Fifth episode happened in 2011 after a one-year break.
After more than 6 hours of car driving because we took the wrong pass through the Alpes, instead of 4 hours, we arrive finally at Udine. We need another 20 minutes to find the bed and breakfast, because neither Jo nor I [Raf] had the address or the phone number of the B&B. But using our memory, we find the way only by starting from the center of the city. Just the time to get the keys and let the bags in the room and to throw the money to pay the Black Dragon pass and the first film was already starting.
After more than 6 hours of car driving because we took the wrong pass through the Alpes, instead of 4 hours, we arrive finally at Udine. We need another 20 minutes to find the bed and breakfast, because neither Jo nor I [Raf] had the address or the phone number of the B&B. But using our memory, we find the way only by starting from the center of the city. Just the time to get the keys and let the bags in the room and to throw the money to pay the Black Dragon pass and the first film was already starting.
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| Teatro nuovo (main FEFF theater) entrance by night |
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| The catalogue 2011 |
Night Fishing, from South Korea. This movie makes lots of publicity being filmed by an IPhone, but its main characteristic is to be a 30 minutes film of the level of David Lynch. At the end of the film, you can find lots of stories out of it. The technical challenge of postproduction and lights reduces the hype due to the IPhone stuff.
Villain, from Japan, shows dates and how both men and women can be mean in relationships. Well acted drama.
Seaside motel, from Japan, a very original episodes movie with good stories and camera. My favourite of that FEFF 2011.
Confessions, from Japan, an excellent thriller full of surprises and with a perfect story-telling,
Aftershock, from China, an earthquake movie telling more the life of a family between two striking Earthquakes, good SFX, good story and directing.
The retrospective on Asian comedies was a good eye-catcher to me and this allowed me to discover several good movies.
The private eyes, from Hong-Kong, an good comedy that let me discover Michael Hui.
Labor's love, from China, a comedy of 1922 showing a lot of humour in the pre-War and pre-Mao China.
Mr Wang got a meal hardly, from China, a dramatic comedy of 1939 showing the society as classes and the importance of money.
Chicken and duck talk, from Hong-Kong, since that movie, I knew the Asian counter part for Louis de Funès.
How to get a wife, from Hong-Kong, an average comedy.
Other movies that were not so marking to me:
Villain, from Japan, shows dates and how both men and women can be mean in relationships. Well acted drama.
Seaside motel, from Japan, a very original episodes movie with good stories and camera. My favourite of that FEFF 2011.
Confessions, from Japan, an excellent thriller full of surprises and with a perfect story-telling,
Aftershock, from China, an earthquake movie telling more the life of a family between two striking Earthquakes, good SFX, good story and directing.
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| Inside the Teatro nuovo, place for the competition |
The private eyes, from Hong-Kong, an good comedy that let me discover Michael Hui.
Labor's love, from China, a comedy of 1922 showing a lot of humour in the pre-War and pre-Mao China.
Mr Wang got a meal hardly, from China, a dramatic comedy of 1939 showing the society as classes and the importance of money.
Chicken and duck talk, from Hong-Kong, since that movie, I knew the Asian counter part for Louis de Funès.
How to get a wife, from Hong-Kong, an average comedy.
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| Michael Hui discussing about comedy in Honk-Kong |
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| Michael Hui presenting his movie Chicken and Duch talk |
Other movies that were not so marking to me:
The man from nowhere, from South Korea, an action movie with lots of action and a funny plot. A friendly lonely guy gets crazy against the Triad when a neighbour girl is kidnapped.
The lady shogun and her man, from Japan, a drama showing a society with a woman on the top. Finally not so different than if it was a man.
Cyrano agency, from South Korea, funny story for a urban comedy that could have been done in the Western countries as well.
Lover's discourse, from Hong-Kong, a nice group of love stories.
The lady shogun and her man, from Japan, a drama showing a society with a woman on the top. Finally not so different than if it was a man.
Cyrano agency, from South Korea, funny story for a urban comedy that could have been done in the Western countries as well.
Lover's discourse, from Hong-Kong, a nice group of love stories.
Other movies that I would not recommend:
The lost bladesman, from China, an epic action
movie,
The stool pigeon, from Hong-Kong, no much interesting story nor fight. So bad for an action movie.
Abnormal family, from Japan, a pinku that is not funny, has no story, has no psychology. The stool pigeon, from Hong-Kong, no much interesting story nor fight. So bad for an action movie.
Wind blast, from China, an average polar.
The official public prices (large public) have gone to Aftershock, Under the hawthorn tree and Here comes the bride in this order. This price is given according to the amount of votes for a movie. Thus week-end movies got more votes because the public is much larger than during the week at 9h30.
Therefore the FEFF organisation initiated a cinephile price, so-called Black Dragon price, collecting the votes of Black Dragons accredited people, usually press, festival and cinephiles. The official Black Dragon price has gone to Confessions.
There were some actitivies in the city besides the festival, such as demonstration of Iaido (take off Japanese sword), of Kungfu, a small Asian market. This was also very interesting to see. The FEFF started because the department for foreign languages of the university. And the festival is not only about showing movies, it is also, like the movies, a door to a world very different from Europe and more generally from the Western culture.
Therefore the FEFF organisation initiated a cinephile price, so-called Black Dragon price, collecting the votes of Black Dragons accredited people, usually press, festival and cinephiles. The official Black Dragon price has gone to Confessions.
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| Moon setting behind the Visionario, place for the retrospective |
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| Beehive-like activity in the FEFF venue of the Teatro nuovo |
There were some actitivies in the city besides the festival, such as demonstration of Iaido (take off Japanese sword), of Kungfu, a small Asian market. This was also very interesting to see. The FEFF started because the department for foreign languages of the university. And the festival is not only about showing movies, it is also, like the movies, a door to a world very different from Europe and more generally from the Western culture.
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| Cosplay contest in the city of Udine |
I was glad to be able to spend many days at the FEFF in 2011, and with a Black Dragon accreditation. But the price was not won by Confessions thanks to me, as I didn't find anything really nice about that movie, and was not interested by it.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't like Welcome to Shama town. Was I in a bad mood that year? I found the story uninteresting and poorly told.
Night Fishing was an obvious attemp to ride the wave of the iPhone trendiness. I am not a fan of the brand, and I was appalled by the ugly quality of the images recorded at night. Morover I learned that a cinema objective (30 cm long) was attached to the phone for shooting, so finally the director only used the crappy detector and image processing. Still you can appreciate the talent of the director for making something original, but nothing more.
Seaside Motel was sold as a Japanese Tarantino movie and it has some of its characteristics: colorful characters and dialogs, original storytelling (all takes place in the several rooms of a countriside motel called "seaside"). It is not a masterpiece but an excellent example of what Japan can produce that isn't 30 minutes too long isn't badly played.
I liked a lot Aftershock which might be my favorite of that festival, although it does not belong to a genre I usually watch: Drama. But I found the story touching and well told.
As for you, Chicken and Duck Talk was a discovery for me of the 80's comedies in Hong Kong. Since then I watched two more Michael Hui movies, not nearly as good: Teppanyaki and Mr Boo meets Pom Pom.
I was impressed by Mr Wang got a meal hardly not so much because of the comedy (it is hard to laugh at 70 years old jokes) but because of the image quality that I didn't expect from a Chinese movie of 1939. I cannot say the same about the average 80's comedy Who is the Real Tycoon, playing on qui-pro-quos.
I remember The Lady shogun and her man as a cheap and bad chambarra with inversed roles as you wrote between men and women. Cyrano agency was not a bad romantic comedy.
It looks like you don't remember how bad Wind Blast was. I have been thinking about this movie recently when I reviewed Snow White and the Huntsman. Both movies look too much like they were constructed to gather all the elements that would please the public, but it makes for a particular awful result, especially in the case of Wind Blast: a mix of investigation, western with explosions and scenes that are too long, useless special effects of poor quality (why making digital some arrows that are stuck in a car's door??). I even left the theater before the end, which is not something I usually do, but I couldn't stand it anymore. Likely to get a 0/10 on our scale in spite of its big budget and ambitions.
You didn't mention the movie that made me discover the Pinku style (Japanese soft pornoraphic movies) and the legendary Yokai Kappa (man turned into turtle) at the same time: Underwater Love. The vaguely erotic interspieces scenes are quickly forgotten to the benefit of the crazy Kappa and the dances he does with his likes. I found it very funny.
Well actually I had forgotten but I discovered Pinku several years before, in 2006, when the FEFF projected The Glamorous life of Sachiko Hanai, the crazy story of the thumb of George W. Bush Jr. capable of destroying the world and raping prostitutes!
And today is the day I go back to FEFF for the 2014 edition!