Jameson Dublin International Film Festival - JDIFF 2015

johnny_ultimate · 25-03-2015 12:41am

Yeah the Q&A started awkwardly (I'd imagine partially because Costa was translating in his own head as he want along) but it did turn into one of the better ones I've sat through. Slow but thoughtful and illuminating answers - would have been more insightful had we seen the actual film (which seemed extremely interesting from the 30 minutes we saw!) but hey for sure wasn't a total bust. Oddly enough, the super visual lag did actually conjure up a very weird and engaging atmosphere during some sequences! Was frustrating that it was that screening affected by a glitch since it was the one timeslot I was torn over, but hey. Fingers crossed they can figure out another screening, and hopefully at a time I can attend

Also saw Tu Dors Nicole tonight, which was nothing groundbreaking but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Follows a French-Canadian woman in her early twenties (well played by Julianne Côté) who has a 'free gaff' while her parents are away, as she, her brother and their friends drift aimlessly through the summer. It's been compared with Frances Ha, what with its simple but effective black & white photography and its aimless, frustrated protagonist. But it has its own mood too, and is a solid, understated character study. Wasn't entirely sold on some of the quirkier flourishes - a young boy with the voice of a middle-aged man was amusing but almost seemed like it belonged in another film at times - but they didn't majorly get in the way. Otherwise avoided many familiar 'indie movie' and mumblecore tropes for something more considered, and while it won't set any worlds alight it's a rarely less than pleasant and engaging little film.

Decuc500 · 25-03-2015 2:15am

The Tribe

Certainly a different concept, a film set in a deaf school with the actors using sign language and no subtitles to help us understand exactly what's being communicated.
The plot concerns the criminal activities of the kids and follows a new pupil getting involved in the muggings, robberies and pimping.
Technically the film was superb with impressive scenes composed of long takes and the deaf actors did an excellent job.
This was also a paricularly bleak film with the grim surroundings and explicit nature of the action quite wearying after two plus hours.
This is certainly uncompromising and challenging cinema.

Meet Me in Montenegro

Alex Holdridge's new film is a charming and funny low budget comedy and it was nice to sit back and enjoy it after experiencing The Tribe.

delbertgrady · 25-03-2015 10:20am

e_e wrote: »

... after three attempts without sound the usher said, "Err this is our first showing of the film and we actually don't know if it's meant to have sound". :pac:

That's ridiculous. Everything used to be checked, so it wasn't unusual to have a projectionist (or two) having to endure the latest Rob Schneider vehicle on a Tuesday lunchtime, just to check it was okay (the print, not the film, obviously). Are those days completely gone now that a cartridge has replaced 35mm?
I have to say, Cineworld are the worst culprits for not having sound up for the start of films.

As for The Tribe, I got an e-mail from the Lighthouse yesterday offering me a free ticket.
That's a regrettable development when when they're literally giving tickets away.

johnny_ultimate · 26-03-2015 1:03am

A Girl Who Walks Home at Night is the best Iranian-American romantic western vampire noir (and I'm leaving out a few genres there) I've seen, albeit the best by default. With influences ranging from Rebel Without a Cause to Jim Jarmusch, it's a freewheeling, hyperstylish film that marks an assured debut from Ana Lily Amirpour. The black & white cinematography is mostly gorgeous and atmospheric (although in the first scenes the digital sheen is obvious), with the lighting in many different scenes beautifully impressionistic and dynamic. The lighting also factors into the film's one vampire, clad in a chador and stalking prey on her skateboard at night. 'The Girl' is an interesting take on one of cinema's most familiar monsters, with a working moral compass that sets her apart from your usual undead threat.

With very obvious social and political depths to the idea of an Iranian chador-wearing vampire with a preference for male victims who have mistreated women in some ways, some of the film's themes are however pretty blurry. And the film's dawdling pace works to its advantage and disadvantage at times. Nonetheless, it's never less than endearingly slick, and it throws all manner of tropes and influences into a blender and ends up with something strange and singular. And there's a handful of very memorable scenes - notably two or three wordless scenes between the two leads, usually cleverly scored with some contemporary pop-rock - that do a lot to counter minor frustrations elsewhere.

Also saw Kebab and Horoscope earlier, which honestly I thought was a whole lot of nothing - its deadpan stylings vaguely reminiscent of Kurismaki or Anderrson but without much in the way of confident delivery. Felt overlong even at less than 80 minutes, and a few chuckles were the only real reward in a film that fell well wide of the mark it was clearly aiming for.

e_e · 26-03-2015 1:13am

They've been repeating some of the movies in The Lighthouse in the afternoon these past 3 days and I'm really left scratching my head at their choice here. Free Fall was an interesting watch I guess but nothing too remarkable and the other 2 (The Dinner and The Fool) were fairly forgettable to me. Seems like there's so much other great stuff in the program they could have shown instead.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 26-03-2015 6:23pm

Just watching some rumours float about on Twitter about what the secret film will be. Current belief seems to be the new Fast & Furious film.

Decuc500 · 27-03-2015 1:03am

Saw Force Majeure tonight. I loved it. Really funny and stunning to look at. A real crowd pleaser.

Also saw Heaven Knows What, an impressive low budget New York addiction movie. Very gritty in an early Abel Ferrara sort of way.

Last nights The Dark Horse was good too but the real standout was the performance by Cliff Curtis as a mentally ill former chess prodigy. Really one of the best performances I've seen in a long time.

e_e · 27-03-2015 1:47am

Ruben Östlund played the audience beautifully with Force Majeure. Loved how it mined comedy gold out of typical art film techniques like long takes, protracted silences and periods of inactivity. Loved the moment where

the drone randomly flew into shot

cutting the tension with a knife and cracking everybody up.

Film of the fest so far for me.

Bozo Skeleton · 27-03-2015 1:49am

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Just watching some rumours float about on Twitter about what the secret film will be. Current belief seems to be the new Fast & Furious film.

Oh ffs, I hope not. I go to the Surprise Film every year, it's almost like a ritual. Most years it's a disappointment now that I think of it. Though I enjoyed Muppets Most Wanted last year.

e_e · 27-03-2015 1:50am

Hoping it's that tbh but with it being 140 minutes long and Sound of Music screening at half 7 I'm doubtful.

johnny_ultimate · 27-03-2015 1:51am

Skipped late evening screenings tonight because of Sleater-Kinney, but I'd already seen Force Majeure anyway. Still managed to fit in two events today though. Mark Cousins was as ever a delight - he has this great balance between being pretentious and being totally ground :pac: Could listen to him chatting for ages - while he certainly has plenty of flamboyant ideas about cinema, at the same time he's clearly just a lover of film first and foremost, and always seems keen to keep his ideas, writing and films accessible to all. Helps that he has some great stories about beloved icons of film too!

Heaven Knows What was solid stuff, a no-nonsense, honest portrayal of being a junkie in New York. Nothing that hasn't been explored lots of times before, but the film has a distinctive mood, is often shot in fetching, intimate close-up and largely avoids cheap drama in favour of something more subtle. Well at least until the graphic close-up of

someone's face being burned off

, which was weird.

As an irrational aside, Caleb Landry Jones looked scarily like Tommy Wiseau in it, which made it harder for me to take the character seriously. Exhibit A:

Bozo Skeleton · 27-03-2015 2:04am

Force Majeure was one I was thinking of going for on the 10 ticket deal, but I wanted to have 1 day completely off. Barry Lyndon screening and Q and A, and The Tribe have been the highlights so far for me. Haven't had time to come in and discuss, eg Black Coal Thin Ice had a peculiar last 10 minutes or so, but I was still trying to get my head around Free Falling when I saw it.

johnny_ultimate · 27-03-2015 2:09am

Wouldn't be too concerned if you missed Force Majeure, it's out on 10th April anyway - a sadly common trend for a lot of this year's highlights.

Also, happy Horse Money has been rescheduled to probably the only time I can actually make it - and will be nice to have at least one Saturday morning Savoy screening, a tradition missed this year and makes the weekend schedule seem that little emptier.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 27-03-2015 2:19am

e_e wrote: »

Hoping it's that tbh but with it being 140 minutes long and Sound of Music screening at half 7 I'm doubtful.

The 2 rumours that got the most chatter on twitter was that it was Fast 7 but then also that it was only 90 minutes long. It's entirely possible that someone just started the rumour for a giggle and people jumped on it.

Also, this Force Majeure... is it the one that's on Netflix?

johnny_ultimate · 27-03-2015 2:25am

Yep, been available on American VOD for months.

Bozo Skeleton · 27-03-2015 2:40am

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Wouldn't be too concerned if you missed Force Majeure, it's out on 10th April anyway - a sadly common trend for a lot of this year's highlights.

Also, happy Horse Money has been rescheduled to probably the only time I can actually make it - and will be nice to have at least one Saturday morning Savoy screening, a tradition missed this year and makes the weekend schedule seem that little emptier.

Horse Money was one I had ear marked, but it clashed with another, will try make the early Saturday screening. Inevitable hangover to overcome.

NachoBusiness · 27-03-2015 3:17am

Saw Force Majeure and I was really really enjoying it. Was so funny and entertaining. Felt as if I was watching a diamond of a movie, but then, it got annoying predictable....

For a start, on the slopes you could see from a mile off that the main character was gonna end up coming to the wife's rescue. Even the fact that he was about to appear through the mist carrying her, was soooo predictable, but somewhat forgivable as it was a funny scene. However, nearing the end we see them all on the bus heading home and the wife is nervous because of the coach driver's odd inability to eh: drive (laziest effort at setting up story resolution I've ever seen). The very second the wife stands up and tells the driver to stop the bus, I says to meself: 'Please don't predictably get off the bus now without your kids cause you're scared, please don't do that and ruin this film that I have enjoyed so far'[/i]... but, that is just what she does. And there we have it. An excellent film needlessly sabotaged by taking a lazy predictable out. Surely to God they could have carved a way for this same outcome to come about, but in a more creative and sudden way, which maybe the audience wouldn't be able to see coming from so far off. This was a character after all, who was in tears for two days because her husband had run off, leaving her alone with the two kids to fend for themselves. just because he feared for his own safety, and what does she then up doing herself: she runs off, leaving him alone with the two kids to fend for themselves. just because she fears for his own safety. Why why why.

Arkaron · 27-03-2015 8:09am

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night felt like the director had watched a lot of auteurish French films, with those long, idiotic takes that add strictly nothing to the narrative. Really not a cinematic style that I find engaging in the least. The cinematography was good though, and so were the actors. Would be interesting to have the opinion of an Iranian audience, since this was essentially an American production. As regards to films coming from Iran, I'll be far more interested in something like Fish and Cat, when I manage to get my hands on it.

A Girl at my Door was impressive. Stunning performances and very good script that never stops driving the narrative forward. A very dense and tense drama in my opinion, with a good enough execution.

Sad Professor · 27-03-2015 11:22am

Arkaron wrote: »

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night felt like the director had watched a lot of auteurish French films, with those long, idiotic takes that add strictly nothing to the narrative. Really not a cinematic style that I find engaging in the least.

I’m pretty sure she was mostly watching Tarantino and Sergio Leone films.

Arkaron · 27-03-2015 11:36am

I've read here and there that this had a Western genre feel, but I'm scratching my head at the statement... =/ Sure, a few shots are framed to emulate the style, but we hardly ever feel the grandeur of the scenery, its inherent dangers, or even any kind of immediacy in the situations. I was mostly turned off by scenes such as the final one, or when they both are at the girl's place and are just standing there, saying and doing little to nothing, while listening to music. The shots must be something like 30 seconds long, but they would have achieved the same results by being two times shorter. That, to me is a way of over-emphasizing the director's point without engaging me in any kind of interaction

I'm not an immense fan of Tanrantino's myself (although I do like Kill Bill a lot), but at least the metatextuality of his work make it fun to watch. As for Leone, you might have a point yes, but as I was saying, the execution felt more claustrophobic and repetitive than atmospheric, to me anyway.

NachoBusiness · 28-03-2015 3:10am

Was at Glassland earlier and really enjoyed it. Without question Jack Reynor's best performance in a film. Toni Collette was also amazing. I felt that certain aspects of the story could have been fleshed out more and I would have been more than happy to have watched another 20-30 minutes of the story. Afterwards during the Q&A though, on hearing that they shot the whole thing in just 18 days, I drop that criticism as I'm amazed they managed to produce something as engrossing and powerful as they did with this. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but a thoroughly enjoyable little film about a tough topic and despite the subjects the film touched on, it didn't feel at all bleak, let alone depressing. In fact, somehow they managed to make a film that is somewhat uplifting.

Just back from Let Us Prey. Liked it mostly. Kinda felt like a cross between Assault on Precinct 13 and The Devil's Advocate but not nearly as absorbing. Not really the type of film that engages me all that much though if I'm honest. Worth a watch I suppose, but for me it's the kind of film best watched with a few mates (and maybe even a few beers) as then it's flaws wouldn't be as evident.

Arkaron · 28-03-2015 8:11am

For some reason, I went to see Let Us Prey with great expectations (probably because the director's last short film was very good), but came out sorely disappointed... I too felt it was very derivative. Very similar to the Storm of the Century mini series from Stephen King, and also to the excellent French horror film Maléfique, from 2002. O'Malley can sure create beautiful shots, and the actors do the job, but is the script a complete waste of time!

Not interesting in the least, old, cheesy, not scary at all, redundant, and the list goes on. Such a shame.

johnny_ultimate · 28-03-2015 11:30am

I hate to rag on a film that to be fair is pretty earnest and passionate, but did not care for Glassland at all. It offered me nothing I hadn't seen a hundred times before (often much better), and the filmmaking was utterly unremarkable. While it tries to give a realistic account of addiction, it came across as melodramatic and trite instead (the Eastern European gangster subplot struck a particularly hollow note, especially its rather baffling resolution). Reynor was good, but Collette IMO over acted to a borderline ludicrous degree, and her bizarre accent work did not help sell her character who came across more as a concept (alcoholism is bad) rather than a believable human being. Indeed, I simply did not buy into the mother and son relationship at all, it instead feeling like it came into existence during the first frame as opposed to twenty years of history. That aspect is most evident in Collette's couch monologue, which feels less like an emotional revelation and more an exposition, backstory dirty bomb.

The director was quite proud of his actors in the q&a afterwards, to the point where he said he didn't have to do much work at all. And sadly that shows - the film has no discernible directorial signature, and comes across as just another 'gritty' tale of urban alienation as a result. A pared back, no frills approach can work, but here the lack of character is another mark against a film that goes nowhere hundreds haven't gone before.

NachoBusiness · 28-03-2015 3:03pm

Arkaron wrote: »

..not scary at all..

Totally agree. Not even remotely scarey.

Arkaron · 28-03-2015 8:09pm

Oh my God, Clouds of Sils Maria from Olivier Assayas was outstanding! I don't think I've seen a film that well written in months, if not years... Granted watching the film without the Nietzsche references in mind, it can come across as slightly opaque, but the mirror play on the real and the fictional characters, the metatextual reflections on one's relationship with fiction, time and ideas, as well as how the two young women represent other selves of Maria... this is top notch script writing. I think my brain exploded two or three times.

Also, best performances of the festival! Juliette Binoche is, as usual, mesmerizing, and Kristen Stewart delivers her best performance to date. Moretz is also fairly convincing.

There were a couple of editing glitches but eh, Handel's music and the Swiss mountains make up for it. My favorite film from this year's JDIFF, hands down.

Oh, about Ryan Gosling's Lost River... amazing cinematography from Benoit Debie (every single shot is a painting, no surprise there) and nice musical homage to Carpenter/Goblins. I never got into the film though.

NachoBusiness · 29-03-2015 3:42pm

Seen Dark Horse last night. Charming docu and an interest in the subject matter not at all needed. Beautifully told.

Hope the Secret Film this year is decent. Hated the Muppets, Cedar Rapids.

This Must Be The Place was the only one I think I've every enjoyed.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 29-03-2015 5:20pm

Good Kill?

delbertgrady · 29-03-2015 6:52pm

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Good Kill?

Having avoided the last couple of years, due to ever-diminishing returns, I decided to get a ticket for the Surprise Film this year. I thought Good Kill was dreadful. Uninspired, woefully pedestrian, no cliche left unturned. It played out like a TV movie or a straight-to-DVD release. It's due out in May, but I honestly can't see it getting a cinema release here. How it was deemed a worthy festival screening is beyond me. The fact that its "reveal" registered little or no response from the auditorium spoke volumes.

Decuc500 · 29-03-2015 8:51pm

I quite enjoyed Good Kill. I thought it was an interesting look at the ethics of drone warfare. Quite an engaging movie and thankfully a bit darker than recent Surprise movies. Andrew Niccol's best film since Gattaca.

The first film I saw today, Far From Men, was excellent. A North African 'Western' set in Algeria in 1954, it was beautifully shot and had a good Viggo Mortensen performance.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. I absolutely hated this. The static camera, drab beige backgrounds, pale faces and droll humour got old after five minutes. This is the type of arthouse cinema that I just don't 'get'. The only film I gave 1 star to, the experience of watching it made me angry and sad at the same time. It just didn't entertain, interest or enlighten me at all.

Best films I saw were Force Majeure, While We're Young, The Connection and Meet Me In Montenegro. Clouds of Sils Maria not quite the best of Olivier Assayas but quite intruiging all the same.

delbertgrady · 30-03-2015 10:09am

Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards:

FILM – The Tribe
DIRECTOR – Ruben Östlund – Force Majeure
SCREENPLAY – Yuri Bykov – The Fool
CINEMATOGRAPHY – Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
DOCUMENTARY – Cobain: Montage of Heck
ACTOR – Cliff Curtis – The Dark Horse
ACTRESS – Nina Hoss – Phoenix
IRISH FILM – Glassland
IRISH DOCUMENTARY – Wheel Of Fortune: The Story And Legacy Of The Fairview Lion Tamer
DEBUT – Chaitanya Tamhane – Court
MICHAEL DWYER DISCOVERY – Piers McGrail, cinematographer: Let Us Prey, Glassland, The Canal
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Contemplating Existence
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – Eden
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – Tu Dors Nicole
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – 10,000 KM

Jameson Dublin International Film Festival - JDIFF 2015

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