Somehow, I didn't see many good ones this year. That's a bit disappointing, because in previous years I was usually quite happy and proud to have picked some "winners". But this year was a little... ahem... distracted as well. There were other factors to pay attention to when I picked the movies, and I think that probably had an effect on the final selection as well.
Dunno if it was because a few of the movies were screened after work, but I did fall asleep during some of them. So, this year I've devised this "Sleepability Index" to show you how interested I was in the movies. It'll be out of a score of 10, with 10 being the most "sleepable". haha.
My 2008 opener "Fine, Totally Fine".
Quite a weirdo film. The chubby guy, is quite a character, who's into scaring people. If you don't pay attention to the underlying message, you'd think it's just a slap-stick comedy about 3 lowly characters getting on with their bored lives doing mundane things. But actually, it's a profile on how people approach love, ways we should our interest, the extra mile that we go, disappointments and tolerance. Ok, maybe the film didn't really show all that, but I find it quite a different way of displaying the vast array of what people do to pursue dreams and love.
Sleepability Index (out of 10): 2
I was supposed to see this movie called "A Decade of Love" on this night... have already forgot the synopsis, but I think it was some reflection movie of HK's 10th Anniversary return to China. Instead, they decide to replace it with this English-Japanese movie called "Sukiyaki Western Django". I had no idea what the movie is about, and actually, I would have no interest in seeing it just by reading the synopsis either... but, I paid for the tix, and somebody was going with me, so, what the heck. WEIRD movie. And the the "good" weird type. In fact, I can't provide much comments on the movie, because I just don't get it. It's a Japanese cowboy movie, with all (but 2) Japanese actors speaking in English. ... sorry, that's all I could say, because:
Sleepability Index: 8 (I was asleep probably through half of the movie)
"In Love We Trust" (左、右)
Once I read the synopsis, I couldn't miss this one. It has many elements of a great piece of work. The conflicts, the hot issues, China, middle-class, children, terminal illness. And though the plot is a bit idealized, the story is still compelling. Seeing a child fallen ill and parents scrambling to find ways to help her is heart-wrenching. This is the kind of movie which makes you think, and evaluate what life means to you, or how far you would go to save a life. If it was you, would you have done the same? Is it not a bit... 荒唐？ As the characters described the actions?
Sleepability: 0
"Yasukuni"
Having just returned from Japan, seeing this film actually made me a bit uneasy. How should we treat history? For us living in the 21st century, how do we reconcile with the bad deeds from generations ago? This documentary gives us a view into a sword maker, officials, protesters, Japanese shrine-worshippers at Yasukuni, and why this place conjures up so much controversy. The part about Taiwanese merchant soldiers being worshipped here against the wishes of their families was not known by me and I find that to be quite fascinating.
Sleepability Index: 1
"Love of Siam"
Not your feel good movie of HKIFF, though the movie poster could have fooled you. Instead, it's a teenage drama about love, death, coming of age, family duties, and life-long friendships. Seems like the Festival's few "labelled" movies, but it's actually not about homosexuality, but family issues. The songs are sweet and innocent, which I love. Characters are also quite well-developed and likeable. Alot of the audience asked when Tong decided he can't be with Mew.... and I wonder the same. A friend said family comes first, especially in Thai culture. I don't know, it didn't seem very convincing. But it's also said that that movie was originally over 5 hours long, with a lengthy part devoted to the band manager Tang, which is supposed to make sense of the whole movie. Well, haven't seen that, but at 2.5 hours long, it's quite adequate already.
Sleepability Index: 3
"The Counterfeiters"
Probably the best I'd seen at the festival. Winner of this year's Best Foreign Picture Oscar, "Die Falscher" tells a gripping true story of a few selected Jews in Nazi Germany during WWII whose task is to counterfeit the British Pound and American Dollar. Always intense, and many times heavy (things that happen in concentration camps), your thoughts are pull among self-preservation, higher moral grounds, death of loved ones, loyalty and commadarie. We are so lucky now not living in those dark times in history.
Sleepability Index: 0
"I'm Not There"
The movie which I had looked forward to, but turned out to be a bit of a dud. The fault is mine, as I don't know enough about Bob Dylan. So, as perfect as Ledger, Blanchett, Bale, et al. were playing various roles inspired by Dylan's life, I really had no idea what they represent. And thus:
Sleepability Index: 5
"Shall We Kiss?"
Also quite looked forward to this movie, mainly because I had good company to go with. And funny how it turned out, that the movie was... no spectacular... far from it. A typical French blah blah blah movie, and it circled around a couple that's.... not likeable... from their action, to their shitty plots, and even their looks. You do wonder how, or why people would go that far, and it seems it's just too far-fetched. The sub-plot in Nantes was ok, but you also wonder if things could really happen so rationally... but we'll never know, because the movie ends right there.
Sleepability Index: 3
"Coffee, or Tea?" (咖啡、或茶？)
The official Closing Movie of HKIFF 2008, must be a good one, right? WRONG.
I must say, movie making is a very difficult tasks, and for a 2nd year student at HKAPA to pull it off and complete a full feature, it's quite a feat. But that achievement doesn't give any excuse for the movie to be just poorly written and acted. It suffers from the common problem with many recent HK films, which are nicely filmed, with beautiful long shots and good lights, but those are good elements for an MTV, or a travel show, not a drama film. The climax of the film, with the three principles seeing each other eye-to-eye at the demolished orphanage was just a complete failure. And although Shu Qi (Dean of APA Film School and one of the Directors of the movie, alongside 2nd year student Mandrew Kwan) had said at the opening that the movie is still in post-production, and soundtrack is not complete, they should really be slapped for the simply awful background score and soundtrack. It's just COMPLETELY wrong for this movie. Maybe they are really tight in time and had no time to do the music, but it was just awful. Are my words too harsh, well, it's because I had too much expectation for the Closing Film of the Festival. I do see talent and great craft, but to be given the task to produce a Closing Film might be too big for the student.
Sleepability Index: 8 (but didn't' sleep as it was a Sunday and it was shown at 6pm, too early to fall asleep) I found my Festival really ended on a sour note.
But that's the thing with Film Festivals. You pick movies out of nicely-written synopsis, which are usually highly polished. You really have to rely on your instincts to see if you end up falling asleep, or maybe lucky enough to catch movie magic.
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