IFFR 1999: Day 3

IFFR 1999, day 3

Project A, Survival Guide to the IFFR 1999

Review: The herd

DIRECTOR: Peter Lynch

'Ten percent of the world is tundra and no-one's out here.', says reindeerherder Andrew Bahr, halfway through this dramatised documentary by Peter Lynch. In the thirties the Canadian government tries to put an economic impuls into and prevent starvation of the people in the North-West territories by moving a herd of 3000 reindier from Alaska to the other side of the continent. Over 1200 miles of tundra, mountainranges, snow and ice have to be crossed done by five men who have to move something as amorphic ('you don't lead the herd, the herd leads you') and chaotic as a herd. That unbelievable task was accomplished after six years of complete struggle. Peter Lynch retells the tale by showing beautiful pictures of the way it is like now and dramatising all the people connected to the herd using voice overs and actors. He succeeds in making this into a very gripping and believable story and a feast for eyes and ears. Andrew Bahr were the true unknown heroes of the wild north. See it, because you may never get a chance to see it again.

Review: The Hole

DIRECTOR: Tsai Ming-Liang CAST: Yang Kuei-mei, Lee Kang-sheng

This movie is about an extremely narrow universe of two people living above each other. The hole, that was created to fix a leak, is the main connection between the two people. Both persons are alone and living their dreiry lives. This sense of dreiriness is even hightened because of the sudden virus that pops up and the constant raining. To comfort the viewer the movie gets interviened with fifties inspired cabaret intermezzos, which makes it almost look like a Dennis Potter television series. This movie soaks, it soaks good

Review: Bullet ballet

DIRECTOR: Tsukamoto Shinya

CAST: Tsukamoto Shinya, Mano Kirina, Nakamura Tatsuya

Gritty black and white Japanese hardcore violent action movie about a guy whose girlfriend commits suicide and then gets pestered by local punks. Trying to salvage his loss and to get even with the thugs he tries to get a gun but fails every time. A depressive tale put down on celluloid (or is it digital?) in such a cold way it's hard to feel sorry for any of the characters. The actionshots are so wildly shot it's grippin'. Not for faint hearts.

Review: Slidin' alles bunt und wunderbar

DIRECTORS: Barbara Albert, Michael Grimm, Reinhard Jud

It's fucking unbelievable from one unlikely moment into another. If Austrian kids are really like this they should all hang themselves like the guy in the last part of the trilogy who hangs himself after his father doesn't give him the car to show of to another girl. All three 'stories' kids are smoking, drinking, clubbing, fucking, raping, boring themselves to death. Unbelievable fucking unbelievable.