2010 Melbourne International Film Festival
Photo by Rohan Travellin on Flickr
One of the very few things I look forward to in winter – besides feeling no guilt about the length of my leg hairs and justifying my intake of carbs as “fuel consumption” – is the Melbourne International Film Festival. I find myself surreptitiously looking at the calendar as the event approaches and compulsively checking the street corners for my first glimpse of the MIFF guide. Or as it’s known in my house: The July Bible.
This year was no different. I took a deep breath, inhaling that all-too familiar scent of ink and anticipation, and plunged myself into the pages of the festival program, poring through the mass of films on offer. Now before I start advising you, dear reader, as to the must-sees, the don’t-sees and the I-told-you-not-to-see-it-so-share-your-trauma-with-someone-else-ees, let me say that the MIFF guide is immensely comprehensive, and it would be remiss not to at least have a medium perusal of this magnificent tome. That said, let’s go to the movies!
First, there are always a few films in the International Panorama that end up getting a cinematic release and I have spotted at least three this year: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Despicable Me and The Ghost Writer. Might I add, this is based purely on the fact that I have seen all three trailers at the cinema and could very well be proven wrong if they all fail dismally at the festival and end up in the Under $10 pile at your local video store. I’m just saying. Anyway, the crux of that missive was check the coming soon sections of the cinema websites so you don’t miss out on the once-offs.
You may or may not have heard the ruckus about Bruce LaBruce’s L.A. Zombie being banned from this year’s festival, but if you have chances are you have delighted in the newly-created genre it has spawned: gay zombie porn. The film was refused a classification exemption by The OFLC (Office of Film and Literature Classification) but fear not devotees of the weird and wacky! If you like your tongue firmly in-cheek and your women mainly nude and covered in gore, don’t miss Machete Maidens Unleashed! Following hot on the heels of MIFF 08’s Not Quite Hollywood, these 85 minutes will be filled with bosomy babes, dwarves, mutated creatures and no doubt, a boatload of politically incorrect, raucous laughter.
If you’re after something a little less gratuitous in the documentary category, there are picks aplenty this year. A Film Unfinished focuses on the longest film ever made by Nazi propaganda; Catfish tackles the perils of the current age of social networking; and love him or hate him, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel purports to show us a wholly unique side of this infamous personality. One of the more potentially contentious films on my list is The Genius and the Boys, which focuses on Careton Gajusek’s journey from Nobel Prize winner to paedophile to controversial theorist. I suspect the Coopers Festival Lounge will adequately blot out any potential trauma with their selection of red wine…
The International Panorama packs a punch this year and after many painful ponderous hours, I finally narrowed my list – down to 20. This led to further agonising moments a la Sophie’s Choice but in the end, it came down to The Kids Are Alright, Four Lions and Brotherhood. Quick summaries you say? But of course! Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are lesbians whose offspring decide to track down their babydaddydonor; terrorist hijinks with four hopeless wannabe suicide bombers; two skinheads battle to reconcile their overt homophobia as a relationship blooms between them. And people wonder why I love this festival.
While I have never seen an episode of Entourage, I do come out from under my rock often enough to know who Adrian Grenier is, and I must admit that his film Teenage Paparazzo does look like an interesting foray into the world of the celebrity snapping. The cast and producer of Peepli Live will be in attendance at the special screening of the film at the Regent Theatre. The film looks like it will be less Bollywood and more insightful, tasty satire. Finally, the winner of this year’s Cannes Palme d’Or features in this year’s festival. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, featuring a dying man, the ghost of his deceased spouse, his non-human son and a mysterious journey looks just wacky enough to be brilliant.
I could waft on for days, but you people need to do some MIFF work and I need to get some sleep before it all begins. So pick up that guide or go to www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au and sink your teeth into something cinematically tasty.
Maybe just a few more for the mix? Cowboys in Paradise, Rejoice and Shout, Black Bus, Caterpillar, 1981, The Illusionist, I Killed My Mother, The Killer Inside Me.
Aaaaand I’m done.
Happy MIFF-ing!
Oh, and go see The Rebelles at The Forum on Sunday August 6th. They’re an all girl group that cover songs from the 60’s and they are the shizz.
Jodi Rosenthal is a Melbourne-based media juggernaut who feels conflicted about her love for Jimmy Buffett but her hatred of pina coladas AND getting caught in the rain.