This being my first film festival, I was not sure what to expect. We didn't make much plans except for purchasing the bus tickets, as the train tickets were already sold out. Also, we had read that the hotels in the area near the festival were fully booked, but that there were plenty of motels (aka sketchy "love motels") around.
We also didn't book tickets for any of the films as we were not quite sure what we wanted to see and at what times.
Saturday we bought tickets to see 2 films (as they were the only ones we could get tickets to). Both are Japanese films, and were pretty good! We saw "Gravity's Clown" and "The Villon's Wife"
Gravity's Clown was by far our favorite of the trip. It is directed by Mori Junichi who was at the festival and gave a brief introduction to the film.
"Based on popular writer Isaka Kotaro's bestselling novel, reworked into an emotionally charged mystery by promising director Mori Junichi (Laundry). A puzzling series of arsons grip the city of Sendai, causing the tragic history of one family to resurface. The clever storytelling is imbued with the struggles of life and familial love. Izumi (Kase Ryo) and Haru (Okada Masaki) are close brothers separated in age only by two years. Izumi is a university genetics student while Haru believes himself to be Picasso reborn. The brothers grew up in a home that placed importance on strong family ties, receiving all the love of their parents—mild-mannered father Masashi (Kohinata Fumiyo) and beautiful mother Rieko (Suzuki Kyoka), who passed away seven years ago. Meanwhile, the local city of Sendai has been hit by a string of arson incidents. While working part-time as a graffiti cleaner in town, Haru discovers mysterious graffiti near the scene of each of the fires. Suspecting a link to the arsons, Haru invites Izumi to stake out the city streets at night" - J-pitch.jpGravity's Clown Trailer: (in Japanese)
The film was really interesting although a little predictable. It definitely kept me interested in the mystery surrounding the arsons as well as the ongoing dilemma's between the family members.
The second film we saw was called Villon's Wife (Viyon no tsuma in Japanese) and is directed by Kichitaro Negishi.
This film started off very interesting even though the plot sounds dull. You can't help but fall in love with the character of Sachi as she is wonderful, kind, sweet, and beautiful to all around her. Her husband is an alcoholic novelist who doesn't appreciate his wife and who also succombs to societies vices. The film is very well done except the ending is abrubt, confusing, and feels disconnected from the rest of the film. Still, it has it's high points and I still recommend watching it.
Villon's Wife Trailer: (in Japanese)
Before films, we had breakfast at a famous kong na mul kuk (bean sprout soup) restaurant. It was an interesting choice for breakfast, but remarkably good.
Before the films started we walked around the nearby Hanok Folk Village. However, we didn't have much time to explore because of the film schedules. There was so much going on too!
We passed by a paper festival inside the village where vendors were making and selling all sorts of interesting objects made of paper. My favorite was a stand that made boxes, tables, pottery, and even shoes out of paper.
these are made of paper...
We also passed through a Roman Catholic church festival. I even got some pictures of inside the church which was very beautiful.
That night we also got to watch the Cyon B-Boy Championships behind held at the film festival. It was interesting to watch these guys spinning on their heads, doing all sorts of breakdancing moves, and really put on a show.
On Sunday, we had tickets to see "Anifest Shorts" - a compilation of 8 short animation films. We were looking forward to seeing this the most as we both like to see animation. However, it turned out to be the most disappointing as the shorts were well done, but we thought they were a little boring and the plots were not very interesting. Our favorite of the 8 films were these 3 shorts:
| Karu Tuleb! |
| Cinemafest | Anifest DICRECTOR : Jānis Cimermanis LATVIA | 2008 | 15MIN | 35MM | COLOR |
"A hungry bear starts fishing and floats down to the Estonian island of Ruhnu. The starved bear steals food from the village, and people are shocked with horror. The villagers protest and a policeman moves out to catch the bear alive, but for the children, the bear is merely a fascinating animal. The story is a cheerful riot of an outrageous bear and its surrounding characters." - JIFF
|
"Munk and Lemmy who are in dismay of finding a dried up apple tree in the middle of the desert, coincidently find an oasis that gushes out a magic spring. They revive the apple tree with the magic water and are very happy about it. However, the spring that gives life to everything creates a conundrum. An animation utilizing stop motion techniques, and dolls made by hand; it is delightful to see Munk and Lemmy’s charming movements." -JIFF
|
"A king’s palace is amidst a grand party when a magician with freezing powers arrives. However, the magician is not welcomed and becomes the laugh of the crowd. The angered magician abducts the princess, and a young boy Page is the only one to save the princess! The appearance of colorful handmade dolls and special effects of snow and fire are presented in a favorable light." - JIFFBefore we left on Sunday afternoon, we had to get some of Jeonju's famous bibimbap! We stopped at a place nearby that was recommended by a taxi driver. It was delicious!
If you ever plan on attending the festival, take the time to enjoy yourself. There is a lot to see and do!
No comments:
Post a Comment