For Those in Peril

Paul Wright's For Those in Peril (UK, 2013) - RT: 93 - 2013CANcw 

A Hen in The Wind

Yasujiro Ozu's A Hen in The Wind (Japan, 1948) - RT: 83

When a Soldier return home at the end of WW II, he refuses to forgive his wife for prostituting herself one night in order to pay off medical bills after their son's sudden illness. 

Miele

Valeria Golino's Miele (Italy, 2013) - 2013CANucr - RT:100 - RATING: 3 - Jasmine Trinca of The Best Of Youth fame, gives another outstanding performance as administer of mercy killing in Valeria Golino's fine directorial debut. As the time progress, her character starts to questioning her stance on the right to die issue and this is where the film successfully argue that there is no clear black or white line in this issue.

The Interval

Leonardo Di Costanzo's The Interval (Italy, 2012) - 2012TOR, 2012VENh, 2013NDNF - RT:90 - RATING: 2.5 - NOTES: A young man work for the mafia befriend his captor, a young woman barely his junior, after both of them spend the whole day locked in abandoned building. - A boy and a girl are locked in an enormous abandoned building in a rundown area. She is a prisoner and the local clan leader has forced him to be her warder. Despite their youth, both of them have grown up too fast. Veronica acts like a mature and open-minded woman whilst Salvatore is like a man who wants to hold on to his job and lead a quiet life. Thus, when faced with the violence of this incarceration, the two young people have different reactions: Veronica is restless and rebellious; Salvatore is more remissive and accommodating, either out of fear or realism. They are both victims but it is almost as though each blames the other for their reclusion. However, as the hours go by, their mutual hostility is transformed into an inevitable intimacy, consisting of reciprocal discoveries and confessions. Between the walls of that isolated and frightening place, Veronica and Salvatore find a way to rekindle those adolescent dreams and ideas put aside too soon. Thus the two of them enjoy a break from their prematurely adult lives and in the end are tempted to transform their imaginary escape into a real one before the gang presents Veronica with its verdict.

Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers

Les Blanks' Garlic Is Good as Ten Mothers (US, 1979) - 1979TEL - RATING: 3 - Les Blank's documentary explores how garlic is use in different culture throughout the world

The Summer of Flying Fish

Marcela Said's The Summer of Flying Fish (Chile, 2013) - 2013CANdf - RATING: 3 - Using flare tension between white land owners and Mapuche tribes in Chile as a backdrop of coming of age story, The Summer of Flying Fish become the first scripted drama from Chilean docu filmmaker Marcela Said. - In “The Summer of Flying Fish,” Chilean docu director Marcela Said makes a subtle shift into scripted drama, shaping scenes of tension between white landowners and the local Mapuche natives so as to seem unrehearsed. Said’s technique blends flashes of melodrama with such naturalistic choices as shooting on location and working mostly with non-actors, resulting in a challenging fiction/nonfiction hybrid that’s stylistically neither fish nor fowl. From a festival programmer’s perspective, “Summer” is a dream offering: a refined, politically conscious film by a female director that reveals a seldom-seen social dynamic. In commercial spheres, however, it should be a much harder sell.

The Rendezvous of Deja Vu

Antonin Peretjatko's The Rendezvous of Deja Vu (France, 2013) - 2013CANdf - RATING: 2 - A road movie meet sex farce genre in a not so funny French comedy that critique harshly on French culture and establishment.- Hector meets Truquette on Bastille Day and becomes obsessed with seducing her. The plan is to get her to the seaside pronto. Pator is not complaining, especially if her friend Charlotte comes along for the ride. So off they go, down the country roads of a broke and broken France. Times are hard ! Suddenly the government cancels a month of summer. Everyone back to work ! A wad of cash and two gun shots later, the group splits in two like France itself. But careering away from work in no way daunts the remaining trio, dead set on relocating the Bastille Girl and reveling in an endless summer.

Renoir

Gilles Bourdos' Renoir (France, 2012) - 2012CANucr, 2013PALM - RATING: 3 - Biographical story about August Renoir, the painter, relationship with his offsprings  especially the filmmaker Jean Renoir in early nineteenth century France. - The bright Summer sunlight of the Cote d’Azur cast a golden glow over Renoir, greatly enhancing the appeal of an impeccably crafted, tenderly felt traditional period piece. Dramatising a defining moment in the lives of Pierre-August Renoir and his young son Jean, the film offers a tasteful, sensitively handled production that should readily appeal to an older demographic and to the arthouse audience who have supported similar works down the years from Camille Claudel to Seraphine.

Behind The Candelabra

Steven Soderbergh's Behind The Candelabra (US, 2013) - 2013CANic - RATING: 3.5 - Surprisingly touching and honest look at gay love as it evolve through out the years. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon give an outstanding performances as the true life couple.- Beneath the flamboyant furs, twinkling rhinestones and bitchy asides, Behind The Candelabra emerges as a touching gay love story from an age when nobody in American showbusiness would have dared to venture out of the closet. Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Richard LaGravenese tread lightly on the social significance of events, focusing largely on the personal heartache in the bittersweet relationship between entertainer Liberace and his lover Scott Thorson.

The Hangover Part III

 

Todd Philips' The Hangover Part 3 (US, 2013) - RATING: 3 - It is not the epic conclusion that Warner Bros hoping for the very profitable series, BUT it is quiet entertaining in many levels. - As much a thriller as a comedy, The Hangover Part III brings Todd Phillips’ R-rated guys-night-out trilogy to an oddly subdued, sometimes downright dark conclusion. Loyal fans of the series, and of outrageous comedy in general, will probably still buy in, if only for a sense of closure. But even with a couple of new additions to its returning core cast Part III could be a tricky sell to casual moviegoers looking simply for good-time action and broad laughs.

The Major

 Yury Bykov's The Major (Russia, 2013) -2013CANcw - RATING: 3 - A morally complex B Movie set in Russia about accidental death which lead to cover up and more murder. This crime and punishment tale will make Dostoyevsky proud. On a cold winter’s day Sergey Sobolev, a major at the local police office, is driving to the hospital where his wife is about to give birth to their child. High from happiness, he’s driving too fast and runs down a boy on a passage walk, who dies. Now the major has only two options: go to prison or conceal the crime. Sobolev decides to compromise with his conscience and calls on a colleague to help him out. But the case turns out to be messy and when Sobolev finally changes his mind and tries to make up for his deed, it’s already too late…