Welcome to the 9th annual Fantastic fest film festival here in Austin, TX. This is my daily recap which over the next week will primarily recap the film experiences I have as well as touch on the mental and physical status of the Festival going folk, myself included. My entertainment is guaranteed but please, pray for my well being. To the fest!
Opening day always starts late afternoon, so Day 2 is when the intensity goes up a notch. Five movies: bring it. Day started off with excitement as the torrential downpour made my journey to the Alamo a perilous one, narrowly avoiding a car water planing across my lane. Surviving that, I hoped my luck would hold out for the rest of the day. I missed out on Escape from Tomorrow (hearing mixed things) and the premiere of the new Elijah Wood movie Grand Piano (more on that later) but had all my other selections assigned. Let’s get to it…
EEGA:
This is a way to kick start a day! Eega is a tale of love and revenge. A young ‘micro artist’ Bindu (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) is the object of her neighbour’s affections. Young Nani (Naveen Babu Ghanta) had loved her from afar for two years and finally begins to get noticed. A local villain, Sudeep (Sudeep) becomes besotted with Bindu and infuriated with her affections for Nani so murders him. The rest of the movie deals with how Nani is reincarnated as a housefly and seeks vengeance. Yes, I really did just type that.
The first third of the film is pure Bollywood, vibrant colours, musical numbers, ominous musical cues. It was bright and unabashedly Indian cinema. The filmmakers had a wind machine and were not afraid to use it. The vengeance part of the movie starts off a little rough with some low-end CGI, which becomes more endearing and appropriate as the film goes on. When you start to think of how a fly can wreak havoc in a businessman/criminals dealings, you have to get pretty creative and the writers here did. As things get more intense and Bindu becomes aware of Nani’s resurrection, her skills as a ‘micro-artist’ become more relevant. In one of the greatest action montages ever committed to film we see a fly training and working out and being equipped with micro-weaponry. It is just bugnuts and I loved it for that. Sudeep himself is fantastic as the bad guy and has some amazing moments to chew the scenery or drop a nefarious line. Wacky and fun, it seems it is very easy to root for a fly on a vengeance mission.
DETECTIVE DOWNS:
This was a film that peaked my curiosity when they first announced the programming. Robert Bogerud (Svein André Hofsø) is a private detective — he also has Downs syndrome. When a famous Norwegian speedskater disappears his family hires Robert to find him, evidently because they don’t really want him found. Tackling such a topic could come across as exploitative, but is tackled here in a very deft manner. Robert is shown as a sweet, compassionate man, fueled by the death and loss of his mother to use his empathy to try and solve cases. His ‘method’ involves assuming the role of the missing person. As we learn, that person was into cross dressing and had a very dysfunctional family, so this ‘method’ fuels some frankly hilarious moments in the film.
While the world around him reacts and comments on his condition, the film shows a more innocent, childlike, and hapless approach to his investigations, reminiscent perhaps of Inspector Clouseau in the Pink panther movies. It is one of those films that reaches into you and lights you up. From moody noir scenes in a stripclub to a magnificent dance number in a park or a sexual encounter, the film hits each note with assurance and deftness. At its core Detective Downs is a solid noir film, oozing mood, shot beautifully and featuring a great soundtrack. Throw into that the skillful handing of this disability in what could have been a tacky facet and Detective Downs is a triumph that is likely to be one of my firm favorites of this entire festival. Well done to all involved.
A FIELD IN ENGLAND:
* Disclaimer, as an Ex-pat, I have not been to THIS field in England, however I have been to many other fields in England.
I’m still going over this film in my mind. The new work from Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers) is a peculiar beast. I actually liked the change of pace after the previous two films. I summed it up to a friend as a theater production crossed with an acid trip crossed with a fucked up mysterious episode of LOST. It is the tale of four men who leave the field of battle during the English civil war in the 1600s and set off to find a pub. On the way they find one of their number to be an alchemist charged with capturing a man who has stolen his masters documents. Finding him, this thief recruits the band to do his bidding and find some treasure buried in this Field in the middle of England.
There is a weird psychedelic element at play, there are references to nursery rhymes and superstitions and the devil from old England. I loved the early portions, a few blokes wandering through the English countryside with blokey banter then the trippier elements came in. It felt more like a play or short story that a real film, at times it looks very simple with basic framing and backgrounds. At other times the film is breathtakingly beautiful.
It’s not for everyone but it is a fascinating watch and I have to give respect to anyone who can film a 17th Century based drug trip in a field and still drop in insults about Essex.
NINJA: SHADOW OF A TEAR:
Right, so I like a good action movie like most, but I am not as crazy for the Undisputed, Expendables-type films like some. If this is your kind of film I would suggest you read Ed’s review here. The whole Cinapse team went to this primarily to watch Ed explode from excitement. That said, it was fun. It’s your typical ‘Ninja’ movie, martial arts guy in love, wife says she’s pregnant, the whole theater in hushed terms says ‘awwww fuck, she is killed, setting our star (Scott Adkins) on a trek to Burma and beyond in search of retribution. We get the cheesy one liners, some of which I admit I applauded, some great action and a crowd of people cheering for the good guy. I say good guy, this is a man who goes on a vigilante rampage across multiple countries killing many many people (including policemen) under very tenuous amounts of evidence. Probably best to not think too deeply on this one.
No CGI, no wirework, men flipping through the air at each other and smashing into things. Brilliant. I have to say after this and last years viewings, the fans in these screenings are some of the most vocal and appreciative to watch with and that alone made it a great addition to my day’s lineup.
*Warning: many MANY desks were killed during this movie.
GRAND PIANO:
I was scheduled to see She Wolf but word of mouth and the addition of a press screening of Grand Piano made me switch out and damn am I glad I did.
Director Eugino Mira has produced a modern thriller that will comfortably nestle amongst some of the cinematic greats. Reminiscent of Hitchcock and De Palma, we see Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings, Maniac) playing concert pianist Tom Selznick, who returns to the stage to honor the death of his mentor, five years after failing to perform his ‘impossible piece’. Urged to return and supported by his actress girlfriend, he nervously takes the stage, turns a page of his sheet music and sees in red pen, “Play one wrong note and you die.” Discussion back and forth between them while the concert continues is like a tennis match, sparring with a high intensity as Tom tries to find a way out of his predicament. So, reminiscent of Phonebooth then? Yes…but it’s so much more.
Wood is great as the lead, nailing the initial nervousness and ensuing frenetic behavior as the scheme develops. Kerry Bishe (Argo) as the wife and Alex Winter (Bill and Ted) as a concert hall steward contribute to proceedings admirably. John Cusack, lends his voice to the sniper, but my favorite supporting role probably goes to the orchestra conductor played by Don McManus who imbues the film with a needed warmth and heart. Where the film really triumphs is in its composition (no pun intended). Ths film, while simple in it’s premise, is executed to a tee. It is so well crafted and edited, a throat slice ‘cut’ just made me start clapping. The pace of the film, it essentially unfolds in real time, is one of its biggest assets. I find that a really good movie has a musical or rhythmic quality, it builds and hits you in waves, it soars and it dips it keeps you moving with it. How Grand Piano is put together it achieves that through the story and actors alone. This film really is imbued with that musical/orchestral quality. Throughout we hear the recital unfold, as one route of escape is found and then denied, the music continues. The marriage of the orchestral movements with the plot is magnificent. And elevates it to a artistic level way above any standard thriller.
It’s easy to say Grand Piano is ‘Speed‘ but on a piano rather than a bus, but that does it a disservice. It is a very well crafted thriller. Focused, sharp and intense. It was announced after the screening that Magnolia pictures have picked up the film for distribution and it is clear why. It needs to be appreciated by a larger audience for how skillfully Mira delivers a clever, gripping and intensely polished thriller.
Day 3 we have Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut, R100, Fatal and Hentai Kamen: Forbidden Super Hero. But i’m hoping to trade some of those out particularly for Man of Tai Chi and the always spectacular Fantastic Debates.