55th SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL horrorspective
May 28th 2008 00:54
The 55th Sydney Film Festival runs from Thursday June 4th (Gala Opening Night) through until Sunday June 22nd. I haven’t had the opportunity to view any of the movies in advance as yet, but I will endeavour to preview as many as I can, or at least provide a review shortly after its screening.
Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina
Sat 14 June 8:15pm - Greater Union 9 | Sat 22 June 4:45pm - GU 8
This is an archetypal Japanese Manga anime directed by veteran mechanical designer Shinji Aramaki which features cyborgs and zombies in John Woo-styled shoot-outs. High calibre digital animation (“the equivalent of going from Windows 98 to XP”) with stunning costume and cityscape designs.
The Class
Fri 13 June 4:30pm - GU 9 | Sat 14 June 2:15pm - GU8
Estonian high school nightmare inspired by the Columbine massacre. A confronting film which utilises amateur actors who workshopped the script resulting in a powerful and authentic Award-winning study of bullying.
Crows: Episode 0
Sun 8 June 8pm – GU8 | Mon 9 June 8:30pm – GU9
The first of two new Takashi Miike movies, this one deals with high school gangsters. The punk-styled son of a Yakuza boss determined to rule the roost. Expect Miike’s trademark ultraviolence fused with his twisted sense of humour.
Fri 6 June 8:45pm – GU9 | Mon 9 June 8:45pm – GU8
Three brash young Leeds ladettes hit the beaches of Mallorca and end up in deep trouble on a yacht with a bunch of Brit lads. It’s a gory fight for survival in the vein of Dead Calm and Knife in the Water.
Fear(s) of the Dark
Sun 15 June 7:45pm – Dendy Opera Quays | Fri 20 June 9:30pm – DOQ
France has garnered ten of the world’s most cutting edge graphic artists and cartoonists and showcases them in a collection of truly creepy animations. Mesmerising and chilling in equal measures.
Thu 5 June 9:20pm – State Theatre | Sun 22 11:30am – State
Controversial German director Michael Haneke has been seduced/coerced into remaking his contentious study of violence for the American market. Starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth, it’s bound to be as manipulative and frustrating as the 1997 original.
Import/Export
Sat 7 June 8:45pm – GU 9 | mon 9 June 6pm – GU8
A German/Russian/Slovak/English co-production that’s set in a frozen industrial world as bleak and soulless as the content is explicit and provocative; two cautionary tales of 21st Euro commodification that are not for the fainthearted.
Fri 6 June 9pm – DOQ | Sat 14 June 8pm – DOQ
Based on the bestseller this Swedish teen romance meets horror movie is a new take on the vampire scenario. Two young misfit girls – neighbours - are drawn together and form a strange, unsettling bond.
Sat 7 June 8:30pm – GU8 | Thu 12 June 8:45pm – GU8
The second Takashi Miike flick, this time he tackles the Spaghetti Western in his first English-language movie. But of course it’s all about the crazy gangs and the ultraviolent feuds. Quentin Tarantino cameos.
Fri 6 June 8:30pm – GU8 | Sat 7 June 6:30pm – GU9
The Spanish are totally on top of horror right now! A B-grade Twilight Zone-esque time-travelling thriller that involves a mad scientist and a scissor-wielding maniac sheathed in a pink bandage (?!) that has to be seen to be disbelieved.
Fri 13 June 8:50pm – GU8 | Sun 15 June 8:30pm – GU8
A Buddhist ghost story with Gothic overtones from Thailand; sounds strange and spooky indeed! This is a moody tale from the director of the cult Tears of the Black Tiger and set in 1930s mansion on the outskirts of Bangkok.
A Page of Madness
Sun 22 June 4:30pm – State
A silent masterpiece of Japanese cinema from 1926 and believed lost for many years; it’s based on a story about a sailor who takes a job in a lunatic asylum. Insanity reigns supreme in this expressionist and radical rarity.
Redacted
Fri 20 June 8:30pm – GU8 | Sat 21 June 8:50pm – GU9
Director Brian De Palma re-visits the atrocity territory of Casualties of War, this time in Iraq. Presented as “found” footage from a camcorder, surveillance cameras, and websites, its volatile subject matter and distanced approach make it all the more harrowing.
The Innocents
Sat 21 June 2:15pm – State
As part of the Deborah Kerr retrospective is this restored print of the cult classic Gothic horror, co-scripted by Truman Capote and based on the novel The Turn of the Screw. A macabre and eerie film sensationally produced from 1961.
Phase IV
Wed 11 June 5:50pm – DOQ
The only feature (from 1974) directed by the legendary titles designer Saul Bass, it’s a strange and chilling vision of a creeping, crawling new world order that defines conventional genre, but sits somewhere in a Lynch-esque sf realm.
Sat 21 June 10am – State | Sun 22 June 6:45 – State
This intense docu-drama re-accounts the 1972 Andes plane crash where survivors of a Uruguayan rugby team were forced to eat human flesh in order to survive. The Spanish director has known the survivors for many years and this connection has enabled him to craft the compelling truth.
To See if I’m Smiling
Mon 9 June 3:10pm – GU8 | Wed 11 June 6pm – GU8
This is a disturbing documentary about the appalling treatment of young Israeli women who are drafted at 18. It details their true stories in first-hand accounts, their close-up candidness making their ordeals feel all the more harrowing.
A Very British Gangster
Wed 18 June 4pm – State
The chilling true crime tales of a Manchester enforcer boss of Irish heritage. It’s a fascinating, larger than life portrait of a disturbing, but compelling figure whose motto was “Look after those that look after you, fuck off those that fuck off you”.
Sourced and adapted from the 55th Sydney Film Festival official programme. Visit the site for further information and the complete lowdown.
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
A total trip.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Damo, actually, I thought Appleseed was rather dull. Great visuals, but the plot left me wanting more.
Bryn, I'm going to try and see Phase IV, Donkey Punch and Sukiyaki. What are you going to see?
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Cibby, yeah, very cool line-up, and that's only the "nightmare" movies, there are numerous other movies I wanna see as well. My DJing work prevents me from seeing Friday and Saturday night flicks unfortunately, but I'll be doing as many others as I can! Really looking forward to Donkey Punch, Let the Right One In, Stranded, and Takashi Miike's of course. Stay tuned for my reviews!