Triangle of Sadness vs The Menu

Triangle of Sadness has been gaining some social plaudits this fall, not least being the buzz at the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) last month. But I'd wager that half those who were buzzing probably had buyers' regret after seeing it. I know many people walked out. There are several problems and "meh" aspects of the film. The movie is in three chapters and the third - set on the island where the "Gilligan's Island" ship wreckers land - goes on way, way too long. The second chapter - aboard the ill-fated luxury liner - is the best. The cinematography is great as Swedish director Ruben Östlund (who otherwise had sound films in Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017)) and crew catch the chaos and absurd personal dramas of a sea bound voyage disrupted by a storm. The first chapter - seemingly unrelated to the two others except for the main characters - has a humorous sketch about dating and masculine and feminine roles. I’m sure lots of people could relate. But what does it all add up to? First of all the movie is derivative by half, of films such as those by the great Spanish director Luis Buñuel like The Exterminating Angel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeousie (1972) and The Phantom of Liberty (1974). Or, more recently South Korea's Bong Joon-Ho's 2019 forgettable, to my mind, Parasite. They’re surreal or black comedies with the theme "Eat the Rich." One has to ask why Östlund would go through the trouble of creating the elaborate boat scene, special effects and all, with myriad scenes of people barfing and a toilet exploding, to make yet another cliched point. Now if you really want to do an Eat the Rich commentary right, check out Mark Mylod's The Menu (photo), currently in cinemas. This is a taut beginning to end thriller, of the culinary kind, of course. Again, the theme is the Privileged Get Their Comeuppance, but the direction and cinematography are done so much better, with close ups and great acting by the main characters Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult. From one course to the next in this most exclusive of restaurants we don’t know whether the diners are being treated to the ultimate in gourmet food or something more malevolent, with an ending I'm glad I never suspected. So while both these films are derivative and have Eat the Rich themes, at least one is up to full movie making snuff. Of course, all this Eat the Rich stuff is ultimately boring. I'm waiting for a film with the theme Eat the Well-Paid Bureaucrats but that's something we'll probably never see. ..... Walking out of the Imagine Lakeshore Cinemas last week an old cardboard movie display caught my eye. It was for the James Bond No Time to Die release, somehow still in storage off the theatre's corridor, with the ominous wording "Opens April 2020." Now that is a real horror flashback. 

My top 10 films at WIFF

Of the films I saw at this year’s WIFF here are my top 10:

1. Lost Illusions – This is Xavier Giannoli’s almost perfect period retelling of a story for the ages based on a Honoré de Balzac novel. A provincial idealistic poet (Benjamin Voisin) moves to Paris and slowly becomes corrupted. Unlike many period films this one, at two-and-half hours, doesn’t detour into tangents and keeps a coherent and absorbing flow. It’s also a revelation of the early days of popular journalism, the antecedents of which – good and bad – are around us still.

2. There have been stories of men living double lives but in Madeline Collins (Antoine Barraud) we have Virginie Efira as a woman who has two families, constantly travelling, with made up excuses like business conferences, between them in Paris and Switzerland.  Efira’s stunning performance is equal to the absorbing plot in this psychological thriller worthy of Hitchcock.

3. Another French firm, Zero Fucks Given (Julie Lecoustre & Emmanuel Marre), is a highly realistic portrayal of flight attendants at a European discount airline. The focus is on one of them, Cassandre (Adèle Exarchopoulos – Blue is the Warmest Colour) whose daily life is at the whims of haphazard airline schedules and strict management rules with romance a sometimes sidebar. 

4. Metronom – Romania, one of the most former authoritarian Stalinist regimes, in 1972, is not the place to flirt with anything Western, as these high school students find after having a party where they listened to, of all things, The Doors and Led Zeppelin. Ana (Mara Bugarin) tries to hold out against secret police pressure only to find that the only way to continue to exist is to succumb. Alexandru Belc is the director.

5. The Killing of a Journalist. This documentary by Matt Sarnecki tells a true story of an event that convulsed the Eastern European country of Slovakia in 2018, a major news event we never heard of. The intricately told story pieces together links that show how the Slovakian “Mafia” infiltrated the country’s government at the highest levels and murdered an investigative journalist who was in the forefront of exposing the links. His killing resulting in massive street demonstrations that brought down the regime.

6. Jennifer Tiexiera’s Subject is a documentary about the making of documentaries and raises ethical questions about what should be subject matter when filmmakers intrude into the personal lives of people (“subjects”) to make films about extraordinary events or people’s traumatic life stories. The probe really has wider implications for all forms of journalism.

7. Yann Gozlan’s Black Box was the most edge-of-your-seat thriller I saw. The French/Belgium collaborative is a whoodunit about a cover up of who was responsible for the downing of a passenger aircraft. Our hero, Matthieu (Pierre Niney) is the classic outsider, a nerd, part of the country’s civil aeronautics investigation agency, who’s accused of overthinking the case and taking a stand contrary to an official accident conclusion.  

8. Eo (Jerzy Skolimowski), based on a 1966 Robert Bresson film, in turn based on a Dostoyevsky story, follows Eo, a donkey, on his life journey among various owners and situations, good and bad, of the human beings all around him. Isabelle Huppert makes a surprise appearance.

9. Rogue Agent (Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson), based on a true story, is a stylish British thriller about a sociopath who charmingly disarms his subjects while fleecing them of emotions as much as their money.

10. Two British faves – Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, star in The Lost King, another film based on a true story in Stephen Frears's, perhaps Britain’s top filmmaker, latest. Hawkins as Philippa Langley becomes absorbed with the story of Richard III, long tarred, as per Shakespeare, as a villainous opportunist when numerous historical records show his altruistic character and benevolence, aiding the poor and bringing early judicial reform.  The recovery of his bones under a municipal parking lot leads to his historical rehabilitation.

   

Congratulations WIFF! And a post-mortem

Another great year at the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) – expanded to 11 days – and in the wake of two years closure due to Covid, more than 45,000 tickets sold – a new record! That’s surprising and not surprising. It’s surprising given that some in WIFF’s audience may have been reluctant to return to indoor spaces in the wake of the worst of the pandemic. An extra day also means more tickets sold. And yet it’s not surprising because WIFF has garnered such enthusiasm with each growing year. I’ll review some of the movies I saw (having been out of town, I only got to the last half of the festival) in a later post. For right now, some general observations, not so much about the festival but about its downtown venues or footprint. WIFF organizers in part have ensured the festival remains highly accessible from an audience perspective. The three theatre venues are all within five minutes’ walking distance from one another. That’s a contrast to other festivals, where the venues can be as much as a half hour walk or even require transit or a drive to reach. Partly this is a reflection of Windsor downtown’s compact nature and the fact appropriate venues, like the Capitol and Chrysler theatres, already existed. Organizers have taken advantage of this small footprint by enhancing it through, for example, the WIFF Alley movie themed mural showcase - the ‘natural shortcut’ moviegoers use to walk from the Capitol to Chrysler theatres. But here are some concerns/suggestions for future festivals. Why can’t the city suspend parking meter enforcement during WIFF’s 11 days? Arguably WIFF draws more people downtown than any other event except fireworks night and parades. Yet blocks and blocks of streets remained empty of cars because people were reluctant to plug parking meters. The two-hour maximums (photo) also inhibited use since most films verge on two hours or longer; not to mention the $2/hour fee. Sure enough, despite the few cars, a parking enforcement Commissionaires SUV was seen tagging expired parked vehicles. Suspending parking enforcement would show the city’s continuing support for the festival as well as for downtown retailers, which would derive more business from the fact people could park and get to theatres and businesses easier. Second, not all restaurants were open. One, a natural for lunchtime fare, was closed but opened for dinner. Third, could not the block immediately in front of the main venue - the Capitol Theatre and WIFF ticket office - have been blocked off? The next block east where WIFF’s entertainment tent was set up was cordoned off. But regular motor traffic continued immediately in front of the theatre, where filmgoers may have spilled out on to the street from sidewalk lines or mingled, or indeed crossed mid-block to walk to the Chrysler. Fourth, the neighbourhood around the WIFF footprint should be more secure. Walking west along University Ave., especially at night, there were a number of sketchy individuals present. A woman I spoke to was reluctant to park more than a block from the Capitol for fear for her safety. And I in fact was attacked. Nothing serious, but an individual broke from a group of about a dozen, some apparently drunk, and walked over and pretended to punch me out with a series of fist pumps. That’s intimidation enough! Perhaps there could be a better show of police. In any case, it was wonderful to have the festival back and good luck to organizers for next year, though I’m confident WIFF will continue to grow and be exceptionally great.

More picks for this year's WIFF

Here are my remaining picks for films at WIFF, which opened yesterday and continues until Sunday Nov. 6:

Farewell Mr. Haffmann - I have grown weary of WW II movies but France's foremost actor Daniel Auteuil brings me back; EO - a donkey with human characteristics, based on a Robert Bresson film, based in turn on a Dostoyevsky novel and directed by a Pole - sign me up; Subject - documentaries abound, and abound, and abound (how about one on the inventor of the pencil; maybe it already exists!) . But what about the ethics of exposing someone’s life to the camera's bright eye?; Corsage - an impassioned tale of a female imprisoned in a royal gilded cage;  Black Box - investigative intrigue exposing corruption in the wake of monstrous tragedy, sounds like a taut thriller; Zero Fucks Given - the fuselage curtain is pulled back on the world of flight attendants as portrayed by an especially ambitious one; I Didn't See You There - how the "able-bodied" community, despite best intentions, is so oblivious to the plight of  the disabled - ‘ride in my wheelchair for one day, will ya?’; Holy Spider - more relevant than ever given the recent controversial death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, sparking protests worldwide and we can only hope, but don't hold your breath, the downfall of the Mullahs; Spin Me Round - a "wacky comedy of errors" set in wine and sun-soaked Tuscany - why, of course!; The Lost King - English stalwarts Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan combine in this offbeat drama, Coogan alone is always worth the price;  Mau - a doc on the famous Canadian fashion designer Bruce Mau - you didn't know he was Canadian?; Lost Illusions - based on the Balzac novel it’s about the seething world of poets, writers, journalists  in the harsh salons of 19th Century Paris - delicious!; Decision to Leave - this Korean noir whodunnit, complex and sizzling, sounds like a winner; Hunt - also from Korea, an espionage thriller pitting the two Cold War Korea's against one another......And don't forget the various WIFF local shorts series made by area filmmakers and the always popular Mark Boscariol 48-Hour Flickfest, the 48-hours-to-make-a-movie marathon.

WIFF is like picking from a chocolate box

It's good to see the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) back in action. Three years is a long time to go without a film festival, and the WIFF is back with a vengeance, expanding the festival to 12 - count 'em 12 - whole days. It's amazing how this festival has grown and how Windsorites have taken to it. It's also a kind of mini Toronto International Film Festival - screening some of the same films - so saves us a laborious trip to the zoo which is Toronto and watch in our own relaxed back yard. Here are my film picks: The Last Bus – it stars starring Timothy Spall, who always marvellously plays archetypical irascible British characters; Deception - any film based on the personal tangles and subterfuges of a Philip Roth novel is sure to intrigue; Boblo Boats - for the same reasons everyone else who grew up in this area will want to attend; Haute Couture - because I love the fashion industry; Triangle of Sadness - this black comedy of a societal mashup has been drawing rave reviews; Rogue Agent - you've got to like anything of the British elegant spy drama genre; Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel - because anyone who has followed generations of beats, poets and rock artists who have made this cherished Manhattan hotel home would be interested; Salvatore, Shoemaker of Dreams - fashion again and because I thought my significant other would like it; Metronom - I've seen some very good Romanian films about the Communist era and expect this to be an equal; Pretty Problems - Wine, Sonoma Valley and a lost weekend, what's not to like?; The Killing of a Journalist - I've always been fond of films about Eastern European corruption - here, Slovakia – and their filmmakers depict it so darkly. One Fine Morning - just having Léa Seydoux in it is enough for me; The Divide - personal conflict mirroring societal trends has always been interesting; Hold me Tight - the fact it's directed by fave France's Mathieu Amalric and his personal take on an intense emotional drama; Howard's End - I can't even remember if I’ve seen this 30-year-old British manners classic but like fans of Dalton Abbey it's must viewing; The King of Laughter - let's see if acclaimed Italian actor Toni Servillo turns in another tour de force; Official Competition - anything Penelope Cruz is in and playing a crazed film director to boot even more so. 

Tomorrow I'll have my final round of picks for this year's festival. 

Sorry, Noah, this Eighties' bore fest doesn't work

More from the 51st edition of Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma, which wrapped up Sunday: 

Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Squid and the Whale) is one of my fave contemporary directors, perfect for capturing a certain Bourgeois Bohemian zeitgeist. So it was disappointing to see him pull a boner with his filming of Don DeLillo's novel White Noise. Set in the 1980's (though it looks like the 1970's) the movie is a satire on the American Dream. An unlikely bumbled-headed professor (Adam Driver) and his serene wife (Greta Gerwig) evacuate the family when an emergency grips their small Ohio town (the home of Oberlin College). Mom and dad are the incompetents while the kids take charge. But this film is a more than two-hour snooze fest. What about this plot makes you want to care? And all the trouble Baumbach went through to stage the Eighties and this mass evacuation...it makes me exhausted just thinking about it. The best scene, really, is the closing credits.....Hong Sang-soo's The Novelist's Film, from South Korea, is a quirky little picture that at once is absorbing as it makes you wonder what the point of it is. An aging novelist, Jun-hee (Lee Hye-young) has a series of chance encounters - really chance - during an afternoon walk. The most interesting, and entertaining aspects, of these is the subtle differences of misunderstandings or opinion that lead to larger questions about the way we live and what's important in life. One of her encounters, with an equally famous actress, finds the actress not currently performing. Another character calls that's a "waste."  But, pipes-up Jun-hee, "What is she wasting exactly?".....It's like they don’t make movies like this anymore. France's Quentin Dupieux's Smoking Causes Coughing is an absurd comedy that looks like a cross between old time TV sitcoms and comic books. The Tobacco Force is a group of avengers, in their blue latex suits, who nonchalantly fight monsters by spraying them with the chemicals found in cigarettes. Of course, they also take cigarette smoke breaks. On their breaks, they tell bizarre tales of intrigue and murder. Meanwhile their chief, with all the authority of a Foreign Legion commander, has a reptilian head and broadcasts from his bed alongside bored sex partners.....Finally, the festival has brought a retrospective of US director Walter Hill’s films. And on the final night it screened his The Warriors from 1979, a cult classic. This story of combating gangs over the course of a long New York night has the Coney Island Warriors targeted by all the others as they try to make their way from the Bronx back to Brooklyn, as daunting as crossing the Atlantic. Deborah Van Valkenburgh (TV's Too Close for Comfort) also stars as The Warriors’ hanger-on, Mercy. The whole thing's a fun romp filmed at a real time of New York City's graffiti-ridden subway cars nadir.   

All over the genre map

More from Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma:

In Maksym Nakonechnyi's Butterfly Vision Lilya, an aerial reconnaissance specialist with the Ukrainian army, is returned home after being captured by the Russians in the Donbas region. But not is all well on the home front with Tokha, her husband and also in the army, trying to come to terms with his own life, while Lilya decides whether to go ahead with her pregnancy. The country's conflict with Russia serves as metaphor for what the family finds on the ground. There are some good performances and also a glimpse into military drone technology....Anna Eriksson's W, from Finland, is a tour de force from the director, who wrote, edited, designed sets and costumes and scored the music to this post-apocalyptic psychological nightmare world. Ericsson is something of an avant pop star in Finland so this and an earlier film M continue to explore "concepts of future, time, immortality and ritual" (channeling) her own "fears, desire and subconscious." In the film, we're taken to a kind of Ice Station Zebra where the prisoners apparently had been seminal figures in the Before Times, but now are chained, tortured or left to die. In this End of the World world, seemingly deranged nurses are not there for the afflicted  and resort to punishing one another. Victims cry out, "There is no time without motion" or “I am a human, I am a system." These are cries of pain - psychological and physical - from a future with no remorse......Asian crime movies are a cult genre all their own and hence Hideo Gosha's 1974 Violent Streets from Japan. But, quite frankly, all the back and forth gangland attacks and murders - full of blood and gore of course - simply got monotonous after awhile (how many times did I look at my watch?)…..In porn director Bruce LaBruce's The Affairs of Lidia, a North American premiere, LaBruce is once again up to his playful satirical takes on homo and heterosexual sex, with charming befuddled characters who are of the most moment of contemporary moments: fashionistas, designers and models. Deadpan conversations about relationship mores are hilarious. Says Michanegelo, "What does ‘gay’ even mean now? We're not living in the 20th century." Prosaic encounters lead to sex - don’t you know? - with the “soft” porn being as much in images as the lightheartedness of those involved. The costumes are gorgeous, the ironies over the top and the score is so appropriately terrific by artist - yes - Vomit Heat. (Well worth getting the album, Second Skin.)