FFF Review: CHATROOM

The Fantasy Filmfest this year came up with some pretty impressive highlights from the Cannes program - Kaboom, Outrage and The Silent House among others. One film however stood out, both due to its inclusion given the Cannes reception and due to the decision to make it the Centerpiece of this year. This film is Hideo Nakata's CHATROOM - according to various people on twitter "the worst film ever to be shown at Cannes" or "the worst film (the user has) ever seen)".

Given that the film was an adaptation from a play by HUNGER-writer Enda Walsh (and the script was also written by him), directed by Hideo Nakata - the guy who brought us RING and DARK WATER - and starred a variety of promising up an coming actors, it was almost unimaginable that this was the worst film to ever be shown at Cannes, let alone the worst film ever made. But it was even more curious the film was shown as the Centerpiece (maybe due to all the previous bad mouthing that went on). And oh boy...

As the film opens, we are introduced both to a setting and to a set of characters. So first the setting:

Nakata has decided to show the internet a a corridor with various side-rooms - each of them a chat room of its own. The surprising thing however is that Nakata - or rather the script - leaves most possibilities of the setting unused. We don't really see much of it apart from the aforementioned chat rooms - some of them may be darker and more morbid than others, but the ideas aren't explored in a wider context. Most of the time our protagonists sit around in their own Chatroom, talking to each other about rather superficial things. And there, we are with the characters...

All of the actors are great actors, and they all act well - with one exception: Aaron Johnson is truly terrible once he dons his Chatroom persona. He is the one that sets up the Chatroom and the one who tries to manipulate all the other characters, sure - but does he have to overact as "Mr. Evil" all of the time?

So anyways, William (Johnson) sets up a Chatroom called "Chelsea Teens", and the above cast joins rather quickly (Hannah Murray, Daniel Kaluuya and Imogen Poots are by far the most memorable here). All the characters are likable and realistic, aside from our protagonist. As the teenagers talk with each other, we become accustomed to their everyday lives, their dreams and their problems. Nothing wrong with those, apart from the fact that some of those are rather superficial. But then, after a good 30 minutes, the film shed aside all of the cast to focus on the suicidal Jim. William realizes his weakness and for no apparent reason develops the idea to make the boy kill himself because... well, why exactly? We get to know that William was, or is, suicidal himself and the son of a J. K. Rowling-esque writer who focused her book on his older brother. And from this point on, one should turn off his brain and not think anymore.

The problem here is that for a great start, CHATROOM doesn't really come up with anything substantial, logical or remotely realistic. It does neither fully explore the ideas presented visually nor the characters, and rather sets off to tell a quite boring tale of manipulation and intrigue. The Chatroom-scenes soon border on being unintended hilarious (like two of the kids kissing each other IN A CHATROOM... what did they do, type :* :* ??), and William develops more and more into the plot vessel his parents have already become (with his caring quiet mother and his raving and aggressive father).

By the end of the film, I found myself pointing angrily at the screen, shouting silent curses at the scriptwriter and the producer. Because at its core, CHATROOM is a very good film. It is well directed, acted and paced. It is even entertaining if you menage to stop to think about how stupid some of the plot is. The problem is just that we don't see a whole lot of it's qualities. However, it certainly isn't the worst film ever shown at Cannes by far - that prize may go to L'ENFANT. It rather is a clumsy try to say something important and honest about todays youth. But let's be honest - in the times of Facebook, who needs a Chatroom anymore?

Rating - 5.5/10

FFF Review: WE ARE WHAT WE ARE

There are few films that achieve what WE ARE WHAT WE ARE succeeds in. The debut feature of Jorge Michel Grau manages to combine elements of social realism with horror and poetic drama, very much like LA TETA ASUSTADA and EL NINO PEZ. However, compared to those highly flawed (and in the end boring) efforts, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is truly a breath of fresh air in the genre!

When the patriarch of a small mexican family dies, three children suddenly find themselves in the awkward position to find a "successor" among them who is worthy to be the new leader of the family. The father obviously wasn't very good - quarreling with customers and spending his money for whores, the run down watch-repair-man put his family in a dangerous position. However, without him, the family is close to their doom. The two sons of the family realize this, and with their sister, quickly come up with a mysterious theme. There is talk of a ritual, that they have to "find someone". "You know what happens if by tomorrow we don't find one?" With the sister out of the running due to her gender, the two young men have to prove that one of them is worthy to be a successor.

What then follows is a gruesome, poetic, realistic and daring chiller, filled with great symbols and unforgettable images as the boys try to "hunt" somebody down. The film is cryptical in what the main intentions of its protagonists actually are, but it is safe to say that the film deals with the problem of the patriarchic hierarchy system - present in most of southern america - and poverty. The sons both try to come up with some sort of "companion" to be the new head of the family, both failing repeatedly due to their own nature.

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE won't be a film for everybody. It is a slow paced, quiet, brooding film, that indulges both in the fantastic, the macabre and realistic, rendering it dark, daring and non-conforming. Arthouse lovers might find it as cryptic as horror fans, but ultimately, seeing how the flawed and bland LA TETA ASUSTADA was showered with praise and awards, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE with its outstanding acting, shocking yet beautifully composed images and daring central message could easily be mexico's pick for the 2011 academy awards.

Rating - 8.5/10

FFF Review: THE WILD HUNT

Every year, there's one BIG surprise at the Fantasy Filmfest - a film nobody's heard of, shot by an unknown with minimal budget, yet one of the best of the year. When I bought my tickets for THE WILD HUNT, little did I know that I was in for a BIG surprise.

As the film opens, we are introduced to a group of medieval warriors - celts, monsters, vikings - who go after their everyday business: that is, fighting, shouting and quarreling. It soon becomes apparent that something is off though, and it is revealed that the characters are all everyday guys doing Live Action Role Playing - that's right, grown adults dressing up as shamans, warriors and orks.

We then are introduced to Eric, a young man who seems to have a bad strain of luck: his father is terribly sick (probably suffering of dementia), his girlfriend has left him and on top of it all, his brother - who in LARP-world is the Viking-king Björn - has dragged her along to play a princess. Frustrated and weirded out by a guy who turns up on his doorstep dressed as a knight to collect some "mighty hammer", Eric decides to drive to the gamers camp to get his girlfriend back. However, not everything goes according to plan, and things slowly get worse.

There are many things that make THE WILD HUNT worth seeing. One of it is how Eric, who at first is a cynic who despises the role players, slowly turns into a medieval character himself, slowly adapting to his role as brother of "the Viking king" that is his brother Björn. Another reason is the hilarious dialogue and action. But the films biggest strengths lie in its story twists (which I'm not going to spoil - just as much, avoid the trailers and any kind of summary) and in its setting. Because apart from a comedy and a thriller, the film also works stunningly well as a low budget fantasy film, providing us with great characters, amazing visuals and some really bad ass action!!

One of the best films of the year, THE WILD HUNT needs to be seen on the big screen, but I assume the label might aim for a DVD release. One way or another - watch this film, tell your friends. May Ragnarok be with you!

Rating - 9.5/10

FFF Review: ENTER THE VOID

Its shadow was tall, and hard to miss. Its cry was heard through streets and bedrooms. Film cried I AM ALIVE, and Gaspar Noé listened.

There is not one single frame in this film that is wasted, no shot that lingers too long, no second that can be cut out. As brilliant, as loving, as torturous, as brutal, as honest, as unique, as through and through genius as ENTER THE VOID is has nothing been for a very long time. before I continue, I must say this: ENTER THE VOID is what the title suggests! You enter a world of its own, and even when the film is over, you are still in this world - it changes your way of consciousness, your way of seeing thins, of feeling things.

The film opens with reel 1, in which our hero Oscar is in his apartment - the entire first reel has no visible cut. We are inside of Oscar, seeing what he sees, hearing his thoughts, our vision only obscured of some 2, 3 black frames each time he blinks. We learn that Oscar lives with his sister Linda (of whose boyfriend he is jealous), that he is a drug dealer and user. As Linda leaves, he smokes a drug (is it DMT, the drug that sets free a chemical the brain produces when somebody dies?) and we gaze with him at what he experiences: flowers and insects made of light, color, energy.

His telephone rings: he has to supply somebody in a bar. He tries to come down... a friend - Alex - rings his doorbell, and he lets him in. The two talk about the tibetan book of the dead (which Alex lend to m... to Oscar) and as we... the two walk through the streets of Tokyo, we gaze at the flashing neon lights around us, ponder what dying may be like, enjoy the last haze of the high...

But once at the club, something is wrong. There are screams... police?? I flee to the toilet, grab the drugs, try to flush them but some fall around the toilet and why doesn't it flush oh shit just take the pills and throwthemintherew hilsththepolicebangsatthedo orandfuckfuckfuckWHYD OESN'TITFLUSHWhyitflushesthankgod thewindownthewindowwon'topenit'sblockedhofuckinpolicethwwin

I am shot...

I am bleeding...

shotwhatsgoingonshiwashotbytheposho...

As the first reel ends, we die. With Oscar. We are with his soul now - no more thoughts, no more blinking. Where are we? Oh, above our body... where to go... Linda!! Where is she?? We fly over Tokyo, looking for Linda... entering the strip club she dances at, flying over the strippers, gazing at their naked bodies, entering rooms, leaving them, looking for Linda, finally finding her... there she is, not answering her phone... Alex must be calling her, he got away, he saw our body, he knows... but Linda, she is busy with her boyfriend, naked now, as we come closer to her body... enter that of her boyfriend, seeing through his eyes... feeling?? Felling... I can't feel, just see...

Where to go now? Past?? Present?? Future?? It all blurs, thoughts seem to get me into the situations I am thinking of, standing behind my back, gazing over my own shoulder... still looking for Linda, where is she? Where is Alex? Flying over the city, searching, searching... because there was a pact, a pact to never leave Linda, even after death, watch over her, stay with her, protect her...

As we follow the soul, no, BECOME the soul, we do nothing more or less than overlook a life... many lives. We do not just gaze at flat psychedelic effects, drug hallucinations, naked bodies or ponder buddhist philosophies, we are living another life. We experience something that is not us, yet it becomes us. The film manages what hundreds of thousands of films tried to achieve yet failed, and succeeds. ENTER THE VOID is far from being cynical, far from being dumb, far from being style over substance - the substance is a life (tell me how anything can be more substantial?)!! And we learn how beautiful life is, how unique.

Long after the film has ended, you will still be in its world, only slowly coming down, though you will have the feeling of being in Oscar's body, of seeing the world as presented in ENTER THE VOID. 48 hours after, I've still not come down from this film, my brain still trying to cope with all the images.

But there is one thing certain to me: ENTER THE VOID is a one time experience that no other film will ever come close to. It is possibly the best film of the decade, and because I am still speechless (even though I discuss the film with dozens of people - all as amazed by the film as I was, one of them director Christopher Smith -, after getting a handshake and signatures by Gaspar Noé, after hearing what he's had to say about the film), I can only give this film the rating it deserved, the rating that fits it, the rating that my best friend wrote next to its entry in my festival program. It is as wonderful, as hilarious, as stupid, as grand as life is. There is nothing like it!!

Rating - 100000000000000/10

FFF Review: HARRY BROWN

Honestly - in between trash triller, new french extreme and arthouse horror, it has become a rare occasion to truly be shocked by a film on the Fantasy Filmfest. That hasn't got anything to say about the quality about the films that are shown, but rather about their emotional construction. Characters have to be likeable so we care about them, the pace has to be right so the violence surprises and strikes us, the plot has to be so well constructed we forget we see a construct.

One of those rare occasions of a truly surprising, disturbing and haunting film is HARRY BROWN. The feature film debut by Daniel Barber surprises with brilliant cinematography, a haunting atmosphere, brilliant performances and Michael Caine in one of his very best roles. The opening - which I am not going to spoil and which, surprisingly, has nothing to do with the plot - is one of the most disturbing and gut wrenching scenes I have ever seen on the silver screen, and something I won't forget for a long time.

In the beginning of the film, we are quickly introduced to Harry Brown, an old man living somewhere in a bad neighborhood in London. We learn that his very sick wife is in the hospital, that his daughter died at the age of 13 and that his only friend and companion is stalked by a brutal teenage gang. A few days later, his wife has died, and the police knock on his door - his friend has been murdered by the gang that tormented him.

At this point of the film, we feel genuine sympathy with Harry, as he's lost everything left to him. Even worse, he has to watch as his neighborhood slowly transgresses into a battlefield of teenage violence. And so, Harry Brown makes the decision to do something.

What follows is one of the most dark, cynical and brutal films in recent years. Reminiscent of DEATH WISH or SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, Barber's debut feature succeeds in both shocking and gripping the audience. Maybe the best british film of the year (I'll reserve this decision until I've seen the also lauded SHANK), HARRY BROWN is a definite must-see for every fan of thrillers, Michael Caine and british film in general.

Rating - 9.5/10

FFF Review: MONSTERS

It is always a joy to watch a unique, imaginative and daring film that 10 years ago would not have existed due to the high price of film equipment. Funding can be a pain in the ass (especially if you aim for a genre film, and ESPECIALLY if you aim for a genre film that breaks the genre's rules), so it's truly refreshing to see a film shot for approx. 8000$ in mexico, with two actors, dozens of voluntaries, a cheap camera and a 35mm filter.

A lot has been said about MONSTERS, how unusual the film is, how dedicated the director and how daring his work schedule: Gareth Edwards drove to mexico with two actors to shoot a love story in an alien/monster infested zone. As mentioned before, he had only a camera, a 35mm filter, a mike, and a van. Everybody apart from the two main actors are genuine mexican people going about their everyday work (acting is reduced to a minimum, with few lines spoken aside from the protagonists).

Instead of focusing on the monsters and their attacks, Edwards set out to explore the rich landscape of human emotion. As the two protagonists get to know each other better, so do we. In this aspect, the film is a lot closer to Lost in Translation or Y Tu Mama Tambien. However, it has to be noted that the visuals are absolutely stunning, the (very well done) CGI and special effects are gorgeous and the above pictured scene that takes place in a destroyed village is absolutely haunting nonetheless.

So what exactly is MONSTERS? It could be seen as an allegory for post 9/11 or post Katrina america, in which couples are not only faced with their internal struggles, but also the sudden realization that the world around them is crumbling. And this is where MONSTERS packs its punches: it makes the protagonists (and us) realize that life is too brittle to waste the chances that are given to us, because in a few more hours, we might be confronted with a lot bigger problems than that our camera was stolen, our food too salty or our partner upset about something we've done.

MONSTERS is not perfect - it is very slow, though could have lasted for another 30 minutes to convey the inner life of the characters - but it is an absolutely essential and stunning film that gives the promise of a brilliant director who's just delivered his debut feature.

Rating - 9/10