ROBOT DREAMS – ★★★☆

Nicely made animated film, seemingly set in an alternate universe version of 1980s New York inhabited by human-like animals. A lonely dog decides to order a robot to be his friend, and the film follows. Lots of cool little time appropriate references throughout – the first scene had me when the dog was playing Pong on an Atari like console. Also saw references to Commodore 64s and Tab cola. The robot itself was an ‘Amica 2000’, likely a reference to the Amiga 2000 computer. I felt like the film dragged a little in the middle in a situation that didn’t seem as complicated as it was presented. Had echoes of last night’s film ‘Past Lives’ dealing with relationships and how life can deal the unexpected. Worth a watch.

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY – ★★★☆

A Georgian film about a 48 year old woman living a simple village life, who has made a choice to me alone. After a near-death experience, she begins a secret relationship, but must fight against her village’s expectations of the norm; that she should be partnered, have children. It was perhaps a little slowly paced at times, but nicely presented, and showed the difficulty of balancing between competing desires, as well as making choices based on personal preference as opposed to external pressures. I would love to know what kind of cake it is she eats during a few of the scenes – it looked amazing! This is a film that stuck with me after watching, and this raised my rating.

FREMONT – ★★☆

Went to this with high hopes. Fremont is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I’ve visited several times, and it was billed as being Jim Jarmusch-like. The film itself didn’t really use much of the area as a backdrop, and I see the JJ reference, but don’t feel it grabbed me like many of his films have. Some of the acting felt a little forced; possibly the actors hadn’t done much before, though the role played by ‘The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White was well done. There were certainly some nice moments mixed in amongst the showing of difficulties for Afghan migrants in America.

HAPPY CLOTHES: A FILM ABOUT PATRICA FIELD – ★★☆

Some documentaries covering my interest areas aren’t great, and some about topics that aren’t of interest can be great. I’m not particularly interested in fashion, wasn’t a Sex in the City fan, nor have I watched Emily in Paris. So a documentary about the costume designer for these (and other) shows was one that I was hoping would be interesting, despite it not being an area of personal interest. There was nothing wrong with it, but I don’t think it’s a must see, unless the topic is of particular interest to you. Well done to Patricia Field for the great amount of work and support she’s done over many decades, including an obvious tendency to be a mentor to others.

PAST LIVES – ★★★★

Thoroughly enjoyable film about a Korean girl that immigrates to Canada at an early age, leaving behind the boy she liked. Splitting between three times (childhood, 12 years later by which time she’s moved to New York, and then 12 years later again when she is married), it explores connection between people, who never seem to quite align despite the mutual interest. It presented nicely level and honest, where it could have been so easily led into more predictable ways for the sake of drama.

AFIRE – ★★★★

Second film of MIFF 2023, and another four one. Good run so far! This German drama is mainly centred around an author, Leon, who stays at a country home with his friend, and a woman who is unexpectedly sharing the house with them. Additionally a local lifeguard rescue swimmer rounds out the main cast. Leon is disconnected from the others and seems to be struggling, both with his novel, and with his interactions with others. Meanwhile, local forest fires loom. I really enjoyed the interplay between characters, and I wondered to myself whether the main character may have been a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder; he seemed to share several traits. Entertaining and highly recommended.

SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD – ★★★

Estonian documentary about women who meet together regularly in an isolated sauna, and talk about the pain in their lives. My key takeaway (but not a new learning); some men are shit, and really should have been raised by their fathers better. (Perhaps their fathers needed the same). Beautifully shot, the wilderness looked incredible, as well as the smoky sauna, and the use of shots of the women in a respectful, honest way. I’d have possibly liked to have had a little more narrative explaining a little more about the background of the sauna and how the women came together.

BLUE JEAN – ★★☆

A “kitchen sink drama”-esque story set in 1980s UK. It’s about a lesbian PE teacher living in a time where homosexuality was being attacked by the conservative government. This creates difficulty for Jean, the titular character, who is trying to balance between keeping her career, and being true to herself. Well enough made film, but to me it felt pretty heavy-handed. I’d be curious to know the intended audience – perhaps conservative people who hadn’t progressed since the 1980s in their thinking. That said, nicely enough made, and a good soundtrack made this watchable.

Just a bit of a public service announcement. 

I love using Letterboxd, most easily described as ‘GoodReads for Films’. (You can find me at https://letterboxd.com/dorset/ if you’d like to follow my film ratings during MIFF, or afterwards).

While they offer a perfectly acceptable free service to members, you do have the option to subscribe for more features. I’ve been a Patron for a few years now, and it’s easily worth the asking price. That said, who doesn’t like a bit of a discount? If you’ve been on the fence, MIFF have organised a discount to Letterboxd during the festival this year – simply use the promo/voucher/coupon code “MIFF“, and you’ll get 20% off the normal price.

Welcome to MIFF 2023 (aka the 71st MIFF). Tonight was the opening night film at the comedy theatre and thankfully, my legs survived the well reputed seats. It appears they’ve been updated since I last visited.

SHAYDA – ★★★★

Shayda is an Australian film, set in mid-1990s Melbourne, and tells the story of an Iranian mother and daughter who spend time in a women’s shelter. It’s the first feature by Noora Niasari and is largely biographical about her experiences. It’s an incredible first effort, and deserves a watch. Nicely filmed, good pace, and creates tension and fun without overplaying it. If it’s not the best opening night MIFF film I’ve seen, it’s definitely in the top two.