Time to put life on hold again. Time to exercise the queuing muscles. Time to hone the seat saving skills (limit of 2). Time to brace for the inter-cinema runs. Time to feast on film. Time to MIFF.Waking hours will once more be devoted to cinema for two and a half weeks. And there is a lot to take in.
That said, I'm planning on taking it a little easier this year. Last year's 65 films was a bit of a killer, especially with full time work. And I did the whole of Sydney Film Festival this year so I'm not scrambling to take (too many) days off work to try to catch films that don't fit anywhere else.
32 films in Sydney means that it is a more heavily loaded circuit breaker this year. I can actually dive a little deeper into Melbourne's programme. And I can give a little more info up-front, which is nice.
As usual, the Cannes in-comp grabs are the biggest area of overlap between the two festivals. MIFF has the more impressive haul this year but I've got to call out one of the ones that got away. I know it is a little peevish to start with a film that is not in the festival but if any of you get a chance to catch Xavier Dolan's Grand Prix winning It's Only the End of the World, do. There's been a lot of negative noise out there about it and I'll agree that if you're not onboard with it, it'll shit you to tears. But if you are in tune, my god, it is sublime.
But I won't dwell on what you can't see because there are some that you most definitely should.
Long films, it seems, are still in vogue. While not all are lengthy as the five hour Ryûsukec Hamaguchi's Happy Hour (which is actually five hours and seventeen minutes and I'm not sure how many of them are going to be happy) or the new nine hour (!!!) Lav Diaz, the first three below all clock in at well over two hours. Don't be daunted though; none of them are weighed down by their length.
The other two (new Almodóvar and new Jarmusch), many would say are mercifully short, though others have praised highly. I found them both enjoyable though far from the respective directors' best work.
Also excellent (but not on this list because it still hasn't got a poster), Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women boasts a raft of superb performances and a whole lot of (rewarding) stillness.
Reviews:
Surprise Venice Gold Lion winner Desde Allá has popped up here, which explains its notable absence in the MQFF line-up earlier this year. It's the film that should have taken pride of place at the head of the queer titles in the festival this year but its well-played cynicism push it firmly behind André Techiné's collaboration with Girlhood's Céline Sciamma, Being 17.
There are some real treats in the queer docos on offer as well, especially Winter at Westbeth from local filmmaker, Rohan Spong.
Reviews (you get the picture):
Other queer stuff on offer includes Paris 5:59, Lovesong (which got raves out of Sydney) and Anna Muylaert's Don't Call Me Son, which I've slotted into my schedule below, and The Handmaiden (see above). John Waters pegged Helmut Berger, Actor as his favourite film of the year, so there’s that. And (nominally) Neon Bull. Staying Vertical, Alain Guiraudie's follow up to Stranger by the Lake, will more than likely have an aesthetic that is QAF.
If I've missed any, let me know.
On the documentary feature front, the inventiveness of Laurie Anderson's Heart of a Dog is must-see stuff, as is Tickled, which is an investigation into the world of competitive tickling (it's one of those films that goes a lot darker than you'd anticipate). Notes on Blindness is a singular take on losing one's sight and well worth experiencing. The new films from Fredrick Wiseman and Werner Herzog are worthwhile but, again, don't approach their best work.
There are a couple of dribs and drabs from Locarno, Berlin and Cannes sidebars. All solid festival fare, though nothing here wowed to the top of my list. Those that are super interesting (Athina Rachel Tsangari's Chevalier and Brady Corbet's Childhood of a Leader) just lacked something on the follow-through. Those that are super handsome (the "Ghibli" and Girl Asleep) didn't quite back up the style with sustained substance. All worth checking out though.
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I'm not generally one to recommend that people don't see films. I do think, though, that if MIFF is spreading such a feast in front of you, there are some you could possibly push to the side of your plate. I say this with some trepidation because I know that some of these films have their champions. Interesting ideas, I admit, but to my mind, they are not at all successful in following through on what (I assume) they set out to achieve.
Retrospectives and side packages this year are a bit of a grab-bag assortment of oddities, including 'Gaining Ground', a look at female cinema trailblazers from the '70s and '80s; a sojourn with the Barcelona School and a Jerry Lewis package. I tend not to go too deep into these side though I'm picking up a film or two here and there.
One I would recommend though is the Setsuko Hara memorial. Hara, who passed away earlier this year, is revelation to watch. If you haven't seen her work with Yasujirō Ozu, then I definitely suggest you at least catch Tokyo Story (there are two others on offer too - links below). The Mikio Naruse film Sound of the Mountain was also fantastic when it played at Melbourne Cinématèque last year. I haven't seen the Kurosawa or the Kimisaburo films but may try a late squeeze.
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Other side packages include the usual 'Backbeat' music slate, of which I've only seen the solid but cancer-centric Sharon Jones doco; 'Dance on Film', which I am pretty much devouring; and 'Seeking Refuge', which is becoming a compulsory inclusion for festival the world over it seems. The usual 'Night Shift' package is on offer, though those I'm picking up I'm doing at sensible hours this year. I'm sick of sleeping through them. All the screams are unsettling.
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Friday 29 July 2016 1:30pm - Clash 4:00pm - Operation Avalanche 6:45pm - Fear Itself 9:00pm - Under the Shadow | I usually kick off with a bang but I’m going with a low key start this year. Starting with a horror documentary that stitches together horror films from around the globe to pick apart what makes horror films so scary. By all accounts it ends up being as frightening as the films it investigates. There’s nothing to fear but… Going from there to an actual horror. Iranian horror. Iranian horror that got a lot of good word while I was up in Sydney. It was one of my festival buddy’s faves. And finishing off with a 'Night Shift' session that I know nothing about. Kid obsessed with serial killers worries about becoming one. I just watched Clive Barker’s Night Breed the other night, which was also about a guy who worried about being a serial killer – if this film doesn’t have David Cronenberg in a gimp mask, I’m gonna be flipping tables. And for all my talk of starting slow, I’m already eyeing off the morning sessions and considering taking the day off to catch them. Mohamed Diab’s Clash is the main driver for this. His Cairo 678 has been sitting on my watchlist for years, so I’m thinking I’ll check that out and then make a call. Taking the day off would also let me get a head start on the new Kore-eda (done and done). |
Saturday 30 July 2016 1:30pm - Sonita 4:00pm - The Family | I’m locked into a 40th birthday celebration on Saturday night. WHOTHEFUCKGETSBORNDURINGMIFF?!?! This means I’m going to have to postpone either Nicholas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon or Paul Verhoeven’s Elle until when/if they get general release. I don’t like the risk. But I don’t want to risk the friendship. So, Saturday is pretty chill. An ethereal French/Belgian horror akin to Under the Skin. Word was mixed from Sydney but those who loved it called out the kind of slow burn surrealism that I really get into. Finishing off (early, grrr) with two documentaries. The first about a 14-year-old Afghan refugee who raps about misogyny and forced marriage. Whack. The second is a one of the Premiere Fund films about a Melbourne cult in the ‘60s and ‘70s. I wasn’t here then so I don’t have much to go on but, you know, cults are always intriguing. I’m leaving The Neon Demon in here because hope springs eternal… |
Sunday 31 July 2016 1:30pm - Fire at Sea 4:00pm - The Death of Louis XIV 6:30pm - Neon Bull 9:00pm - Lovesong | No festival can have enough Céline Sciamma, and the creator of Tomboy and Girlhood is becoming increasingly prominent as a screenwriter, script consultant and co-writer on projects, usually relating to youth drama. Being 17 is one you’re probably already aware of (Sciamma co-wrote) but there’s a little stop-motion gem that she’s also scripted. Would make a wonderful start to any Sunday. I’m choosing this one. I’m pretty sure the films that follow aren’t going to be anywhere near as heartwarming. Fire at Sea took out multiple awards at this year’s Berlinale (Golden Bear for Best Film, the Amnesty International Film Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury). It’s a look at the European refugee crisis, sure to be interesting in these pre-Brexit days. MIFF’s artistic director has called this year’s “Best Closing Line of a Film” award for Albert Serra. To get there you’ll have to sit through two hours of watching Jean-Pierre Léaud in a wig, lying in bed, dying. Shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll be closing the night off with two queer dramas, though one of them (Neon Bull) is only passing queer. Still, the macho rodeo riders meet high concept fashion design thing has me intrigued. And it has Cemetery of Splendour’s cinematographer in tow. Lovesong, the actual queer film of the evening, though much more traditional in form, is a classic tearjerker by all accounts. Less manly sexual energy, more touchy-feels. |
Monday 1 August 2016 6:30pm - Personal Shopper 9:00pm - I’ve thrown a picture of Kristen Steward shopping up there for you. That’s apparently all she does in Olivier Assayas’ latest. Lots of staring at dresses. But it is a ghost story and it is Kristen Stewart. Then Sunset Song, the new film from Terence Davies that is not about Emily Dickinson. Expect high class visuals. Expect sunsets. Expect to hear from Davies (he is guesting at the fest). Also expect to hear about a surprise screening… there’s a print of A Quiet Passion unspooling just across the Tasman at NZIFF. | Tuesday 2 August 2016 6:30pm - The Salesman 9:00pm - The Demons Another Farhadi for the collection. This one is an Iranian riff on ‘Death of a Salesman’. I’ll be familiarising myself with Arthur Miller’s play prior, though I’m not sure how Farhadi’s utilising the text beyond the players’ lives imitate play conceit he’s kicking off with. Hoping for something more interesting than it sounds on paper. After that, a first non-documentary feature from Canadian filmmaker Philippe Lesage. The program draws parallels to the work of Michael Haneke, so it is a bit of a no-brainer. The idea of '80s social anxiety also excites because I was neck deep in that shit. |
Wednesday 3 August 2016 7:00pm - Ma 9:00pm - A Good Wife On the other hand, wordless dance film Ma sounds like a film that will garner a much more specific crowd. I’m not convinced that I’m qualified to be part of it but I’m a lover of dance in film, especially when it is the primary means of expression. It’s popping up on a lot of must-see lists so I’m running with the endorsement. | Thursday 4 August 2016 6:45pm - The Academy of Muses 9:00pm - Hopefully it is captivating enough to keep my mind off the fact that I have had to choose between my two most anticipated films of the festival and that I may still be making the choice between which of them I will see while this film is playing (I swapped cos Elle is getting a release in October). I know, I am kidding myself; both Elle and The Neon Demon will have well and truly sold out before I step into this screening but the pain will still be there. Don’t judge, just let me process… |
Friday 5 August 2016 1:30pm - The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki 4:00pm - The Black Hen 6:30pm - 9:00pm - The Man from Mo'Wax 11:30pm - Phantasm: Remastered | I’m taking Friday off, primarily so that I am able to catch Anna Muyleart’s follow-up to The Second Mother, a film that actually has a second mother. What’s more, the first mother and the second are played by the same actor. Throw in class concerns, a trans* character and the nature vs. nurture debate and it’s a film that promises to be interesting at the very least. Finnish quirk and Nepalese neorealism look like solid fillers before After the Storm, the latest from MIFF stalwart, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Our Little Sister and Like Father, Like Son have both featured here in recent years). It will be a nice gentle cap off the afternoon block, I suspect. I’m closing Friday’s eclectic mix out with the Mo’Wax documentary and a classic ‘80s horror. I’ve never actually seen Phantasm, and I digested most ‘80s horror in front of the video machine wrapped in a blanket, so I’m kinda buzzed to be able to pretend I’m seeing it as a first release film. |
Saturday 6 August 2016 1:30pm - Weiner 4:15pm - Destination Arnold 6:00pm - Sieranevada 9:15pm - Christine | I’m quietly pleased with myself that I’m taking the time out from new releases to catch a couple of the retrospective films this year. One retro package that’s not really called out in the program guide centres on German filmmaker, Maren Ade, whose Toni Erdmann is screening in the Cannes package. First thing Saturday morning I’m checking out one of hers. Then I’m easing into Cristi Puiu’s almost-three-hour Romanian New Waver with a couple of short sharp documentaries. The first, Weiner, looks an absolute riot and had many a friend in Sydney falling over themselves with praise. The second, Destination Arnold, I’m watching for a friend (one of those a friend of a friend made it deals) but looks interesting, in a Pumping Iron kinda way. The last film of the night promises Turkish giallo, but it is another ‘Night Shift’ session and whether I get there will pretty much depend on how I take to Christine. I’m going back to the story of Christine Chubbuck (even after saying I really didn’t want to) off the back of solid reviews and the cast. Still dubious, though it will make a solid companion piece to the compromised Robert Greene doco. |
Sunday 7 August 2016 1:45pm - Zach's Ceremony 4:00pm - Things to Come 6:15pm - Slack Bay 9:00pm - Staying Vertical | It’s Frenchie Sunday for me (with the exception of Aaron Petersen’s (not Pedersen) Sydney Film Festival Audience Award winning documentary, Zach’s Ceremony - which promises to be a captivating detour. I’m starting with another dance documentary, this time looking at the Paris Opera Ballet through the eyes of Black Swan choreographer, Benjamin Millepied. Outside that I’m getting another dose of Isabelle Hupert (providing I choose to see Elle) in Mia Hansen-Løve’s latest film and my first dose of Juliet Binoche for the fest. Granted it is quite a dose by the looks, a ballsy, snooty, scoffy dose. Looks like she’ll be a blast. And closing out with Staying Vertical. I have no idea what it is about. I know it is more out there than Stranger by the Lake and that it turned heads at Cannes. I don’t want to know anything more till I see it. I’m hoping it is the treat I’ve gleaned it is. |
Monday 8 August 2016 9:00pm - Men and Chicken Then there’s Mads Mikkelsen sporting a prosthetic nose and pumping out Danish absurdity. Seems every piece of criticism about it uses the word hilarity with complete abandon. And most draw a direct line to Kafka. All good by me. Actually, I was satisfied with Mads and the nose. | Tuesday 9 August 2016 6:30pm - The Unknown Girl After that, I think I’m catching what may be my only black and white film of the festival. It’s a true story based on the killing of two mini-estrella Mexican wrestlers. Sounds odd. Sounds Buñuelian. Sounds like it has to be seen. |
Wednesday 10 August 2016  6:30pm - Ella 9:00pm - Graduation Otherwise, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation should deliver. I’m not sure I am going to be completely in tune with what he is going to deliver, seeing as I fell asleep in Beyond the Hills a couple of years back and had a few issue with the bits that I did see. High production values assured though. | Thursday 11 August 2016  6:30pm - Office 3D 9:00pm - Helmut Berger, Actor A musical. A musical set in Hong Kong. A musical set in Hong Kong starring Chow Yun-fat. A musical set in Hong Kong starring Chow Yun-fat and directed by Johnnie To. A musical set in Hong Kong starring Chow Yun-fat and directed by Johnnie To in 3D! I repeat, A MUSICAL SET IN HONG KONG STARRING CHOW YUN-FAT AND DIRECTED BY JOHNNIE TO IN 3D!!! And a documentary about Helmut Berger. Actually, I hear the documentary about Helmut Berger is going to be the crazier of the two. |
Friday 12 August 2016 1:30pm - 4:00pm - Mercenary 6:45pm - Mammal 9:00pm - Train to Busan | Another Friday off. This time to see Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s new film, which I am pretty convinced will be almost exactly like Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s previous film or Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s film before that… That’s not a complaint, by the way. Will be back in Korea for the last film of the day, Train to Busan. The Koreans obviously have a fixation for high-speed, high-concept trains. This one has zombies. I also see that is has a prequel (Seoul Station) playing in this year’s festival. There goes my schedule. In between, I’m off to the US to see an autistic kid communicating through the idiom of Disney, to France by way of French Polynesia for social drama by way of rugby, and to Rachel Griffiths (I don’t know where it is but if Rachel Griffiths is there, I am too). |
Saturday 13 August 2016 2:00pm - Nuts! 4:00pm - Little Men 6:45pm - Losing Ground 9:00pm - Paris 5:59 | I’ve slotted in the re-screening of MIFF’s premiere opening night film here in case a) I don’t end up going, and b) the film is actually decent (MIFF’s opening night slot has been a kiss of death of late). Will happily slot in Tokyo Story here, and may do regardless. The rest of Saturday is a real odds and sods collection. Nuts! is an animated documentary about goat-to-human testicle transplants. Yes, I know!!! Why isn’t it on your schedule already?!? Little Men is Ira Sachs’ new film, which I’ve slotted in even though I didn’t see his previous film and was only lukewarm on the one before that. And then, Losing Ground, from the ‘Gaining Ground’ selection, is billed as an almost lost classic – the first film written and directed by an African American woman. In this day an age that is something to be celebrated. I’ll be closing off with a film that was recommended to me by my neighbour on his return from Paris. He called it Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau, MIFF calls it Paris 05:59. Neighbour wants to see it because he wants to check how much he understood with his rusty French. I think neighbour wants to see again because, according to Variety, it has an “18-minute hardcore gay orgy at the start.” Maybe I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. |
Sunday 14 August 2016 4:15pm - Bleak Street 7:15 - The Rehearsal (Surprise!) | Talk about bringing it home on the down-low. One film booked in for the final Sunday. Just the one. Just the five hour one. It sounds like it will be right up my alley. It was right up Meryl Streep’s alley. There are, of course, the surprise screenings but they haven’t been all that surprising over the last couple of years. More encore. Nonetheless, it is still fun to speculate. I’d say the other Terence Davies film will get a slot. Probably a Kiarostami tribute screening as well. I’m hoping they’ll somehow secure a showing of It’s Only the End of the World but I’m hearing that is unlikely. Other longshots: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s new film, Poesia sin fin and I, Daniel Blake, both playing over in New Zealand, though the Loach will almost certainly already be in Palace’s pocket for the upcoming British Film Festival. Manchester by Sea, American Honey or Loving would also be welcome but pretty unlikely. Any other ideas? |
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That's my schedule. It is pretty comprehensive. I don't know how you all manage to fit everything in without going to Sydney. I'd be a mess right now if I hadn't.
I'll leave off now before I start dwelling on what I haven't scheduled in. I'll try not to read the program properly so I don't start shuffling too soon. I'll leave that for when the first-screening raves start falling.
Oh, MIFF...
Past editions:
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