- Tamil Competition films
- Country focus – Iran, Taiwan, Turkey
- Retrospective of Goran Paskaljevic
- Retrospective of Claire Denis
- Retrospective of Istvan Szabo
- Indian Panorama
- Special section
It should definitely be appreciated that so much work had gone behind organizing this Film festival. It appears to have achieved what it was intended to – Expose the Indian audience to a wide variety of World movies. The turnout for the event was great; surprisingly even on weekdays. This is precisely because of the extremely reasonable price of 500 bucks.
Movies seen
Under this section we present few of the notable films seen by one of our editors.
1) 90 minutes – Three unrelated stories, showcasing three different couples in different strata of society, where the female suffer under the hands of oppressive males and the respective outcome. It is a well-acted feminist drama which, being a little propagandist leaves one with an empty feeling.
2) When day breaks – The life of a 70 year old retired music professor turns upside down when he comes to know of his Jewish lineage and the infamous concentration camp set amidst the town he lives. How he reacts to the events and his journey to pay tribute to the innocent lives lost forms the rest of the movie. This one was a saccharine drama with moderate performances but unconvincing emotions.
3) The whirlpool – Set in 1990s Serbia, this film deals with the lives of three different people: Bogdan – a local thug trying to get over his abusive past, Kate- a mafia boss trying to start over a new life by forgetting a mistake he committed and Count – a war veteran who is still psychologically haunted by his past. The movie tells their interconnected story over a period of 48 hours. It has some interesting and ingenious moments, but could have been better.
4) 10 plus 10 – A collection of 20 five-minute short films made by 20 Taiwanese directors on the theme ‘Uniqueness of Taiwan’. This one is a mixed bag, as is expected with any such short film collection. There are some exceptional segments such as ‘The singing boy’, ‘A grocery called forever’, ‘Green Island Serenade’; Some funny ones like ‘Hippocamp Hair Salon’, ‘The Ritual’, ‘Unwritten Rules’; Some shockers like ‘Baseball boys’ & ‘Reverberation’; Also in the fray are some boring ones like ‘Debut’. Overall, the package was a very good watch. It would have been a more interesting watch had we been better informed on the history of Taiwan.
5) Like father Like son – Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, this movie won the Jury prize in Cannes Film Festicval. Ryoto Nonomiya, a successful architect with a loving wife and a 6 year old kid Keita, comes to know that his son is not his biological son, owing to an incident of babies getting switched at birth. The two different families are brought together by the hospital authorities to enable the switching before it becomes too late. What follows is the endearing story of the two families, when they are forced to make the life changing decision of choosing Nature or Nurture. A poignant tale that will leave you speechless. A must watch indeed.
6) 12 ans d’âge (60 going on 12) – The story of two 60 year old inseparable friends Charles and Pierrot. Charles is married and has a loving family. Pierrot is a loner, without any job or family. They spend most of their waking life together, drinking and pulling pranks on unknown bystanders. Enjoyable light hearted affair but definitely not a film festival material.
7) Nordvest – A small-time criminal who is very much attached to his family, particularly his brother whom he safeguards against the violent milieu, gets the acquaintance of bigger local mafia gang. As he grows in stature in the gang, he is forced to do what he dreaded the most – to bring in his younger brother. A well-made movie featuring very good performances by the lead actors.
8) Waiting for the sea – Sailor Marat is condemned for going against the rules. He goes out into the sea with his wife against the repeated warnings from the village elders. After a mysterious sea storm, everyone in the ship goes missing other than Marat, after the sea recedes. Marat comes back after years to find out his missing wife amidst the barren landscape. He goes on a quest to rebuild the ship which was wrecked due to the storm. An extremely boring and soporific tale, one can give this a miss.
9) A Touch of Sin – This movie portrays four unrelated stories of violent outbursts in contemporary Chinese society, all of them based on actual Chinese news reports. An extremely well made movie by the director Jia Zhangke. This one is a must watch as it is one of the rebellious films to have come out of China which is notorious for extremely strict censorship and was the best movie of the film festival.
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0) Jagten @ The Hunt – The life of Lucas, a mid-forties teacher comes to a standstill due to the passing remark by a 7 year old girl in his class. The small town community’s outlook towards him changes overnight. The rest of the tale focusses on the rot he has to go through and whether he is able to prove his innocence.
11) Blue is the warmest color – The winner of Palme D’or. Based on a comic by the same name by Julie Maroh, this movie chronicles the life of Adele from her mid-teens to early twenties comprising her sexual awakening, her first girlfriend, her first relationship and her first heart wrenching break-up. The experience of viewing this film gives us a sense of why it has taken its rightful place among the Palme D’or winners such as Amour, Pulp Fiction, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
In all, it was a good experience. With little support from the Goverment, it was heartwarming to see students & people from the film fraternity unite in striving to make the CIFF ’13 an experience worth remembering. Looking forward to CIFF ’14 with the hope that the visibility & the volunteering efforts get even bigger.
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