Make a whole new religion

Nine Emotions
Shot during the Koovagam festival in Villipuram, Tamil Nadu, the film tells the story of people belonging to the third gender (or Aravanis) who Hindus believe are the reincarnation of Lord Krishna. Seen through the innocent eyes of Sweta, a 13-year old girl, the film throws light on the mindset of such people, their agonies, and their ecstatic moments at Koovagam. Santosh Sivan takes you on a journey into the world of eunuchs. In Nine Emotions all the characters belonging to the third gender play themselves. The film has bagged several awards including the Public Award in the New Asian Cinema Section at the 11th Lyon Asian Film Festival.

Director: Santosh Sivan
Country: India
Duration: 95min
Year: 2005

~
What a great start. My first Film Festival Film is very nice. It took me almost 5minutes to find my seat. But it was worth it. Thanx to Winston! You got me a centre seat. hee
I liked how the film had introduced its main theme. The little girl, Sweta, had her first menstruation and the whole family celebrated her womanhood.

But how does a boy know when he will become a man?

The ending of the film really got to me. Sweta's uncle, who wants to live as a woman was driven out of the house. But he called a year later to say "Happy Birthday" to her. She asked him if he had found a job, but he only laughed. So Sweta ended by saying that she has hope for the future. And she knows that everything will be alright. But in the last scene, we found out that her uncle is still homeless (The third genders are rejected and no one will offer them a job or rent them a place to stay.)
Then it occurred to me that we are all like Sweta. So full of hope. Because the troubles are far away from us. Sometimes we are hopeful, other times we complain about our busy lives, or our inconsiderate friends, or our lack of sleep, or anything.

We sympathize with the homeless, or the people with kidney problems, or the
malnutrition children on TV. But once we switch the TV off, our lives are back
to normal.

I know we have our own problems. But if you can read this from where you are, I firmly think that you are lucky. Let's stop all our nonsense and start living.
Because there are many in the world who don't have this luxury.

_

_

Tori

Tori is the directorial debut of successful actor, musician and artist Tadanobu Asano. It is a visualisation of dreams through live action and animation in five seamless episodes. With Bird as a starting point, it spreads its wings and flies on and on, beyond time and space. In Sword Of Mind, a samurai’s sword keeps cutting people down against his will. ATO is a visual poem depicting graffiti art and skateboarders. In Eternal Duo, a comic duo is captivated by a beautiful living thing. In the last episode, or, a bird puts on the costume of a beast, and dances in the air.

Director: Tadanobu Asano
Country: Japan
Duration: 50min
Year: 2004


Sorano

Poet, artist, musician and cult actor-turned-director Tadanobu Asano concedes that life would be dull if he just acts in movies. This documentary analyses the processes and creative energy that compel him to visualize the sketchy images of his dreams into Tori: five distinct worlds of live action and animation. It discusses the joy and artistic freedom in filmmaking and suggests that the reserve in Japanese culture translates into an unusual freedom in the depiction of art.

Director: Nobutaka Yamaoka
Country: Japan
Duration: 80min
Year: 2005

~

Tori is a strange. Though I loved the comic duo and the last dance is beautiful. I like the lighting.
And the documentary Sorano had no subtitles. Too bad, cause it would have helped me understand Tori more.

_

Look Both Ways
Set over a hot weekend, seven people confront mortality as they try to deal with unexpected events. Nick, a reporter, was told he had cancer. He meets Meryl at the site of a train accident returning from a funeral. They develop a relationship and so does a host of other concentric stories, including a woman widowed by the train accident, the train driver, his family, Nick’s colleague Andy, and Nick’s family. A humorous look at death, interspersing live-action with animation, this is director/ animator Sarah Watt’s debut feature. Winner of five awards including Best Film and Best Director at the 2005 Australian Film Institute Awards.

Director: Sarah Watt
Country: Australia
Duration: 100min
Year: 2005

~
I was honestly hoping that this film will be dark and cruel. But it wasn't.
Same message about Death.
Live Life to the Fullest. Greet Life before you think about greeting Death.

I'm not saying that it's a bad message.
But I really want a cruel film about death.

Something like Dancer in the Dark. So cruel that it shocks you.
Not cruel because its characters are being tortured, but cruel because reality is not longer sugar coated like what we see in Hollywood movies.

_

Blue Cha Cha
With two love affairs gone awry, ex-prison mate Yu-hua seeks solace in a cabin overlooking the harbour. Director Cheng Wen-tang’s Blue Cha-Cha is a refreshing take on the resilience of the human spirit and explores the camaderie and sisterhood between women in a fun, light-hearted manner. Love and hope spring eternal if only you open your mind to possibilities you have never even noticed before. Yup! Life may be hard, but let’s cha-cha-cha when things go wrong. Best new director at Venice in 2002.

Director: Cheng Wen-tang
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 108min
Year: 2005

~
Typical. Didn't care for it. You shouldn't too.

_

This year's film festival is fun. Hopefully it won't clash with my exams next year :)

Labels: Films