International films continue to shine their light on Vancouver
22 October 2008
If you’re still reeling from the end of the Vancouver International Film Festival, fear not cinephile!
Pacific Cinematheque is currently showcasing the latest in Slovenian film (until Oct 23rd) with some classic French flics up shortly. I’ve had a chance to review a couple of the Slovenian films, which you can read below.
The Vancity Theatre will be hosting the Brazillian Film Festival starting this Wednesday (Oct 22nd), continuing through the weekend. I hope to review some of these and post them on http://reellife.wordpress.com/ later this week, check it regularly….
The cinematic trip to Slovenia shows a glimpse into a young country that seems to be a major pathway for refugees. Both Guardian of the Frontier and Spare Parts used this reality as a major theme. But that is the only similarity between these two films…
Guardian of the Frontier is a magic-realist/dream-like film that cheekily impersonates the “lesbian horror flic” genre. The feminist director (Maja Weiss) makes it all work very well by adding nuances that only a woman could add to most of the subplots that explore the patriarchy that also runs rampant in that part of our planet. Even the topless shots are done tastefully and respectfully…you’d may even think that woman’s breasts were a natural part of our humanity (well, if you close your eyes to avoid billboards, newspapers, magazines, tv, etc. for a few days before and after watching the film).
The film really does well when it tries to convince us it’s a horror film…by showing the horror of a world dominated by nationalistic patriarchs. It’s actually fun and smart but I’m sure it could also be scary…
Spare Parts educated me about the trade in human organs (spare parts) while the cancer that is nuclear power lingered in the background throughout.
Unfortunately, all the main players are men and their contemporary countrymen are portrayed all too accurately (see the patriarchy rant above). Of course, even patriarchs are people too (yes, really, honest), so the film does well to show their emotional side in a realistic but almost hopeful way.
But the film doesn’t stoop into sentimentality despite the plot and shows us how resilient both humans and the systems we devise can be.
For more info and tickets, visit http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca
