Excuse my sleepy face in the pictures, I had just been to a theatre to watch a film. In fact, I went to 4 different theatres to watch 4 different films. It’s the International Film Festival Rotterdam again, one of my favourites. I first encountered this festival when I studied and lived in Rotterdam and ever since I try to go as much as I can. Of course this was easier when I was still living in Rotterdam, so that’s why I tried to squeeze as many films as possible in one day. With enough time left for eating and shopping, of course. What I love about the Film Festival, is that it gives you a chance to experience a little bit of other cultures, visions and new ideas. It’s a great opportunity to watch films you will otherwise probably never see or even hear of. Below you find the titles of the ones that I saw, I hope you will be able to see them somehow, because they were all great to watch in their own way.
1. Comrade Kim Goes Flying
Who said that a propaganda film can’t be a feel-good film? Like the main character I had a smile plastered on my face for the entire film. It’s about a North-Korean girl, working in a coal mine but dreaming of being a circus acrobat. It’s pretty predictable (think: hard work leads to success), but there are loads of unexpected funny moments in it. The art-direction is sublime, the colours almost give you cavities. I love it. Definitely my cup of tea. Yup, I realize that’s a weird thing to say about a North-Korean communist propaganda film.
2. Rhino Season
This one was kind of dark and quiet. I can’t give away too much of the story, because there’s not too much happening in this film, so that would mean I’d be spoiling the whole thing. The main character is a Kurdish-Iranian poet. The film is presented as a poem, so without the continuity of a normal story. Sahel has just finished a 30-year prison sentence and tries to find back the love of his life. His acting skills are really good, he almost doesn’t say a word during the entire film, but his real feelings still come through all the time.
3. Oh Boy
This black&white film is settled in Berlin, one of my favourite cities and therefore a big reason for me to see this. The story is about a day in the life of a boy who is trying to find his way. He dropped out of school, his relationship has just ended, he doesn’t have a job, his friends aren’t exactly rolemodels. During this particular day a lot goes wrong (funny theme: it’s impossible for him to get a cup of coffee throughout the whole film), but he also meets new people who learn him new things about life. The film feels very authentic and real, so even though I’m not a job-less drop-out I felt like I could relate to the main character.
4. Vulgaria
One word: Bizarre. A Hong Kong film producer lectures film students on how he got out of financial problems producing an adult film. The film he’s talking about was assigned to him by the head of a triad gang, who is willing to pay big bucks if he makes the sequel to an old adult movie, starring the same actress, who is now in her 70s. Vulgaria is definitely not the best film I’ve ever seen, but I found it’s bizarreness truly amusing.
ph. by scott van der winden
