VanRamblings’ Thursday and Friday at the 31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival involved some of our favourite films to date at VIFF 2012. For VanRamblings, attending our annual film festival is akin to being in love, and not just love, but infatuation. We love the patrons in the lineups and in the cinemas; we love the films we see from early morning to late at night; we love all of the VIFF staff and volunteers, every single one of them; we love writing about the Festival (until the wee hours of the morning), after a full day inside one of VIFF’s darkened theatres. We could, however, use a bit more sleep — two to three hours a night for 16 days … well, we’re glad we can still manage to function on as little sleep as we’ve been getting. Truth to tell, though, we’ve not only ‘survived’, we’ve thrived each and every glorious day at VIFF 2012 — and in the process, driven some people a little nuts. For which we apologize. But … hey, we’re in love!
As for the films we screened on Thursday and Friday, we absolutely loved / were over the moon about the following four great and abiding films, each one of of which has rocketed onto our Top 15 films at VIFF 2012 list.
Liverpool (Grade: A): Structured as a murder-mystery, and a puzzle picture of the first order, with a wildly inventive narrative that pulls you right in as it moves from the personal to the political, with the release of the film Liverpool, director Manon Briand announces herself as a world class film talent, an auteur, and an accomplished filmmaker with a firmer and more joyous understanding of popular culture than VanRamblings has previously been witness to. Liverpool is the most audacious Canadian film of 2012!
Something in the Air (Grade: A): Here’s a picture of of VanRamblings (and spouse) in 1972. Anarchist. Rebel. Student leader. Radical journalist. Community activist, and organizer. Filmmaker. Writer. With a greater fidelity than one would have thought possible, Olivier Assayas’ Something in the Air captures what it meant to be a student radical in the late 60s and early 70s, as well as the milieu of the era — the protests, the marches, the casual nudity, frequent sex and changing of partners, the drug-taking, the focus on the arts as an agent for change, and the innumerable, deadening hours of pedantic diatribes and debates relating to arcane points of radical political philosophy, where no one agreed on anything, when the worst thing someone could say about you was that you were bourgeoise, the need for the vanguard to foment “revolution for the people” (Me? I was and still am, a Bakuninist, so I don’t believe in the concept of a ‘vanguard’). Reputedly an autobiographical account of Assayas’ work within the French student radical movement, circa 1971, this immaculately realized cinematic work, with its exceptionally attractive cast — we’d never heard of nor seen India Salvor Menuez previous to Friday night’s screening of Something in the Air, but we’ll be on the lookout for her now; not to mention how wonderful it was to finally see Lola Créton up on the big screen, given that Mia Hanson-Love’s Goodbye First Love hasn’t made it to Vancouver yet; and, oh yes, we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise Clément Métayer’s searing, absolutely captivating performance — emerges as a compelling cinematic entertainment, and so so much more.
Like Someone in Love (Grade: A): Unexpected and a total surprise, Abbas Kiarostami’s at all times wondrous, compelling watch, from movie’s outset to its out of the blue, abrupt and verging on horrific ending leaves you in no doubt that you are in the hands of a cinematic master, and you’d do well to fasten your seatbelt, cuz you’re in for a wild ride. Addressing the issues of lust, ‘love’, and disconnection verging on anomie, Like Someone in Love is hardly what the trailer above suggests it is, and neither is it what most critics have found it to be (“an enchanting drama of misfired passions“), it is so much more. Both Rin Takanashi and Ryo Kase give the performances of their careers. A delight, and a great time at the movies.
Egg and Stone (Grade: A): We raved about Huang Ji’s début film in our post yesterday, and ran a video of the Q&A that followed a screening of the film, so today we’ll leave you with the film’s compelling to watch trailer.
Empire Granville 7 Closing Permanently
Contrary to the information provided by Empire Theatre management at the outset of VIFF 2012, and in response to rumours floating around VIFF throughout the day on Friday, Festival Director Alan Franey confirmed to VanRamblings late Friday evening that the Empire Granville 7 will close permanently on Sunday, November 4th. “An era comes to an end,” wrote Franey in his e-mail to VanRamblings. “The only silver lining that I can see is that whichever venues we end up using next year are likely to have less complex issues for street assembly.”
The specifics of the “street assembly” comment above relates to an issue VanRamblings raised with Alan in an e-mail sent at 2 a.m. on Friday morning, respecting the efficacy of lineup assembly outside the Granville 7. A portion of that e-mail referenced what VanRamblings believed (and wrote in our e-mail to Alan) suggesting that there is “the same amount of street furniture” on Granville Street this year, as was present in 2010 and 2011. Turns out, VanRamblings was wrong on that count, relating incorrect information to Alan, information he was kind enough to clarify, writing …
“There is in fact more fixed furniture on the street (outside the Granville 7) than last year, and certainly more than the year before. We had involved discussions with the City of Vancouver about how to manage the space as well as possible, not being able to ourselves afford the costs of the engineering department temporarily rearranging benches etc. In the final week of the Festival, VIFF intends to improve the signage on the street, so that assembling patrons will more easily be able to identify the beginning of lineups.”
VIFF patrons lining up outside the Granville 7 on Friday evening will have noticed a much improved mustering of patrons in lineups, as well as improved communication between VIFF staff and volunteers, and VIFF filmgoers. VIFF has worked always to ensure its strong, ongoing commitment to patrons, leading to the best customer service possible for the tens of thousands of VIFF filmgoers who joyously attend the Festival.
Four final notes on this Saturday, October 5th, Thanksgiving weekend post.
Dragons & Tigers winners: The Georgia Straight reports out on VIFF 2012’s Dragons and Tigers award winners, presented Thursday evening, in the Granville 7, prior to the screening of Mystery.
Our Children: Just about the best news we heard on Friday (in a day that was filled with good news, despite hearing that the Empire Granville was closing), we were heartened, thrilled, and … oh, say …. hmmm … over the moon to hear that VIFF’s Kathy Evans, in charge of Print Traffic Distribution, has managed to secure a first-rate DCP print of Our Children. Guess where we’re gonna be this coming Monday afternoon a 3:45pm?
VIFF Highlights for the Thanksgiving Weekend: Just click on the link preceding this palaver, and you’ll be taken to a place that just may provide you with the opportunity to engage in a bit of cinematic magic.
Programme Updates: As the Festival enters its second week, VIFF programmer’s thoughts begin to turn to consideration as to what Festival favourites to bring back in the final two days, as both a response to popular demand, and (truth to tell), availability. There are already a number of additional screenings VIFF will make available. Good news. A worthwhile endeavour? Checking out the programme updates.
See you at the movies!
