EU Film Fest: DAY 3

(Didn't catch the first movie, Kooky, because I was busy recharging my iPhone in an Apple store. Shamelessly. Lol)

 The Wedding Photographer (Sweden, 2009)

This was the only romantic comedy in the whole festival. For me, rom-coms have a higher bar to reach than other films because it's so easy for one to be cheesy and trite. With most rom-coms, I forget the characters' name before I'm even out of the theatre.

 But this one was the best rom-com I've watched in a long time. It had the rom. It had the com. And it also dealt with other issues (ie. social class, friendship, changing yourself, urban-vs.-rural, rich-vs.-poor, etc.) All the while making the whole audience laugh like hell. I need to get a DVD of this, seriously. Also, Astrid's clothes and hair were really pretty. How Robyn shot photos like a machine gun was also hilarious. I didn't mind the fact that I was laughing hysterically while sitting between complete strangers. Trailer here: 

When We Leave (Germany, 2010)
Completely different from the last one. By the end, I was clutching my hair into two fists and the woman behind me was sobbing.

Umay moves to Germany with her son to get away from her abusive husband. Her conservative Turkish family and husband don't believe that women should live alone because it is shameful to the family. They make life really hard for her. Reminded me a lot of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Example:

Umay: Please don't desert us! (etc. sad speech with tears)

Older brother drags her out and dashes her head against the pavement.

Trailer here.

Forbidden Fruit (Finland, 2009)

Last film of the festival. The theatre was fully packed.

Forbidden Fruit is about two girls who belong to a extremely conservative Christian group (Conservative Laestadians) in Finland . In their community, things like TV and dancing to rhythm music are forbidden. You don't say "Hello," but "God's greetings" instead. 

 The brunette, Maria, runs away to Helsinki because she wants to see the world. Her blonde friend Raakel has been instructed to "bring the lost sheep" safely back to the community. They experience a lot of firsts in the city, like dancing (gasp), boys (gasp!), and alcohol (GASP!). 

Maria: Kissing felt really good.

Raakel: REMEMBER THAT FEELING WHEN YOU BURN IN HELL!  

The movie was really funny at times; the whole audience was laughing at the teen-girl antics. But you also learn whats un/necessary in faith. (Is a bunch of clergymen constantly checking on the status of your sins necessary or not?) Anyway, I'd recommend this to anyone who has experienced--or even more importantly, is being encased in--any sort of restrictive society.


Oh, and one more thing. Those Scandinavian films: it took me a second to understand when they say "I'm going to bed, it's late" and it's still light out. 8D