JDIFF09: Irish Film Board Shorts

My final post about the stuff I saw in Dublin concerns the IFB Shorts. To tell the truth I'd already seen most of them in Cork, but I enjoyed them so much I thought I'd come and see them again.

For my verdict on THE ROOSTER, THE CROCODILE AND THE NIGHT SKY (Padraig Fagan), GRANNY O'GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY (Nicky Phelan), OF BEST INTENTIONS (Brian Durnin) and THE DOOR (Juanita Wilson), see one of my previous posts from Cork by clicking here. I'd like to change my mind about THE DOOR though and bump it up to 9/10 as well. I'll admit it, I was actually half asleep when I saw it in Cork and only gave it a 7. But it's brilliant, as are the other shorts I've just mentioned.

For my opinion on SPACEMEN THREE (Hugh O'Connor), click here for another post from last year's Cork fest, while my opinion on AN RANGER (PJ Dillon) can be found here. Regarding the latter, I actually like it even more this time round and I could swear it looked a lot better than I remember it looking at Cork. Maybe it was a projection thing; maybe it's because I was sitting much further forward in the cinema? Whatever the reason, it's still a great little film.

So that leaves the shorts which I saw at Dublin but hadn't seen before...

SHAPES (Alan Brennan) is a cracking little horror film which manages to cram more suspense, fright and memorable boogiemen into its five minutes than the majority of Hollywood blockbusting remakes manage in their ninety painful minutes. (8/10)

HOOR (John Kennedy) is an amusing look at three young boys who have saved their pennies for a trip to the local prostitute. Today they will become men. Nicely done with a pleasing punchline. (7/10)

COLOUR CONTAMINATION (Louise Bagnall) is an animated short which sees a man's cosy black and white world turned upside down by an invasion of colour. Sure, it's a bit weird, but it's amusing, stylish and an enjoyable three minutes of craziness. (7/10)

Best of 2008 (10-6)

Ooooh, we're in the top ten now. Are you getting excited yet?

10 WALL-E
See, every so often I do like a nice little family film, even if it is one set in a barren post-apocalyptic wasteland.

9 HUNGER
Breathtakingly arty take on the Irish hunger strikes, centred around Michael Fassbender's towering performance as Bobby Sands.

8 THE KING OF KONG
David versus Goliath tale of a quiet, unassuming family man on a quixotic quest to overthrow the villainous leader who rules over all. Despite the fact that it's a documentary about people playing arcade games.

7 TIME CRIMES
Mind-bending Spanish sci-fi horror in which a man witnesses a crime being committed... by himself. Then it gets really weird.

6 MAN ON WIRE
James Marsh's critically acclaimed documentary/heist movie about the artistic crime of the century (a high wire walk between the twin towers of the WTC) is simply stunning. It should win the Oscar this year too.

Best of 2008 (20-16)

20 WAITING FOR THE LIGHT
Ciarin Scott gives George Morrison the biography treatment - it's about time someone did. Talking of which, MISE EIRE is getting an anniversary screening at the Dublin Film Festival next month - buy a ticket now!

19 THE JOHN AKII BUA STORY: AN AFRICAN TRAGEDY
This documentary is a sad tale of what might have been, detailing the rise and fall of the legendary Ugandan athlete who conquered the world but fell foul of Idi Amin's regime.

18 A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH
This year's Wallace and Gromit special from the BBC's Christmas schedule was as impressive and funny as we've come to expect.

17 THE GIRL BY THE LAKE
Laid-back but suspenseful Italian murder mystery with beautiful location work.

16 THE ORPHANAGE
One of the best horror films in recent years, a Spanish take on THE INNOCENTS with great performances, plenty of chills and an ending that satisfies while leaving you wondering.

Best of 2008 (40-36)

40 32A
Charming coming-of-age tale set in 1970s Dublin. Clearly a film for young girls, but what the hell, I liked it. Nominated for an IFTA Best Film award too, though I don't see it winning.

39 JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY
Certainly not "just" another anything. I don't suppose that modern Danish film noir is a gigantic genre, but I bet this is still one of the best entries all the same. Terrific thriller.

38 CHANGELING
For all my complaints about Jolie's overacting, Eastwood's study of the dark side of LA's modern history is still a great film.

37 WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Bold, daring and timely animated movie from Israel that should get an Oscar nomination, even though Pixar own the actual awards. It has made the foreign language shortlist though, so watch out there. [UPDATE: I wrote this a few days ago, and the nominations have since come out - no animated nomination, which is a shock, but it is nominated for in the foreign language category]

36 DIARY OF THE DEAD
Like the previous entry, some people thought George Romero's latest zombie movie was an anticlimax and hated it. I thought it had its flaws but was still immensely enjoyable and felt that the back-to-basics approach really paid off.

Current release: WALTZ WITH BASHIR

Best described as a documentary in animated form, WALTZ WITH BASHIR follows director Ari Folman's attempts to access suppressed memories of his time as an Israeli soldier in the early 1980s.

The animation is limited in many places but since a lot of the film is talking heads kind of stuff it seems to suit - but it's all the more effective for when the film blossoms into its incredible visuals.

The opening scene is an adrenalin-pumping standout - a fierce-looking pack of dogs charge down a city street - but equally effective are the more serene, haunting moments such as the repeated flashback to an image of three soldiers emerging from the water as the coast is lit up by falling flares.

A fascinating story unfolds, gradually revealing the horror of a massacre of innocent people that took place during the conflict and why it happened. As visually stunning as the film is, it is the shocking and powerful cut to real-life documentary footage at the end of the film that delivers the final punch.

It's a very powerful film and while I have no doubt that WALL-E will walk away with the animated feature Oscar next year, it'll be a crime if WALTZ WITH BASHIR isn't up there in the nominations at least. This is exactly the sort of groundbreaking, original film that should be getting such recognition.

EIFF2008 - the last few films

Yes I know it finished several weeks ago, but here's the rest of my EIFF round up anyway. Let's be honest, if you read this regularly you expect me to be late anyway and if you don't read it regularly, well, you're probably about to leave to go and read more interesting blogs anyway. My write-up of the Galway Film Fleadh might appear sometime within a month too, who knows.

The last day of the EIFF, when they show lots of extra screenings under the banner "Best of the Fest" gave me the opportunity to catch a few more films before it all comes to a close.

BETTER THINGS has received a lot of good press and some attention at other festivals (it played Cannes too). On the plus side, it's well put together and it's British. On the downside - everything else. Some old people sit about looking at each other; some young people take drugs and get angry; lots of stuff happens to a bunch of uninteresting people in really uninteresting ways. I'm not wasting any more bandwith talking about it. TURD.

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY sees Frances McDormand conning her way into the life of famous movie star Amy Adams in England during WWII. Hilarious hi-jinks, melodrama and romance ensue. At the risk of sounding sexist, it's a woman's film. On the plus side though, it's an enjoyable woman's film, like the ones Hollywood used to make a long, long time ago - you know, the ones that starred Carole Lombard and people like that. McDormand and Adams are both terrific and ample support is provided by the likes of Ciarin Hinds and Shirley Henderson. An endearing throwback to the golden age of movies.

Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a lone figure prowls, speaking hardly a word but trying to make the world a better place. Nope, it's not a new MAD MAX film, it's Pixar's latest effort, WALL-E. Believe everything you've read - it's bloody brilliant. Despite the rather dark concept, it's still unrivalled family entertainment that will have kids and adults alike laughing and falling in love with a rusty little robot who doesn't even have a proper face. See it now.

A FILM WITH ME IN IT is an Irish comedy in which two layabouts with movie ambitions attempt to make a film but struggle with the script. However, they're then involved in a serious of unbelievable mishaps that might just provide them with inspiration. Dylan Moran and Mark Doherty star, providing plenty of laughs through both their own comic talent and the ludicrous, though very dark, twists that fate has in store for them. A dark comedy indeed.

By this time, the festival was pretty much over and as most people are away home it's a little bit depressing. It gets even more depressing however if you go and see a film like CRACK WILLOW.

Every so often I see a film at a festival that makes me wonder if the programmers are taking the piss. This is it. A fat man from Yorkshire talks to his dad, eats some chips, urinates in the bath. Weirdness suddenly happens. Then it's back to that bloke again. It's tosh of the worst kind and I am absolutely gobsmacked that it made it into the festival, far less got an extra screening. It's not even like BETTER THINGS, which was rubbish but beautifully shot. This is just a bloke with a camcorder eating some chips.

It's the kind of film that makes me wish I could travel back in time just to prevent cinema ever being invented. Avoid like the plague.

Current release: PERSEPOLIS

Oscar nominated in the Animated Film category this year, this film never had a chance of winning. Mainly that's because Pixar had a film out but equally because it's just a little bit too honest, serious and generally art-house. I know the category has only being going for a few years, but I think it'll be a few more before we see a film like this win it.

PERSEPOLIS tells of a girl from Iran who, due to the political turmoil, is sent away to Europe. The film concerns her growing up in this strange new world and the impact it has on her (and vice versa) compared with the restrictive society in Iran.

The idea of using this kind of medium to report on such issues isn't new and for all its lovely visuals (simple but vibrant, and almost entirely black and white) it just didn't strike a chord with me. It lacked the power similar endeavours such as Art Spiegelman's Maus comic strip and left me wondering who it's supposed to appeal to. Arthouse cinema-goers are only going to make up a limited audience and it's not the sort of thing that is likely to have the crossover appeal of a Miyazaki film or bring in families like Pixar movies do.

Full marks for effort and integrity and an intense view of a particular country at a particularly difficult point in time; but I'm afraid it just didn't do anything for me.