Philadelphia Film Festival 2008 - Day 10
April 13th, 2008
Today started out on the right foot with a film called The Pope’s Toilet. It’s about the poor Uruguayan town of Melo, which is expecting a visit from the Pope. Usually, the citizens don’t have many chances to make money, so the lead character provides for his family the same way many other men do. He smuggles goods in from Brazil by bicycle.
It’s a touching and sad film that has great performances by the lead family, and doesn’t turn into melodrama and also doesn’t have a sappy ending. It’s written and directed with humor and care. Very enjoyable.
After that, I saw Vexille, an anime that had great animation but a horrible story. It’s told from the point of view of an American special forces unit called S.W.O.R.D. who, 50 years from now, go to Japan to liberate them from an evil corporate cloning organization. It is well produced, but the story and script are horrible. There is one excellent scenes towards the middle, where people are trying to get into the enemy headquarters, but otherwise it’s not worthwhile.
Third came a surprisingly good film called Dangerous Parking. A British film (written, directed and starring Peter Howitt) about a famous director coping with alcohol and drug-addiction. It’s very funny, and told in a quick and smart style using some cool editing, special effects, picture in picture, animation, etc. At heart, its a simple no-frills story of a fall from grace, redemption, and the consequences of one’s actions. Nothing special there, but it is extremely entertaining, and pulls all the right strings as it goes.
Another good film came next. Nothing to Lose, from Holland, is the story of a man convicted of killing his father and sister and has been in jail for 6 years. He escapes to find his mother, who can verify he didn’t kill his sister. He did kill his father but only because the man was trying to take advantage of his sister.
This film is very simply told, but the script and performances really carry it through quickly to a great conclusion. I was impressed by the directors ability to let the story tell itself without over-dramatizing the drama or over-stlyzing the action. Apparently this was based on a true story, but its unique and interesting enough that you wouldn’t have thought that unless told. It’s a great film.
Last but not least for today was Film Noir. Cheaply animated in black and white with accents of color, this film still had me enthralled due to its great story. It’s definitely a Film Noir. The story involves a man who wakes up next to a dead cop underneath the big Hollywood sign in California. He doesn’t remember who is is or how he got there. He must navigate a tricky set of clues to figure out who he is and what is going on. A good script adequately executed equals a very entertaining film.
40 Films down!
If you are a fan of the martial arts films in question (shaw brothers, Drunken Master, Once Upon A Time In China, Bride With White Hair, etc), then you will appreciate this film. It pays homage to all the classics, and breathes new life into the world of the films. It’s cheesy, but quite funny. It also has some good Yuen Wo Ping fight scenes, including a great one between Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
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