MIFF 2010: ‘Catfish,’ ‘Monsters,’ ‘Uncle Boonmee’ & More

The third and final installment chronicling our ventures at this year’s edition of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

“Alamar”
A poignant, joyful and heartbreaking quasi-documentary following a father and son’s final encounter before a seemingly permanent separation. On the eve of moving to Italy with his mother, Natan joins his father, Jorge, in an adventure on the largest coral reef in Mexico where his grandfather resides. It’s there that Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio’s film flourishes as a multi-generational study of familial love and legacy with Natan immersing himself into the world of his predecessors, learning skills and facts he’ll scarcely use in urban Italy and connect with a father and grandfather who’ll soon be but a distant memory. Delicate and simple, the film captures the most utterly endearing moments between the the leads especially with their beautiful surroundings. [A-]

“Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee”
A sharp, small low budget mockumentary about a roadie-band manager named Nicholas, better known as Le Donk, portrayed hilariously by Shane Meadows collaborator Paddy Constantine. Incorporating Meadows and his production team into the narrative, we follow the convergence of Donk’s personal life with estranged, pregnant wife and her new partner with his professional ventures with musical protege Scor-Zay-Zee as his child’s due date approaches and Scor-Zay-Zee’s big break comes in the form of an opening slot for the Arctic Monkeys. Full of laughs and charm but admittedly light, almost episodic. [B]

“The Strange Case Of Angelica”
Centurion Manoel De Oliviera continues his miraculous film making run with this quirky tale of mortality and obsession. Young Portuguese Jewish photographer Isaac (played by Ricardo Trepa) is assigned to capture the portrait of a deceased upper-class daughter and newlywed but soon finds himself consumed by her haunting presence. He begins to drift away; dreaming about floating high in the sky with her and often seeing her photographs come to life right before his eyes — all while his artistic disposition to shoot traditional laborers working on the edge of his town prospers. Modest in ambition and engaging with its eccentricities, personified by Trepa’s subdued performance, but ultimately underwhelming. [C+]

“A Somewhat Gentle Man”
An oddball crime-caper comedy centering on a newly-released prisoner and the intricate web of relationships he returns to, including those with his family, former crime partners, new workmates and his landlord. Stellan Skarsgaard is brilliant as the lead and heart of the film, Ulrik, a well-mannered man frozen in time for twelve years after an extravagant expression of passion while the world around him continued to spin. Coens-esque in its ability to show the human yet farcical side of things, the film is driven by Ulrik’s plan to inflict revenge on the rat who forced jail time on him and his desire to return things to the status quo with his fellow criminals and his family. Hilarity and chaos ensue. [B+]

“Catfish”
Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost’s documentary about the dark side of social networking is a hilarious and thought-provoking work that’s definitely best seen with no prior knowledge of the story. [Stop here if necessary.] New York photographer Nev Schulman connects with an uber-talented nine year old painter through Facebook, but soon uncovers a trail of lies and deceit that had him fooled for the better part of eight months as he befriended the girl’s family and developed an online romance with her sister. Not satisfied with the mystery that was beginning to unfold miles away, Nev and the two filmmakers decide to approach it head on and confront the perpetrators face to face, with enlightening results. [B]

“Wasteland”
A profound study of Brazilian pickers of recyclable garbage at the world’s biggest dump in Rio De Janiero through the eyes of artist Vik Muniz and his ambitious aim to create art with the pickers using the very rubbish they rummage through on a daily basis. Interestingly, our own concerns with the interwoven tale is addressed within the film when Muniz and his wife discuss the potentially harmful psychological effects of pulling random pickers and providing a taste of the riches of fame. At times, it borders on self-important advertisement on Muniz’s behalf, but director Lucy Walker’s exploration of the pickers’ lives and their transformative experiences is phenomenal and eye opening; as is the rousing score by Moby. [B-]

“Leap Year”
The Camera d’Or winner from Australian ex-pat Michael Rowe is a provocative, perverse depiction of sex and loneliness that utilizes unique still camerawork and only three speaking roles set entirely in the apartment of protagonist, Laura — a freelance journalist stricken with city blues. More or less a diary of the lead (played by Monica del Carmen), we follow her over the mundane course of one February as she counts down to a mysterious, impending date; a story juxtaposed with an increasingly brutal, passionate love affair with the mysterious Arturo and a loving relationship with younger brother. An ambitious undertaking that unfortunately failed to stick with us. [C]

“Monsters”
Hyped as this year’s “District 9,” Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi romantic drama takes focus on the human side of an alien invasion centering on Andrew, a photographer who is asked by his publication’s owner to accompany their daughter, Sam, back home from Mexico. With an “infected zone” lying between them and the U.S., the two lost souls must navigate their way through the alien-infested area and develop a touching relationship along their way home. Most impressive is the special effects in the film which was done by Edwards himself as a result of the paper-thin budget of $15k. Also features a beautiful, atmospheric score by Jon Hopkins which immerses audiences right into their world. [B]

“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or winner is an arty, somewhat incomprehensible affair centering around the surreal, fantastical life of Boonme; a man suffering from acute kidney disease surrounded by loved ones on his deathbed who is visited by the ghost of his former life and the monkey ghost of his son. Dense, poetic and portrayed with remarkably beautiful photography, the film is more about the sum of it highly diverse parts — as mentioned in our Cannes review and by the Thai helmer himself — with a platter of segments (so to speak) that add to the cinematic experience and to the life of the seemingly simple Boonmee. [B]

While not without its controversies, the two and a half week MIFF run this year has been yet another immensely rewarding and enjoyable experience even after taking into account the typical case of sleep deprivation and malnutrition.

You can read our earlier chronicles in these two other parts, but in summary, our favorite films? Michael Winterbottom’s psychopath study “The Killer Inside Me,” Lisa Chodolenko’s family dramedy “The Kids Are All Right,” Debra Granik’s neo-noir thriller “Winter’s Bone” and Olivier Assayas’ terrorist biopic “Carlos” were as great as we anticipated but are probably all films you’ve already heard all about.

Some lesser known pics we loved include Taika Waititi’s Kiwi family-comedy “Boy,” Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio’s poignant father-son tale “Alamar,” Semih Kaplanoglu’s poetic child-study “Honey,” Hong Sang-soo’s rom-com with a twist “HaHaHa” and Hans Petter Moland’s crime-caper-comedy “A Somewhat Gentle Man” — all of which we’d highly recommend if they one day reach a festival or theater near you.

Until next year, MIFF.