Report on the BIFFF2013

JoRafCinema has just spent 6 days at the Bruxelles International Fantastic Film Festival 2013, and here is a report of our impressions.
All reviews and articles related to the BIFFF2013 an be found under this link.

Director Martin Villeneuve presents his movie Mars et Avril, accompanied with production designer and comic books author François Schuiten.

Les Saveurs du Palais (2012)

	Also Known As: Haute Cuisine
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Christian Vincent
	Actors: Catherine Frot (Le Diner de Cons), Arthur Dupont, Jean d'Ormesson
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 25.04.2013, Air France inflight entertainment system
Synopsis: Hortense Laborie (Frot) is hired as the exclusive cook for the president of the French republic (d'Ormesson).
Review: The movie is based on the true story of the cook of Francois Mitterand, whose character couldn't let her keep the job. The life of this person is well shown, always in the shadow although preparing meals for very important guests that she never sees. Her reverence and admiration for the president is also well shown and the moments when she meets him are very touching, helped by the great play of Jean d'Ormesson. It is funny that this relationship is told via food, as only a french movie could do! To contradict myself, I would also say that the relationship of people to food reminds me of Ratatouille! Indeed the best in this movie is the passion for cooking that transpires from Hortense, and I can tell you that seeing all those delicious dishes immediately made my mouth water, an especially cruel torture when stuck for ten more hours in an airplane above the Atlantic ocean.
Rating: 6 /10

!NO! (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Pablo Larraín
	Actors: Gabriel García Bernal
	Country: RCH, F, USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 13.03.2013, Schauburg, OV
Synopsis: An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.
Review: From the historical point of view the movie is very interesting. On top of it, it is good to have books and movies to work on such a burdening history. The rythm of the story is good and the viewer is involved emotionally into the private life of René Saavedra and into the fight for freedom of the his customers. The acting of García Bernal is very good and so the other actors. I do not like the graphical concept, the light and the camera movement, which makes the movie sometimes heavy to watch. The scenery is very realistic and this pays in particular in a couple of scenes where the police goes on to the masses of partying people.
Rating: 5 /10

Night train to Lisbon (2013)

	Also Known As: Nachtzug nach Lissabon
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Bille August
	Actors: Jeremy Irons, Martina Gedeck, Jack Huston, Mélanie Laurent, August Diehl
	Country: D, CH, P
	Genre: Thriller, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 10.03.2013, Schauburg, OV
Synopsis: An aging Swiss professor of classical languages who, after a chance encounter with a Portuguese woman, quits his job and travels to Lisbon in the hope of discovering the fate of a certain author, a doctor and poet who fought against Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
Review: I like a lot the plot. A guy moved by a book decides to change his life to know more about it. It is like falling in love. And then, the history of Portugal is shown in the feelings of its people. The veterans still afraid of speaking about what they have seen. The rebels also moved by their love feelings. This reminds me the story of my parents. It is also the first time that the Portuguese history is shown on screen also. Or I may have missed something. This is usefull for the people to work on the rememberance and on the justice, in order to move on with real freedom. My rating may be therefore high. The alternance of scenes on Portuguese dictature time and on current time is well cut, so that something remains open everytime and holds the breath of the viewer. The acting of Martina Gedeck, Jack Huston, August Diehl and Mélanie Laurent are great. Mélanie Laurent is barely to recognize. I did not read the book before, but this makes me wanting to read it, even if I heard a lot of bad about it.
Rating: 8 /10

Blind (2011)

	Also Known As: Beul-la-in-deu
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Sang-Hoon Ahn
	Actors: Ha-neul Kim, Hie-bong Jo
	Country: KOR
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 09.03.2013, City46, OV
Synopsis: A missing person case involving a female university student and the victim in a hit and run case appears to be the same person. Detectives look for a witness. A witness, Min Soo-Ah appears, but she is blind and thus not believed. She used to be a promising student at the police academy. With her acute senses, Min Soo-Ah is able to reveal important clues on the hit and run case. Another witness, Kwon Gi-Seob then appears, who witnessed the case with his own eyes, gives contradictory statements to Min Soo-Ah.
Review: Before the movie, there has been an explaination on the methods used to make movies sensable to blind people. Audiodescription and subtitles. The first scene of the movie has been shown in the different ways. This was really interesting as well as the comments of blind people explaining which way they prefer and how they sense a movie.  The story is great and the way some proof is given that the blind perceive a lot via the other senses is also funny. The referee being the police. The story works well against the stereotpyes. From the film point of view, the movie starts with a fast pace and then slows down until the half of the movie. In these quite 30 minutes, the stereotypes are broken and then we can focus again on the suspense story, following the killer with a vicious camera angle. The couple built by the witness and the inspector makes also very funny scenes.
Rating: 6 /10

Song for Marion (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Paul Andrew Williams
	Actors: Gemma Arterton, Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp
	Country: GB, D
	Genre: Drama, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 04.03.2013, Schauburg, OV
Synopsis: The shy, grumpy pensioner Arthur is reluctantly inspired by his beloved wife Marion to join a highly unconventional local choir. At odds with his son James, it is left to charismatic choir director Elizabeth to try and persuade Arthur that he can learn to embrace life. Arthur must confront the undercurrents of his own grumbling personality.
Review: Pleasant dramatic comedy with a couple of good actors. The activism and charism of the choir director contrasts with her loneliness at home. Genna Arterton shows a good acting even in front of experienced Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp. Some flaws in the story line cut the rythm and the atmosphere of the movie, in particular the way the last song is introduced.
Rating: 5 /10

The Liability (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Craig Viveiros
	Actors: Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk) , Jack O'Connell, Peter Mullan
	Country: GB
	Genre: Action, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 06.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: When 19-year-old Adam agrees to do a day's driving for his mum's gangster boyfriend Peter, it takes him on a 24-hour journey into a nightmarish world of murder, sex trafficking and revenge, in the company of aging hit man Roy.
Review: Actually, the background story of woman trade and the foreground story of old hit man gave great expectations. The acting of Tim Roth and Jack O'Connell was good, and therefore could have been even more challenged with a slightly modified story giving an emotional link to the characters. The compassion toward the traded women, the hate against the mum's "boyfriend" are emotions that are not reached at all. Maybe the intention of the director was anyway different. I think, it is a pity to have a good rough story, a good actor like Tim Roth and not make more out of this. Some funny moments with good British humour with properly scene à la "catch with the red hand".
Rating: 4 /10

Sons of Anarchy - Season 1 (2008)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2008
	Creator: Kurt Sutter
	Actors: Charlie Hunnam (Children of Men, Pacific Rim), Katey Sagal (Married with Children TV-series), Ron Perlman (Blade 2, Hellboy 1-2), Mark Boone Junior (Memento), Kim Coates (Black Hawk Down), Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator), Mitch Pileggi (The X-files TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: March-April 2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: The day-to-day life of the motorcycle club and gang of outlaws known as the Sons of Anarchy in the small town of Charming, California.
Review: This series was recommended by a tattoed friend of mine. In it you find the usual receipe to make a good series: good guys, bad guys, some love stories, and also drugs, police corruption... The unusal setting is this gang of bikers, which we learn are much more than that. Indeed for me the interesting point in this TV-series is to learn about the values of the Sons of Anarchy, what do they fight for or against, in which spirit were they created. We get some pieces of answer throught this first season, as the main character Jax (Hunnman) reads through a book written by his father, one of the founders of the gang. In particular in the episode 4 (Patch Over), Jax isolates himself to think back about what attaches him to the Sons. His feelings will evolve until the end of the season. Also from the beginning we understand that the Sons are a family and that they care for each other (I think this defines a gang), and that they protect their town from agressive capitalism (there are no franchises like Starbucks in it). The thing about this series is that there are no really bad guys: bikers are killers and outlaws, and police is corrupted. Even some of the uncorrupted ones have flaws. It is difficult to find whom to identify yourself with, but you always feel bad when any (good or bad) characters takes the wrong decision and has to face the consequences. Some words about the characters: Jax (Hunnman) plays the good-looking central characters, but sometimes he looks too soft to be part of the gang. It took me some episodes to get used to not laughing at the voice of Gemma (Sagal) that I am so used to hear in Married with Children and Futurama, but then she fits very well with this kind of manipulating godmother to the Sons. Ron Perlman (playing Clay) found the right role of leader for his strong face and character. A special mention to Mitch Pileggi, the Skinner from The X-files, that I found plays very naturally the leader of a nazi gang. The second half of the season also welcomes Ally Walker that plays the same role of FBI agent as in the Profiler TV-series, but less conflicted and more bitchy. The events get pretty intense towards the end of the season as it ends with the great song John the Revelator that I also heard in Blues Brothers 2000. I don't know how they could keep it up for five more seasons. I will wait a little before watching the second season. It is indeed quite time-consuming, but the series has great qualities and I liked it.
Rating: 7 /10

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1982
	Director: Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Jurassic Park)
	Actors: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote (Sphere), Drew Barrymore (Scream, Charlie's Angels 1-2)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 23.04.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: How a little boy meets a harmless extra-terrestrial stranded on Earth.
Review: After Jaws, I wanted to see this other classic movie recently released in a Blu-ray edition supervised by its director Steven Spielberg. The image and sound quality are indeed very good and probably true to Spielberg's original vision. So good that it is easy to see the defects in the optical and puppet visual effects! But it looks like the director knew it even at the time, as he reveals his main character (E.T.) very slowly, bits by bits, and often back-lit so that the defects are not obvious. This is well done and contributes to the special atmosphere of the film. Actually the movie may have been completely different if photo-realistic CGIs had been available at the time. Now about the story and emotion... well it is not the same as when I saw it as a kid. Watching it again now and in this pristine edition made me appreciate some details I had completely forgotten, it is still a very good movie, an important part in Spielberg's carreer, but now I appreciate it at a different level than what kids do. This may be nostalgy.
Rating: 7 /10

Quantum of Solace (2008)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2008
	Director: Marc Forster (World War Z)
	Actors: Daniel Craig (Cowboys vs. Aliens), Olga Kurylenko (Max Payne, Hitman, Oblivion), Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton (Byzantium)
	Country: GB, USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 21.04.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: James Bond (Craig) travels around the world to track the activities of a secret organization that buys pieces of land in the desert for an unknown purpose.
Review: The movie actually follows the events of the previous Bond episode (Casino Royale), which is rare in this franchise. But it is disconnected enough so that it can be watched independently. My first attraction to this movie comes from the fact that part of it was shot at the hotel in which I resided many times, close to the Paranal observatory in the Atacama desert in Chile, and that belongs to my company. They even organized a private projection of the movie for employees in 2008! My opinion has improved a little since I saw it that time. I found it to be a stupid succession of action scenes with explanatory scenes in between where they quickly justify the next exotic shooting location. It still felt the same but at the second viewing I could appreciate better the quality of some action shots like the ones in Sienna (Italy), and understand better the detail of the story in the explanatory scenes thanks to subtitles. It is anyway for me the third Craig Bond films in quality after Skyfall and Casino Royale, in that order.
Rating: 4 /10