TIFF Day Last (For Me)
Sep. 13th, 2007 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedPlaying catch up for the last couple of days. Festing with baby does not lend itself to easy reviewing, but here goes...
Title: A Jihad for Love
Director: Parvez Sharma
Country: U.S./UK/Germany/France/Australia
P's Rating: Not-so-good
Every year I take a flyer on a film or two, hoping it'll be good. And being me, I tend to focus on films dealing with queer issues. So I couldn't resist seeing a documentary about gay Muslims, especially one screening on September 11. I'm sure there's a good film in here somewhere, but it ain't this one. It's badly shot and seriously lacking in structure, not to mention context. (In the midst of all the imams telling various gay people that homosexuality is not allowed by the qu'ran and is punishable by death, there's a little section about a festival in northern India celebrating a 16th century prophet and his gay Hindu lover. Which is utterly fascinating, but there's absolutely nothing about how this festival is viewed within the greater Muslim or Indian community.) And really, I was mostly left wondering why most of the films subjects want to stay in a religion that seems utterly hostile to their sexuality. 'Course, I would say that, being a total secularist and all.
Title: Mad Detective
Director: Johnny To & Wai Ka Fai
Country: HK
P's Rating: Recommended
It's so nice to see Lau Ching Wan finally working again with To and Wai. He's such a good actor and does such a good job in the sort of tense cop movie To has specialized in. This film is no different. Here he plays a Hong Kong cop who's unorthodox view of the world gets him thrown off the force. (He cuts off his ear as a gift to the retiring Chief.) But two years later a young detective comes seeking his help on a case. This is a nicely twisted film, which keeps the audience guessing about whether Lau's character really does have an in on people's hidden personalities or if he's really just nuts. And the ending is a real kicker. Not the best film from any of those involved (check out The Longest Nite for truly killer Lau, and A Hero Never Dies for Lau and To together) but a really solid effort all round.
Title: The Sun Also Rises
Director: Jiang Wen
Country: China
P's Rating: Um....
I really wanted to like this, but I have to admit that I nodded off at several crucial bits and was mostly left perplexed. That said, it's lovely to look at and has performances by several actors I very much enjoy, most notably the ever wonderful Anthony Wong. But I get the impression that even if I had stayed awake, much of the relationship of the four interwoven stories within the film would have remained opaque.
Title: A Jihad for Love
Director: Parvez Sharma
Country: U.S./UK/Germany/France/Australia
P's Rating: Not-so-good
Every year I take a flyer on a film or two, hoping it'll be good. And being me, I tend to focus on films dealing with queer issues. So I couldn't resist seeing a documentary about gay Muslims, especially one screening on September 11. I'm sure there's a good film in here somewhere, but it ain't this one. It's badly shot and seriously lacking in structure, not to mention context. (In the midst of all the imams telling various gay people that homosexuality is not allowed by the qu'ran and is punishable by death, there's a little section about a festival in northern India celebrating a 16th century prophet and his gay Hindu lover. Which is utterly fascinating, but there's absolutely nothing about how this festival is viewed within the greater Muslim or Indian community.) And really, I was mostly left wondering why most of the films subjects want to stay in a religion that seems utterly hostile to their sexuality. 'Course, I would say that, being a total secularist and all.
Title: Mad Detective
Director: Johnny To & Wai Ka Fai
Country: HK
P's Rating: Recommended
It's so nice to see Lau Ching Wan finally working again with To and Wai. He's such a good actor and does such a good job in the sort of tense cop movie To has specialized in. This film is no different. Here he plays a Hong Kong cop who's unorthodox view of the world gets him thrown off the force. (He cuts off his ear as a gift to the retiring Chief.) But two years later a young detective comes seeking his help on a case. This is a nicely twisted film, which keeps the audience guessing about whether Lau's character really does have an in on people's hidden personalities or if he's really just nuts. And the ending is a real kicker. Not the best film from any of those involved (check out The Longest Nite for truly killer Lau, and A Hero Never Dies for Lau and To together) but a really solid effort all round.
Title: The Sun Also Rises
Director: Jiang Wen
Country: China
P's Rating: Um....
I really wanted to like this, but I have to admit that I nodded off at several crucial bits and was mostly left perplexed. That said, it's lovely to look at and has performances by several actors I very much enjoy, most notably the ever wonderful Anthony Wong. But I get the impression that even if I had stayed awake, much of the relationship of the four interwoven stories within the film would have remained opaque.
