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VIFF 2000 Diary
Vancouver, 3rd October - Day 11
 The
Koreans hit town today. Among the latest arrivals to the VIFF is a young
director called Bong Joon-Ho. Last year in Vancouver with a short, he
returns this year with a very accomplished first feature called Barking
Dogs Never Bite. A twisted comedy, set around a residential block
of flats, it recounts how an academic takes radical action to deal with
an irritating barking dog. The story unfolds at a gentle pace -
perhaps too gentle, the film is two hours long - but the humour is nevertheless
intelligent and engaging throughout. Perhaps the most striking aspect
of the film is just how good the film looks for a first feature in terms
of picture composition and aesthetic. Bong Joon-Ho: remember that name.
With DV films (shot and edited on Digital Video and then "blown-up"
to 35mm film) becoming ubiquitous, at least on the festival circuit, films
shot purely on 35mm film - just like they were in the old days - can now
seem like something of a visual treat. Wong Kar Wai's In
The Mood For Love, which has been screened at the VIFF, may disappoint
in the plot department, but the visuals are luminous and exquisite. Would
a DV film had the same impact? Probably not.
Speaking of DV, the arch-proponent of the format, Danish director Lars
von Trier, notched up another success with his critically divisive musical-drama
Dancer
in the Dark. The film industry Enemy or Hero Number One (depending
on your viewpoint), having won the Palme d'Or in Cannes, opened the Edinburgh
Film Festival in August and now closes the VIFF on Sunday.
Finally, for Vancouver readers here are 3 recommendations for these last
3 days of films: Tuesday (7pm) Djomeh;
Wednesday (2.30pm) One
Day in September; Thursday (7pm) Ratcatcher.
30th September 2000 - Day 9
Who needs weathermen when you've got festival organisers like this? They
promised that after the first week of glorious sunshine, in the second
half of the festival it would rain. Sure enough, right on time, the clouds
opened yesterday and it poured.
It was still raining heavily as I cycled across town tonight to catch
Iron Ladies, a feel-good comedy based on the true story of how
a team of Thai drag queens managed to win the national volley ball tournament.
Gortex-clad film-goers were lined up even in the rain - this is one of
the films with a bit of a buzz about it at this year's festival, having
been a huge box office hit in Thailand.
Very much a Priscilla (Queen of the Desert) with pumps on, it is light,
frothy and follows a predictable formula: unlikely heroes (transvestites)
triumph against the odds (macho volley ball types), turn the tables on
their adversaries (beat up gay bashers) and win over hearts and minds
in the process (match commentators, alienated loved ones and the public
at large).
Speaking at the beginning of the film, director Yongyoot Thongkongtoon
said he simply wanted to encourage people to be more tolerant towards
each other. Laughter is one way of breaking down the barriers and the
full cinema of about 600 seemed to lap up.
South Korean hit: The Foul King
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With one of the largest Asian populations in North America,
it is not surprising that Vancouver's Dragons and Tigers programme strand
has become such a central part of the festival. Many of these are beginning
to show this second week. You can already read reviews for action flick
6ixtynin9
and the bizarrely named and critically divisive Virgin
Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors. There have also been good reports
for The Foul King, another feel-good comedy, this time from South
Korea; Taiwanese human drama, Yi Yi; and hitman flick, Bangkok
Dangerous.
28th September 2000 - Day 7
The skies are clear and the sun still continues to shine on Vancouver.
Yet, impressively, the cinemas are still packing them in.
Already standing out as one of the films
of the festival is World War 2 drama, Divided
We Fall. This is a subtle, tender tragi-comedy about a Czech couple
who find themselves sheltering a concentration camp escapee during the
German occupation of their town. One of the films appearing at this year's
London Film Festival, it combines a good story with a finely-tuned and
unique view of the nazi invasion.
Another bound for London is the Russian gangster film, Brother
2. This lacks the gritty realism of the original, Brother,
going instead for laughs of the violent kind as the baby-faced gangster
and his brother go on a bloody trip to the States while doing a favour
for an old military comrade.
Introduction to the Vancouver Film
Festival
More on VIFF
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