Michael Gillespie finds a few gems at the film festival while fighting a hangover and taking a few leaps of faith.
I write this with a killer hangover (last night’s Future My Love concert/party is to blame for that) but other than that I have very little to complain about. Tuesday turned out to be a festival highlight; with Future My Love and the late night shocks of Kotoko (we’re talking hardcore late night shocks!) providing two strong contenders for film of the fest (see the vodcast for my verdict). The day began however with two films that just about pipped those though: Peter Strickland’s extraordinary Berberian Sound Studio and Yeun Sang-ho’s shattering The King of Pigs.
Following Toby Jones’ timid sound designer as he embarks on his first horror film in 70s Italy, Strickland’s follow-up to Katalin Varga sees him emerge as one of the UK’s most exciting and ambitious filmmakers. A Polanskian comedy, a Lynchian nightmare, a behind the scenes expose and a deconstruction of Giallo (actually, dissection might be a more appropriate word), it also the most philosophical and formal exploration of sound since The Conversation. Jones, typically, is wonderful.
After the Strickland film I decided to roll the dice and pick my next choice of film at random. The film was The King of Pigs and it proved why this strategy can pay off big time. A beautifully designed animation from South Korea, it proves after the likes of Persepolis and Chico and Rita that animated films for adults are far too rare a breed. Dealing as it does with the horrors of school bullying and its long-term consequences, this is an original, unpredictable, moving and shocking piece of work. Occasionally resembling a prison picture, it takes moments and scenarios often portrayed as comical (in say, The Inbetweeners) and turns them into heart-in-mouth gasps for air. It also points to the problem of bullying as something far bigger than schoolyard pranks; as an endemic poison of the class system and the political and corporate world.
As for Wednesday, my film highlight was undeniably Gabe Torres’ hugely entertaining B movie Brake, which deserves to be bigger than both Phone Booth and Buried, and the best film you will ever see set entirely in the boot of a car. After that, there was the excellent tango infused Future My Love score recital, where I not only confused the accordion player for an old friend of mine, but also introduced him to the joys of YMO and Ryuichi Sakamoto!
Now to prepare for the big quiz tonight. If my hangover will allow me to stand up from this computer, that is.
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