What's the last movie you watched?

[Pies4shaw]

I just tried to have a look but can't work out where they are in the program (are they under documentaries or somewhere else?).

Do they include "Art in the Soviet Era: Making a violin from rusted, recycled tractor parts"?

[David]

"Backbeat" ��pages 48 and 49 of the program if you have a physical copy handy.

Not sure about rusting tractor-part violins, but there is a film by Neil Young which you may find indistinguishable.

[Pies4shaw]

[David]

A few of the films I've caught at the festival so far:

Cemetery of Splendour � Thai film set in a military hospital. A middle-aged woman takes care of them and develops a bond with one of the soldiers. Won't appeal to many people here, but it does have a really strange and beautiful quality about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWBNM7mRiY

Heaven Knows What � A kind of intense and in-your-face film about heroin junkies in New York (played by actors who are almost all heroin addicts in real life). I thought it was really good.

In the Shadow of Women � Charming if somewhat pessimistic black and white French film about a couple who cheat on each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAFHGNBIjao

Corn Island � Film about an old man and his teenager granddaughter building a house on a tiny island on the border between Georgia and Abkhazia. A bit of an SBS world movies premise, but it's actually quite beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5Fc9ydpP_Q

Pasolini � A film about the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini. He's one of my favourite directors, but I found it a bit dull to be honest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOVDmHmisQw

Snow Monkey � Australian film shot in Afghanistan about some of the homeless people who live on the streets of Jalalabad, including gangs of nine-year-old boys who terrorise everyone in their path. A good one for our anti-Islamic posters to watch, as it really gives you a glimpse into the humanity of the people who live there and what many of them have to go through. No trailer seems to be up yet.

My Golden Days � A French film about a man's memories of a teenage love affair. It was ok.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCMCC4X4chc

[David]

Oh, and I'm watching a pornographic film in 3D at Hoyts tonight!

It's directed by Gasper Noe. The opening credits to his last film were worth the price of admission alone (don't watch if you're susceptible to epilectic seizures!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNtxgxYY7sI

[luvdids]

3D porn?!

Can't think of anything... I'm sure someone will come up with something.

[think positive]

[stui magpie]

[David]

[swoop42]

If that's your thing I'm sure other cinemas in Melbourne can provide you with a virtual reality experience of the film.

[think positive]

[Dangles]

"Heaven Knows What � A kind of intense and in-your-face film about heroin junkies in New York (played by actors who are almost all heroin addicts in real life). I thought it was really good. "

Movies about extreme addiction can be entertaining but the characters tend to be caricatures who reinforce prejudicial views against drug users. The word Junkie is also a pejorative and people who work in the Alcohol and Other Drugs sector avoid using it. But thanks for the updates. Hopefully you can put us on to some hidden gems.

[Pies4shaw]

^^^ It's a new concept, too.

Here's the karaoke version, so you can sing along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kla_Jd7EyT4

[Wokko]

It Follows

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/it_follows/

Pretty good suspense/horror film heavily inspired by the last decent era of horror in the 70s/80s. I fell completely out of love with the genre thanks to all the goreporn like Saw and Hostel or the chuck worthy gross horror like The Human Centipede. Returning to tension, uneasiness and buildup based on your own mind rather than smashing your face in a dumpster of dirty syringes make It Follows the first decent horror movie I've seen in decades.

4 Stars.

[watt price tully]

Ken Burns's doco series: The Civil War. One more episode to go. Saw bits of it in 1990? & this series brought him to fame (so to speak). Fascinating, absorbing & brilliantly done:

From Wiki:

"...Burns is the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees.[citation needed]

The Civil War has received more than 40 major film and television awards,[citation needed] including two Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, the Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild of America, a People's Choice Award, a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, a D. W. Griffith Award, and the $50,000 Lincoln Prize...."

Didn't win the Brownlow or the Copeland though.