Thursday

The Return
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Plot - The life of two brothers is shattered by the sudden appearance of their father, whom they know only from a 10 year old photograph. Is he really their father? Why has he come back after so many years? The boys find some answers on a remote and desolate island travelling with this man who turned their lives upside down.

Comment - My third favorite feature film of the festival. This was a very gripping mystery/thriller. The brothers in the film played by Vladimir Garin and Ivan Dobronravov are approximately 14 and 12.
Film took on a special tragic significance when it was learned that young star Garin drowned two months ago in the very lake where many of his scenes in this movie were filmed. On a happier note, this film was just awarded the Golden Lion (best film) at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy on Saturday. The picture below is of the director, Ivan, and Konstantin Lavronenko, the actor who played the father accepting their award in Venice.
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Content Alert - Speedos
Boy Actors: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov
My Movie Rating - 10/10
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One more posed shot from Venice of the lucky director and Ivan.

The Man Who Wipes Mirrors

Plot - A car accident spurs a businessman to leave home and clean all the traffic mirrors in Japan.

Comment - This time the victim of the car accident was a little girl and she survived. The plot well explains what happened in the movie, too bad it was never explained WHY the businessman did this. Again I think there was some kind of point being made here, but I missed it. No boy content worth
mentioning.

My Movie Rating - 5/10

Eila

Plot - Film is about Eila, a woman who cleans government offices, and the risks she takes: as an employee, as a loving woman, and as a mother.  Eila and her colleagues bring action against the government for illegal dismissal. Even though Eila's son, boyfriend and ex-husband all think that she's insane, that she can't win against the state, she persists in her fight for justice.

Comment - Another miss. Son is probably 20 years old, ill mannered and not photogenic. No boy content. Although based on a true story, the events as depicted in this film didn't hold my interest.

My Movie Rating - 5/10

Bare Ground

Plot - A Serbian professor, his Croatian wife and their 9 year old son move into a somewhat sinister housing estate on the outskirts of belgrade in 1995, a time of flaring tempers, prejudice and violence.

Comment - Even though I don't speak a word of Serbo-Croatian or French which was the subtitle language for this particular film, there was nothing else of interest in this time slot and the pictures I posted earlier suggested at least that the cute boy would make it an interesting watch. While I can't comment on how well the story was told I can tell you it culminates with the boy being gunned down at the end of the film. His character is far more minor than the plot would lead you to believe. My notebook indicates that I felt he was being used as a prop for the sole purpose of raising the cute content of the film. Conisdering what happens to his character at the film's end, my feeling about this was likely correct. I'm not sure I would like to sit through this again, even subtitled in English!

Content Alert - Boy murder, Pyjamas
Boy Actor - Nikola Nikic

My Movie Rating - Incomplete

A Boy's Summer 1945

Plot - Japan at the end of WW II. Film centers on 15 year old Yasuo and the adults around him as they go through their usual routines at this unusual time.

Comment - I mostly agree with joseph's assessment. Film was poorly constructed and too slowly paced for me. Film closes with a scene intended to demonstrate Yasuo's mental collapse due to the stress of living under the conditions imposed upon him by the war, but by then I had lost interest.

My Movie Rating - 6/10

Summer In The Golden Valley

Plot - Fikret Varupa is a young 16-year-old from Sarajevo. At his father's funeral he learns that his father owed money to Hamid, hitherto unknown to him. His family absolutely must pay back the money in order to put his father's soul to rest. Fikret tries various means to raise the money until two corrupt policemen get the better of him.
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Comment - As the picture shows, Fikret isn't a young looking 16 at all, although he behaves as though he were quite young. Film is very raw (it was projected on video rather than film), and crude but entertaining nonetheless - especially for those who enjoy dark humor. Film features a young mug of about 10 who has a few particularly good scenes, unfortunately I didn't catch the actor's name. In one scene in particular this kid demonstrates on camera his range of facial expressions to show off his skill at emoting, that scene alone made the film worth seeing 
In the unlikely event that this film ever becomes available to any of you, I would recommend it more for the story and depiction of modern Sarajevo rather than for the boy content.

My Movie Rating - 8/10


Zabladowski's Montreal diary will close out tomorrow night with news of the last 10/10 rated movie I saw in Montreal

Thanks to all for the kind comments about my festival experience. If my server behaves tonight, I will conclude Zabladowski's Montreal diary.

Friday

Is It Raining?

Plot - How can a young girl look at a boy in a society which frowns on such boldness? A young carpet weaver tries to catch the eye of her favorite boy but is caught in the workshop window.

Comment - Short film from Iran. "Boy" is a young man.

My Movie Rating - 6/10

August Sun

Plot - Three stories set on a very hot August day in war torn Sri Lanka. A loyal wife searches for her soldier husband. A soldier on leave vists a brothel and discovers something surprising. An 11 year old boy and his family are expelled from their village by rebel forces.

Comment - My first Sri Lankan film wasn't half bad. The three different prongs of the plot each got similar time, so this was 1/3 a boy movie. Mohamed Rahfiullah held up his portion of the film quite well.

Boy Actor - Mohamed Rahfiullah
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My Movie Rating - 7/10

Song of Wreckage

Plot - A man accidentally hits a boy with a truck. In a panic, he flees, leaving the lifeless child behind. A nearly silent film, Song of Wreckage is the story of a solitary man in crisis and a quiet voice that carries far.

Comment - Thankfully this was the last kill the boy with a car movie.

Content Alert : Death of a boy
Boy Actor : Shayne Taylor

My Movie Rating - 6/10

Karsilasma

Plot - The story of a man who believes he's been presented with a new life where he witnesses his son's resurrection. He finds the woman he's been looking for all his life. All this is a miracle for him. However, as in all miracles, it has to end. This is the tale of an odd search covering extraordinary circumstances in which the destinies of the heroes intercept and overlap.

Comment - I'm using this summary because the director himself wrote it. There is a father/son angle to the story but the son is in his late teens. Movie overall was an atmospheric mystery. I liked it.

My Movie Rating - 8/10

I'm Not Scared

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Comment - WOW! Although I personally liked Eres mi heroe a little bit more, this movie has a lot to recommend. Giuseppe Cristiano is the central character and is onscreen for most of the film. Mattia DiPierro's character is precious. The story is exceptionally well written and the movie is filled with little surprises. My audience audibly gasped twice during the film. My opinion is that the less you know about the story going in, the more you will enjoy the film so I'm trying to stay away from getting too detailed. I think people who liked Flight of the Innocent (sorry joseph  ) and the Devil's Backbone will especially love this film, as I feel there were some similarities.
For those who track such things, this is the underwear movie of the year.
Movie is being distributed by Miramax; as long as they don't give it the Edges of the Lord treatment,
this film should actually make it to an arthouse near you. If it does, make sure you're first in line, you will not be disappointed.

Content Alert - Brutality, Underwear
Boy Actors - Giuseppe Cristiano, Mattia DiPierro, Stefano Biase, Fabio Antonacci

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My Movie Rating - 10/10

Spare Parts

Plot - Krško, a small industrial town near the southern Slovenian border with Croatia. The only Slovene nuclear power plant is based at the outskirts of the city. Ludvik, a former national speedway champion, is a bitter widower, who transports illegal immigrants every night from the Croatian to the Italian border with his van. His boss sends to him the young and inexperienced Rudi to serve as his assistant....

Comment - The young Rudi was about 25. I never thought of Slovenia as a dirt track motorcycle racing hot spot, but this movie suggests it is. Story attempts to show smuggling from the smuggler's rather than the smugglee's viewpoint. I preferred Journey of Hope.

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My Movie Rating - 6/10

"C" Block Story

Plot - Andrei, a shy teenager who is madly in love with his neighbour Monica, calls an erotic phone line to find out how to seduce a girl in the elevator. This information will also spice up his parents' marriage.

Comment - Andrei is what i would call a young man. Short film, mildly entertaining.

My Movie Rating - 5/10

Maria

Plot - Maria has 6 children and an unemployed abusive husband. In order to support her family, she is forced to become a prostitute.

Comment - Not quite as bleak as the plot would lead you to think. One of Maria's young sons (Eduard Paliu) delivers a few snappy one liners. He looks like a young Josh Saviano. Her other son, played by Ionut Brutaro, is quite handsome. Unfortunately film is focused on Maria so the boys don't get on screen as much as I would've liked.

Boy Actors - Eduard Paliu, Ionut Brutaru

My Movie Rating - 7/10


Saturday


Fifteen

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Plot - A searingly honest look at the lives of five disaffected 15 year old boys, perched precariously on the fringe of Signapore society.

Comment - Larry Clark fans will eat this film up. Although all the performers who were playing themselves were 15, they really didn't display any outward boyishness, but underneath the veneer of the tough street punk, some vulnerability let slip. Movie is very homoerotic and very gross. By my count eight people left my screening early. You need a strong stomach to sit through this.

Content Alert: Brutality, Nudity, Drug Use, Piercing without anesthetic and other hard to watch stuff

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My Movie Rating - 6/10

D'oh!!

That movie, I'm not scared, was on my original schedule and I was really looking forward to it. It was going to be the last film I saw before leaving Montreal. But then I decided to cut my trip short and didn't stay until that one.

Oh well. Maybe I'll get a chance to see it one day.

It's funny, though. I really hated Flight of the Innocent, but I loved The Devil's Backbone. So it's hard to guess what I would have thought of this one. I have a feeling I would have liked it, though.

Thanks for all your reviews, Zab. It's amazing that you could watch so many movies in a week. After only eight movies in three days, I was exhausted and really sick of being there. Of course, it didn't help that the friends I was staying with wanted to go out every night and stay up until about 4 a.m. To survive a week of movies like that you have to at least get some sleep at night.

I'm really sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you. There's always next year. By that time, I might even be living in Montreal.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude.  I could have sworn I posted in here, if only to empathize with Joseph over his let-down with an event he was looking forward to.  I know so well how that feels.

Zab and Joseph, my apologies for not expressing my admiration and appreciation of your thoughtful effort in reviewing those movies. 

I do hope I get to see some of them!