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2009 Los Angeles Film Festival

Pretty bad line up this year. What to see besides 35 rhums and perhaps Still Walking or United Red Army?

I might love LEE Yoon-ki's My Dear Enemy even more than Kore'eda's Still Walking. Two of my favorite recent films.

Michael Kerpan wrote:I might love LEE Yoon-ki's My Dear Enemy even more than Kore'eda's Still Walking. Two of my favorite recent films.

Really? It sounded cool and earned a comparison to one of my favorite contemporary movies, Lost in Translation, so I may just check it out, thanks.

james wrote:

Michael Kerpan wrote:I might love LEE Yoon-ki's My Dear Enemy even more than Kore'eda's Still Walking. Two of my favorite recent films.

Really? It sounded cool and earned a comparison to one of my favorite contemporary movies, Lost in Translation, so I may just check it out, thanks.

Wakamatsu's United Red Army would be at the top of my list having already seen Still Walking, which I much preferred to My Dear Enemy.

My Dear Enemy compared favorably to Lost in Translation?

In the 'International Showcase,' Adhen is very good, and I've heard that dos Santos' Unmade Beds is very good (his Glue is a gem).

james wrote:What to see besides 35 rhums and perhaps Still Walking or United Red Army?

Our Beloved Month of August has been picking up astonishingly good notices, so you'd probably be a fool to miss it...

kinjitsu wrote:My Dear Enemy compared favorably to Lost in Translation?

For what it may be worth, I liked My Dear Enemy quite a bit more than Lost in Translation. It's a terrific film.

Full disclosure: I am a very big fan of both LEE Yoon-ki and JEON Do-yeon.

fiddlesticks, I was just fishing for clarification from james.

Kinjitsu -- What did you not like about My Dear Enemy?

foggy eyes wrote:

james wrote:What to see besides 35 rhums and perhaps Still Walking or United Red Army?

Our Beloved Month of August has been picking up astonishingly good notices, so you'd probably be a fool to miss it...

I second this recommendation. Haven't seen it yet but I've been anticipating it for months. Word on this one really is that good (though here of course I'm not including everyone as there were reports earlier this year that Academy members, who were screening it for possible inclusion in the Best Foreign Film category, walked out in droves and in much consternation apparently).

kinjitsu wrote:

james wrote:

Michael Kerpan wrote:I might love LEE Yoon-ki's My Dear Enemy even more than Kore'eda's Still Walking. Two of my favorite recent films.

Really? It sounded cool and earned a comparison to one of my favorite contemporary movies, Lost in Translation, so I may just check it out, thanks.

My Dear Enemy compared favorably to Lost in Translation?

The review in question just compared it to that, and said it's "able to say so much with so little". It's some website called lunapark6, but I didn't find many reviews for this one.

foggy eyes wrote:Our Beloved Month of August has been picking up astonishingly good notices, so you'd probably be a fool to miss it...

A fool, huh? I'll certainly consider it.

John Cope wrote:I second this recommendation. Haven't seen it yet but I've been anticipating it for months. Word on this one really is that good (though here of course I'm not including everyone as there were reports earlier this year that Academy members, who were screening it for possible inclusion in the Best Foreign Film category, walked out in droves and in much consternation apparently).

Considering what kind of stuff usually wins at the Academy Awards, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

james wrote:...I didn't find many reviews for [My Dear Enemy].

Here's Darcy Paquet's review from Koreanfilm.org.

fiddlesticks wrote:

james wrote:...I didn't find many reviews for [My Dear Enemy].

Here's Darcy Paquet's review from Koreanfilm.org.

Thanks for that, fiddlesticks, I will have to give it a fair read when I'm not terribly tired.

Has anybody here seen Los Bastardos yet? It's receiving many comparisons to Bruno Dumont and was in Un certain regard in Cannes 2008, so I will probably try to see it.

james wrote:Has anybody here seen Los Bastardos yet? It's receiving many comparisons to Bruno Dumont and was in Un certain regard in Cannes 2008, so I will probably try to see it.

I have. I guess the Bruno Dumont comparison is not completely out of place but for it to be believable it'd have to be more like if Dumont directed Funny Games

Michael Kerpan wrote:What did you not like about My Dear Enemy?

Didn't say I disliked it, but much preferred Still Walking, which at least resonated for me and was a relief after the disappointing Hana yori mo naho.

I've read good things about Gomorra screenwriter Gianni di Gregorio's new film, Mid-August Lunch, but they were written by Italians, so take that with a (biased) pinch of salt.

kinjitsu wrote:

Michael Kerpan wrote:What did you not like about My Dear Enemy?

Didn't say I disliked it, but much preferred Still Walking, which at least resonated for me and was a relief after the disappointing Hana yori mo naho.

Loved Still Walking, but also loved Hana yori mo naho (which didn't disappoint me at all).

I rank Kore'eda's film and Lee's film as pretty equal -- I would only choose between them if physically compelled. ;~}

Feel compelled!

james wrote:Has anybody here seen Los Bastardos yet? It's receiving many comparisons to Bruno Dumont and was in Un certain regard in Cannes 2008, so I will probably try to see it.

According to Escalante, The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael is one of the biggest cinematic influences on this film. The opening shot is certainly a homage.

kinjitsu wrote:Feel compelled!

Nope. My theory is that I look for films to "love". If I decide I love a film, it means I find something uniquely valuable (and pleasing -- in one way or another). Once, I put a film in the loved class, I rarely worry much about rating it against other loved films. I have some honorary favorites (for situations when a trotting out a few top favorites is obligatory), but that's usually as far as I go. (Perhaps a bit inconsistently, I will (sort of) grade films of a particular director from time to time).

Since Still walking and Dear Enemy both made it (easily) into my loved class, I'm not playing favorites.

That was a teaser, Michael, hence the wink.

Anyhow, if he's at all interested in Koreeda, I highly recommend that james see Still Walking .

james wrote:What to see besides 35 rhums and perhaps Still Walking or United Red Army?

Crude Oil. Be sure you get there on time, no one will be admitted to the theater after the first seven hours.

(In all seriousness I would recommend seeing at least part of it -- Wang's West of the Tracks was staggering in more ways than one, and the chances to see his films in the U.S. don't come around very often. I don't know how the LAFF will be setting it up, but apparently other festival screenings of Crude Oil have been a sort of installation setting where people can come and go as they please.)

I'm going to see some docs. I counted at least ten films in my first pass through the list of films that i'd like to see.

My organization, Filmforum, is co-sponsoring the Crude Oil screening. It will be free at some other venue, and the schedule lists it as screening over 4 days, but I still don't know what the other venue is.

Indeed--James, I don't know what you consider a good line-up, but there are at least a dozen films at first glance that I consider must-sees this year (not bad for a smaller festival), and a lot more I still have to research:

-Musica Nocturna
-The Silence Before Bach
-United Red Army
-Turistas (Alicia Scherson)
-A Week Alone (Celina Munga)
-Elementary Training for Actors (Martin Rejtman)
-My Dear Enemy
-Our Beloved Month of August
-Crude Oil
-35 Shots of Rum
-Still Walking

The emphasis on Mexican documentaries sounds fascinating.

Adam wrote:I'm going to see some docs. I counted at least ten films in my first pass through the list of films that i'd like to see.

My organization, Filmforum, is co-sponsoring the Crude Oil screening. It will be free at some other venue, and the schedule lists it as screening over 4 days, but I still don't know what the other venue is.

OK, it's actually playing as an installation at the UCLA Hammer Museum, gallery 6, from 11:30 am to 6:30 pm as follows:

June 24 - part 1
June 25 - part 2
June 26 - part 1
June 27 - part 2
And it's free.
So I expect at least six hours of viewing from all the LA board denizens!