20 something European films, 10 days. Major limiting factor: work weeks. hahaha.
Festival Top 3 Favorites:
Vratne' Lahve "Empties" (Czech Republic)
Hannahannah (The Netherlands)
Philantropique "Philantrophy" (Romania)
Day 1:
Favorite of the day
Vratne' Lahve "Empties" (Czech Republic) - It's a story of a 65 year old man in a turning 40 year marriage. The Czech Republic seems to always deliver during the festival. The movies I've seen from them deliver a balanced dose of humor, drama and self-realizations. The guy who played the main lead was also the same guy in Kolya, one of my favorites in a previous Cine Europa show.
Other films watched:
Svetat E Golyam I Spasenje Debne Obtysyakada "The World is Big & Salvation Lurks around the Corner" (Bulgaria) - A 20 something year old trying to remember his past after an accident. I Loved the use of backgammon in the film. It makes me want to play again. :)
Frygtelig Lykkelig "Terribly Happy" (Denmark) - A police officer is assigned to a small town with dark secrets. Learned a new greeting: Moijn.
Kielletty Hedelma "Forbidden Fruit" (Finland) - Two women from a very conservative Christian sect go to the big city. I sympathize with and relate to the character named Toni.
Day 2:
Favorite of the day
El Greco (Greece) - the story of a famous painter dubbed as El Greco as he was from Crete. He left the island and moved to Venice and eventually settled in Spain. I recognized some of the paintings. The grand inquisitor role was nicely played. Also, beards.
Other films watched:
Tout Est Pardonne' "All is Forgotten" (France) - the plot revolves around a family initially from the point of view of the drug-addicted father then ending with the point of view of the daughter 11 years after. A bit dragging but still okay. The daughter and her friend, during the 11 years after part, were cute.
Der Rauber "Der Rauber" (Germany/Austria) - a thief trains for marathons and wins them but cannot let go of robbing banks. It has a couple of fun scenes.
Mio fratello e' figlio unico "My Brother is an Only Child" (Italy) - I might be off but I think the story was about the search of Accio of a belief system that fit him. He first started from a life in the seminary. He leaves to return home then becomes a Facist and eventually pursues Communism. It also revolves around sibling interactions and the journey of self-realization of Accio. It dragged like hell sometimes, which is something I've noticed from most of the Italian films I've seen in Cine Europa.
Day 3:
Favorite of the day
Philantropique "Philantrophy" (Romania) - twas about organized begging and other scams mostly from the perspective of a struggling newbie writer. The movie originally to be played was Mircea but it freeze framed a lot like a scratched up pirated dvd copy so the staff decided to replace it with something else. It has a lot of enjoyable scenes.
Other films watched:
Hannahannah (The Netherlands) - a one night stand turns into a potential long term relationship for Hannah. I loved the film especially for the small tidbits provided by Hannah's parents in their video to the entire family. It was about thier experiences being part of a 40 year marriage and their advise to their children.
Pokoj V Dusi "Soul at Peace" (Slovenia) - I honestly forgot about this film. I guess it just did not stand out for me. It was about some guy trying to make ends meet after being released from prison for poaching.
El Abuelo "The Grandfather" (Spain) - nice film about an old man trying to find a way to live the rest of his life and making a lot of spitfire statements along the way to various parties. I liked it primarily for the banter/insults thrown by the lead character.
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