VIFF day 2, plus one more
Oct. 12th, 2014 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzfishFinal count: of seven movies, one I very much enjoyed, one I enjoyed well enough, two that were alright, two that I disliked, and one that utterly baffled me. Down from last year, which had two I liked a lot, one that was alright, and two that I disliked. Oh well.
Zero Motivation, Talya Lavie (dir.)
A workplace comedy where the place of work is the dysfunctional administration department of a remote Israeli army outpost. Has the advantage over most US comedies in that it's a) believable and b) funny: sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, more often just enough to keep you chuckling most of the way through. Recommended.
Women: Almost entirely. I believe the only scenes in which one man talks to another are during the two briefing scenes.
Ow, Suzuki Yohei (dir.)
Incomprehensible.
Women: 25-30%? Probably fewer than that, since as a boy I likely overestimate the number of women in a thing.
Elephant Song, Charles Binamé (dir.)
1960s mental hospital administrator interviews a psychiatrist about his interview of the patient of a (different) missing psychiatrist, as the patient was the last person to see the missing doctor. The patient proceeds to channel Hannibal Lecter with somewhat less homicidal intent. Not as clever as it thinks it is, but not a waste of time.
Women: If your first thought was "this sounds like scenes of two guys talking" you're not far wrong. At least the other two supporting characters are female: Catherine Keener gets a few good scenes as the ex-wife/nurse, and Carrie-Anne Moss is criminally underused as the whiny second wife.
The Liberator, Alberto Arvelo (dir.)
A biopic of Simón Bolívar, almost-liberator of South America, about whom I knew next to nothing going in. Like many mediocre biopics it takes a 'hit the highlights' approach, with the result that I could almost follow the story. It's very pretty and a good watch, and Edgár Ramírez ('Chaco' from Domino) makes a credible lead.
Women: Replacement-mother-figure, pretty young dead wife, mistress... I think they hit all the highlights.
Zero Motivation, Talya Lavie (dir.)
A workplace comedy where the place of work is the dysfunctional administration department of a remote Israeli army outpost. Has the advantage over most US comedies in that it's a) believable and b) funny: sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, more often just enough to keep you chuckling most of the way through. Recommended.
Women: Almost entirely. I believe the only scenes in which one man talks to another are during the two briefing scenes.
Ow, Suzuki Yohei (dir.)
Incomprehensible.
Women: 25-30%? Probably fewer than that, since as a boy I likely overestimate the number of women in a thing.
Elephant Song, Charles Binamé (dir.)
1960s mental hospital administrator interviews a psychiatrist about his interview of the patient of a (different) missing psychiatrist, as the patient was the last person to see the missing doctor. The patient proceeds to channel Hannibal Lecter with somewhat less homicidal intent. Not as clever as it thinks it is, but not a waste of time.
Women: If your first thought was "this sounds like scenes of two guys talking" you're not far wrong. At least the other two supporting characters are female: Catherine Keener gets a few good scenes as the ex-wife/nurse, and Carrie-Anne Moss is criminally underused as the whiny second wife.
The Liberator, Alberto Arvelo (dir.)
A biopic of Simón Bolívar, almost-liberator of South America, about whom I knew next to nothing going in. Like many mediocre biopics it takes a 'hit the highlights' approach, with the result that I could almost follow the story. It's very pretty and a good watch, and Edgár Ramírez ('Chaco' from Domino) makes a credible lead.
Women: Replacement-mother-figure, pretty young dead wife, mistress... I think they hit all the highlights.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-13 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-13 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-13 07:25 pm (UTC)(I've added my comment there now).
I haven't seen any of the movies you list, although Zero Motivation looks like I might like it.