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TIFF 2010, Day Five
Have skipped over Day Four, since that was the Sweetie's full day at the fest. (Day Four for me was spent pleasantly hanging out with the Ros.)
Title: Vanishing on 7th Street
Director: Brad Anderson
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Pretty good
A power failure one evening results in people disappearing, leaving only their clothes. Only a handful of people who managed to avoid the shadows survived, and the light is fading fast. An intriguing little horror film that depends more on creepiness than gore, though it's not quite as flesh-crawlingly scary as it could have been. (I quite happily walked home alone at midnight after seeing it without a qualm, and I'm pretty much a wimp where scary movies are concerned.) And also, while I despair when horror movies finally show the monster or offer and explanation, and only expose how stupid they are, this one goes too far in the other direction, giving us no explanation at all. It's an interesting strategy, but ultimately unsatisfying.
Title: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Director: Werner Herzog
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
A documentary showing the paleolithic paintings in the Chauvet caves, discovered in the mid-'90s. Access to the caves has been restricted to a few researchers, for a few weeks a year to preserve the paintings. (The paintings in the Lascoux caves discovered in the '40s have been nearly destroyed by the breath of visitors.) But Herzog finagled permission to film the caves and the paintings from the French government. The result is an extraordinary document of a treasure only a handful of people will ever be able to see in person. And Herzog being Herzog, he also manages to delve into the obsessions of the scientists and historians studying the paintings. And to throw in radioactive, mutant, albino crocodiles at the end.
Title: Vanishing on 7th Street
Director: Brad Anderson
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Pretty good
A power failure one evening results in people disappearing, leaving only their clothes. Only a handful of people who managed to avoid the shadows survived, and the light is fading fast. An intriguing little horror film that depends more on creepiness than gore, though it's not quite as flesh-crawlingly scary as it could have been. (I quite happily walked home alone at midnight after seeing it without a qualm, and I'm pretty much a wimp where scary movies are concerned.) And also, while I despair when horror movies finally show the monster or offer and explanation, and only expose how stupid they are, this one goes too far in the other direction, giving us no explanation at all. It's an interesting strategy, but ultimately unsatisfying.
Title: Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Director: Werner Herzog
Country: U.S.
P's Rating: Recommended
A documentary showing the paleolithic paintings in the Chauvet caves, discovered in the mid-'90s. Access to the caves has been restricted to a few researchers, for a few weeks a year to preserve the paintings. (The paintings in the Lascoux caves discovered in the '40s have been nearly destroyed by the breath of visitors.) But Herzog finagled permission to film the caves and the paintings from the French government. The result is an extraordinary document of a treasure only a handful of people will ever be able to see in person. And Herzog being Herzog, he also manages to delve into the obsessions of the scientists and historians studying the paintings. And to throw in radioactive, mutant, albino crocodiles at the end.