Movies I watched:
1 — King of All The World: Musical, great dancing and acting.
2 — Hive: Based on real incidents. Amazed by the movie; awed by the ladies who were the inspiration for the story. One of my favourites.
3 — I’m Your Man: A funny romantic take on artificial intelligence. Imagine the lady from the movie Her is a guy and is in flesh.
4 — Shoebox: Another amazing movie. Most Indian movies screened were good. Shows the UP not shown in news.
5 — Playground: One feature this IFFK were the great movies where children are protagonists. One of my favourites.
6 — Costa Brava, Lebanon: A family leaving Beirut, living in isolation. Dad and mom were protestors earlier now become cynics. Forced to move back to Beirut for many reasons.
7 — Moon, 66 Questions: Hmmm. That’s all.
8 — Clara Sola: I am sucker for magical realism. The movie has great performances by everyone. Won the award in IFFK.
9 — Into The Mist: Pretentious. Got in seeing the trailer. Stayed for the a/c.
10 — Pebbles: Another great Indian feature.
11 — Rehana: Says a lot without saying. Great acting all around.
12 — Pilgrims: Protagonists go back to the town where someone close to them have been murdered.
13 — Bergman Island: Couple goes to the island where Bergman lived. Everyone except the tourists hate Bergman, apparently he was an asshole in real life, so they say.
14 — Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn: A great weird Romanian movie. A favourite. There was a section in between which felt like a bit like a Galeano book.
15 — The Worst person in the World: One of my favourites. A true to self kind of movie.
16 — The Wanderlust of Apu: What’s remaining of Bandhopadhay’s Aparajito, a fourth and final part of Apu Trilogy. Got in for that. Couldn’t even stay for the a/c. After an hour or so felt that the sweltering heat of Tvm is better than staying in.
17 — Taipei Story: There is something about a movie with great visuals. Also, no digital can match the feel of a movie shot in film.
18 — The Tale of King Crab: Ah, well.
19 — Adieu Godard: Another pretentious movie. Could have been called Adieu Venu chettan and title would have been apt still. Again, stayed for the a/c.
20 — Anatolian Leopard: Slow movie. Great acting. But had a small fight with the volunteer dude. I feel sad for him now that the festival is over who will he show off his ego to?
21 — Boomba Ride: Another movie with child actors. Shot with amateur actors from the Mising tribe. Great performance for a crew who were mostly first timers.
22 — When Pomegranates Howl: A film about one instance of many civilian murders committed by the western countries led by the US, this one by the Australian defence forces. Great visuals. Was it shot on film?
23 — Vengeance is mine, all others pay cash: Magical realism. I am sold. Amazing movie altogether. Favourite.
24 — Parallel Mothers: Talks about motherhood. Talks about the trauma of a rape survivor. Talks about the murders by the Falangist fascists and the trauma of the survivors wanting to find the remains of their loved ones.
25 — The Knot: Yet another great Indian feature. Talks about the situation of marginalised people in UP through the eyes of a privileged family.
26 — Let it be Morning: When the first line in the title credit tells you that the movie is funded by the Israeli government, you have an inkling of what could come next. A story where the IDF people are peace loving guitar flaunting book reading pacifists and the Arabs all goondas and murderers. Wah!
27 — Petite Maman: Again a movie with child protagonists. Magical realism. Beautiful acting. One of my favourites.
28 — White Building: Movie about the dislocation of families from the inner city in Phnom Penh.
29 — Dug Dug: A fun story loosely based on the story of Bullet baba. Great colour tones. Great acting.
30 — Dostojee: Story of the friendship of two kids living in rural West Bengal, near the Bangladeshi border played out in the background of rising communal tensions post the demolition of Babri masjid.
31 — You Resemble Me: Story based on the Bataclan concert hall bombings in Paris. One of my favourites.
32 — Compartment No 6: A Finnish exchange student travels to Murmansk in train during winter. Her coupe mate is a weird Russian whom she finds irritating at first but then through the course of the journey an uncanny friendship blooms. One of my favourites.
33 — The Brittle Thread: Story about the friendship between a Muslim weaver and a Jewish tourist told in the background of the Islamophobic Varanasi of today. One of my favourites.
