Films
Metal and Melancholy
I’m a sucker for this sort of film. Filmed in taxis in 90s Peru, this is a stream of little snippets of drivers lives - their families, opinions, cars and dreams. The takeaway is clearly that 90s Lima was Not Much Fun. Loved the guy whose car was literally falling to pieces
Monster
I enjoyed this a lot. Part way through I was worried that the story was a bit simple and it was missing a lot of the warmth of other Kore-eda. But then it shifted gear. Much like his previous, this is so much more than the sum of its parts. An absolute must watch director.
Queen of My Dreams
An absolute joy. This didn’t do anything very unexpected but it was just a pleasure to watch. A film that’s largely about children falling out with their parents and dealing with loss shouldn’t be this fun! But it is.
River
Cheerful Japanese time travel tale. A perfect Sunday morning film. Nothing massively novel here but it’s a neat little story with a good bunch of funny scenes and characters. Lovely.
Runaway Train
I think I’ve got stupider just by watching this one. It’s just so dumb. Far too much macho posturing and shouting, but also some fun bits and a decent soundtrack. A mixed bag. #LIFF2023