Now back to the films!

Tonight we review the Toronto International Film Fest Sprockets Festival.

Adventures of Owen   (Canada)

Young Owen escapes a pestering sister, demanding mother, deadly games of gym class dodgeball and the pain of an unrequited crush by entering the fantastic animated world of Spaceman X, an intrepid galactic traveller whose adventures Owen has drafted in his sketchbook.

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Mack is an adventuresome eight-year-old with a need for speed: he won his first motorcross race at age three, and his room is now filled with trophies. But the obstacles he faces on the track are nothing compared to what he’s already overcome: Mack was born with his heart on the opposite side of his chest, and from the day he was born he’s been defying the doctors who claim that it’s impossible for him to live another day.

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When seven-year-old country boy Oskari travels to the city with his mother, he gets the chance to meet his favourite superhero -- however, this longed-for meeting is not quite as Oskari had imagined it, and he is soon faced with a difficult choice.

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Six year old Bent is waiting in anticipation for his fathers return from a business trip, but discovers through the behaviour of his mother that something is wrong. Dare he ask the question that scares him the most?

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When eleven-year-old Eva runs away from her quarrelling parents and hides out with her best friends Jackie and Thomas, she discovers a secret letter that reveals her neighbour to be the mastermind of a gang of crooks. Eva and her friends realize that they’re the only ones who can stop the bad guys.

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Ten-year-old Billy Kirkfield is convinced that he is going to die after a recent battle with cancer, and, while he has come to accept this, he is scared of being forgotten. Billy decides to team up with his friends and do something so big the whole world will remember him: set a world record. But when an unexpected revelation upsets his plan, Billy must rethink his goal. A story about friendship, courage and the importance of being a good person every day, Snowmen teaches us that it’s not what you do in life but how you do it.

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Raised by his mother, Luuk has grown up hearing stories about the father he has never met, reputed to be “the strongest man in the world.” At his new school, Luuk fears being teased for being smaller than his classmates but finds an unlikely friend in Minke, the tallest girl in school. The two of them begin a search for Luuk’s father, which leads them to strongman “Powerhouse René,” who agrees to coach Luuk in weight training. As Luuk builds his confidence and discovers more secrets about his family past, he comes to realize that strength comes in many different forms.

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Screening in the San Francisco International Film Festival

Mistérios de Lisboa   (Portugal)
Mysteries of Lisbon

The noble and the damned are interchangeable and identical in Raúl Ruiz’s magisterial new gambit on the art of storytelling, based on Camilo Castelo Branco’s 19th-century Portuguese novel yet more mind-bending and radical than any contemporary tale. A young boy in a Lisbon orphanage wonders who he is, but soon each and every identity comes into question, especially as flashbacks, flash-forwards and tales within tales begin to spiral forth. A priest may be a fighter, a wealthy man a highway robber and a noblewoman a nun. “But who are you?” asks someone. It all may depend on the story you’re in, and who is telling the tale. What remains constant is the sumptuous setting: a decadent Old World Portugal of crumbling estates, extravagant ballrooms and fog-bound dueling fields. No stranger to epic novel adaptations, Ruiz treats his material with consummate respect and a baroque, Borgesian grandeur, constantly framing shots within shots and actions within actions. A tale of tales, of orphans, counts and duels, this costume meta-drama is Dickens filtered through a surrealist’s gaze, and a fitting summation of Ruiz’s artistry. Originally made as a miniseries for Portuguese television (this four-hour theatrical version was cut from the six-hour original), Mysteries of Lisbon is said by the director to be his final film.

That last statement could very well be true. Mr. Ruiz passed away in August.

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Kapi   (Thailand)

Tong is an 11-year-old boy who lives with his Uncle Ming, who trains pig-tailed monkeys to fetch coconuts. Among the monkeys, Kapi is the fastest and the brightest. When a big storm hits the village, the village leader decides to bring in a windmill project to revive the area - but it turns out that Tong´s land is the best place to set up the windmills. When uncle Ming suddenly passes away, Tong is left with Kapi. He doesn't want to give up his land, so the village leader challenges Tong to a Monkey Competition to settle the deal. If Tong wins, they will not put the windmill in this land. But if Tong wants to train Kapi, he's first going to have to make friends with him…

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The story of a remote Siberian village whose main treasure is beautiful horses. According to a local legend, many years ago some beautiful horses appeared in the village by miracle. Since that time, the herd has been protected by the villagers and were saved even in the times of war and hunger. The chairman of the village council has lost public funds on an unsuccessful business venture and has decided to make up on the losses by selling the herd to a slaughterhouse. Everybody is either afraid to argue or too lazy to speak out. The 10-year-old son of a local shepherd, nicknamed Sparrow, secretly borrows his grandfather's rifle, meets the truck with the horses, holds up his rifle and shouts: Stop or I'll shoot! The chairman cannot stand the challenge and turns back.

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My tři a pes z Pětipes   (Czechoslovakia - 1971)
We three and a dog from Petipsy

Holidays, a river and a bunch of good friends. All of this provides a suspenseful tale about Tonda, a boy from Prague, and a group of kids from Pětipsy, a village near Prague. Tonda comes to the village to stay with relatives in the countryside over the summer break. He's captivated by a flowing river and immediately gathers together some fishing equipment. All the local boys talk about the living legend, a large eel that lives in the creek near the sunken river boat. When Tonda overcomes all the obstacles prepared by the unfriendly Ruda Drábek and wins the friendship of the local boys, together they experience a great and unforgettable adventure during a nighttime hunt for the giant eel. And the envious Ruda stands empty-handed...

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Třináctá komnata   (Czechoslovakia - 1968)
The 13th Chamber

Twelve-year-old Kosťa, a boy with an overactive imagination, befriends the equally perceptive eleven-year-old Blanka. Together they discover the uninhabited attic space in the house of Blanka's parents. They pretend to be in the "forbidden thirteenth chamber". Kosťa, for example, "transforms" an ordinary old vase into a magic ball, with which he can apparently affect destiny. The children don't realize that the gears of fate have truly started turning around them, even though they don't have much in common with it. Kosťa and Blanka sense that something is wrong in the girl's family. Her mom isn't happy with her father, the doctor, and reminisces on her former suitor Petr, who left to work in India. Petr appears one day and meets Blanka's mother. At that moment Kosťa begins predicting disaster through his magic vase...

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Simone, an 11-year-old boy, is forced to stay home all summer under his angry father's supervision. Outside there's sweet adventure. Inside there's just boredom. That is, until 13-year-old Lorenza arrives: a green-eyed girl from the city. For Simone it's the beginning of the most unforgettable summer of his life. And while looking for The Thin Match-Man, Simone introduces Lorenza to his strange crazy world made up of his friends PatTheFAT, Appear-Daisy, Mark theDARK, Uncle Disk and Big Hands. But Rubin, Simone's number one enemy, is on their trail...

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'The Runway' is inspired by the true story of a South American pilot who crashed his plane near Mallow, Co. Cork in 1983. Against all odds, the people of the town came together to build a runway to get him home and briefly caught the imagination of the nation. It is the story of Paco, a young boy without a father who adopts the pilot and convinces the town to build a runway to get him home.

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Based on a true story, Morgan Roberts is in the fight for his life as he battles a personal crisis. Returning to the summer camp of his youth, Morgan reunites with his childhood best friend and now camp director "Sunny", and finds himself as the camp counselor of a ragtag group of 10-year-olds. On an unforgettable journey of a desperate man in search of a miracle, this oddball group will have you laughing and crying as they find their way to having the best summer of their lives.

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Today, a few new ones from the Busan film festival in South Korea.



Based on the personal experiences of director Wang Xiaoshuai. In 1975, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, 11 year old Wang Han’s biggest worry is the new shirt he is going to wear during a gymnastics presentation. He pesters his mother to buy a new one, but a wounded murderer hiding on the village’s outskirts steals it. The film focuses on Han’s struggle to retrieve the shirt and also depicts the unsettling atmosphere engulfing the village from his perspective. With the history-making events only talked about by adults, and though difficult to understand, the grown-ups' world holds a fascination for Han, as does the back of the teenage village girl, leading to early sexual fantasies and adolescent physical discovery. After many complications he gets the shirt back, but by then he cannot bear to look the girl in the eye. Is he becoming an adult? The unpredictable moods of this turbulent period in China's history combine with wild-eyed youthful passion observed by a curious boy in the throes of growing up.

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In a village where it rains ash from an active volcano in the Kyushu region, brothers Koichi and Ryu, living apart as a result of their parents’ divorce, spend everyday on the phone. Unlike the laid-back younger brother Ryu living with their musician father, Koichi lives only for the day his family is reunited. One day, Koichi discovers a clever scheme to make his dream come true, and he and six friends go on a short journey to witness the miracle. An erupting volcano, crumbs from a snack, a thermometer indicating 40.1°C, a sprouting seed, a dropped coin, a dead dog in a backpack, a grandfather’s rice cake, a bicycle ring, acacia flowers, a picture of the brothers, a flag inscribed with the children’s wishes…
These are among the seemingly random images from the film’s second half that melt into the narrative and bring a smile to one’s face. This is another great work by Kore-eda Hirokazu, who once again draws fantastic performances from the young cast as he did in Nobody Knows.

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Raj dlja mamy  (Kazakhstan)
Mother's Paradise

A tragic but lyrical social drama by Kyrgyzstan’s preeminent filmmaker, Aktan ArymKubat, sees Iranian master director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s scenario transplanted to Kazakhstan. Polina is a single mother with two sons, Amir and Serikbai. Her husband, who left for Russia to find work, can’t be reached and her two sons are always getting in trouble. To make a living, Polina resorts to selling her body. But after her children discover her secret, and Amir is caught stealing their neighbor’s accordion, Polina makes a drastic choice. The director questions the standard for morality by wondering whether Polina is a fallen woman or a martyr. Young Serikbai believes that his mother went to heaven, a notion Amir doesn’t believe in at all. Though the two boys are still innocent, they have begun to realize that there is a standard morality is often held to. Perhaps human tragedy begins the moment we realize the concept of morality.

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Nono  (Philippines)

Residing in a slum, Toto is nonetheless a special boy. He was born with a disability—a cleft lip—so he can’t even pronounce his own name properly. Regardless, he insists on participating in a speech contest. He is not happy about his mother working at the bar and bringing home a man who doesn’t even speak the same language. He’s also displeased with his teacher, who feels pity for him and is visibly uncomfortable with him. But with a purity of passion and goodness of spirit, as well as the support of his uneducated, poor, but fundamentally loving mother, Toto tries to realize his humble yet ambitious dream of being treated equally to those around him.


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More than 12 million children in India work in manual labor. Stanley’s Tiffin Box tells the story of this desolate reality with a dispassionate eye.
Stanley never brings lunch to school. Obsessive about children having a lunch, his teacher Verna forbids him from coming to school without a packed meal. Though the move costs Verna his job, Stanley’s hidden problem remains that way until the film’s conclusion. At the core of the problem is a social reality that exploits children for physical labor.
Director Amol Gupte, who also stars as Verna, does not directly address the darker realities of India. Instead, the story is centered on the subtle conflict between the ill tempered Verna and Stanley, only to reveal in the end what the director really wanted to say. In other words, the film aims for a middle ground between a children’s film and a socialist film, making it a unique piece of cinematic work.

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Ryang-kang-do a-i-deul  (South Korea)
Ryang-kang-do: Merry Christmas, North!

The title itself bespeaks for this movie. This is a human drama for the family, and a postideological drama that took 7 years to complete. Various episodes about boys and girls living in Bochunbori, a small village in Ryang Gang Do, North Korea, unfold in this touching drama. It presents us with better entertainment than expected, with heart wrenching emotions and life lessons hard to ignore.
Fourth grader Jong-soo has a dream: to visit the capital Pyongyang, where the great Chairman Kim Jong-il resides. One day his dream to Pyongyang is shattered. Several children whose appearances were not up to par, including Jong-soo, were forbidden by
the school principal to go to Pyongyang in the school bus. Jong-soo decides to go on his own anyway, and is met with unexpected luck.
The role of Jong-soo is played by Kim Young-hwan, now a college freshman. His and other children’s performances are top class. It’s fun to just enjoy their performances. But this movie is by no means just for children. In fact, it is better suited for adults. The
post-ideology depicted is also very much commendable.

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Le Havre” means “port” in French. A ship where immigrant refugees sneaked in arrives at a port, and immigrant officials are busy tracking town illegal immigrants. Among these immigrant refugees is an African boy who is going to the United Kingdom to find his parents. Marcel accidentally sees him, and starts helping him by secretly providing him with food. Marcel is a shoeblack at the central station. He is so poor that he can’t afford bread, and his wife hospitalized. However, he demonstrates his goodwill toward humanity without hesitation. His goodwill affects his neighbors, and even immigrant officials end up helping the boy go back to Africa. While Robert Bresson who deeply influenced Kaurismaki is known for depicting the dark side of the condition in his famous film, L'argent (Money), Kaurismaki humorously shows circulation of ‘goodwill’ at a port in Le Havre. This Finnish master has, in essence, made a warmer style of Bresson.

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The setting is an isolated beach in the South Pacific where mangroves grow. A European woman returns to this Mexican beach with her son after years of life abroad. Will she be able to make peace with the ghosts of the past?
This wonderful piece is set off by the mysterious aura formed by the intertwining of reality and dream, and was entered in the Locarno competition. It has the power to draw the audience into its peculiar journey. The detailed and powerful production brings to life the theme of the movie –reconciliation with the past and forgiveness. The dancing waves coexist with the great mangrove jungle. This jungle is intimidating to foreigners, but they can find within it a fantastic yet hopeless world. The plot is a maze of riddles that finally comes to its climax when the woman’s story is revealed at the end. Except for the leading role, all the actors in the film were local residents in this low budget movie.

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Great work Zab, most of these I have never heard of - so many thanks to you for bringing them to our attention

Regards,
Cap`tkirk

Thanks gentlemen for the encouragement. I have been incredibly busy this year and haven't had the time to update this thread as I would like.
Cinefan, cinema is a global marketplace almost all of the features will be released in some market or another. Some are worth seeking out, some aren't.
A lot of the shorts are ending up on sites like vimeo or youtube. Googling the title can bring some of these rarities to you via the internet.

With the year almost done, I am committed to looking over the selections at the Toronto film fest today.

Zabladowski wrote on 19. Nov 2011 at 21:13:


sound like a good movie to watch anywhere in the world