Alright so for the past two weeks I saw a number of films from the Melbourne International Film Festival here are my write-ups for
each of them #MIFF2016
The Red Turtle (Dir Michael Dudok de Wit) - This is a nicely animated french-japanese collaboration from studio ghibli but
the story and plot is oh so dull and cliche. Worth watching for the nice animation at least. ***
The Love Witch (Dir Anna Biller) - Loved this, it's like a classy snarky take on classic 60s sitcoms with a horror twist and some awesome visuals. ****
Cosmos (Dir Andrzej Żuławski) - It's well-made but it didn't leave much of a impact on me, some of the pseudo-intellectual conversations between the protagonists
are entertaining to watch at least. ***
Sunset Song (Dir Terrence Davies) - Wonderful film, it has beautiful cinematography and has a heart-wrenchingly good performance from the lead actress.
Evolution (Dir Lucile Hadihalilović

- Probably not to everyone tastes, but I fucking loved this, much like the director's previous film innocence has a real Lynch and Picnic
at hanging rock vibe, but here you see all of those influences but with some extra cronenberg in the mix, all the while feeling like it's own original thing, can't wait
for whatever the director has coming out next. **** 1/2
The Neon Demon (Dir Nicolas Winding Refn) - There's nothing particular groundbreaking about the film, but like Refn previous flicks it is
stylish as fuck, has great music and probably one of the more entertaining films I watched at MIFF. *** 1/2
The Handmaiden (Dir Park-chan wook) - This film is more convoluted and ridiculous than a japanese anime but it doesn't stop it from being FUCKING AWESOME
a another entertaing piece of cinema from Park-Chan Wook. I'll also never listen to "Journey to the Line" by Hans Zimmer the same way again after seeing it
utilised in this film. ****
Staying Vertical (Dir Alain Guiraudie) - This is a weird film, it's hard to describe what exactly it's about, it revolves around a film-maker who is procrastinating on making a film, so it follows his often bizarre journey of being essentially homeless, impregnanting a women, then having a baby that he carries around for the whole film
and then there's some more weirdness like a weird sex scene that involves death and pink floyd, regardless it was one of the best films I saw at the festival and
I definitely enjoyed every minute of it, even if I'm not exactly sure what type of moral lesson i'm suppose to drawn from it. ****
Despite the Night (Dir Philippe Grandrieux) - The style and how the film's dreamlike structure and loose plot reminds me of a Alain Resnais but unlike the latter I found
this film to be painful and boring, this was the only film I was tempted to walk out of during the screening and apart from the weird torture scene at the end I don't think
I remembered a single thing about the film. **
Born in Flames (Dir Lizzie Borden) - Classic cheesy 80s science-fiction film about a group of feminist revolutionaries overthrowing a degenerated workers state that still imposes
patriarchy in a post-revolutionary society in the united states. It's as entertaining and as awesome as that premise sounds ****
The Land of the Enlightened (Dir Pieter-Jan De Pue) - Beautifully cinematographed and re-enactment of what life is really like in post-occupation Afghanistan - some
of the film could have used a tighter narrative structure, and some of the narration is a bit hokey, but it's well-worth watching *** 1/2
Certain Women (Dir Kelly Reichardt) - My first film by Kelly Reichardt and I don't think it will be the last. It's very minimalist, low-key and has revolves around
three stories where really not much happens at all, but it's attention to detail is brilliant, and the film evokes a strange sense of melancholy that's hard to
pin down, especially in the third story which is wonderful. ****
Lo and Behold Reveries of the Connected World (Dir Werner Herzog) - A another masterpiece from Herzog in which he explores the history of the internet and all the existential
implications that come with it - both positive and negative. I was blown away by how much Herzog was able to pack in a 1-hour and 30-minute documentary. *****