10 films to see at the 59th Cork Film Festival

Did you know that this year marks the 59th edition of the Cork Film Festival? Having attended all three major festivals in Ireland last year, CineCola had no doubt that the CFF had come out looking as the best in practically every field. This year the festival will be running in Cork, Ireland from the 7th to the 16th of November, and looking at the programme, there are many reasons to get excited about - we can give you ten of them! Here is a list of ten films we have seen - and loved and recommend you do not miss.
 
*NOTE - The list is not in order of preference or in chronological order.

 

1 - I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS by Leah Meyerhoff
 
A teenage girl finds a direct leadway to her fantasy world through a romantic relationship with an older boy, but is gradually forced back down to Earth as the relationship gets more violent. Meyerhoff's film is a unique coming of age drama and notably one of the most interesting ones with a feminine central character also because of its almost thoughtless and bold stylised defiance of the prince charming cliche, which contraddict the many nods to fairytales and lead to a further fascinating stark and unsettling contrast. Stylistically, I Believe in Unicorns is very impressive, with very creative uses of techniques such as stop motion animation and uses of different film stocks that makes for an excitingly vivid colour palette. All the while, the chemistry between the two lead actors adds an impressive element of genuineness - as well as genuine steam - to the story.
 
I Believe in Unicorns is screening on the 10th of November at 11.30 at the Gate Cinema
 
2 - THE DOG by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren
 
Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren dig up the real story of the real man whose life inspired the classic Sidney Lumet directed and Al Pacino Starring Dog Day Afternoon. John Wojtowicz is a strangely magnetic individual, obnoxious and fascinating almost in equal amounts whose story was described by the filmmakers themselves as a ‘screwed up Forrest Gump tale’. There is a lot of truth in the comparison, as the story of Wojtowicz coincides with many events of the gay rights movement and the feeling of sexual liberation of its times. Furthermore, his own evolution from army-sympathetic Republican to anarchic libertine is something eccentrically intriguing in its own right. Berg and Keraudren are also sensible to the cultural context of the biography and let their documentary The Dog carry a feeling of the times in which the story is set, through extensive research of archive footage and invigorating editing techniques that deepen the interest of the story and extend it to represent a genuine feeling of the culture of its times.
 
The Dog is screening on the 10th of November at 16.15 at the Gate Cinema

 

3 - STATIONS OF THE CROSS by Dietrich Bruggemann
 
A fourteen year old's coming of age and sexual awakening is abruptly interrupted and slowed down by her traditional and obsessive Catholic mindset of her family. Bruggemann's Stations of the Cross is a fascinatingly thought provoking project for a number of reasons. This beginning with the technical aspect, very stylised as Bruggemann chooses to split the film into twelve parts, well defined by a careful mise en scene and through the use of very still camerawork. This not only influences by the titular stations of the cross, but also makes the film more directly impactful by providing it a more theatrical aura. The acting too is superb, and adds power. Stetter as the priest is the perfect soft-spoken yet dark priest, who messes with the consciences of young children via his radical teachings. But the young girl who plays the central character is also impressive, perhaps because of her acting inexperience that provides even more realism to the story. The overall cohesion of the visual style and the great and skilled balanced of the screenplay makes this film on a number of level, and more than just a compelling representation of the dangers of religious radicalism, which it must be noted is never as exploitational as many other films of the same kind, Stations of the Cross retains a form of ambiguity that is nothing short of haunting and is bound to stay with the viewer long after the credits stop rolling.
 
Stations of the Cross is screening on the 10th of November at 21.30 at the Gate Cinema
 
4 - SET FIRE TO THE STARS by Andy Goddard
 
New York, the fifties, a place where poetry and literature are brimming with excitement. Set Fire to the Stars is a film based on a true story, about an aspiring poet living out a dream by hosting his hell raising hero Dylan Thomas, who doesn't take long to turn his world upside down. A delightful and romanticised portrait of the madness, plight and mental struggles behind art. Andy Goddard's film is fiery at its core, if not downright inspiring - perhaps sometimes to excess. The work also enjoys eye candy appeal with its tasteful black and white and smoky rooms, that not only convey the conventional typewriter, booze and cigarettes combo to perfection but also accentuates its nostalgia appeal. However, the strongest element in the film is the acting, with Elijah Wood and Celyn Jones' quick witted exchanges challenging each other's radically different performances and sharing wonderful, passionate chemistry.
 
Set Fire to the Stars is screening on the 9th of November at 11.00 at the Cork Opera House.

 

5 - QUEEN AND COUNTRY by John Boorman
 
Around thirty years after his film Hope and Glory, John Boorman makes the sequel Queen and Country, which is more or less based on personal experiences and picks up the story where it left off, with the young central Englishman joining the army to fight the Korean War. There is a classic movie charm and appeal to Queen and Country that is rare to come by nowadays. Most particularly, it recalls war comedies of the fifties and sixties that were produced in Britain at the time when this film is set, and so as a result the whole feature is perfectly at ease in its environment. Boorman’s film also feels personal and despite having a lack of heavy messages being much more interested in expressing Boorman’s own formative years in his passions for cinema, the crowd pleasing appeal of the film is well balanced and makes it entertaining and funny with great finesse.
 
Queen and Country will be screening on the 9th of November, at the Gate Cinema

6 - GERONTOPHILIA by Bruce la Bruce

 

An 18-year-old discovers his sexual fetishism for old men after he falls in love with an 81-year-old inhabitant of the nursing home he works in. Bruce la Bruce returns with another controversial. Yet this time he ditches - perhaps momentarily - his visual explicitness and usual tastelesness for a more classicist and romantic approach in quite a remarkable way. With production values upped and a more complex narrative, Gerontophilia not only shows that Bruce la Bruce could perhaps re-invent himself as a more mainstream kind of non-conformist filmmaker, but also represents his audacity at creating a film which audaciously represents a kind of remarkable artistic rebirth.
 
Gerontophilia is screening on the 10th of November at 21.00 at the Gate Cinema
 
7 - WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement
 
Mockumentary about a group of vampire housemates, which follows its subjects in their ordinary struggles with everyday life. What We Do in the Shadows by Waititi and Clement is genial in its simplicity. A refreshing take on the comedy spoof genre, the film’s approach gives way to improvisation that makes the comedy seem a lot less staged and much more spontaneous. This approach also aids the different characters in naturally achieving their own distinctive characteristics through the actors’ own performances – themselves influenced by their own comedic personalities. To add to the overall appeal are some great references to the horror genre that take up back to the good old days when vampires were gothic and cool rather than being the modern day sparkly skinned melodramatic counterparts. Structured around some very creative gags, this film is fun and entertaining. As well as that, by the end of the film, there is also a feeling that these are characters that could easily be brought back to life in various formats, from TV to a sequel.
 
What We Do in the Shadows is screening on the 11th of November at 19.00 at the Gate Cinema
 

8 - ROCKS IN MY POCKET by Signe Baumane
 
Signe Baumane described this as a funny film about depression. This is, in fact, the beauty of the film. Baumane uses herself and her family history of mental health issues and suicide to explore her own psychological issues. Despite the obviously dark and delicate subject matter, she does so in a somewhat happy and entertaining tones that nevertheless never undermines the seriousness and urgence of its theme. On top of that, she does so through animation and this more adult use of animation is somewhat refreshing in times when this form of cinema is widely associated with children. On top of that, the pace of the narrative is downright exciting and it makes Rocks in My Pockets entertining.
 
Rocks in My Pocket is screening on the 13th of November at 16.00 at Triskel Christchurch
 
9 - KUNG-FU ELLIOT by Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau
 
Every great documentary begins with an interesting and intriguing subject. The subject of Kung Fu Elliot is Elliot "White Lightning" Scott, a man with a goal and a mission - becoming Canada's first ever action film star. Filmmakers Bauckman and Belliveau follow him as he films his latest guerrilla masterpiece and even show us parts of his private life. As the film progresses, we begin to understand the eccentricity of the character and a darker side of his also shows, as well as his own vulnerabilities and imperfections. The style employed does not disregard realism, yet it is shot in a style that makes it seem like fictional work despite everything happening in the film being real. This allows the film great cinematic appeal and almost heightens the surrealism of the world of its central subject, who has downright created a magnetic, charismatic alter ego for himself. Kung Fu Elliot is entertaining, funny but most admirably at the same time respectful of all the people involved not shying away from their own humanities and their inevitable human weaknesses.
 
Kung Fu Elliot is screening on the 14th of November at 11.30 at the Gate Cinema 
 
10 - IT CAME FROM CONNEMARA!! by Brian Reddin
 
From 1995 to 2000, Roger Corman set up a studio in a remote part of the west of Ireland named Connemara, where he produced a number of straight to video flicks now mostly forgotten. For many, however, it was a real school of cinema that taught many exponents of the current Irish film industry about the tricks of the trade under extreme circumstances. Brian Reddin's It Came from Connemara!! is a loving tribute to the figure of Corman with a down to Earth approach, a great sense of humour and even a nostalgic vibe that make this more than a simple piece on cinema history trivia.
 
It Came From Connemara!! is screening on the 14th of November at 23.55 at the Gate Cinema.

 

The 59th Cork Film Festival runs from the 7th to the 16th of November. For more info, check out their website https://www.corkfilmfest.org/