My 2016 Sydney Film Festival Experience: Ongoing

Only recently have I indulged my self in what cinema can offer and because of that I missed out on going to SFF 2014. So when SFF 2015 came around I was pumped. I wasn't as pumped when I found out about the classification rules (all films 18+, unless noted). So I could only see four new films plus three Ingmar Bergman ones but I enjoyed watching films with such large devoted audiences (AKA the true cinema experience). Therefore knowing I would be 18 for this year's festival and that I would be in an educational hiatus, I knew this was the year to really smash out as many films as I could (30 in fact).

30 films is a lot if you hadn't noticed, especially over the 11 days. So to record my time at SFF, I'll do a ongoing tabulation of my time. I'll write basic one/two paragraph reviews here, post links to my full reviews for the movies, talk about the short films I see and more.

Wednesday 8th -

Born to be Blue, Neon Bull

Born to be Blue - While it doesn't seem to hide anything from the harsh experiences of Chet Baker and his career, too many scenes drag on and is in desperate need of a re-write in the dialogue department. Ethan Hawke however is great as always by bringing Chet Baker's mannerisms and looks to life. (7/10)

Neon Bull - Neon Bull is an odd film, but you can read my review here to see why it's an essential art house movie. (9/10)

Thursday 9th -

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, Certain Women, The Eyes of my Mother

Lo and Behold - While not a groundbreaking documentary like The Act of Killing or Tehran Taxi, Herzog still gives us an entertaining look, sometimes sad, look into the internet. Herzog talks about everything from the creation of the internet to self driving cars to internet addiction and the internet on Mars. Also after watching this you can tell that Werner Herzog has a sense of humor. (9/10)

Certain Women - A movie with three plots always runs the risk of some being more interesting than others and unfortunately it's done here. The first one with Laura Dern is good and it might improve upon revisits, the second with Michelle Williams is the weakest link in the movie but the last one is the best part by far. With Lily Gladstone and Kirsten Stewart, it will leave an impression on you and if the whole movie had just been that plot line it probably would've been one of my favorite movies of not only this year but the last couple as well. (8/10)

The Eyes of my Mother - A horror film that is short in run time but still offers many nightmares. My review here. (10/10)

Friday 10th -

Julieta, Aquarius, Under the Shadow

Julieta - Once again Pedro Almodovar knocks it out of the park and it's another story of scale both emotionally and time. (9/10)

Aquarius - Lead by it's Oscar worthy lead performance in Sônia Braga, Aquarius just needed better pacing and a better directing effort. (6/10)

Under the Shadow - The second Iranian horror movie after A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is an underwhelming one. When so many great horror films don't use jump scares to frighten you, this one slowly lead it self down that path when the first 30 mins of the film were actually interesting as they set up the story. (6/10)

Saturday 11th -

The Commune, Mustang, High-Rise, Maggie's Plan

The Commune - While it didn't hit the heights of Thomas Vinterberg's 'The Hunt' it was a vast improvement over 'Far From the Madding Crowd'. The story started out a happy one and descends into a sad one and I wish the whole movie was like the first half. (7/10)

Mustang - The movie that I've been waiting months to see after its Oscar nomination earlier this year hit SFF and I'm glad the wait was worth it. While it may speak to female audiences more (because the main group of sisters are raised to be housewives) anyone can understand the themes of oppression and revolution. Full review here (9/10)

High-Rise - The movie that is based off from 1975, shot in 2015 but made for 2055. High-Rise is so ahead of it's time that most people will be disappointed with it. However for the people who stick with it will see a true directorial vision present that so few directors aspire to, let alone think of aiming for. Full review here. (10/10)

Maggie's Plan - Funnier than you think this sort of ensemble rom-com movie is lead by the amazing Greta Gerwig and stars Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Wallace Shawn and Travis Fimmel. (7/10)

Sunday 12th -

It's Only the End of the World, Raging Bull, The Lure

It's Only the End of the World - There aren't many people who are as big of fans of Xavier Dolan as I am and with that it saddens me to say that this film was a disappointment. The character are never fleshed out and the only time I felt like I was watching a Dolan film was the flashback montages. The whole movie is just a mess. (5/10)

Raging Bull - While I love some other Scorsese films (Taxi Driver and The Departed) this one seems like it finishes about 30 minutes before the movie ends. However I can only praise the boxing scenes in the movie. Each scene is done differently to one another and the editing and sound mixing are great. (7/10)

The Lure - Who knows if this film is ever going to come out in Australia at the cinemas? But it would be hard to market a mermaid-musical from Poland. It is as ridiculous as it sounds and at points it goes a bit over the top in terms of style but t rest of the time makes it a perfect midnight movie. (8/10)

Monday 13th -

Ten Years, A War, Letters from War, Demolition

Ten Years - Ten Years is a film that was very controversial in China upon its release because of its depiction of what China could be in ten years time. The movie is split up into five smaller short films but the problem is that apart from giving an opinion on what is wrong with China and what will cause in the future there's no other reason to watch it. Not a single of the five short films manage to be more than dull. (4/10)

A War - This is third foreign film Oscar nominee I have from the last Oscar ceremony and a part from one maybe two films of the best nominees the foreign films are all of a high caliber. A War is obviously a war film but it ends up being court procedural in the end. The two parts of the film very nicely together and the characters, even supporting ones are well written. (9/10)

Letters from War - This film won't be for most people because there is more narration than dialogue in this film, like a Terrence Malick film.The film is set during Portuguese colonial war, which when the director come up on stage to introduce, said was an event that is being forgotten. The story however is between a Portuguese army doctor and his wife and the narration comes form the wife reading the letters. The movie has some amazing black and white cinematography but it's pacing lets the movie down quite a bit. (7/10)

Demolition - I can see why critics haven't been to big on this film but it's not that bad. It's lead by the always great Jake Gyllenhaal who is supported by Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper. After the death of his wife Gyllenhaal's character is hungry at the hospital and when purchasing M&M's in the vending machine they get stuck so he writes to the company to complain but he writes his whole back story into the letter. He is then contacted by the customer service from the company (Naomi Watts) and a friendship blossoms between the two and her son. The film does lack emotionally compared to other Jean-Marc Vallee films but it's still an entertaining watch. (7/10)

Tuesday 14th -

The Childhood of a Leader, Paterson

The Childhood of a Leader - While it features less Robert Pattinson (I wanted to see if he can act well in indie films) then what it would have you think this is a movie by a director years ahead of his age (27) and might be directing masterpieces before we know it, just if his next feature improves (a fair bit) in the dialogue and story departments. (6/10)

Paterson - This Jim Jarmusch is about a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey, who is named Paterson and who is also a poet. The film has so much charm to it, it's hard not fall in love with it. (10/10)

Thursday 16th -

Apprentice, Captain Fantastic

Apprentice - While it does take a strong stance on the death penalty the movie fails to reach the emotional heights that the premise promises, probably due to it's bland script and directing. (5/10)

Captain Fantastic - After premiering at Sundance and then Cannes (where it won Best Director: Un Certain Regard) Captain Fantastic looked to be another great Sundance breakout and thankfully it was thanks to it's lead performance from Viggo Mortensen. Full review here. (10/10)

Friday 17th -

Fire at Sea, Personal Shopper

Fire at Sea - Once again the Berlin Film Festival Jury has made a sensible decision about who the top prize goes to (unlike the last two Cannes and last Venice film festivals). Fire at Sea in an eye opening movie into the way of live of the Italian island of Lampedusa, the front line of the European migrant Crisis. The documentary manages to be heart felt and comedic when it needs to be as well. (9/10)

Personal Shopper - While the first screening of this new Kirsten Stewart movie made headlines when it was 'booed' at Cannes, I think it's going to receive a warmer reception once more people get to see it. While the mixture of a medium waiting to be contacted by her dead brother and the Paris fashion world maybe at times a bit jarring, it's still worth seeing. (8/10)

Saturday 18th -

Everybody Wants Some!!, The Handmaiden

Everybody Wants Some!! - Richard Linklater had a lot of pressure with this film. He's coming off Before Midnight and Boyhood and this movie also represents a spiritual sequel to both Boyhood and Dazed and Confused. Thankfully the movie lives up to his talent that he's showed with previous films and is hands down my equal favorite film of the festival (keep reading to find out what the other is). (10/10)

The Handmaiden - The new film from Oldboy helmer, Park Chan-Wook, might be what you expect (and even predictable at points) but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment from watching a very entertaining Korean-Erotic-Thriller. Like The Lure, this is a great film to watch late at night. (9/10)

Sunday 19th -

Sing Street, Gimme Danger, Swiss Army Man, Toni Erdmann

Sing Street - Admittedly I'm not too big on musicals but I decided to give Sing Street a go and my opinion of musicals is still the same. While the film contains some good numbers the movie feels off in some scenes because of its length, writing or editing. The movie might receive some Oscar attention for its original songs but don't expect anything more than that. (6/10)

Gimme Danger - This new doco from Jim Jarmusch (Paterson) tells the story of Iggy Pop and The Stooges but if you're not a fan of either (Jarmusch or Stooges) it won't provide you much and is easily miss-able. (7/10)

Swiss Army Man - If you've seen the trailer you know that this is an absurd movie. However it manages to be a very original and funny movie and one that you won't soon forget. There are scenes where the absurdity is a bit much but it doesn't dull the movie at all. (9/10)

Toni Erdmann - This is the other movie I was talking about when I said I had two favorite films. Toni Erdmann holds the distinction of the funniest scene I have ever seen. It defies expectation and its comedic timing is so original you won't forget it any time soon. This German two-and-three-quater hour film may seem like one that you you don't want to watch but trust me you do. (10/10)

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Top films of the festival

=1. Toni Erdmann

=1. Everybody Wants Some!!

3. Paterson

4. Captain Fantastic

5. The Eyes of My Mother

6. High-Rise