2004 Foreign, Alternative and Independent Films - Page 3

Edwin Pereyra · 06-02-2004, 05:01 PM

Since an existing discussion thread on this has gone tit for tat the last few days and deviates from the actual film itself, I’m posting my comments here.

Super Size Me

A nice and refreshing change from A Terrible Movie Summer: Are the SFX people running the asylum?

Director Morgan Spurlock advocates personal responsibility when it comes to proper nutrition and fast food eating and to some degree social responsibility on companies (i.e. McDonald's) that profit from these types of food.

Spurlock goes on an experiment and uses humor to prove a point or two. He goes a step further and analyzes the current state of school lunch menus in today’s schools. While the findings of his experiment are not earth shattering or new, this cautionary tale serves a lot of food for thought especially to its target group or irresponsible individuals who often ignore the dangers of constant fast food consumption.

Spurlock’s style is far from being manipulative and one-sided. And while it may be subjective at times, his chemistry panel results isn’t and goes a long way to proving his points rather than just a simple weight gain or lip service in the process.

~Edwin

Lew Crippen · 06-02-2004, 06:45 PM

Thanks Edwin. I’m planning on seeing it this weekend—but not so I can validly contribute to the other thread. I'm always surprised at the expectations and standards to which documentaries are held by viewers who (likely) have not watched very many.

After all, if the filmmaker had no passion for his subject, it would never get made—there is probably more money in street performing, than in making documentaries.

Edwin Pereyra · 06-03-2004, 01:49 PM

Quote:

I'm always surprised at the expectations and standards to which documentaries are held by viewers who (likely) have not watched very many.

Lew, I'll be interested in what you think of the film. This thread seems to be on life support recently with previous contributors no longer posting.

The message of Super Size Me is all too common. But its message is worth repeating and highlighted because, for some reason, it doesn't seem to be coming across and the problem it tries to address is getting worse.

~Edwin

Lew Crippen · 06-03-2004, 02:46 PM

Every week I think that I’m going to post in this thread next week.

Ok Edwin, next week I’ll post a review or at least a comment.

Brook where are you?

Nick Sievers · 06-03-2004, 04:59 PM

Quote:

This thread seems to be on life support recently with previous contributors no longer posting.

And its a shame, while I never post reviews or thoughts in this thread (and the previous ones) I always read it because in my area the Indie and Art-House films rarely see a run in the cinema but at least most of the titles become available to rent on DVD at the local store. This thread helps to pick up on some titles I surely would have missed.

Lew Crippen · 06-04-2004, 11:16 AM

Do you ever drive up for some of the Sydney Film Festival, Nick?

It is very worthwhile.

Edwin Pereyra · 06-04-2004, 05:31 PM

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring

Kim Ki Duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring works on its own terms – contemplative, meditative, beautiful and thoughtful as much as its tone and pace are deliberate. This is the type of film that is to be enjoyed with no distractions for its images and symbolism might quickly escape you.

The film examines the life of a young protégé and a Buddhist monk. The seasons are a metaphor for each stage in a man’s cycle of life. Most of the action takes place at a Buddhist monastery floating on a raft set in the Jusan Pond in North Kyungsang Province in Korea. It relies on its natural surroundings for its beauty and visual artistry. Each segment also features an animal for its thematic motif.

Director Kim Ki Duk as the adult monk during the “Winter” segment.

This human drama of innocence, love, sexual awakening, atonement, redemption, renewal and rebirth, in its most minimalist terms, feeds the senses as well as the mind – a rare achievement in today’s films.

~Edwin

Jason Seaver · 06-05-2004, 12:09 PM

Kaena: The Prophecy -

(but I really like the pretty)

I'd like to see Pixar or PDI commit to doing a full-out sci-fi action movie, just to see what someone with real movie storytelling skills can do with the genre. It seems like a medium where someone with imagination could create something incredible, and France's Kaena has four-star promise with its absolutely gorgeous opening shot of a spaceship ripping itself apart. After that, though, the movie gradually crumbles, as the visuals are forced to carry a weak plot.

Now, I'm not one to sniff and say that great special effects aren't worth anything without a good story (or, even more myopically, without good characterization). There are distinct pleasures to be found in just looking at this movie, from that opening sequence to the monsters that chase the main character to the dizzying image of a tree grown so tall that you're weightless above a certain point. But co-writer/director Chris Delaporte doesn't know how to pace them over ninety minutes; much of the cool stuff is bunched up on the ends, with the middle left to drag with a bunch of exposition and the overuse of a too-chatty character voiced (in the English dub) by Greg Proops.

A lot of Kaena's problems are shared by Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The animators often don't seem to trust themselves to show strong emotion without it looking hammy, so everyone seems restrained, even when they should be screaming or passionate. It also inserts a bunch of annoying mysticism into a science-fictional setting. Why does Kaena (voiced by Kirsten Dunst) have some sort of connection to the sphere (or "Vecanoï") at the base of Axis which the native Selenites wish to destroy and the sole survivor of the spaceship wishes to retrieve? No reason, she just does. Sure, those of us who like our science fiction and mystical fantasy kept distinct are probably a minority, but it weakens the title character here - in essence, Kaena is special because she's special.

Kaena is a fun character, though. She's the independent and adventurous teenager in her village, who explores Axis (the tree which is these characters' entire world) and draws the creatures she finds while most of the villagers harvest sap to be offered by the tyrannical High Priest to the gods. The adults are annoyed by her but the kids love her, as does a childhood friend. She's sexy, but in an innocent way; the tiny outfit she wears in the film's first half indicates a tropical environment more than any sort of naughtiness (and, hey, it's not like any of the guys are wearing shirts, either). It's enough to make one wish she was more of an active hero than a "chosen one", because it's a lot more fun to watch her figure things out than be told things.

(Of course, the costume whe's put in for the movie's last act is kind of fetish-like, and when a 700-year-old alien says he wishes he could merge with her rather than a member of his own species... Well, that's nasty.)

But golly, can this movie be pretty. Though it overdoes making one group of creatures shiny and liquid to the point where the eye can't quite hold on to them, it also offers up a steady stream of great pictures. Giant marauding creatures, worms in prosthetic suits, a tree so tangled it often looks like neurons, that beautiful, doomed spaceship, flight... Kaena has neat concepts and striking depictions of same. When this finally gets combined with people who can string them together to form an adventure movie the way John Lasseter can with a comedy, well, boy, that'll be something incredible.

Nick Sievers · 06-05-2004, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Do you ever drive up for some of the Sydney Film Festival, Nick?

Unfortunately no, I was talking about it with a mate a couple of weeks ago but he can't get time off work on the weekends and I don't like hanging around Sydney by myself.

I think it it actually starts on Friday. It would have been good to at least get to a screening of Coffee and Cigarettes. They are screening Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring which Edwin just reviewed a couple of posts up and now looks like a film to look out for.

Adam_S · 06-06-2004, 04:07 AM

Somehow this thread has completely slipped past my radar the past couple years. If I'd realized about this thread I'd have not posted a new thread for my Saved! review but simply have posted it here, here's a link:

Saved! review

I also saw Robot Stories earlier this year (

out of four)

The anthology aspect of the film, was, I felt a strong choice that allows for complex but thematically linked ideas about how technology affects human relationships to be explored. Each story is just the right length and very well done. The weakest, I think is the story of the android, if only because I could barely remember it when writing just now.

In the first story, a young professional couple gets put on the government short list to be granted a birth waiver (taking place in a population control era), but first they must prove their parental capabilities by caring for a cute robot surrogate baby. The attentive father is swiftly taken away by emergency business leaving the care of the robot child in the care of his wife. A brief opening scene shows us she has poor experiences of parenting. And it shows, her failures are evident and immediate and she's completely oblivious to them. However a parallel closing scene offers a sense of possible hope and growth.

In t