Festival San Sebastian / Donostia Zinemaldia 2014

After a short preparation for the Latin Amercian section of the Festival San Sebastian (with Zona Sur), I [raf] placed all my reviews in JoRafCinema (filter with FSSDZ2014) and now I would like to share my impressions about this Festival. 
It took me almost the full day to go from home to San Sebastian (10h30 to 22h). The closest medium airport is Bilbao and from there I took the bus to San Sebastian. I planned to go by train but at the train station the vendor told me that nobody takes the train to San Sebastian, because it is longer and more expensive than the bus.  

View on the Festival San Sebastian main location, the Kursaal

Spaghetti story (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Ciro de Caro
	Actors: Rossella D'Andrea, Valerio di Benedetto, Cristian di Sante, Sara Tosti, Xueying Deng
	Country: I
	Genre: Comedy, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 29.09.2014, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: Four Italian young adults longing to change their lives. The encounter with Mei Mei, a young Chinese prostitute, shines a light on the truth: the gain of one's freedom is, above all, an inside job.
Review: The story is the modern daily life of people trying to get jobs, looking for affection. But there is nothing dramatic and not much to increase the suspense. One thing was good and even excellent. The role and acting of Cristian di Sante. A Roman proud of being Roman, proud of his dialect and taking life in his hands.
Rating: 3 /10

The salvation (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Kristian Levring
	Actors: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Eric Cantona
	Country: DK, GB, ZA
	Genre: Western
	Conditions of visioning: 06.10.2014, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: In 1870s America, a peaceful American settler (Mikkelsen) kills his family's murderer which unleashes the fury of a notorious gang leader Delarue (Dean Morgan). His cowardly fellow townspeople then betray him, forcing him to hunt down the outlaws alone.
Review: The story is the classical plot of a Western starting with a link to Denmark, the Danish migrants. The heroe is the lonely cowboy, ranger or whatever the name he got or does not. I loved the photography, not giving the warmth and weight of the arid West, but giving the tragic contrast of lights when the clouds pass by. The story was quite suspenseful. The acting of Mikkelsen and the directing do not show much originality. Well the originality being that the director is Danish. Is this a Danish intention to start the Danish style of Western, kind of Western Smørrebrød? At least it could be cool because of the great photography and the next movies could show something more Danish. The question of migration has potential.
Rating: 6 /10

Vertigo (1958)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1958
	Director: Alfred Hitchcock (The Birds, Torn Curtain)
	Actors: James Stewart (Rear Window, Rope), Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
	Country: USA
	Genre: Romance, Thriller, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 22.10.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A retired detective John Ferguson (Steward) suffering from acrophobia is hired by an old friend to follow his wife Madeleine (Novak) who is since recently not behaving like herself.
Review: I guess I had higher expectations from what is sold as Hitchcock's masterpiece. The suspense part is actually rather small, to the profit of an extended Romance story. I don't say this is totally bad, just unexpected and a bit lengthy. The mystery in the first half of the movie is intriguing and I loved the atmosphere created by the slow drifts in the street of San Francisco with a nice discreet music. This is also helped by the image quality of the Blu-ray edition: it ranges from stellar in the first 10 minutes (the best I have seen in this Hitchcock box-set and and one of the best of all the Blu-rays I own) to simply excellent in the rest of the movie (I don't know why the small drop of quality) with some worst moments when the lighting was bad, flickering or not constant. I like in particular the scene at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge, but throughout the whole movie I could appreciate the quality of the cinematography: low-angle to high-angle shots, close-ups, composition, without forgetting the famous "Vertigo effect" (compensated travelling). The directing is good as well: scenes like the one in the sequoia park are full of meaning, and I start to like the style of James Steward which is definitely not common. And the structure of the movie is original: it never goes where you would expect it and the resolution of the crime is not put forward, it is only the context to the meeting of two persons. I also liked the graphic design of the opening credits and of the amazing dream sequence by Saul Bass. I have to get for myself a copy of the book Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design. After all this praise, why didn't I like Vertigo more than that? Well the more I think of it, the less downsides I can find, it is just a general feeling that I didn't get intrigued as much as in other Hitchcock movies, and the romance feels completely unrealistic nowadays (love at first sight). But the idealised part of the romance is balanced by some hints that the director gives only because he could not show more in a movie of that period. I have three examples: after John rescues Madeleine from the waters, he keeps on insisting that it was a pleasure to meet her, with the hint of a smile. Is it to remind us constantly that he undressed her while she was unconscious, and that seeing such a beautiful woman powerless and naked would be a solid reason to fall in love at that period? Then during the Sequoia scene, Madeleine is terribly excited while day-dreaming, and her hand wanders towards her legs before the camera cuts to a face close-up. Finally, when John meets Judy she says that she has been on blind dates before and that she has been picked-up by men, and after the first date she indeeds welcome John very close to her apartment door, meaning that she is accustomed to have sex on a first date, something unthinkable at that period. Those three examples make me wonder: was Hitchcock ahead of his time and anticipating the sexual revolution? In any case, I am not surprised that Brian de Palma wanted to shoot his own version of Vertigo 20 years later, he will be able to show more then. I was waiting to watch Vertigo before Obsession and I will thus soon be able to appreciate it and compare both movies.
Rating: 7 /10

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1984
	Director: Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Porco Rosso)
	Actors (voices): Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda
	Country: J
	Genre: Animation, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 15.10.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A thousand years after a cataclysmic event, humanity survives in small states avoid the toxic jungle populated with giant insects. Nausicaä is the princess of one of those tribes and she seems gifted to communicate with the insects.
Review: In the past months I have watched quite a few movies directed by Miyazaki and/or produced by the Ghibli studio, so it is logical that I now watch the first one coming out from this studio. It definitely bears the mark of its director as the main topic is the conflict between Man and Nature, and the movie contains a large amount of flying scenes (he loves that since his father worked in a plane factory during WWII). I could notice the age of the movie and fewer experience of its animators because of some less good-looking drawings here and there, and some less-than-perfect animations, but in general it is very impressive (the flying scenes in particular). However, I may start to get less attracted by the style and universe of the Miyazaki movie which is, let's face it, constantly the same (young heroin, steam punk technology...). This is why my rating is not higher. The next Ghibli movie on my list? Princess Mononoke which has a similar topic, and is also the first one I ever saw by Miyazaki back in 1997 and in a theater.
Rating: 6 /10

Kickboxer (1989)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1989
	Director: Mark DiSalle, David Worth
	Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme (Welcome to the Jungle, JCVD), Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 16.10.2014, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Eric Sloane (Alexio) flies to Thailand with his brother Kurt (Van Damme) to defend his Kickboxing World Champion title. He will loose badly to Tong Po and Kurt will endeavor to avenge him.
Review: Now that is a good classic shameless Action movie of the 80's. I loved it as a teenager, like I did most of this kind of movies. For sure the story is not very sophisticated, but this simplicity is exactly what one wants to see in such movie: good guy seeks revenge, trains and wins. The setting in Thailand is quite original as at that time Action movies were mostly taking place in the USA, so this offers some nice view of that country, in particular the temple in which Kurt trains. And the fight scenes are well choreographed, by JCVD himself I learned, except for the final one that I found to be not so well balanced (the bad guy looses too easily) and strangely cut, so that I even though it was censored but a specialized website (link here) states that the edition I bought is not censored... I still have my doubts. The video quality was surprisingly good for a Blu-ray I bought new for 6 euros! One bad element in this movie (apart from the sometimes cheesy dialogs) is the 80's soundtrack, typical illustration that one should not use the trendy music at the time to score a movie because it ages so quickly. On the contrary the accelerating Thai music used during the combats (reminding me of the one in the video game Street Fighter) fits very well.
Rating: 7 /10

Nueve Reinas (2000)

	Also Known As: Nine queens
	Year of first release: 2000
	Director: Fabián Bielinski
	Actors: Gastón Pauls, Ricardo Darín, Leticia Brédice
	Country: RA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 19.09.2014, DVD, Original Spanish version
Synopsis: An experienced small delinquant Marcos (Darín) meets a younger one Juan (Pauls). They decide to work together and get involved into the reselling of old stamps via information of Marcos' sister (Brédice), Valeria.
Review: The story developps very well and we get more involved in the relationship of brother and sister as well as of brother with his colleagues. We slowly learn Marcos. SPOILER until a very surprising end, the revenge of the sister. I have been directed to believe one story and finally the story is a totally different one. As amazing as The Spanish prisoner in 1997. A few indices on the recent history of Argentina provide an original view on the Argentinian financial crisis taking place in the early 2000's. The dialogues are sparse and poor but do not avoid the actors Darín and Pauls to show their talent even if it is to play normal people and small delinquants. The poor dialogues break the interest in the movie and brake its rythm. The sound and photography are of low quality.I think that because of the really good story, the movie has become cult in Argentina, so that La salada show people watching it on TV.
Rating: 6 /10

Lügen (2014)

	Also Known As: Lügen und andere Wahrheiten
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Vanessa Jopp
	Actors: Florian David Fitz, Jeannette Hain, Alina Levshin, Thomas Heinze, Meret Becker,
	Country: D
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 16.09.2014, Schauburg, German version
Synopsis: A couple is going to get married. People around them (the best friend, the yoga teacher) and themselves encounter doubts about their beloved.
Review: I did not expect much from this German comedy using a plot more usual in French comedies. And finally it is not bad at all. The comic is coming more from the situations than from the dialogues. The five main characters are brilliant in their roles especially Alina Levshin. I did not know her although she plays in many TV series. The image quality is not so good or it might be the light being not very flattering to some characters. Nothing very original but an entertaining movie. France will get some competition...
Rating: 6 /10

The homesman (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Tommy Lee Jones
	Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank
	Country: USA, F
	Genre: Western
	Conditions of visioning: 08.09.2014, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: A woman Mary Bee (Swank) who is too clever and unemotional to attract men in her wild western region has to bring three other women having psychological problems to an institute. The travel is long and she takes the support of George Briggs (Jones).
Review: The goal being to show the daily life in the rude west is met. But the interest is small for me. Or not this way. I felt like in the Polar Museum in Tromso where I saw how life was (cold, hard, lonely) for the trappers in the XIX century. Taking this movie like this museum, it was interesting even the information flow is much less as everyone in the movie is a no-name. But for a movie, there was almost no rythm, no much visible evolution in the characters except at the very end. The acting is very sober, almost too much as Swank role shows a single aspect of a straight woman. The choice of locating the story in a region not much filmed for Westerns is also original and shows the distance taken with regard to classical Westerns. In brief, original Western but quite boring.
Rating: 4 /10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Jonathan Liebesman (Battle Los Angeles, Wrath of the Titans)
	Actors: Megan Fox (Transformers 1-2, Jennifer's Body, Will Arnett (The Lego Movie), William Fichtner (Contact, Elysium)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 16.10.2014, Mathäser Kino, 3D
Synopsis: When the Foot Clan and his leader Shredder increase they control over New York, four mutant vigilantes try to restore order, while journalist April O'Neil (Fox) is looking for a scoop.
Review: I really thought the movie was directed by Michael Bay, but so shortly after Transformers 4? He is actually only producer, but this TMNT heavily bears his mark and the style is very close to the one of the franchise with robots: basic story, advanced technology, cool good guys fighting for justice, evil bad guys, teenager humour, bloodless violence. And the worst of it all for me: fights shot in close-up (I already complained a lot about it in the Transformers movies, especially the third), so that they are rather confused and you cannot appreciate at all the effort put in the special effects and the choreography of those scenes. But it there even a choreography? To remind myself of what that is, I actually watched Kickboxer with Van Damme right after TMNT. The movie is a succession of action scenes like you would expect, but at least it doesn't drag the story to 2h30 like Transformers 4 did. On a positive note, it is nice to meet those characters of my childhood on a big screen, the heroes' Teenage aspect is quite well rendered, and I was in love with April O'Neil as a kid (that well-filled yellow overall...). Megan Fox is not quite up to the task, even if she is shot most of the time from waist height. I like the design of the turtles and of Schredder's armor, and learned something about photographing a face with a long rat's nose (you can't get everything in focus). The story has been modified to get O'Neil closer to the Turtles, but this is not a bad idea I found. In conclusion, an easy brainwash entertainment with plenty of explosions and Ninja Action.
Rating: 4 /10