EU Film Fest: DAY 1

What? Free European films at an art gallery? Mika (http://thisdidntfitmysuitcase.blogspot.com/) and I had to go.

Flyer worn out from constant reference

(The Bangkok Art and Culture Center is beautiful, by the way. And so convienient, too! Right across from MBK. More on that later.)


Day 1 for me was actually July 15, the third-to-last day of the festival. Here's the schedule of what we watched. An Italian film, a Spanish one, and two Romanian ones.

The Last Pulcinella (2009) 

Michelangelo and his family move to France. He and the old French lady who owns a run-down theatre try to stage an Italian play with the help of Italian immigrants and local French youths. Problem: The immigrants aren't liked, and they're illegal, too. Mean French police. ._.

The songs (it was sort of like a musical)--the African drums and operaish singing-- was so powerful. I got chills during the last song, seriously.

After a 10-minute break, the next movie started--

The Paper Will Be Blue (2006)

Erm.
Uh.
What? I-

To be honest, I'm not sure what this movie was about. Movies like this are why these fairs are not usually a huge hit with the regular mainstream public. I'll try to summarize in my own words. Let's see. Uh.

Some sort of Romanian political turmoil, and soldiers have to patrol the streets in groups. Costi abandons his group to go defend the TV station against the communists. Lots of shooting and dark color schemes later, the movie title of the word is said. "The paper is blue" is a soldier code word. Yeah. Uhm.

"Shut up or I'll shoot both of you!"

Mika said the movie was about was wasting time. Slow scenes and mundane conversation make you feel like you're wasting time. The best I can come up is that political turmoil, like this film, wastes your time.

Overall, the film wasn't that enjoyable, but I did learn something.

Also, I remembered some quotes that I (weakly) laughed at.

"Down with communism!" (revolutionaries on truck cheer)

"He's not an Arab, he's a gypsy!"

Boss guy: "Eat pickles to cure your hangover." Guard: "I haven't slept in 17 hours."

Celda 211 (2009)

OMGOMGOMGOMGOM THIS MOVIE THIS MOVIE. SPAZ SPAZ SPAZ. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. Mindblowing.

Juan Oliver, a noob prison guard, is stuck inside a prison when the inmates stage a violent riot. So to survive, he has to pretend to be a convict. You know what, just watch this trailer.

Imagine Prison Break with 10x the intensity. 

Anyway, the film does a great job with, well, everything, but especially with character portrayal and development. How do you make the audience root for a murderer-convict with a name like "Malamadre?" I  don't know, but Celda 211 totally did it.

You know what, I won't say any more in case I spoil something. Just go watch it already.

 Weekend With My Mother (2009)

Ai-yah. :( Ahhh, this movie. If you feel pain on behalf of the characters, then that's usually a sign of a good movie, yeah?

Luiza comes back from Spain to Romania to visit her daughter Cristina, whom she abandoned. Cristina is a teenage drug addict with a bad boyfriend and a daughter in an orphanage. Luiza has one weekend to get her daughter to change her ways.

One remarkable thing about this film that I remember very clearly was how good the mother was with the daughter. There was no overbearing overprotectiveness or meddling that the stereotypical "American Mom" has. Example:

Luiza: Is it heroin?
(Cristina starts to get upset)
Luiza: Okay, okay, we won't talk about it.

And she managed to get her daughter off drugs with that kind of speech and action. It's a little hard to explain. Sort of like a subtle, tough-love, treat-you-like-an-adult kinda relationship, I guess. I definitely recommend this.

(And because this was the second Romanian film of the day, I think it's safe for me to assume that Romanians smoke a lot!)