2012 NZ International Film Festival

If you care to review some of my previous posts, you will note that in some of them, I have pointed out the fact that New Zealand is mind-bottlingly behind the times in certain technological areas. Not that big a deal really, and frankly, not all that surprising when you look at where New Zealand is in relation to ANYTHING else - goddamn far away. So, the unreliability of the internet, something that is taken for granted in North America, isn't that shocking. Despite this difficulty, however, one thing NZ does not lag behind in is MOVIES (not counting Oamaru). When I moved here, I was expecting to encounter major delays in seeing big-time movies, mainly due to the fact that we're way down near Antarctica, not exactly a bastion of cinemophiles (not a real word, but you get the idea). Imagine my surprise when i got to see THE film event of 2012, The Dark Knight Rises, BEFORE all of my Canada-based friends (SPOILER ALERT: Snape kills Dumbledore Alfred is a BOSS) - finally, a benefit to living in the future.

In addition to not being years behind on the cinema scene, NZ actually has quite an impressive film scene/culture/community, which is likely a driving force behind the solid lineup at the NZ International Film Festival. There are a series of these festivals across the country, showing movies from all over world, and fortunately for me, one of the locations for the festival was Dunedin. Now, being a regular human being, I like movies, so I took advantage of the festival a number of times, and after the jump, you can read my arbitrary and non-sensical reviews of the movies I saw. ACTION! (movie joke!)

Opening night of the festival saw a screening of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom at the Regent Theatre in the Octagon. The Regent, rather unassuming from street-side, is an absolutely stunning building on the inside. It's got an art-deco (or what I imagine is art-deco) interior, and is a great example of a classic, old-timey theatre. The venue itself added quite a lot to the atmosphere of opening night, and there was even a RED CARPET outside, presumably for people more famous than me (I estimate I was the 12th most famous person there. I, after all, HAVE A BLOG). The movie itself was really enjoyable, and, so I was told, follows along with Anderson's general movie-making style: some off-kilter humour, interesting camera/framing work and a Bill Murray appearance. The movie itself is set in 1965 New England, and follows two 12-year old kids, Suzy and Sam, as they run away together (from home and scout camp respectively) and attempt to hide out in the wilderness of the island on which they live. The story revolves around Suzy and Sam's budding relationship, and despite the main plot point revolving around the love lives of two 12 year olds, the movie actually works quite well. Moonrise Kingdom has a charming and rather whimsical feel, and with great performances from Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward (Sam and Suzy), Bruce Willis (the only cop on the island) and Edward Norton (Sam's scout master), is a movie that I would recommend seeing. Overall, 3 and a half Zombie Bill Murrays out of 5.

What a man, what a movie (note: ZBM does not actually appear
in Moonrise Kingdom)

The next film I saw was one that I wasn't too sure about going in. Directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain and starring Gael Garcia Bernal (best known for his multiple portrayals of Che Guevara), No focuses on a young advertising man and his work on a quasi-political campaign. The film is set in Chile in the late 1980's, and Bernal's character Rene is asked to work on the campaign for the "No" portion of the plebiscite (spelled it right the first time!) of whether to keep dictator General Augusto Pinochet in power. The film is based on true events, and despite what could be considered rather heavy subject material, the movie doesn't get bogged down with political commentary, instead focusing on the human aspect of the plebiscite (spelled it wrong this time?) and how working against the government impacts Rene's life. The film is quite funny at times and keeps a light tone throughout, as we see Rene and the rest of the "No" campaign overcome long odds to SPOILER ALERT bring about major political changes. That, and the jingle for the "No" side is ridiculously catchy. I wan't really sure what to expect going in and came out pleasantly surprised, and overall I give it 7 Mimes out of 11 (you'll have to see it to get the Mime reference).

Sorry for the nightmare fuel

The third and final (to this point anyway, the festival's on for a few more days) film I saw was the Danish comedy KLOVN (anglicized as KLOWN). I had massively high expectations going into this one, as the film had numerous positive reviews, being compared favourably to smash hit comedies like The Hangover. Thankfully, for the most part anyway, KLOVN delivered on those expectations. The movie itself is a spinoff of a popular Danish television comedy, and stars two comedians, Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen. The story starts as creatively named characters Frank and Casper are planning to head out into the Danish wilderness on a canoe trip dubbed by Casper as "The Tour de Pussy". However, just prior to departure, Frank's relationship with his girlfriend is thrown into chaos with her announcement that she is pregnant. She is (rightly) concerned about Frank's ability to raise a child, and in order to prove that he indeed has "fatherhood potential", Frank kidnaps his 13 year old nephew, Bo, and forcibly brings him along on the trip. Without giving any more of the plot away, hilarity ensues. While perhaps not as "in your face" as The Hangover, KLOVN really is a hilarious movie, using Frank's social awkwardness and (at the risk of sounding like a 60 year old woman) a sequence of over-the-top raunchiness quite effectively. It certainly was my favourite of the three films I saw, and I highly recommend seeing it (the ending sequence being particularly excellent). The rating? 15 inappropriate pancakes out of 19 mini liquor bottles.

#1 search result for "inappropriate pancakes". SCANDALOUS! 

There you go. Some film reviews. Who's have thunk it? Until next time.

Dave