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SUNDAY, MAY 2, 2004
Columbia: The Tragic Loss (2004, Naftaly Gliksberg, Israel) - [40]
A sometimes touching story of a husband and father's last days on (and off) Earth - Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space, was part of the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia crew - After finding remnants of his diary and piecing them together, we are shown the last thoughts and dreams of this man along with e-mail correspondances with his wife and children - A message of peace/shalom is sent forth as we hear John Lennon's Imagine (Ilan's favourite song) tumble from the screen and, although I don't believe it goes far enough in showing what NASA did wrong, or deep enough into the loss (and may be shown in a rather un-artful style), you cannot help but be at least a little moved by this story (even if it is in a purposefully manipulative manner), as you watch Ilan, and his six fellow crew members, laugh and joke around with each other, none of them ever believing the fatal mistakes that NASA would make, none of them knowing this would be the end
My Architect (2003, Nathaniel Kahn, USA) - [64]
This film, or at least the relationship between Architect Louis Kahn and his bastard son/filmmaker Nathaniel, is summed up by a Bangladesh Architect, while showing off the beauty of the Kahn-designed Capitol Complex of Dacca, the Capital of Bangladesh: The great artist, who designed many vast post-modern buildings, loved everybody so deeply, that sometimes he missed those so close to him - Kahn, who's designs (the few that were built and the multitudes that never saw the light of cunstruction) were a whirlwind of PoMo expertise, though when it came to his own children (two of which were birthed by hidden mistresses) Louis Kahn had no idea how to build a relationship - In a dozen or so great, touching, humourous interviews, Nathaniel Kahn captures all he can about his father, who died penniless and alone in a men's room of Penn Station in 1974 - The results he gets are as post-modern as his father's designs
MONDAY, MAY 3, 2004
Divan (2003, Pearl Gluck, USA) - [43]
Putting aside the fact that I want that Divan (Hebrew for couch) for my own living room/parlour, this is a witty, humanitarian documentary that goes much further than the search for a somewhat Holy couch that some Hassidic Rabbes slept on 100 some years ago - This is also a look at the relationship between liberal Jewish directer Pearl Gluck and her estranged Hassidic family - memorable not only for the human aspect, but also for the tenderly funny moments of semi-culture clash and the bold intellegence that Gluck shows in her storytelling
Gloomy Sunday (1999, Rolf Schubel, Germany) - [44]
A film that starts out as an ode to the romantic age of moviemaking and the power of music (through the brooding title ballad) but slowly creeps into an almost turgid World War II potboiler - At its heart though, is that song, which does haunt you (as do the eyes of its heroine and muse, played alluringly by Hungarian Actress Erika Marozson) - But alas, all we are left with, past the song, is a staid, overly-predictible melodrama
TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2004
Unfair Competition (2001, Ettore Scola, Italy) - [45]
It's a shame that this film, the best one in the festival so far, has never been shown commercially in the US - Transpiring somewhere betwixt the sturdy old mountains of DeSica and the floating pines of Fellini (although not quite to their levels), Scola has painted a fresh song upon the horrors that were Fascist Italy and the beginnings of The Holocaust - Two men (paralleled in the eyes of their innocent sons) are rivals in business, but when Italy begins to go the way of Hitler's Germany in 1938, these two men, one a Catholic, one a Jew are forced to become something altogether different - While a lot of films on this subject (such as Roberto Begnini's Life is Beautiful) can fall into some smaltzy vat of sentimentality, here we get a feeling of real impending doom on the doorsteps of these men - As we see the anti-semitism creep its ugly head deeper and deeper into the lives of this Roman neighbourhood, and as we know what the inevitable outcome will sadly be, all we can do is watch and watch and watch, and as all this goes on, the spires and domes of St. Peter's and the Vatican loom over these streets, casting despairing shadows over the cobblestones, never even blinking an eye to stop any of it - The sad truth of the time - And in the final scene (as the credits roll), we see a child, alone in the middle of the street, as he watches his best friend ride away, most likely to his death, and the moment, seemingly going on for an eternity, is one of the most powerful I've ever seen
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2004
Channels of Rage (2003, Anat Halachmi, Israel) - [24]
I went into this film, thinking it would be my least favourite of the festival (not big into the Hip-Hop or Rap scenes), and it was - These guys are rapping for more than mere fame, but to try and change the world (sort of Middle East Public Enemy), but they're just not interesting at all - Not the most enrapturing documentary (rather amateurishly done - subtitles are filled with typos) and a little stilted - So maybe it is my least favourite of the festival so far (with three more films to watch)
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2004
Almost Peaceful (2002, Michel Deville, France) - [47]
And it is just that - peacefully strolling along, seemingly able to burst into vibrant celebration at any given moment (but never quite does - although it comes close on occasion) - This is not to say this is not a good film, it is - Taking place in Paris, just after the liberation, several Holocaust/War survivors play out what will be their lives - Some stories are bittersweet / some are heroic / all are coming to grips with peace - And the film never truly ends - there are no resolutions, time just keeps strolling, almost peacefully along
The Postwoman (2002, Dina Zvi-Riklis, Israel) - [40]
Surprisingly well-crafted (although not much stylistically to look at) dramatic piece - Moments of tenderness and/or sadness, but not portrayed in any superficial or overly-sentimental way - This is a Fantastic Voyage inside the lonely mind of a middle-aged woman and the reality of truth - Unfortunately it isn't really that fantastic, just mediocre
All I've Got (2003, Keren Margalit, Israel) - [41]
I won't attempt to go into the deceptively simple, yet convaluted premise of this film - All you need to know is, at the heart of this fantasy-tale is one of the most achingly charming performances in this festival - leave all else aside (such as the cliche'd script or lack of any artistic impulses on the filmmaker's behalf) and just concentrate on the performance of the young Israeli beauty, Amit Drori
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