Calgary International Film Festival: Comedy Shorts (2012)

I scored some tickets last minute for the 2012 Calgary Film Festival and saw a collection comedy shorts: 

•  BEAR (dir. Nash Edgerton, Australia, 2011) Easily the best and greatest film of the collection. Too bad it was first since the rest had a hard time measuring up. A man goes through great effort to surprise his girlfriend with a gift on her birthday, but the sheer horror of his good intentions and their consequences are blindingly hilarious.
•  BOYS NIGHT IN (dir. Brian McElhany and Nick Kocher, USA, 2012) Multiple episodes of the same joke: a guy's friend comes over and it gets increasingly gay.
•  GAMES PEOPLE PLAY (dir. Two Trick Pony, USA, 2012) A very dull and clichéd story with board game themes. Too bad. I like board games.
•  GROOVE YOUR LIFE (dir. Vincent Burgevin and Frank Lebon, France, 2011) A dark comedy about a music group you can call to follow you around and jazz up, oops, groove up your life. A suicidal man gets a second chance.
•  BUYER'S MARKET (dir. Nathan Fielder, Canada, 2012) I really enjoyed this tale of a squatter foiling a real estate agents sale. A really gross moment makes this epic.
•  SPECIAL DELIVERY (dir. Graham Lester George, Spain, 2012) This was close to the best I saw in this set. Some great comic moments when a postman accidentally drops a lit cigarette through the mail slot.
•  DAD DRIVES: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER (dir. Daniel Beirne, Canada, 2012) A father gives his mature son the sex talk - pretty funny and uncomfortable.
•  BLITZEN TRAPPER MASSACRE (dir. Joshua Homnick and Rainn Wilson, USA, 2011) Rainn Wilson of The Office fame goes on a killing spree. Not funny, not even once.
•  LAST WORDS (dir. Tony Yacenda, USA, 2011) This was just crass and irreverent without being funny at all.
•  PARACHUTE (dir. Martin Thibaudeau, France, 2012) Skydiving hustle which leads to awkward decision making - fun enough.
•  CANOEJACKED (dir. Jonathan Williams, Canada, 2012) I don't remember much about this except that it was some dark humour about escaped convicts and I laughed.
•  TALKING DOG FOR SALE: TEN EUROS (dir. Lewis-Martin Soucy, France, 2012) An old joke gets the film treatment, so if you've heard the joke, you know the punchline. I had heard the joke before.
•  THE PROCESSION (dir. Robert Festinger, USA, 2012) A funeral procession is interrupted, a great set up for comedy, but it just falls flat with boring dialogue and cliché.

Animal Kingdom (2010)

This film is too over the top I think, but maybe I just don't know the Australian trailerpark crime culture well enough. The crime and the response to crime seems cartoonish without trying to be.

An orphaned teen cousin ends up living with his criminal uncles and ringleader grandmother. The police will go to any lengths to get them and they will do anything to avoid getting caught. Some rather horrific stuff really.

Official Site | IMDB

$9.99 (2008)

A first feature by an Australian animator, $9.99 is original and packs a lot into the 78 minutes it takes to watch it. An ensemble cast of clay figurines who occupy an apartment building in Sydney, Australia are the centre of this tale about the meaning of life.

The film opens with an odd interchange between a homeless man and a business man. The homeless man ends up offing himself and later reappears as a disgruntled angel. The business man's sons meaning in their lives. An elderly man seeks companionship. A model moves in and seduces a tenant. A magician tries to avoid having his things repossessed. Through it all, the meaning of life is for sale in a small book available for only $9.99

The artistic merit and effort makes this film worthwhile. The story does have some value too, but it's not as engaging as the clay figures who tell it.

Official Site | IMDB

Australia (2008)

I highly anticipated this film from Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). He adds unrestrained style and flair to his films which is refreshing since so many films cater to as broad an audience as possible and become bland as a result.

The story centres on a woman who, after just arriving in Australia, becomes the manager of a cattle ranch in the outback. The ranch provides the only competition to a massive cattle producer during wartime. A relationship forms between the Mrs. and her drover. But the film doesn't end there. Luhrmann tackles several historical elements of his native land - the main one being the whites' relationship with aboriginies and those of mixed race. 

The film goes on for 2.5 hours and the climaxes don't necessarily increase. Many of the performances are superb and there is hardly a boring moment in the film. I found the computer generated cattle somewhat unbelievable, but it is hard to find good bovine actors. 

Official Site | IMDB

Dead Letter Office (1998)

An interesting blend between myth and reality, Dead Letter Office is a sweet and quirky film set in Australia.

Alice's father abandoned her when she was young. It didn't stop her writing letters to him. When her life is going nowhere, she decides to see if she can find her dad using the experts at the Dead Letter Office by getting a job there herself. Her supervisor is a Chilean who escaped General Pinochet's death squads. A relationship ensues; the story takes off, slowly.

The acting and direction is fine in this film. The writing is perhaps just a touch over dramatic and there are serious pacing issues about 3/4 of the way through. 

Viewers will likely be drawn into the Chilean's issues as they are more veiled and his social group much more interesting. Alice mopes around in a melancholy funk for most of the film - not exciting cinema.

One of the principle themes as it relates to the title is that sometimes we find ourselves at an impasse, unable to move on. At these points, we need other people to help us regain traction and find a new direction.

Truth: "Where did we come from?" is just as important a question as "Where are we going?" 

IMDB

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

Australia seems to produce some of the freshest comedies (Young Einstein and Strictly Ballroom come to mind). This one isn't an exception, in fact it adds a powerful dimension of a shattered woman's psyche.

Toni Collette plays Muriel, a deluded failure in life who fantasizes of having a regal wedding. Her father incessantly reminds her that she is a loser and her friends are more like tasmanian devils. She medicates herself with pop group Abba's music. Muriel screws up over and over again and we join her for the ride.

What makes this movie so strong is the tremendous acting and writing. Nothing is hidden and everything is kept unbearably real, right down to emphasizing flaws from every angle. Viewers are chilled by the characters inhumanity towards one another.

Truth: Until we feel validated, we will seek it. Fathers play a huge role in validating their daughters and sons.

IMDB