Sydney Film Festival 2008

Well the 2008 Sydney Film Festival begins this week and, as usual, there is an excellent range of films on offer. There’s literally something for everyone in this year’s lineup and (as usual) J and I have had a really hard time working out what we’re going to see. So here’s a short list of some of the highlights we’re aiming to get to:

Funny Games is a remake of a 1997 Austrian film. This is the “American” version which might normally be a turn-off but has been remade by the original director, Michael Haneke. It also features Tim Roth and Naomi Watts. It’s the story of a family’s weekend retreat gone horribly wrong when two teenagers invade their break.

Japon is part of the Nuevo Mexico section of the festival and is a joint Mexican/Spanish production directed by Carlos Reygadas. It tells the story of a suicidal man who finds something different in a remote rural valley.

Encounters at the End of the World is a documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog. This film aims to provide a look into the lives and minds of the people who would choose to live and work in one of the world’s most remote and most beautiful locations.

Sukiyaki Western Django is Takeshi Miike’s homage to the classic spaghetti western films of old. It’s a weird Japanese, English language, glam-rock take on the genre with a confusingly full-circle rotation of tributes from Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, which was remade as A Fistful of Dollars by Sergio Leone and has also spawned various other remakes. There are several other notable references in this film and a couple of worthy cameos.

Choke is the first adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel since the wildly popular (and incredibly misunderstood – ask me about it sometime) Fight Club directed by (the absolute GENIUS) David Fincher. Choke is the story of a medical student who works in a historical theme park by day whilst by night choking in fancy restaurants in order to be saved (and financially aided) by strangers. It’s a touching story of sex addict meetings, depravity, deceit and a confused man trying to take care of his sick mother. The exceptionally talented Sam Rockwell gives an apparently stunning performance in the lead role.

Stop-Loss is one of the films in official competition this year and is the first feature film since Boys Don’t Cry for director Kimberly Peirce. This movie, starring Ryan Phillipe and Australia’s Abbie Cornish, tells the story of a combat unit in Iraq who endure an horrific battle before returning home where their lives and plans are variously disrupted by the government’s “stop-loss” policy. The policy that can return them to Iraq regardless of their previous deployment.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson is just what it says it is, a documentary exploring the life and work of the inventor of drug-fuelled reporting style known as “gonzo journalism”. Thompson is probably best known for his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which was also made into a film with the same name by director Terry Gilliam and starring Jonny Depp. Depp narrates this documentary.

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is a manga. It’s typical manga stuff with robots and zombies and cyborgs and cool stuff. I like manga. If you do too, then I don’t need to explain anything. If you don’t, then my explaining isn’t going to help.

It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks. We’ve got five movies in the first four days. I’m really looking forward to it and will do my best to let you know what I thought of things as they go.

~ by wrothful on June 4, 2008.