The BAFICI (Connor?) Chronicles
That's right, ladies and gentlemen, THE Film Festival of Buenos Aires has (already) started! And I have already seen a couple of movie, of course. Throughout this week I'll probbly post my very own film reviews only, so I'm warning you, lots of shop talk coming soon. In fact, I'm making a cut right now for reviews of Day 1 and 2:
Day 1: medium-lengthed films
Saw 3 of them, and I've got to admit it was a nice experience. I still have to overcome my short film "fear" (I usually don't see short films because I'm afraid sth that lasts no more than 10 minutes won't satisfy me enough^^'), but that will have to wait till next year.
The first one was Italian, and was called Et mondana ordinare. The idea was very interesting: set in a medieval church in Bergamo, 3 women dressed according to the scenario read 3 testaments from 3 women who lived in that city in the XIVth century and gave their pieces of land and fortune to benefit a monastery, poor girls and the arts. This was combined with contemporary shoots that showed how this women from long time ago made a contribution to the present. The photography was awesome!
The second one, Elephant Skin, was from Austria, and I personally would have loved to see an extended version of the film. Made with non-actors, the movie narrated a mother-daughter relationship, the mother being an obese woman who couldn't do things on her own because of her weight and was constantly ruining her daughter's plans (or at least, intended to by demeaning her). In between, the daughter has a love story (sort of) with an Elvis Presley imitator.
The last one was Le streghe, femmes entre elles, a film by Jean-Marie Straub based on a dialogue from the book Dialogues with Leucò, by Cesare Pavese. I was particularly interested in seeing this one because I had read that dialogue- between Leucò and Circe, on Ulysses stay with Circe- a week before in my Art and Literature class. A minor detail: it didn't have subtitles in Spanish because the director wouldn't allow the festival organisers to use them...what a jerk! So I practised my listening comprehension in Italian, and when I wasn't able to understand a certain word, I practised my reading comprehension with the subtitles...in French:P
Day 2: Kinatay
Saw this Philippine movie yesterday evening with Sebastian, and the first thing I thought was "Wow, how little I know about The Philippines' history!". Even though it was far from being a historic movie, I couldn't help noticing my ignorance when it comes to Asian countries. The plot: a 20-year-old guy studying to become a cop gets married, and that same night he gets a call from the sargent to go with him and some other guys on his first...mission? Anyway, the ends up accompanying his superiors to a cabaret and witnesses how they kidnap, torture, rape and finally murder a junkie prostitute. I've got to tell you, Sebastian's the one who's into gore films, but I despite my initial prejudices, I enjoyed it. It wasn't that creepy/disgusting, and somehow, it was a reflection on violence and corrupted police.
In other news:
1) My Mom had to go under surgery yesterday. No biggie, everything went fine and now she's back home and feeling well, but it was weird, as surgeries are quite rare in my family.
2) Myy grandparents came 2 days ago to take care of my Mom, which means I get to cook with my Grandma and eat delicious meals until Monday. For instance, I've just had some delicious chicken "alla portoghesa", and right now I'm baking a coffee cake for merienda time. Yummy yummy for my tummy!
Day 1: medium-lengthed films
Saw 3 of them, and I've got to admit it was a nice experience. I still have to overcome my short film "fear" (I usually don't see short films because I'm afraid sth that lasts no more than 10 minutes won't satisfy me enough^^'), but that will have to wait till next year.
The first one was Italian, and was called Et mondana ordinare. The idea was very interesting: set in a medieval church in Bergamo, 3 women dressed according to the scenario read 3 testaments from 3 women who lived in that city in the XIVth century and gave their pieces of land and fortune to benefit a monastery, poor girls and the arts. This was combined with contemporary shoots that showed how this women from long time ago made a contribution to the present. The photography was awesome!
The second one, Elephant Skin, was from Austria, and I personally would have loved to see an extended version of the film. Made with non-actors, the movie narrated a mother-daughter relationship, the mother being an obese woman who couldn't do things on her own because of her weight and was constantly ruining her daughter's plans (or at least, intended to by demeaning her). In between, the daughter has a love story (sort of) with an Elvis Presley imitator.
The last one was Le streghe, femmes entre elles, a film by Jean-Marie Straub based on a dialogue from the book Dialogues with Leucò, by Cesare Pavese. I was particularly interested in seeing this one because I had read that dialogue- between Leucò and Circe, on Ulysses stay with Circe- a week before in my Art and Literature class. A minor detail: it didn't have subtitles in Spanish because the director wouldn't allow the festival organisers to use them...what a jerk! So I practised my listening comprehension in Italian, and when I wasn't able to understand a certain word, I practised my reading comprehension with the subtitles...in French:P
Day 2: Kinatay
Saw this Philippine movie yesterday evening with Sebastian, and the first thing I thought was "Wow, how little I know about The Philippines' history!". Even though it was far from being a historic movie, I couldn't help noticing my ignorance when it comes to Asian countries. The plot: a 20-year-old guy studying to become a cop gets married, and that same night he gets a call from the sargent to go with him and some other guys on his first...mission? Anyway, the ends up accompanying his superiors to a cabaret and witnesses how they kidnap, torture, rape and finally murder a junkie prostitute. I've got to tell you, Sebastian's the one who's into gore films, but I despite my initial prejudices, I enjoyed it. It wasn't that creepy/disgusting, and somehow, it was a reflection on violence and corrupted police.
In other news:
1) My Mom had to go under surgery yesterday. No biggie, everything went fine and now she's back home and feeling well, but it was weird, as surgeries are quite rare in my family.
2) Myy grandparents came 2 days ago to take care of my Mom, which means I get to cook with my Grandma and eat delicious meals until Monday. For instance, I've just had some delicious chicken "alla portoghesa", and right now I'm baking a coffee cake for merienda time. Yummy yummy for my tummy!