Saturday August 1 2009

LOVE EXPOSURE
5/10
I've always thought that Japanese culture is about as alien as you could find compared to that of the West, and this film couldn't come from anywhere else. It's a four hour marathon that amongst other plot points includes a Japanese boy who is trying to find a girl that is his 'virgin mary' by using martial arts moves to take upskirt photos of girls. Add priests, cults, cross dressing and the severing of at least one penis, and there you go. I walked at the 2.5 hour point having had my fill, believing that I'd seen as much as was needed. After consulting with a couple of others who made it through to the end, it appears that I was right :).

AMREEKA
7/10
A fish out of water story about a mother and teenage son who move to America from Palestine. It's a comedy/drama and never hits an extremely serious or overly dramatic note, but does provide some nice greys in the characters. For example, even the school principal makes mistaken generalisations about the mother, despite his best intentions.

AN EDUCATION
7/10
A highly polished film set in 1960s London. I wanted to see this mainly because the screenplay was done by Nick Hornby, and in my opinion, he's done some great books (High Fidelity, Fever Pitch) amongst some duds (How to Be Good). The story centres around a young girl in her last year of high school who has plans to go to Oxford. She begins to question these plans when meeting a playboy roughly twice her age who introduces her to a world of art and culture, which up to then, she'd only experience through books. I had a couple of problems with believability of some of the plot points, but overall enjoyed it. If you liked the Gilmore Girls, you may enjoy it, too. An intro and Q&A was done by the star actress, Carey Mulligan, and credit must go to her for one of the most articulate and to-the-point introductions I've seen at the festival.