Bifan: Fun in the sun

After rain and clouds on the first two days, which I'm told is normal for Seoul this time of year, Saturday was clear blue sky, which made it even hotter (but thankfully a but less humid). I'm enjoying the brief windows between films, usually around two hours, to explore the streets of Bucheon and try out the local food, which is delicious. These days are perfect for big bowls of cold noodles. Meanwhile, Bifan continues to offer up films from around the world - our international jury has been travelling quite a bit. Three more competition films are below, after another film I'd seen earlier...

Infinity Pool
dir-scr Brandon Cronenberg; with Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth 23/Canada ***
Gleefully gruesome, this bonkers horror thriller touches on serious ideas that give it a wonderful sense of something much bigger. Although writer-director Brandon Cronenberg is more focussed on visually arresting imagery than mining the material for something unnervingly resonant. That said, there's a terrific sense of menace, and it's all so personal and internalised that it can't help but work its way under the skin. As it were... FULL REVIEW >

The Seeding
dir-scr Barney Clay; with Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil 23/US ***.
Skilfully creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic dread, writer-director Barney Clay echoes a range of wilderness horror classics to create a modern-day folk tale. Nothing is terribly original here, but the movie has a confident sheen, building sympathetic characters against the odds as it cautions against venturing into isolated, and insulated, parts of the American West.

Bad Education
dir Kai Ko; with Kent Tsai, Berant Zhu 22/Taiwan ****
An electrically charged sense of pitch-black humour runs through this genre mashup from Taiwan, which throws three teens into a series of unspeakable situations. While sending their characters on an odyssey that mixes high school comedy with Tarantino-style violence, director Kai Ko and writer Giddens Ko continually examine what it means to be a good or bad person. Full of prickly dialog and unexpected nastiness, the film's wry sense of humour makes it worth a look.

Superposition
dir Karoline Lyngbye; with Marie Bach Hansen, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard 23/Denmark ***.
Strikingly well shot and edited, this Danish thriller has a premise that's intriguing and entertaining, tapping into some pungent themes relating to identity and gender politics. So it's a bit frustrating that the writing and direction leave absolutely nothing to chance, carefully identifying every plot nuance and therefore eliminating most of the possible surprises. This tidy approach also leaves the deeper ideas feeling oddly undercooked.

London Film Fest: Whatever happens, keep smiling

I may have only seen two movies today at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival, but I was in the cinema for five hours and 21 minutes (they were very long films). I also had a couple of filmmaker interviews, which is always good fun - End of the Century's Lucio Castro and Don't Look Down's Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau. And both of these involved a 15-min walk to the venue, so I got my steps in today. We've passed the halfway point now, so I can sense light in the end of the tunnel. Although the queues in the rain for 8am screenings are trying my patience. Here are Tuesday highlights...

Little Monsters
dir-scr Abe Forsythe; with Lupita Nyong'o, Alexander England 19/Aus ***.
Aussie filmmaker Abe Forsythe manages to find a new take on the zombie genre. With a contained Australian setting, he adds a buoyant sense of humour that takes over the entire movie. It's so disarmingly funny, that the audience is genuinely taken aback by how horrifically violent it gets. And even more impressive is how he also generates some properly sweet moments as well.

Bad Education
dir Cory Finley; with Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney 19/US ****
A terrific balance of smart writing, witty direction and skilfully layered performances elevate this true story into a fiendishly entertaining tale of financial malfeasance. Director Corey Finley cuts through the story without getting bogged down in the finely laid out details. He and writer Mike Makowsky also remember to keep the characters compelling even as their outrageous misdeeds are brought into the light.

Vivarium
dir Lorcan Finnegan; with Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots 19/Ire ***
So overtly allegorical that there isn't much to discover, this enjoyably offbeat Irish thriller is compulsively watchable. Filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan creates such a distinctive look that the audience joins in, even if the story never manages a proper surprise. Still, it couldn't be much freakier, using everyday imagery to unhinged effect. And while it may not have much to say about the topic, at least it leaves us feeling queasy.

Matthias & Maxime
dir-scr Xavier Dolan; with Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas, Xavier Dolan 19/Can ***.
There's a bold, bracingly fresh idea at the centre of this film, and actor-filmmaker Xavier Dolan spends much of the running time avoiding it, just as his  characters do. The film is sharply written to catch the rhythms of a 30-something still working out where to go with their lives. And the central story of two lifelong friends has a strong kick, even if it comes a bit late.

The Painted Bird
dir-scr Vaclav Marhoul; with Petr Kotlar, Harvey Keitel 19/Cz ****
Based on the Jerzy Kosinski novel, this sprawling Czech epic takes the audience in an unforgettable odyssey through World War II. Shot in shimmering black and white, scenes look exquisite, giving the film an instantly classic tone. Each episode of this allegory carries an unexpected kick as it reflects real life in bracingly full-on ways. Writer-director Vaclav Marhoul keeps the explicit stuff off-camera, but he still leaves us shaken.

End of the Century [Fin de Siglo]
dir-scr Lucio Castro; with Juan Barberini, Ramon Pujol 19/Arg ****
Observationally shot and beautifully edited, this delicate drama by Argentine filmmaker Lucio Castro pulls the audience in slowly with its striking imagery and relaxed characters. The film's structure is ambitious, with time periods that overlap and echo in unexpected ways, and the enigmatic style of filmmaking makes it surprisingly involving as it plays with the idea of memory, the passage of time and alternate realities... FULL REVIEW >

Links:
Shadows LONDON FILM FEST homepage (full reviews will be linked here) 
Official LONDON FILM FEST site