The rain fell throughout much of Day 6 of the Vancouver International Film Festival, festival patrons a little waterlogged as a consequence, choosing in many instances to remain inside the Empire Granville 7 for one screening after another for some of the most challenging cinematic fare to come to our shores this year. We all, each and every one of us, love our Festival.
The ‘problem’ with the early morning passholder ticket line up (which we mentioned yesterday) was resolved on Tuesday, the line moving more quickly than many of us could recall had ever been the case. Thank god for small favours, and for the opportunity to get out of the rain, was the grateful morning chant among the hardy 300 in Tuesday’s ticket line-up.
According to our friend John Skibinski, the digital cinema projection problems in the Empire Granville 7’s Theatre 7 were not resolved, or at least weren’t resolved for the 1 p.m. screening of Almayer’s Folly; patrons had to put up with a muddy DVD ‘print’ instead. More work for VIFF tech.
Final note: Due to popular demand, VIFF has added a 10:30 a.m. screening of Bullhead, tomorrow (Thursday), October 6th at the Granville 7.
Tuesday we took a bit of break from reclaiming our humanity, the theme of VanRamblings’ 2011 film festival, and caught only an evening screening at the Vogue Theatre. We’ve caught other films in previous days, though, that we haven’t recorded reviews of on our site, so that’s what we’ll publish below today: three capsule film reviews, two of which (docs) are splendid.

Continue reading VIFF 2011, Day 6: In Which We Recover From Long Festival Days →

By far, VanRamblings’ four favourite films so far are Pure, The Sandman, Corpo Celeste and Michael. Utterly original directorial visions, with revelatory performances, fully realized creations, disturbing, humane, so challenging they leave you unsettled, rattled to your core, these four films are in a category by themselves, each of the films tour-de-force cinema.

Continue reading VIFF 2011, Day 5: A Revelatory Day at The Vancouver Film Festival →

While waiting on Howe Street for the bus to take us home after another 5 film day
at the Vancouver Film Festival, we were treated to an impromptu Robson Square concert

Since the outset of the Festival, the rains have fallen from the skies only once, and then only briefly. Sunday didn’t bring a deluge, but rather a constant smattering of cooling autumn rain, dampening the sidewalks and those of us standing in line, but hardly dampening the spirits of the thousands of Festival-goers who are attending VIFF30 each and every day.
Day Four of VanRamblings’ Festival was yet another day of spectacular filmgoing, where we were turned on our head over and over again.
Bullhead was a revelation, Headshot was a tour-de-force, Restoration was moving and one of our Vancouver Film Festival favourites so far, Innocence was twisty and turning while emerging with a sense of justice, and Granito: How to Nail a Dictator may be one of the most heartrending documentaries we’ve ever screened (the interview with the daughter of a one of los desaparecidos, now a lawyer, is the single most powerful scene we’ve ever encountered in a non-fiction film). All and all, a great day at our Film Fest.

Continue reading VIFF 2011, Day 4: And The Rains Fell From The Heavens →

Truth to tell, VanRamblings finds ourselves a bit tuckered, what with the five movie a day regimen, so we took it a little easier on ourselves on Saturday, arising a bit later than we usually do, enjoying a good breakfast at home, and thereafter meeting with the inimitable Showbiz Shayne in the languorous ticket line-up outside VIFF’s ‘home’, the Empire Granville 7.
On the schedule, and screened, here are today’s capsule film reviews:

Continue reading VIFF 2011, Day Three: A Quietening, Warming Day at the Festival →