What have you watched recently?

Was over in Berlinale for the weekend, but only got to see two films for various reasons (queuing for an hour in the vague hope of getting a ticket to some random film isn't always the most appealing).

Dollhouse - Kirsten Sheridan's third film, and a curious if flawed film. A massively improvved film about a group of Dublin teenagers who break into a Dalkey home. There's a dreamy feel to the film, and there are some hypnotic moments littered throughout. But it's also quite an unwieldy and directionless film - by design in many ways, but it can get exhausting. Characters are mostly a deplorable bunch, too. Also the last act might irritate many. But there are very interesting things in the film (some less so, like a tonally uncertain 'breakdown' sequence) and it's worth watching as an experiment in nontraditional 'directing' if nothing else.

Aujord'hui / Today - Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer eats the poison Fugu and thinks he's going to die? This film is kind of like an arthouse Senegalese version of that. A man (Saul Williams) wakes up, and his family are there to lead him into his last day on Earth (the reason for his imminent death is never specified). It's again a dreamy sort of film, as he goes around tying up loose ends before the inevitable. At times subtle and always carefully paced, it was a tough watch at half nine in the morning after a couple of hours sleep. But it's an interesting and sometimes powerful film.