Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2021

My schedule this year has been fairly front-loaded - through well over half of my dozen or so films so far, so a more relaxed second week. Enjoying the online fest, honestly - it’s great having a bigger window to watch, so you can set your own schedule to a large degree. I miss the cinema obviously, but casting onto a decent TV (the stream quality seems perfect on it, but not sure if that’s some extra upscaling processing as I’ve heard one or two stream quality complaints elsewhere) and this ain’t a bad second best!

So far:

Ammonite - restrained to the point of narcoleptic. Stick with Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Minari - the definite highlight so far. A case study in how a new perspective can beautifully enliven a familiar tale. A work fascinated by its characters, and always does right by them without glossing over their flaws. Bright, soothing and compassionate - simply lovely.

Another Round - the ‘folk getting drunk’ film is having a bit of a moment (see also: Broken Nose, Empty Pockets). Liked this a lot: Vinterberg and Mikkelsen are a dynamic duo for sure. A film consumed with the euphoric highs and miserable lows of getting pissed. It’s probably getting an extra star on a lot of ratings as it wraps up with a total barnstormer of a final scene, but I’m not complaining

To The Moon - a great film essay from Ireland’s Tadhg O’Sullivan. Digs seriously deep into the world cinema archives and creates an ode to everyone’s favourite satellite. A reminder of the different sorts of moods filmmakers can conjure by having the moonlight in their images.

Beasts Clawing At Straws - a lightweight but extremely entertaining K-thriller / black comedy. If you want to see bad things happen to terrible people, you can’t go wrong with this!

Limbo - a film about a couple of refugees stuck on a remote Scottish island as they wait for their applications to be processed. A quietly damning critique of the dehumanising systems, but one that’s very focused on the experiences of the characters above all else. A nice wry comedic streak runs through it all, and there’s no shortage of unusual, stark and witty visual choices dotted throughout.

Boys from County Hell - takes its time getting going, and ultimately there’s nothing majorly new here. But as Irish horror films go this looks the part, has some very neat SFX, and rises above the norm with a very Irish sense of humour and fresh perspective on vampire mythology. A decent watch, although definitely of all the films so far it’s the one that’d play better in a full screening.