BOSS CAT – ★★★

Australian film set in the Blue Mountains about a young woman living with Down syndrome who is navigating the difficulties of her future after the sudden, unexpected death of her mother. She discovers Krump dancing as an outlet to deal with situations and reduce the stresses or anxieties that she feels. Overall, a good film, and it’s excellent to see one where people with disabilities not only fill the spot of the lead role, but several supporting roles as well in a way that doesn’t make it about the disabilities. I think the messaging was strong at times, but likely well suited to audiences that might need a better understanding of the diversity in our society. 

ELEPHANTS IN THE FOG – ★★★☆

Sometimes you roll the dice on a film, and it pays off grandly. Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry at MIFF a few years ago (and I believe currently streaming on SBS On Demand) is an example. This one didn’t pay off as well as sometimes happens for me, but still worthwhile. This Nepalese film is about a woman in a small village community who already holds a position of respect, and with potential to become the leader, and who has to decide what to do when her plans to leave that life to move with her lover to India are sidelined by the disappearance of her daughter. The film was a bit slow at points, nicely filmed though. The dealing of how the community and greater society deal with the fact that the woman’s household (and the woman herself) are all trans was upsetting, yet predictable. It was good that none of the characters are painted in a particularly positive light, including the protagonist, and it leads to thoughts and discussions about how everyone has the potential to do wrongs, in one perspective or another, and how with more compassion we can avoid the spiralling escalations that we see in this world. 

THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK – ★★★☆ 

John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Jamie Lee Curtis. Giancarlo Esposito, New York setting. This was one of my most anticipated films of the festival. It’s about an ageing pickpocket caring for his wife with a disability, who picks the wrong target, a bag owned by a mob family, and his path to resolving it. It was a good film, but it didn’t knock it out of the park, likely due to the screenplay. There were just a few too many logical disconnects here. For one, when time is tight, you have plenty of cash in your pocket, and people’s lives are on the line, why are you catching a bus from one New York borough to another? I feel like another revision of the story, and perhaps another 15-30 minutes of exposition might have made this even better. 

HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY! – ★★★☆

Music-and-dance-laced film (but not a musical) about a Japanese woman, married to a Mexican, living happily in Tokyo, and who both enjoy ballroom dancing, until an unfortunate and unexpected passing leaves her a widow. This film is hard to put into a genre, but as far as a mood goes, it is overall stylish, joyful, and uplifting, despite the subject matter. Good fun.

CHILI FINGER – ★★★☆

American comedy/thriller-ish film about a small-town lawyer who finds a severed finger in her fast-food chilli. A great cast of familiar favourites (John Goodman, Just Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston, etc.) and well put together. I’d suggest that the plot/script is the weakest part, but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief a little more than normal, it’s watchable. Probably the kind of film to watch on an aeroplane, or after a hard week at work. 

KINGS OF VENICE – ★★★☆

Documentary about the Paddle Ball scene in Venice, California. Paddle Ball is a sport that’s been around a long time, gone through some name changes, but is on the downward trend in popularity. It’s played on a small court with a deflated tennis ball, and has a strong resemblance to the newer sport of pickleball, which is gaining in popularity. Generally amusing as it introduces several of the characters who play the game, who take it very seriously. Sometimes perhaps too seriously. It’s a mixed bag of folks, who are concerned about the impact of pickleballers who are quickly encroaching on their territory. It’s not an important film, but it was nice light entertainment. I suspect the competition at the end was rigged, but not in the same way that Ernesto suspected it.

NINO – ★★★★

French film about a young man who on his birthday finds out that he has throat cancer, and whose treatment will begin the following Monday. We spend the weekend as he goes through through multiple locations, interactions with others, and processing the news. It’s the type of film the French seem to do well, finding a way to tell a story in refreshing ways. Made me think of others like Conversations with my Gardener and The Intouchables. Perhaps not quite as good as either of those, but still very good. 

SCHOOL FOR DEFECTORS – ★★★

Interesting documentary about a small South Korean boarding school specifically for children whose parents (and often themselves) have defected from North Korea. Harrowing stories, and watchable, but it didn’t overly grab me. I was possibly spoiled by the documentary Beyond Utopia at MIFF a few years ago, which showed footage of people as they actually defected. The documentary today though could have been cut down to a one hour TV show instead of the way it was presented. 

BLUE HERON – ★★★★

What an absolute punch in the gut of a film. Watching made me feel like my head was in a vice. I’m not going to say it was a pleasant experience, but it was an extraordinary film in its power to demonstrate the difficulty of a situation where immigrant parents are trying to raise four children, and the oldest has behavioural/mental health issues. Filmed on Vancouver Island, it was lovely to see the Pacific Northwest, one of the most beautiful areas on Earth.

LA BOLA NEGRA – ★★★☆

Spanish film that cuts across three timelines, with a running theme across all regarding how homosexuality has been treated historically in the country, as well as in modern day. Very nicely shot, well paced, especially for a relatively long film. The quick moral of the story can be best summarised by quoting David Lynch’s character FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole: “Fix their hearts or die“.

CONGO BOY – ★★★☆

Snappy African film about a young man who is a refugee in Central Africa, and juggling raising four younger siblings while his parents are in prison, trying to finish his final year of high school, working to pay for food, and also follow his music passion to become an artist. Overall I enjoyed this, and it was nice to have some feel-good moments amongst a difficult situation.