A woman receives a VHS tape one morning from an anonymous source. After watching the video and its odd, violent animation, she is puzzled and feels like she is being haunted. She soon decides to look for answers. Directed by Richard Mansfield (and have no verifiable writing credits online to check who did what), the film takes the premise of a found tape leading to investigations by those who have found or received it and turn it into what can be described as mostly found footage with touches of first person POV and other filming styles. The story is fairly basic with just a few characters and works as a found footage mystery for most of the film. It uses many story telling techniques with varied degrees of success creating a film that feels disconnected in places.
Tag Archives: Foreign
Mon Roi (My King) (2015)
A woman finds herself in physical rehab after a major skiing accident; there she heals from this accident and from her past relationship with her wild ex. Written by Etienne Comar and Maïwenn with the latter directing as well, the story of “Mon Roi” follows a woman going through a good part of her life led by her love and passion for a man who may very well be quite destructive. As she works on being able to walk again, literally and metaphorically, her past is seen through a series of long flashbacks. This is handled in a way that works perfectly here, showing her life basically from the moment she met him and keeping these long flashbacks in chronological order. This actually leads to almost forgetting that the main character is thinking back on these moments until these scenes at the rehabilitation center become longer.
David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)
What makes David Brent the ultimate creation of Ricky Gervais is that we can all relate to him. We have all at one time in our lives been David Brent. All of us want to be liked, and accepted, and appreciated. We all want friends, and family, and some place to call home. We all have something we want to offer the world, and some kind of unfulfilled desire that we wish we could bring out for everyone to see. Ricky Gervais’ “Life on the Road” is a great sequel to the original BBC “The Office” but thankfully it’s not a movie you have to have seen the show to understand. While there are a ton of mentions of the original series, “Life on the Road” is about Gervais’ anti-hero, the man known as David Brent who has spent most of his life chasing the idea of being liked and accepted, but has no idea how to achieve it.
The Search for Weng Weng (2007)
Andrew Leavold, a cult video store owner, goes on the search for a mysterious movie star from the Philippines, the 2’9” action star Weng Weng who did less than a dozen films but left a huge mark on his fans. Leavold through his documentary shows the star’s childhood, rise, and fall until his untimely death. Written by Andrew Leavold and Daniel Palisa (as Daniel Haig) and directed by Leavold, it follows its director’s journey from Australia to the Weng Weng’s native Philippines where he finds footage of the star he had never seen, movies he had never heard about, and plenty of people ready to talk about the star.
Two Lovers and a Bear (2016)
In the very Northern part of Canada, where not much happens and people do as best they can to survive and entertain themselves, two damaged but passionate souls in love are trying to make it and better their lives. Written and directed by Kim Nguyen, based on an original idea by Louis Grenier, the film follows the lives of two young adults fighting inner demons and rough past and trying to love each other and do what is best for each other. Their struggles feel rather real and the way they push and pull at each other grabs the viewer and brings them in. The characters built feel like actual people, filled with issues and difficulties, self-loathing and worries.
Deer Flower (2016)
When you consider the cultural context behind “Deer Flower,” director Kangmin Kim’s short animated film is an interesting if horrific look at remedies from the East. Told through what essentially looks like origami, “Deer Flower” is a stark and pretty unusual tale about a family seeking a cure for their son’s ailment. Traveling a long distance and paying a lot of money, they take their son behind a farm, where a reindeer is held down by a machine and has its antler cut.
The Short Films of Ithaca Fantastik 2016 [Ithaca Fantastik 2016]
As only a few short films were seen, here are mini-reviews for each of these titles.
Curve (Australia) (2016)
A young woman wakes up sitting on a curved surface, clinging to it for dear life. This short is very simple in concept, yet possibly one of the most grim and dark short seen this year. There is not clear, or unclear, way of the situation this young lady is in and signs are accumulating that others did not have any luck in her position. Written and directed by Tim Egan, the film has no dialogue and only one character, making the most of its location and the situation the character is in. The star, Laura Jane Turner, gives a very good performance and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat as she tries to get in a better situation. The film is grim and her performance suits it well, showing desperation and a need to survive.