WIFE OF A SPY – ★★★

A Japanese drama set during World War II, and about the wife of a Japanese business man who becomes involved in secrets when they are disclosed to him on a trip to China. He feels like he needs to do something about it, despite the consequences, given Japan’s allies in the war. It was nicely made overall, perhaps a little bit slow. The set design was nicely done, despite the film seeming low budget. It was originally made as a TV movie for Japan, so that might explain it. Perhaps some of it was lost in translation, but it seemed to meander a little and I was uncertain of the reason behind the ending being wrapped up the way it was after the slow start.

THE NOWHERE INN – ★★★☆

This mockumentary starts Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia tv show, or Sleater Kenny, depending on your demographic) and St Vincent. It’s fictional, but crosses with live performances by St Vincent, and they play themselves in the film. I was surprised that I liked this as much as I did, because I do have a bit of a like/dislike relationship with St Vincent. I loved her ‘mixtape’ radio show on Beats One back in the day. I didn’t mind some of her songs. But, I also found her live show when I went to be self-indulgent. Anyway, if you don’t mind a bit of tangential story with several amusing quips along the way, it’s worth checking out.

CHEF ANTONIO’S RECIPES FOR REVOLUTION – ★★★★

An excellent finish to MIFF for this year. This documentary is about an Italian Chef who hires people with disability (specifically those living with Down syndrome) in his restaurant and hotel. The general joy and patience he shows in helping others was inspiring to me. In the doco we see several of his staff and learn more about their lives. In addition it appears that his idea is expanding with several hotels in the chain opening up. One day when travel permits, I look forward to trying the one in the Blue Mountains, NSW.

THE WITCHES OF THE ORIENT – not rated

I was a bit tired when I tried this documentary about the Japanese Olympic volleyball team from the 1964 games, and after about 10-15 minutes stopped it. If there was a story to tell it might have been better to have started it sooner into the film than the scattered collection of vignettes that occurred in what I watched. Not rating it as I didn’t give it a fair chance.

JAMES AND ISEY – ★★★

I was glad when this was added as a stream-able film in the last days of MIFF this year, as it’s one I was looking forward to. It’s a documentary about a Maori son (James) and mother (Isey). It documents the week or so leading up to Isey’s 100th birthday and covers her history, as well as some of the background of her son who is taking care of her and planning the party. I liked the film, but I couldn’t help but feel at points that perhaps it was a vehicle for James who had a background in entertainment, and whether at times it became more about him than his mum. Overall though it was enjoyable and did have a reasonable number of funny moments.

LANGUAGE LESSONS – ★★★

The closing night film for MIFF 2021. I was very much looking forward to it for several reasons. I like both leads (Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales), and in these difficult locked down times, a comedy appealed. It’s about a man who is given Spanish lessons by his husband, conducted via video chat, and the relationship between them. It was an interesting idea, and every scene being a ‘video meeting’ without it actually relating to Covid lockdowns was executed well enough. However, I found that after spending many hours each week in video meetings of my own, that it was a bit ‘too soon’ for me to experience more of it right now. Also, I felt like it could have been better with the story being a little bit ‘lighter’. There were several different plot points and it felt a bit heavy handed at times, especially for the interactions between two people who don’t know each other. I think it’ll be an easier watch in a couple of years when hopefully the constant video chats and being shut in at home are behind us.

QUEEN OF GLORY – ★★☆

Film about an African American woman who is deep in academia, dating a married man who’s about to move across the country, and who she intends to follow. But then her mother, who runs a Christian bookshop, dies and the film tells the story of how she changes. Unfortunately, I didn’t really see what the message was that this film was trying to portray. It felt like it might be that women are better off being at home, serving their family (in this case, her estranged father), and running a bookshop, rather than being self-thinking and independent. Well acted by the lead, but otherwise it didn’t really grab me.

BULLETPROOF – ★★★☆

I knew I would feel my blood pressure rising watching this documentary about how American high schools are taking measures to protect their students from mass shootings and gun violence. And it did. I liked how this film was made without any narration, merely presenting various scenes and talking heads discussing the concerns and how they were doing what was needed to protect kids. Here’s a clue though: how about removing the weird fixation on guns in the first place? That might help save a lot of lives, expense, and time on reactive measures like bulletproof whiteboards and hoodies.

SMOOTH TALK – ★★★

Great to see Laura Dern early in her acting career, and as this is from 1985 some of the scenes at the mall for historical sake. It’s about a 15 year old girl who is starting to realise that she’s attractive to men, and her balance between being a girl and a woman. Worth watching for the above reasons, but otherwise okay to miss.

ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE – ★★☆

Documentary that investigated the use of vision and cameras throughout the ages, and discussed the flaws and concerns amongst that. Whether it was tracking the path of Venus against the Sun in the late 1800s, or modern body cam technology used by the police. It posed some interesting questions, and was very creatively put together. You could see how much work went into making it something a little different. I appreciated that. However, I found it a little cerebral at points, and felt like I was missing some of the message it was trying to portray. It could be that I was just a bit tired though.