Die Geige(El Violin), Mexiko, 2007

Dieser schwarz-weiss Fillm erzählt die Geschichte einer Gruppe mexikanischer Landwirte, die im Süden des Landes wohnen und arbeiten. Sie leben in Armut, denn für ihre Ernte bekommen sie fast kein Geld. Darunter gibt es eine Gruppe von Rebellen, die gegen die Regierung kämpfen. Sie versuchen, diese schlechte Situation der Landwirte zu ändern.

Genau genommen geht es um eine Familie von Landwirten. Der Mann ist mit der Rebellengruppe beschäftigt, und deswegen ist eines Tages seine Frau und Tochter von der Polizei verschleppt worden. Der Grossvater wohnt mit dieser Famlie zusammen. Er entschloss sich, die Frau und Tochter zu retten. Warum heisst der Film "Die Geige"? Denn der Grossvater besitzt eine Geige, die er immer bei sich hat. Er arbeitet als Strassenmusiker.

Man sieht im Film wie die Landwirte ausgebeutet werden. Das gehört leider zu mexikanischem Alltag Die Landschaft mitten in den Bergen ist wunderschön. Visuell ist der Film auch sehr gut.

MORE FANTASIA FILMS (from around the world):

Offscreen (Denmark, 2007) ☆☆☆☆☆
Director Christopher Boe has put together a film made out of basically home videos. These videos come from actor Nicholas Bro, who during a whole year recorded his everyday life activities and carried around a camera with him almost everywhere. When his friends, and finally his girlfriend, get fet up and break all contact with him, he starts to lose it. Nicholas thinks he is shooting a film, and for this reason asks other friends to help him finish his "production". Nobody takes him seriously and finally, when he loses it, he commits an atrocious crime, all caught on tape and shown to the spectator. It is fake "reality tv" style that shocks. The film suddenly stops being a documentary and strays into fiction, but the line is blurred and makes you believe every scene you are watching is real. Another original Danish production.

Diary (Hong Kong, 2006) ☆☆☆☆
Winnie is a schizophrenic young woman. She sees and hears things all the time. She lives alone in her appartment. Little by little the viewer realizes Winnie has not only killed his boyfriend, but is also about to commit another crime. When she meets another guy who looks like his boyfriend and invites him for dinner, things turn really bad. This movie is a mixture of paranoia, mental illness and murder that will make your mind work to try to find out who is the actual murderer.

Zero City (Russia, 1988) ☆☆☆
Moscow engineer Alexei Varakin arrives to a strange town. In it, there is no one on the streets, and when he arrives to his appointment at a local company, the secretary sits in her desk fully naked! This is only the beginning of many other surreal events taking place in Zero City, where Alexei witnesses a murder and has to stay in town while police makes enquiries as to what really happened. A very strange sci-fi movie from the former Soviet Union.

Nightmare Detective (Japan, 2007) ☆☆
Kyoichi Kagenum is a dream analyzer. He is called upon to help solve a series of crimes taking place in a city. The movie uses a lot of surreal imagery to capture the viewer's attention. But what we are actually seeing is the murderer's mind, and how it sees things. Kyoichi must go inside the murderer's dreams in order to trace him and capture him. A violent headtrip of a horror/crime film.

MORE FANTASIA FILMS (my selection from the United States):

Mulberry Street (USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆
This low-budget movie really delivers. When a zombie epidemic strikes downtown New York, neighbours in Mulberry Street have no other choice but to defend themselves against these evil beings. Shot in HD video and almost entirely at night, the movie delivers good shock scenes and suspense. You wil never want to take a way at night in your neighbourhood street again.

Right At Your Door (USA, 2006) ☆☆☆☆
A couple living in L.A. wakes up to a nightmare caused by terrorist attacks. Several bombs explode in downtown. The real problem being that the bombs emit biochemical toxins into the air. We follow 24 hours in the lives of this couple, whose lives hang by a thread, and every second there is something going on that keeps you alert throughout the film. Another good low-budget movie that takes place mostly in the couple's house. The unexpected ending is one of the best I have seen in the Fantasia festival.

The Rage (USA, 2007) ☆
Some friends are out on the road going somewhere on vacations. At the same time, a Soviet scientist throws out toxic waste into the air causing pollution, and of course, mutations. When our group of friends encounter the first mutant animals, all hell breaks loose, and of course, from this point on, there is no more plot, just bad acting, I mean, really bad acting, and blood gushing out from almost everywhere. Consider yourselves warned!

Hatchet (USA, 2006) ☆☆☆
The plot is simplicity at its finest: a group of tourists decided to take a boat tour in the swamps of New Orleans. Only one of the tourists knows what really happened in those swamps. There is a madman who kills people by tearing them up to pieces. And this is where the "complex" background story is told, check this out: little Victor Crowley lived alone with his dad. He was born with a deformed head. One day, when the wood house is accidentaly put on fire, Victor's father comes to rescue his son. He tries to open the door with a hatchet, and oops!, he accidentally hits poor Victor in the head, deforming even more his face. Father dies of depression, and little Victor is left alone in the woods (or the swamps) to kill wheover approaches his cabin. There you go. The good news is that the film is actually funny and gory, but the mix here works surprisingly well. Our tourists will be killed one by one, torn to pieces by Victor. All in all, a good laugh like not many horror movies can give you.

The Signal
(USA, 2007) ☆☆☆☆☆

This has to be the best movie I saw at Fantasia, and the best horror movie I have seen this year so far. The movie is divided into three parts, or "transmissions" as they call them, each written and directed by three different directors (David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry). It's all about the "signal" transmitted by television, which somehow affects people and causes them to go crazy and kill everyone around them. One day TV stations go off and instead a strange humming noise is emitted from every station, causing people to engage in a killing spree. We follow the lives of a group of people in New York and how they try to escape from all the madness going on around them. There is even some comedy (something i hate in horror movies, but here I must say it works perfectly).

The movie kicks some serious ass if you ask me. It is an insanely audacius experiment and apparently it became one of the most popular films at this year's Sundance festival within seconds of its screening. This is for me absolute entertainment, definitely a must-see for every horror movie fan.

Fantasia Festival 2007

For this year's Fantasia festival, here is a list of the 9 movies I went to see:

1. Offscreen (Denmark)
2. The Signal (USA)
3. Right At Your Door (USA)
4. Diary (Hong Kong)
5. Hatchet (USA)
6. Zero City (Russia)
7. Mulberry Street (USA)
8. Nightmare Detective (Japan)
9. The Rage (USA)

reviews coming soon...

The Bridesmaid

(La Demoiselle d'Honneur) France, 2004 ☆☆☆☆

Director Claude Chabrol has the ability to tell original mystery stories. They are mostly tales about murderers caught in strange situations. And this is exactly the case of "the Bridesmaid", in which a young and successful businessman falls in love with one of the bridesmaids at his sister's wedding. In the meantime, his widow mom is dating a lonely and rich man who suddenly disappears. The story then goes back to our businessman, who falls madly in love with the bridesmaid, who by the way starts questioning him regarding his love towards her and what he will be able to do for her, even murder. We soon find out she is a little crazy; she owns a three-story house but decides to live only in the basement; he says she is an actress but does not seem to do anything all day. When one day she comes back and tells our businessman that she has killed the rich guy to prove her love to him, things start to fall apart. As always, the second half of the movie picks up and is far more interesting and bizarre. The ending, not a happy one, as in most of Chabrol's movies, will surely surprise you.

The Last Blues

("Az Utolso Blues", Hungary, 2002) ☆☆☆

Director Peter Gardos tells us the story of Andris, whose life suddenly changes one day when he leaves Budapest and goes to visit his lover in Krakow. For a mysterious reason the brakes on his car would not work, and we see him calling on the phone to almost everyone and half of the film is spent inside his brand-new Seat car. At the end, both his wife and lover meet at a restaurant, and he must decide whether to keep his family life or go live with his Polish girlfriend.

The Last Days (USA, 2005) ☆☆

Director Gus van Sant tells the story of the last couple of days in the life of singer Kurt Cobain. As in many of van Sant's films, there are extremely long shots, very little dialogue, major emphasis on cinematography and little explanation as to what is happening in the scenes. I just wonder if Kurt's last days were as sad as what we see on screen.

The Abandoned (Spain, 2007) ☆☆

Spanish director Nacho Cerda is known for his shocking movies. Barely known in his native country, Cerda shot his last movie in English and it has got some distribution in North America. With The Abandoned, he tells the story of a woman in search of her past. She travels to a farmhouse in Russia, where she was born. Of course the place is haunted, what else. Her mother and stepdad appear as vicious zombies trying to kill her. With the help Nicolai (who according to his version of the story is the woman's brother) they try to uncover the hidden truth. The plot is somewhat predictable, and instead of running away from the haunted house, they just change from one room to another or run in the forest while being chased by the spirit of whoever lived in the farmhouse. Predictable with some good scares, nothing more.

Shutter
(Thailand, 2004 ) ☆☆☆☆

Imagine everytime you take pictures there is a ghost that appears in the background. It does not sound very original, but the plot of this movie sounds better: a couple is driving on the road at night and suddenly hit a girl who crosses the road. Instead of stepping off the car and helping, they live her lying on the road. Unfortunately for them, the spirit of the girl will take revenge and start appearing in their pictures. By the way, the guy is a professional photographer, isn't he lucky?

The plot gets a little more complicated; apparently the photographer had a relationship with this girl. In the meantime, she stalks his girlfriend, plays polstergeist in his appartment and gives the audience some pretty good scary moments.

In one scene, we see a collection of photographs of supposedly "real" ghost apparitions. Let me tell you they look damn scary! All in all, the movie delivers good scary scenes and a decent plot makes it interesting to watch.

The Three Faces of Fear
a.k.a. Black Sabbath (Le Tre Volti Della Paura), Italy 1963 ☆☆☆

This mystery film from Italy is divided into three different stories. In the first story, a woman receives strange phone calls, apparently by a serial murderer who just escaped from prison. The second involves the legends of the living dead, set in Eastern Europe, where a young man finds a secluded family living in fear of the waking dead. The third one is for me the scariest one; a woman for some reason is called upon to dress up the body of a woman who has just passed away. Maybe arrangements for her funeral? We never find out. Without anyone noticing, she steals a gold ring from the dead corpse. As you can figure out, she will soon regret this act. She will be hearing voices in her house, and the dead body will come back for her ring. It all sounds quite cheesy, but remember the movie dates back to 1963, where Dracula and the Werewolf were still fighting in castles. This is a fresh twist on the mystery/horror genre. Wonder why the US title is Black Sabbath. I personally prefer the Three Faces of Fear.

Into Great Silence
(die Grosse Stille) Deutschland, 2006 ☆☆

Die Idee ist sehr gut, es klingt sogar spannend: eine Beschreibung des Lebens in einem Kloster. Weiss man wirklch, wie das Leben da drinnen ist? Die meisten von uns haben natürlich keine Ahnung. Und dieser Film berichtet über den Alltag der Möncher. Leider dauert den Film fast drei Stunden! Meiner Meinung nach ist das zu viel. Immer wieder tauchen die gleichen Szenen auf: das Abendessen, die Arbeit beim Textschreiben, das Gebet, die Massen, und so weiter. Aber, wie erwartet, gibt es nichts Ausserordentliches. Es ist auf jeden Fall interessant zu wissen, dass es noch Leute gibt, die in so ein einfaches Leben führen. Die Möncher besitzen fast nichts, sie tragen immer die gleiche Kleidung und Schuhe. Im Kloster findet man spärliche, einfache Möbel. Wenn der Film nur kürzer dauern würde...

Fear of Fear
(Angst vor der Angst) Germany, 1975 ☆☆

Es geht um eine Hausfrau, die ein normales Leben führt mit ihrem Mann und der Tochter. Leider geht es dieser Hausfrau nicht so gut. Sie fängt an, Angst zu haben. Aber wovor hat sie Angst? Nicht einmal die Frau kann diese Frage beantworten. Mehr und mehr ist sie von einem ständigen Gefühl von Ängstlichkeit befangen. Sie versucht zuerst, sich immer mit irgendetwas zu beschäftigen. Sobald sie nichts zu tun hat, wird sie ängstlich. Später greift sie zum Alkohol, aber das hilft nicht viel. Dann geht sie zum Arzt. Er verschreibt Tabletten (Valium) aber das hat auch keine positive Wirkung auf ihr Wohlbefinden.

Natürlich macht sich ihr Mann Sorgen. Seine Familie mischt sich auch ein, und die Frau fühlt sich immer mehr unter Druck. Selbstverstândlich ist kein glückliches Ende zu erwarten. Schlimmer geht es der Frau, als sie anfängt, eine Beziehung mit dem Arzt zu haben. Die Geschichte ist relativ einfach, mit wenigen Schauspielern, wusste aber Regisseur Fassbinder genau, wie man einen Film spannend drehen kann. Seine Filme sind vom Theater beeinflusst.

Je vous trouve très beau (France, 2005)

☆☆☆☆

It's good to watch movies that you think are not very good but turn out to be much more than you expected. After having seen Changement d'Adresse, this second French comedy was equally impressive. This is a comedy about a farmer, Aymé (played by Michel Blanc) who after his divorce decides to look for a new wife. He is thinking more in practical terms: there is too much work to do at the farm for only one person to handle. He somehow gets in contact with a "mariage agency". The only hic is that these "wives" come from Roumania. After some hesitation, Aymé travels to Roumania to do some interview with potential wife candidates. After choosing Eleena, she goes with him to France leaving behind her child in Bucarest. Troubles start when Aymé hides Eleena's true identity and when he becomes jealous of Eleena because she talks to the few neighbours there are in the village.

I was surprised by this film because is simple, but the it is a very original story. It's in between a comedy and a drama because we get to the living conditions of Eleena's relatives in Bucarest. But all in all, it's a truly original movie.

The Saddest Music in the World (Canada, 2003) ☆☆☆☆

Director Guy Maddin has created a very original movie following the style of the old silent black and white movies. We find ourselves in 1933 in the middle of winter in Winnipeg. A no-legged queen, played by Isabella Rosselini, decides to start a competition to see which country has the saddest music in the world. The winner of each round is thrown into a huge pool of beer, while alcohol prohibition is still going on in the US. One by one, each country brings its own folk music, along with singers and musicians. The American team, lead by Mr. Chester Kent, will do almost everything to win the competition. Unfortunately for him, things do not go very well, and a final tragic event will put an end to many beer parties being held because of this competition.

The movie is shot in black and white, but some scenes change tone, some are sepia, some are bluish, and at times color comes up for a short time. The whole will remind you of the early silent films, and considering the movie was actually shot during winter at minus 30 degrees (in Winnipeg, of course), you have to give Maddin credit for pulling off a nice original story with a strong visual style that is unique to this director.

After the Wedding (Efter Brylluppet, Denmark, 2006) ☆☆☆☆☆

Once again I had the opportunity to watch an extraordinary Danish film, this time from director Suzanne Bier. The manager of an orphanage in India, Mikkelsen, is sent back to Copenhague to renew his funds contact to keep the orphanage open for another year. During this trip, he finds out that the rich guy who is about to give the money is having his daughtter's wedding that very weekend. He invites Mikkelsen to the wedding party. Upon arriving at the wedding, Mikkelsen realizes that the rich guy's wife was actually her ex-wife, and that the girl that is getting married is her own daughter, who he believed never existed. Not only that, there is a really tragic secret that I will not reveal here, but it all makes Mikkelsen's life change dramatically.. for the better or the worst?

Berlin Stories (Stadt als Beute) Germany, 2005 ☆☆

Director Miriam Dehne explores life in the big cities by presenting three different stories about three persons living in the German capital. They are all actors in a new independent play for a local theater. The first story involves a missing kid and a visit to a retro rock bar. The next is an intimate conversation in an almost empty strippers club and the third is about "Ohboy", a quite excentric character who is afraid of showing up at the play rehearsal and instead wanders around the city, playing inside the fountain of the Sony Centre. There is a strong implicit critique of the big cities and how they affect everyone in a negative way. Is this entirely true? This psychodelic trip to Berlin is original in its presentation, but at times repetitive and tiresome. It's up to you to decide.

INLAND EMPIRE (USA, Poland, 2006) ☆☆☆☆☆

David Lynch's latest movie took more than three years to complete. Shot partly in USA and Poland, the story involves actress Nikki Lake, who lands a part in a new Hollywood movie. Little does she know that the movie is actually a remake. The original movie was never completed, apparently someone put a gypsy spell on the production and crew. From this point on, David Lynch takes us to different places. Nikki Lake starts to fall in love with one of the actors and her husband begins to suspect. Sometimes you do not know if you are watching part of the movie they are shooting, or we are inside Nikki's mind, or perhaps we are watching the gypsy fairytale that becomes the basis for the movie's curse.

Even more dificult to understand than his previous movies, David Lynch takes a huge step in releasing the movie in an almost three hours long version. Some scenes are in Polish, played by real local Polish actors. This surreal experiment is worth every minute. Forget about understanding the movie, just let yourself go.

Happy As One (Komm Näher), Germany, 2006 ☆☆☆☆

Director Vanessa Jopp brings us a story about different people living in Berlin whose lives suddenly change because of love. Actress Meret Becker plays the role of an urban hippy who has trouble establishing serious relatioinships. She quits her jobs in a matter of days, and her spontaneous and unpredictable character does not help her get along with people. This changes when she falls in love with a police offer, the same who showed up at her place to tell her to lower the volume of her stereo system. In another story, a 40 year-old taxi driver meets a woman thru an ad. Soon enough, the man meets the woman´s daughter, who also starts to fall in love with him. All the stories are both funny and sad. The movie is about solitude in modern-day Germany, and how people try to cope up with it.

the movie event of 2007, at least for me. Coming soon...