Venezia79: Staring at the sky

The 79th Venice Film Festival is holding its final screenings today before handing out awards tonight. I'll report those here tomorrow, along with my own best films of the festival and a report on my immersive/virtual reality experience here. But I'm now done with screenings, and I certainly won't miss having the opening of each movie interrupted by restless and late-arriving audience members who clamber over you right when the lights go out without warning (I have actual bruises) then refuse to settle down or sometimes carry on chatting at full voice. While the ushers shine flashlights in your eyes. In other words, it will be nice to once again be able to settle in and watch how a movie starts. Here are my final films...

The Listener
dir Steve Buscemi; with Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Hall 22/US ***
Anchored around a sensitive performance by Tessa Thompson, with no one else on-screen at all, this is an engaging look at the life of a helpline operator. It's also directed by Steve Buscemi to be achingly picturesque, while Alessandro Camon's script is somewhat overwritten, making each character perhaps too articulate. Combined with the film's cozy production design, this makes everything feel somewhat artificial. But even if the big emotional beats in a series of phone calls are perhaps too tidy, there are continual points of resonance. [Closing film of Venice Days]

The Hanging Sun
dir Francesco Carrozzini; with Jessica Brown Findlay, Alessandro Borghi 22/UK ***.
Based on a Jo Nesbo novel, this British-Italian production is a dark drama with subtle undertones of a thriller. A solid cast brings intriguing textures to the characters and situations, while director Francesco Carrozzini maintains some gently gnawing tension and an earthy sense of connection between people in a community that seems to sit right on the edge of the world. So it's a bit frustrating that Stefano Bises' script never digs very deeply, and also simply abandons at least one major plot thread along the way. [Closing film of Venezia79]

Pearl
dir Ti West; with Mia Goth, David Corenswet 22/US ***.
There's an outrageously heightened style to this bonkers horror comedy, which is a prequel to filmmaker Ti West's previous movie X, this time cowritten with star Mia Goth. The film harks back to classics from The Wizard of Oz to Psycho, but everything is drenched in Technicolor hues. As a story of a young woman who feels trapped by her life, there's some emotional resonance along the way, but the seriously grisly nuttiness continually undercuts this. What remains is an entertainingly nasty tale about the birth of a killer.

No Bears
dir-scr Jafar Panahi; with Jafar Panahi, Vahid Mobasheri 22/Irn ****.
Despite being banned from making movies, master filmmaker Jafar Panahi continues to tell powerful stories about life in Iran. This hugely involving film uses wry humour to capture the absurdities of culture as they have an enormous impact on two love stories. It's also a knowing glimpse into the art of making a movie in such a convoluted place, as well as a deeply personal exploration of the situation for people who are struggling to survive when traditions and borders turn them into desperate refugees.

Full reviews will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page, eventually!  It may take awhile to catch up.

EIFF 9: Sunshine or rain

Well I'm heading back to London today, missing the last few days of the festival here in Edinburgh. But yesterday was pretty full-on, with four feature films, eight shorts and two parties going late into the night. So I was pretty exhausted by the time I walked home in the rain at 1.30 am! Today I've just had two screenings before heading to the station for the train to London. I'll carry on blogging until Sunday.

California Solo
dir Marshall Lewy; with Robert Carlyle, Alexia Rasmussen 12/US ****
It's not easy to tell a powerfully emotional story without resorting to soppy sentiment, but this thoughtful drama manages to get the balance just right, thanks to sensitive writing and a terrific performance from Carlyle. He plays a Scot who has lived in California for decades, working quietly on a farm after his big-time rock band dissolved. But his tranquility is about to be shaken by a drunk-driving charge, which brings to light problems with his immigration status. Carlyle is terrific as the guy who feels like he can't go home again, due to guilt and regret over a past he has never confronted. But instead of boiling over into melodrama, writer-director Lewy keeps things earthy and real as the story heads to a conclusion we don't quite expect. A gentle gem.

Future My Love
dir Maja Borg; with Jacque Fresco, Nadya Cazan 12/Swe ****
Swedish filmmaker Borg gets a little carried away with her own artistry in this mash-up of documentary, film essay and visual poem, which explores the question of why humanity hasn't sorted out our problems even with enough information and technology at our disposal. Borg combines music, historical footage and an elusive black and white parallel story to explore this theme. At the centre is an extended interview with genius futurist Fresco, who explains the technocracy movement of the 1930s, a realistic plan to wipe out hunger, poverty and unemployment. And why this hasn't happened is simple: greed. The rich aren't willing to abandon a system that is no longer working if I means they can't accumulate as much private wealth as they want. Which basically makes this one of those beautifully made films that clearly explain what's going on but leaves us with no hope for a solution. Well not in our lifetimes, at least.

V/H/S
dir Ti West, Joe Swanberg, et al; with Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes 12/US ***
Anthology meets found-footage horror in this crowd-pleasing collection of video-based shorts, each of which hinges on a terrifying twist. As with most of these kinds of collections, the results are hit and miss, but there's something to enjoy in each segment, including the framing story of a group of thugs searching for a videotape in a very dark and creepy house. The strongest story centres on a married couple taking a holiday to the Grand Canyon while being stalked by a sinister intruder. But even in this segment, the logic of the format is broken as we see things no one would ever film as part of a holiday video. Other infractions include flashbacks and gimmicky effects, but there's plenty of gore, nudity and clever visual inventiveness to keep us entertained.

Exit Elena
dir Nathan Silver; with Kia Davis, Cindy Silver 12/US ***.
This low-key improv-style comedy is so wilfully quirky that we keep expecting Lena Dunham to appear in the next scene. Elena (Davis) is a nurse assistant who takes a live-in job with a seriously dysfunctional family that simply won't let her just get on with looking after Grandma, intrusively trying to get her to become part of the family. This plays out with one awkwardly hilarious scene after another, as Elena tries in vain to maintain her privacy, then realises she has to let them into her life if she wants to survive. The story is very clever, and the performances are all so realistic that it's often a bit freaky to watch (Silver is particularly hilarious as the pushy mum). But the film's lo-fi production values and meandering style may put off some viewers.