UNKNOWN WHITE MALE
7/10
This is a documentary about a very well to do young man who’s lost all his memory. It wasn’t boring but it didn’t overly grab me as much as it might’ve. I guess it’s hard to feel sorry for him because he doesn’t seem to unhappy about the fact it’s happened anymore, and the filmmaker kind of makes you think that he seems like a better guy for it than the one he was before – less sarcastic, cynical and more sensitive. Makes me wonder if someday people will do this by choice – I wouldn’t mind losing some of my cynicism :-).
ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK
5/10
Relax! Calm Down! Is there a drinking game somewhere for watching HK action films that involves downing a shot every time the word ‘relax’ or ‘calm down’ appears in the subtitles? Does the Chinese language actually have multiple words/phrases for it and the subtitlers just can’t express the nuances of the meaning in any other way? Anyway, I reckon this edgy HK thriller was just about a comedy it was so crap. I suspect it probably is a decent film and that the translation to english let it down… Anyway, lots of violence non-sensical plot twists and the usual from a second rate film. I wasn’t impressed.
HAWAII, OSLO
7.5/10
Might be a little higher than a 7.5 even on this interesting film from Norway. I really liked it a lot. Yeah, it’s my blog, I’ll make the rules, and I’m giving it a 7.9. (see what you can gain from reading the descriptions of these?). It was an interesting story of several lives being lived out in Oslo over a couple of days and how they intersect. I particularly liked the breaks in the films with the use of a kaleidoscope to give your mind a pause before continuing the story. Had a nice sense of humour amongst the drama with a couple of laugh out loud moments. A very good film to end today’s festival adventures!