Friday, November 21, 2008

Oslo International Filmfestival, and we're off

And we're off. As of yesterday actually. I have seen three movies thus far, and I have plenty more on the program=D
I am a volunteer this year, so I get to see as many movies as I want for free=D

Slumdog Millionaire
The festival started yesterday with a bang. With the exception of the audience on the closing film at London International Filmfestival we were the first in Europe to see it, which of course was awesome.
I went into it expecting a violent, but ultimately unengaging movie, and I could not have been more wrong. It was a moving, spectacular love story.
It's about this boy, Jamal, who wins the grand price in Who Want's to be a Millionaire, and is suspected of having cheated, who tells the story of how he came to know all the answers to a police officer, and thus we come to know his life. From his start in the slum, his brutal older brother, and his love for Latika. I must admit it was both violent and brutal at times, but it was done in a way that it didn't seem pointless, it all drove the movie forwards. All the actors were good, and I was particularly amazed by the children, who managed to play the roles very convincingly.
I really recommend this movie. And I really want it on DVD=D



Lorna's Silence
I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this movie, seeing as I don't usually like this kind of movies, but this one was captivating.
It's about a girl from Albania who has married a junky to get a Belgian citizenship, but the movie doesn't offer much in the way of explanation of anything, so I kind of had to piece together what had happened from very little information.
One of the criticisms it got on IMDB is that it was hard to understand the motivations of the main characters, but I think this added to the realism of it all. It seemed more like a fly on the wall thing, than an actual movie, and in real life you don't always understand the motivations of those around you (at least I don't). I think it became this way because of the lack of explanation, but again, I think that added to the realism of it all. It was one 100% cronological, and then of course things become confusing sometimes.
I would recommend it mostly for those who like slow beautiful movies, that are not at all in any way main stream blockbusters. It was art, to be honest, more art than movie, and I loved it.



(I could not find a subtitled version of the trailer, but you get kind of a feel of the movie. Even if it does seem a tad like a scary movie. It's not. At all)

W.
I was expecting great things from this movie, and honestly, it did not deliver. It was boring to say the truth. I think it's mainly a movie for people who are really into American politics. It was sort of interresting to see how Bush became the man that he is, but it's a movie, so how much of it can I trust to be true.?
I thought it would be a rather harsh criticism, but it fell kinda flat on that point. To me it ended up being a movie about a man who craps on his leg multiple times and eats a lot. There was lots and lots of eating in this movie, closeups of eating, which I found not only pointless, but really gross.
Fiancé like it much better than I did, but he is really into American politics, so it was way more interesting for him than for me.
I won't say that it was a bad movie, it was just not for me. It dragged out and could very well have been at least 20 min shorter, but I can't really say what to cut. Maybe all the clips of him lazing around watching sports.
I recommend this movie for those who are into American politics. Or those who want's to learn about George W. Bush.


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