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Film Festival Day 2: Saturday, 28/07/2012

Saturday means I can bring the car in, which has the major advantage of meaning that I’ll get home a little earlier. The trick is finding somewhere to park for the day that is better than walking all the way home.

Film #6: Into The Abyss

Some people are as self-centred as a spinning top. Some of them can manage to be charming in spite of that, while some are more obvious. For example, the man on death row chose to use his last words to forgive the family of the people who he was convicted of murdering – even if, as he claimed, he merely helped with the three murders, rather than pulling the triggers, this was kind of a dick move.

But the father of the other man involved in the killing (who was also in prison, though only with a life sentence) seemed genuinely remorseful that he’d let his family down by not being there for his sons while they were growing up, and there was an interview with a man who had been in charge of running the executions, who resigned his position (losing his pension) rather than continuing.

I guess what it made me feel was – people can change, but some people won’t.

Film #7: Faust

I was late for this movie, and running all the way from Te Papa ensured I was nice and noisy when I sat down. And perhaps it was because I was late, or because I was trying to suppress the cough you get from suddenly running hard out, or because I was already tired, or simply the mood I was in; but for whatever reason, I thought the movie was just… okay. Nothing gripped me: the costuming was very good, and they were doing interesting camera things, but I didn’t care about the main character. Perhaps I missed a vital reason to care about him in the first five minutes? I simply find myself without anything interesting to say about it.

Film #8: Tatarakihi: Children of Parihaka

When we talk about how good the situation of Maori was compared to other aboriginal people, we’re always talking relatively. For example, we didn’t have the situation where people were hunting Aborigines for sport until frighteningly recently; but “better” isn’t the same as “like every other citizen”. The treatment of the peaceful protest by the people of Parihaka against the illegal confiscation of their land is something I’d heard of, vaguely; but the fact that they were essentially turned into slave labour to help construct large chunks of infrastructure (including the foundations of what would become the National War Memorial) was something I didn’t know. I actually felt like I was intruding at times – this film was quite intimately focused on following the trip that the tribe took with their mokopuna, retracing the locations where their men were taken. I suppose that it is a blessing that those men that survived were eventually returned to the tribe, many years later – but again, a relative one. (I feel like there’s a link with the first film, but I’m not sure I can articulate it.)

Speaking of relatives, many of those who appeared in the film looked like whanau – my Mum would have blended in without comment.

Film #9: The Wall

This German film is not sci-fi, though I’ve got a sci-fi book on my shelf with a similar hook; instead, it’s using the set-up as a way to explore loneliness. The protagonist becomes locked behind an invisible wall surrounding a Austrian valley; trapped, she learns to survive, and taking care to the animals that have become trapped with her stops her from drifting.

Given my background, my first reaction was to try to work out the parameters of the trap – how high, what does it let through and what does it keep in, does it move over time… but for this movie, that’s not the point. It’s more about how to deal with what is inescapable.

(Huh. I guess that there are also resonances with The Cabin in the Woods, in a way.)

The major problem with going to non-English films (especially ones like this where the pace is more measured) when I’m a bit tired is that I find it easy to miss dialogue if I drift, and the other people in the theatre won’t let me rewind. 🙂 I’m going to do my best to get a bit more sleep; though my somewhat quixotic determination to write up the films I’ve seen isn’t going to help with that.

In any case – I liked it, I might rewatch it if I happened upon it on TV, but I don’t think I’ll buy it.

Film #10: Moonrise Kingdom

This movie was fun to watch, and I walked out happy that I’d seen it. The stylized bits know they’re stylized, and don’t mind you knowing, too – Tilda Swinton’s character refers to herself as “Child Services”, and gets into a citation-off with the local police chief, for example. I’m glad I got C to come, and I can imagine buying it on DVD at some point.

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