters Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco were Figueroa’s intimates, and their influence can be detected in what Siqueiros called ‘murals that travel.’ Figueroa was the man who made manifest Luis Buñuel’s sardonic surrealism by underscoring mundane but unexpected details. And he will forever be associated with director Emilio ‘El Indio’ Fernández, who said with remarkable swagger, ‘There only exists one Mexico: the one I invented’—but it was Figueroa’s highly dramatic feel for the land that engendered this invention. In the mid-thirties, Figueroa apprenticed to Hollywood cinematographer Gregg Toland, and was much admired by American directors such as John Ford and John Huston, who used his signature style to great effect. He cut a dashing figure across the film industry, but his social conscience always preceded him: Gabriel Figueroa’s aim was to give back to Mexican culture a dignified image of itself, and this he did, al lo grande.”
Though hosting duties during the San Francisco Silent Film Festival precluded my attending the opening doublebill of PFA’s Figueroa series—Let’s Go With Pancho Villa! (1935) and The Pearl (1943)—I’ve committed myself to the remainder of the selection. To prepare for the experience, I met up with Steve Seid for a few words on the series.
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Many thanks go out to Aaron Soto for passing along word of upcoming Mexican thriller Bajo La Sal (or Under The Salt), a dark murder mystery about to hit Mexican screens. Starring Humberto Zurita - a leading Mexican actor of the 70s and 80s - and Blanca Guerra - who you may remember from Santa Sangre - the film revolves around a series of corpses discovered buried in a salt mine. If the trailer is to be believed this is one seriously well made, very creepy piece of work and Warner Brothers’ Mexican arm certainly seems to think they’ve got a major picture on their hands here: they’re running the trailer for it in front of Mexican screenings of The Dark Knight.
A series of murders leads commander TRUJILLO to Santa Rosa de la Sal a town close to a salt mine, where he meets VÍCTOR ZEPEDA - a lonely teenager who works in his father funeral home and spends his free time making crude animated horror films - who’s strange behavior seems to point at him as the culprit of the crimes.
Check out the trailer below the break in the Twitch Player.
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