A little bit festive September movie watching for me. So maybe I didn’t have much time to see a local festival film couple of months ago, but I can watch several in Erasmus Documentary Festival. Some good movies I catch from cable like Tracks, Breathe In and Miss Ever’s Boys. Still I kind of wanting to see some warm romantic comedies, hopefully soon. Here’s the recap of the month :
Screenings :
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Erasmus Documentary Festival ’15 : Stones in Exile (2010), Springsteen & I (2013), Garuda Power : The Spirit Within (2014), Forever and A Day (2015)
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Crossing (2008)
It was part of From The Darkness art exhibition featuring artists who escaped from North Korea. Hearing the truth about North Korea condition was heartbreaking and infuriating. You don’t expect such suppression still happens today, in the era of freedom and liberty. The movie itself, is about a father being separated from his son after escaping from North Korea to South Korea. The movie was heavy on drama and tears that it felt like abandoning the history or detail points. I wish there was more narration or narrative text to explain situations and also more character introduction other than the father and the son. Score : 5
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Films I First Saw :
Southpaw (2015)
Vertigo (1958)
Three Colors : Blue (1993)
Inside Out (2015)
I rarely watch animated movies lately. But Pixar films have different standard, and surely hard to keep up (especially maybe after Steve Jobs passed away). First thing I thought about Inside Out was how smart they create a psychology world in each mind. We have these five feelings; Joy, Sad, Anger, Fear and Disgust. As a balanced human, we should have each feelings work as a team but Joy should lead the mind to have a happy life. But, what if Joy prevents Sad to have a part?
Inside Out have a good message for young minds to understand the importance of each feelings. They each have their own purposes and they help every people grow. Maybe it so happens that the movie explains just how unstable teen minds can be, so they describe how chaotic the mind can be at those times. Of course, there’s a higher force that controls the feelings but to go there could be much complicated. Though not as spectacular as Toy Story trilogy, Inside Out still has the Pixar excellent standard. Score : 8
Breathe In (2014)
Fond of Felicity Jones and loved Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy, made me eager to see Breathe In. I still love the cinematography, the details and how intimate but mysterious his shots are. Felicity Jones still has that calm but intimidating bright quality. In this movie, she’s the exchange music student, Sophie who lives in her teacher’s, Keith’s (Guy Pearce) family home. But her existence threatens Keith’s marriage.
When you have the same passion with someone, you have a connection and bond as you share the same dreams. Keith and Sophie have this chemistry Keith doesn’t have with his wife. Sophie’s existence reminded Keith on his original dream as a musician, where now he’s bound to have a more stable career, which is why he’s still a music teacher. Also, Sophie portray a talented kid who is forced to be in a music world that she’s full of it. I love everything about this movie, just the weak ending. Score : 7,5
Playing it Cool (2014)
Chris Evans’ image as Captain America is very contrast to his role as Me, this laid back writer who doesn’t expect to be in love with Her (Michelle Monaghan), the girl she met in an event who already have a fiancee. Perhaps Evans wanted a less-serious role as he also produced this movie. The story was a bit predictable, but the performances was refreshing. It was nice to see Evans in a lighter character. Score : 6,5
Tracks (2013)
Mia Wasikowska travels with camels and a dog, and it’s based on a true story? Sign me up! The girl has an impressive filmography as an actress in such young age. This is one with flying colors. Surprised I haven’t heard this one before. She captured how independent and courageous Robyn as the only female who travels with camels in Australia. She also seemed to have more connection with animals rather than humans. When Robyn needed sponsor, Rick the photographer (Adam Driver) set reporters to tell her story. But as someone who loves quietness, Robyn ended up avoid them as they are too noisy and bugs her.
The story is beautiful, especially knowing why Robyn is more happy being around her dog. You can see just how kind and protective she can be with animals. But maybe Mia is a bit too young to capture her lowest points, since it felt a bit lack of depth. I still love her tough. I wonder if Robyn and Rick’s affair is a real thing, or only for this movie. The cinematography was great. Score : 7,5
Miss Evers’ Boys (1997)
It is infuriating to know this movie was based on a real thing, the U.S. Government’s 1932 Tuskeegee Syphilis Experiment. How can someone half-treating Syphilis patients and treated them like mouse rats then leaving them with their disease for years, until most of them die? Again, it still related to African-American race who was mistreated back in those years. It saddens me to see good and passionate people being left untreated and not knowing that they are not being treated but rather being experimented. It’s a mortifying project, not just for African-American but all human race. The performances were all solid, the story was told from Eunice (Alfre Woodward) as their loving dedicated nurse from the start. Score : 7
Only You (1994)
Finally I saw this movie in one sitting. This romantic comedy really satirize how women easily fell for soulmate forecast. Marissa Tomei as Faith was a perfect depiction of hopeless romantic woman who still trying to find the name of her soulmate she found on Ouija board when she was a little girl. Of course, she easily fooled by the man who pretended to be that guy, Peter (Robert Downey Jr.). The movie was funny and set on a lovely Venice and Greece, but it was readable. Score : 6
I’ll Do Anything (1994)
Adorable story about a father forced raising a daughter by himself while still pursuing his dreams as an actor. The little girl played by Whittni Wright was pure scary but adorable, and Nick Nolte was growing from lousy parent to a loving supportive father. I love the growing relationship between them, but there was a bit fantasy element on how a single parent also wanting to be an actor while raising and supporting his kid to a profession. Score : 6,5
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Also check out Amelie‘s Fine Visuals and My 5 Favorite Filmmakers posted also on September. What are your favorite movies in September?