10.
Infinitely Polar Bear by Maya Forbes
Infinitely
Polar Bear manages to avoid most of the pitfalls of films about a single
father taking care of his children and makes up for its flaws with an overdose
of warmth and charm. Mark Ruffalo stars opposite two superb child actresses as the bipolar former hippie Cameron. It is also nice to see Zoe Saldana play a human being
for once as Ruffalo’s ambitious ex-wife, who leaves the kids in his custody.
Writer-director Maya Forbes simply lets the cast do their thing and adds heart and excellent music to the film. There is a lot of screaming, swearing and
chaos, but even more love, in this unconventional household, which quickly grows on the audience. Infinitely
Polar Bear is a simple, fun movie, which doesn't attempt to lecture us about depression or parenthood. The sight of the incredible Hulk
jumping around in red underwear and the hilarious “The Shining”-reference are
worth the price of admission alone.
9. A Girl
Walks Home Alone at Night by Ana Lily Amirpou
This Iranian
vampire thriller was one of the most unusual and most interesting films to play
at the festival. Read my full review of this one here.
8. It
Follows by David Robert Mitchell
It Follows
is in spirit a schlocky, camp B-movie, which could easily have been made by a young
John Carpenter or Sam Raimi, with a hint of the post-modern self-awareness of
Cabin in the Woods. The film opens on a scantily dressed teenage girl sprinting
along a suburban street in complete terror, getting into a car and driving off
to the beach. The next shot shows her blood-stained body in a stomach-turning
pose. The cause of her death was by a mysterious power, which always follows its target in
a walking pace. The only way to pass this curse on to another person is by
having sex with them, which is precisely what happens to our young protagonist
Jay (Maika Monroe) after she sleeps with her boyfriend. This simple premise is
incredibly effective and the director has a lot of fun playing with our
expectations and scaring us in unusual ways. The polished cinematography and stunning
visuals (the director wanted to create a film that is simultaneously beautiful
and disturbing) make It Follows one of the best horror films of the
year.
7. Camp
X-Ray by Peter Sattler
A film about
the US-Army Guantanamo Bay detention camp was always going to stir many debates, but
this film mostly avoids controversy while still making thought-provoking
points. It pitches a young rookie-guard (Kristen Stewart once again proving her
talent) against a well-educated, talkative detainee (A Separation’s Peyman
Moaadi) in an intense psychological duel. The better part of the film’s running
time consists of the mind games and the tentative steps toward friendship between the two, which are carried out through the small window of a firmly shut cell door.
Their conversations start to raise doubts in the young soldier’s mind. Is the
imprisonment of these people the right thing to do? Is the treatment of the
detainees excessive? Is she actually one of the bad guys? There are obviously no clear cut answers to those contemplations and fortunately, the film doesn't
try to give us any. This is a very good thriller with two excellent performances and it should be the origin of quite a few fascinating pub-discussions afterwards.
6. Love is Strange by Ira Sachs
John Lithgow
and Alfred Molina as a devoted gay-couple in the latter stages of their lives –
what else do you want? After spending four decades together, Ben and George
finally get married in the film’s opening sequence. An extremely joyous
occasion, celebrated with plenty of vine, songs and laughter, which soon has
unfortunate consequences: George loses his job as a music teacher at a catholic
school and they no longer can afford to keep their apartment. The temporary
solution to this dilemma is a painful separation: Ben moves in with his nephew
and his family, whereas George pitches his tent on the couch of his former
neighbours, two gay policemen. What follows is an incredibly sweet portrait of these
two people, who cannot cope apart. The movie could not be more New York if it
tried (every character is a musician, artist, writer or filmmaker and there is
A LOT of complaining about expensive rent-prices) and the story doesn’t really
go anywhere, but there are some beautiful truths about love and companionship
to be found in this story. You really enjoy spending time with these two. Loves
isn’t strange, love is completely natural.
Part two: here
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