As you may well know by now I live in northwest Washington, and that affords me the ability to venture of north each year to dip my toes into the lake of film festival circuit by attending the annual Vancouver International Film Festival. This year was no different and even though I only was able to see two of the many films on offer I wanted to once again share my experience with you. So with that out of the way lets dive right in to the 37th annual VIFF!
Director: Bill Oliver
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Patricia Clarkson, Suki Waterhouse
Plot: A young man living with a condition where two consciousness' inhabit one body, copes with having to only fully live half a life.
Opinion: I completely adored this movie. A great mixture of light sci-fi and human drama, the film smartly takes it's time to build Jonathan and Jon's relationship and by the end you are utterly invested and emotionally attached to them. It also helps that the film is anchored by one of my favorite performances of the year from Elgort in his challenging duel roles. I highly recommend you go see this if you have a chance when it enters a wider release or debuts on home media, and can honestly say that "Jonathan" is up there with the best films I've seen so far this year.
Director: Siew Hua Yeo
Starring: Peter Yu, Xiaoyi Liu, Yue Goa
Plot: A detective in Singapore investigates the disappearance of a migrant Chinese construction worker.
Opinion: Well not all the movies I've seen at the VIFF have been winners, but this one is more vexing then most because with a bit more time in the editing room the film could be so much better. As it stands though the film is kind of a mess with duel narratives that never really mesh or find a cohesive conclusion. Still I'm glad I got to see it regardless as its always fun to get to experience a different culture through it's art.
Well that wraps up my experience at this years Vancouver International Film Festival! As always thank you for reading and I will see you next time!
Comments
Post a Comment