10 Films to look out for at the 7th CPH PIX

 

NORWAY by Yannis Veslemes

 

Set in the eighties, this is the story of a fun loving vampire who moves to Athens for the first time with the promise of being set up witha job by a friend, and instead ends up on a strange journey into the night with a femme fatal and a brainless Nordic adonis. Rather than being a horror movie, or even a representation of today's Greek socio political situation, Norway by Yannis Veslemes works better as a tribute to B-movies and a nostalgic look at the steampunk culture of the times it is set in. Funny and short enough for it not to ever get boring, this film works off the trend of vampires in festival films but also counts on an entertaining leading performance by Moukiris and finds a fascinatingly unsettling contrast between arthouse stylistic choices and purposely placed bizarre, awkward and yet deadpan sense of humour.

 

HILL OF FREEDOM by Hong Sang-soo

 

Hill of Freedom is the shortest and perhaps most easily approachable film by master Hong Sang-soo. Even within its relatively simple narrative, which follows a man's permanence in Seoul from Japan to propose to the woman of his dreams, it manages to say a lot about human imperfections through plenty of sensibility and even with a pinch of outrageous and unexpected sense of humour as well as its examination of cultural contrast between Korea and Japan. Further enhancing the appeal of the film is the narrative glitch that sees the story told in a non-chonological order, as it is being read through a series of letters handed to the woman he means to propose to, which are scattered after she accidentally drops them. This simple yet effective and original glitch offers a chance to experience the seemingly simple storyline in a more engaging and interactive way.

 

PARABELLUM by Lukas Valenta Rinner

 

Impending apocalypse is somewhat of a cinematic fixation in both mainstream and art house cinema. Yet, with its minimalistic approach, Lukas Valenta Rinner's Parabellum puts a welcome spin to the subject and aims to examine the cult of the end of the world as a form of middle class escapism, following a type of holiday camp where members of said middle class are taught how to survive an apocalyptic situation. The film can arguably be described as an extreme deadpan comedy, which enhances sometimes mercilessly the physical humour of these unlikely heroes in the making, while its charming simplicity and its exotic Argentinian setting are gloriously effective creating a stunning portrait of modern satire.

 

HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT by Ben and Joshua Safdie

 

Drug addiction, self destruction and wasteland. Heaven Knows What is a powerful attack on the audience – it is not meant to be pretty. There is almost no time for conventionality or melodrama in the film, which already begins abruptly with a coating of tragedy as a girl named Harley slits her wrists for the love of a manipulative man named Ilya. Their obsessive and bad natured love affair, it is plain to see, is born out of destruction and can only lead to more destruction. Channelling the spirit of the American New Wave, this film is gritty and character driven - rather than following a deductive narrative it follows naturalistic impulses, much like its zombie like characters. The focus of this film is the decadence of the junkie, heroin addicted youth and subculture of New York City, with the merciless urban setting playing a huge role in the intensity of the atmosphere. The Safdie brothers are far from being afraid to take their audience out of the comfort zone, in fact they turn against them quite often juxtaposing tough to watch graphic moments with blasted rave music. Heaven Knows What is really a rollercoaster ride to hell, a brave film that distinguishes itself quite easily (and perhaps even uncomfortably) from the acknowledged new American Indie Cinema of sunlight seen through tree branches and poetic out of field narration.

 

MISUNDERSTOOD by Asia Argento

 

A nine year old girl struggles to win the love of her self absorbed parents. Misunderstood is an exciting coming of age drama that recalls at once the structure of old fashioned melodramas while openly revealing autobiographical influences from Asia Argento herself - despite this film being obviously universally relatable. It's great to see this film really play upon its cultural setting, with a playful and colourful artistic direction and a wild cinematography with a texture that recalls polaroids, a characteristic that infuses Misunderstood with nostalgic appeal. Furthermore, there is great excitement brought on by the film's sense of humour - the supporting characters are marked by vanity and eccentricities, and yet manage to feel real in a wonderful mixture of caricature and authenticity. This also helps the backbone sense of humour that makes the drama all the more powerful by openly disguising it. Gainsburg's first performance in Italian is excellent, but it is Garko that steals the show recalling the likes of Gassman and other great leading men of the commedia all'Italiana by essentially playing a parody of himself. A lot of credit goes to the young leading girl, who is impressive and succeeds in making her character extremely likeable. But the real winner is Asia Argento, whose brave, creative and exciting film deserves exposure and finally shows the extent of her abilities as an auteur.

PASOLINI by Abel Ferrara

 

Under no circumstances should this film be taken like any ordinary biopic. Of course, that is implied as not only is this film directed by one of the most audience splitting directors, Abel Ferrara, but it is also a film about one of the most celebrated and discussed figures in cinema history - Pier Paolo Pasolini. This film utilises the structure of the last day of Pasolini's life, and make no mistake - it is a subjective vision. An interview, casual interactions with family, friends, and feeding into his unhealthy habit of picking up kids at the train station in Rome. Most vivid is the attempted and audacious downright collaboration Ferrara dares when he brings Pasolini's final documented big screen vision on film, in which we lovingly see the casting of Pieruti's muse Ninetto Davoli. Eccentrically, little attention is paid to accents and disorienting mixtures of languages, but that is a concern that fails to look at the bigger picture - or even consider the fact that Pasolini himself would often cast foreign actors and dub them in his works. The whole film Pasolini feels like more than a tribute, a daydream that a filmmaker had about his hero and as such it is a priceless and non-conventional and rebellious work that exists to be hated or loved and very little in between.

 

AMOUR FOU by Jessica Hausner

 

Amour Fou based on the real life of a German poet in the romantic era who convinced a seemingly content housewife to join him in a suicide pact. Hausner channels feelings and emotions of classic literature by evoking them their extreme views on romanticism in an almost satirical way. Nevetrtheless, while the approach can be mostly described as deadpan and even a comedic one at that, there is also plenty of drama in the apparent coldness of the characters and their inabilities to truly connect and communicate in a substantial way. Delightful art direction and still cinematography enriched by a meticulous mise en scene likens this film to the art of the time, and provides further cohesion in a very interesting film with much intriguing and yet soft spoken drama.

 

THE DINNER by Ivano de Matteo

 

Two ethically opposed brothers, one a doctor and the other a lawyer, are forced to ponder on their own morality after their kids unleash a random vicious attack on a homeless woman and are caught on CCTV. The Dinner kicks off with a greatly thrilling heart stopping introduction, but after the opening credits, De Matteo switches the intensity of the film to a more intimate and psychological one, with the pace of the film slowing down considerably to allow for a more open interaction with the audience on the compelling and thought provoking matters of morality that The Dinner raises. This approach is truly effective and only occasionally leads to moments of dullness that never really compromise the dramatic charge of the film. Furthermore, the power of the film is intensified by the performances provided by some of the biggest and most respected names in modern Italian cinema, and are particularly well represented by Alessandro Gassman and Ivano De Matteo, perfectly cast in their ethically opposed roles.

 

GOODNIGHT MOMMY by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz

 

A truly terrifying experience. A masterful conglomeration of horror film clichés with a compelling lenience towards arthouse cinema – in fact the same sort of arthouse approach that producer Ulrich Seidl is known for. Despite all this, first time feature directors Franz and Fiala already seem masterful in building an intense and chilling atmosphere with haunting and downright shocking relentlessness, spinning out of a relatively innocent domestic drama, developing into a dense psychological thriller with paranormal flirtations and erupting into a full blown tough to watch torture movie. The story is pretty simple – two twins become suspicious and then obsessed by the fact that their mother is not their real mother but a kidnapper or a monster. The visual charge of the film provides added immediacy in such elements as the bandages worn by the mother, who has just returned from a facial plastic surgery operation. It’s hard to pay rightful tribute to the visceral horror that is Goodnight Mommy. It is, in fact, one that has to be lived through but it is certainly not one for the faint hearted.

 

THE STAG by John Butler

 

Despite the titular implications, that have been aided especially with the US title change of the film to The Bachelor Party, John Butler's The Stag has very little in common with the comedic antics of The Hangover or any other similar feature. The film follows a man and a group of friends who head into the woods just before his wedding. A seemingly innocent trip risks turning into a nightmare when despite their best efforts to avoid it from happening, the loose cannon future brother in law whose antics have earned him the nickname "the machine" shows up and joins them. But in the end, the film surprises with its incredibly wonderful pace and great balance of drama and laughs, in fact portraying masculine sensibilities in an unusually authentic and refreshing way in the process - as well as making use of a healthy dosage of Irishness. Indeed, the cast enjoys great wolfpack like chemistry, and the colourful characters are different enough as to strengthen the representation of masculinity and inspire some truly laugh out loud gags as well as moments of genuine drama.