On Sunday, the early part of VanRamblings’ movie day turned out to be a bust. Which is not to say that the films that we saw throughout the morning and afternoon were ‘bad’, per se, it’s just that they were not our cup of tea. We made a promise to ourselves: from here on in no more comedic crime caper melodrama (we’re talking about you Cold Fish, Down Terrace and A Somewhat Gentle Man). From here on out, it’ll be the ‘Cinema of Despair’ for us, human scale dramas, films with mothers and children, and wildly inventive cinema but wildly inventive film with a heart.
So, what did we like, what were we swept away by, what measured up and exceeded our expectations, what made the Film Festival worthwhile for us on Sunday? First off, at 7:15 p.m. there was …
The Sleeping Beauty (Grade: A-): An absolutely enchanting, naturalistic and human scale take on the folkloric Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, writer-director Catherine Breillat finds her heart in this rapturous, provocative and compelling adaptation of Charles Perrault’s classic 17th century folk tale. Her visually sumptuous, epic coming-of-age fantasia sets about to track the transition from childhood and adolescence into adulthood through the realm of fantasy. In the film, Breillat explores the notions of male and female socialization as well as regressive, ideological notions of femininity and masculinity in conflict with social convention. Setting aside academics, if we might, The Sleeping Beauty emerges, simply and beautifully, as an elegant and picaresque adventure, and always involving and heartfelt cinema. Screens again Oct 6 @ 10:30am, Gr7, Th 7, & Oct 7 @ 4:15pm, Gr7, Th 7.
And as our final film on the first Sunday of the Vancouver Film Festival …
Cell 211 (Grade: A-): Daniel Monzón’s utterly original, captivating and propulsively engaging prison drama rivets the viewer’s attention to the screen for the full 113-minute running time of the film. Sweeping Spain’s Goya film awards where it garnered 16 nominations and won eight Goyas including those for best film, best director, best actor for Luis Tozar, best supporting actress for Marta Etura, best male newcomer for Argentina’s Alberto Amman, and best adaptation, with its exceptional cast, thrilling exposition and taut drama, Cell 211 is gritty, no-holds-barred filmmaking, and another must-see VIFF film. Plays one more time, this coming Friday, Oct 8th @ 4:15 pm, at the Granville 7, Th 7. Definitely worth catching.
