More from SIFF
May. 31st, 2012 10:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
Three more films from this week - a documentary on birdwatching in Central Park, a documentary about an identity theft, and a French romantic comedy.
The Central Park Effect. New York's Central Park is a green oasis in an enormous urban desert, and so it becomes an important rest stop for millions of birds migrating along the eastern coast. On the right day in spring, there can be over 100 species of birds in the park. This film follows the park's wildlife through the seasons, along with the birdwatchers who target them all.
This was an entertaining film, with the birdwatchers trying to explain the appeal of their hobby, while admitting that some people just find them odd. The film is well edited, keeping everything zipping along, with regular smiles and laughs from the audience. And yes, I did meet some of the birdwatching folks there - it's always nice when hobbies overlap! 8/10
This film is going to be shown on HBO in July, current scheduled for Monday 16th.
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/birders-the-central-park-effect/index.html
The Central Park Effect showed together with a short film documentary about a man who put a camera on his cat to find out where it went. He put his cat-cam photos on the web, and found that he and the cat became an internet and media sensation. Also very light, fun, amusing fare, and I scored that 8/10 too.
The Imposter. A crazily unbelievable story about a French-Algerian man of distinctly Mediterranean appearance, who takes on the identity of a blond, blue-eyed Texan boy who had disappeared three years before. Yet this is a documentary, and it's true. The missing boy's family accept the man, and take him home with them to the US, but as the authorities start to doubt the fake Nicholas, suspicions arise as to the fate of the real Nicholas.
This documentary centres around extensive interviews with both the imposter and the missing boy's family, in particular his sister. The events are related chronologically, cutting between both sides, with some scenes reconstructed with actors. The interesting thing about this film is the emotional journey it takes you on. Sympathy initially rests with the missing boy's family, of course, but increasingly the imposter himself draws you in. Yes, he's a cynical manipulator, but also a damaged young man whose upbringing leads him to impersonate homeless children because a few nights in a children's home is better than his own life. As for the family - were they really just that gullible and desperate that they would take in this implausible stranger, and defend him when the authorities began to doubt? The film is enthralling in its mind-boggling-ness, but can occasionally hit the audience with the obvious stick. 8/10
A Checkout Girl's Big Adventures (Tribulations d'une caissière). When Solweig's father suffered an accident, she gave up her education to look after her younger brother, and now she earns a living on a supermarket checkout. She starts a humorous, sharp-tongued blog about the working conditions and the customers, which soon gains a strong following. As the media seek to learn the identity of the mysterious blogger, Solweig continually misses reconnecting with the man who helped her out in the snow one night.
I was hoping for something more innovative and fun than I got. The film bounces along cheerfully enough, but it's entirely too predictable, and with its Christmas setting, fairy-tale hints and unrealistically happy ending of worker solidarity, more than a little trite. 6/10 But hey, when the worst film I've seen at the festival so far this year is a 6, I'm making better choices than some years!
The Central Park Effect. New York's Central Park is a green oasis in an enormous urban desert, and so it becomes an important rest stop for millions of birds migrating along the eastern coast. On the right day in spring, there can be over 100 species of birds in the park. This film follows the park's wildlife through the seasons, along with the birdwatchers who target them all.
This was an entertaining film, with the birdwatchers trying to explain the appeal of their hobby, while admitting that some people just find them odd. The film is well edited, keeping everything zipping along, with regular smiles and laughs from the audience. And yes, I did meet some of the birdwatching folks there - it's always nice when hobbies overlap! 8/10
This film is going to be shown on HBO in July, current scheduled for Monday 16th.
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/birders-the-central-park-effect/index.html
The Central Park Effect showed together with a short film documentary about a man who put a camera on his cat to find out where it went. He put his cat-cam photos on the web, and found that he and the cat became an internet and media sensation. Also very light, fun, amusing fare, and I scored that 8/10 too.
The Imposter. A crazily unbelievable story about a French-Algerian man of distinctly Mediterranean appearance, who takes on the identity of a blond, blue-eyed Texan boy who had disappeared three years before. Yet this is a documentary, and it's true. The missing boy's family accept the man, and take him home with them to the US, but as the authorities start to doubt the fake Nicholas, suspicions arise as to the fate of the real Nicholas.
This documentary centres around extensive interviews with both the imposter and the missing boy's family, in particular his sister. The events are related chronologically, cutting between both sides, with some scenes reconstructed with actors. The interesting thing about this film is the emotional journey it takes you on. Sympathy initially rests with the missing boy's family, of course, but increasingly the imposter himself draws you in. Yes, he's a cynical manipulator, but also a damaged young man whose upbringing leads him to impersonate homeless children because a few nights in a children's home is better than his own life. As for the family - were they really just that gullible and desperate that they would take in this implausible stranger, and defend him when the authorities began to doubt? The film is enthralling in its mind-boggling-ness, but can occasionally hit the audience with the obvious stick. 8/10
A Checkout Girl's Big Adventures (Tribulations d'une caissière). When Solweig's father suffered an accident, she gave up her education to look after her younger brother, and now she earns a living on a supermarket checkout. She starts a humorous, sharp-tongued blog about the working conditions and the customers, which soon gains a strong following. As the media seek to learn the identity of the mysterious blogger, Solweig continually misses reconnecting with the man who helped her out in the snow one night.
I was hoping for something more innovative and fun than I got. The film bounces along cheerfully enough, but it's entirely too predictable, and with its Christmas setting, fairy-tale hints and unrealistically happy ending of worker solidarity, more than a little trite. 6/10 But hey, when the worst film I've seen at the festival so far this year is a 6, I'm making better choices than some years!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2012-06-01 02:49 am (UTC)And yeah, I'm guessing almost any family gets that desperate at some point.
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Date: 2012-06-01 04:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-14 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-16 01:11 pm (UTC)