REPRISE
7.5/10
Best film of the festival (so far!). Admittedly, it's my first day of film watching so there's plenty more to come. This is a norwegian film set in Oslo about two friends who have written their respective first novels and the story that follows. Lots of great musical references throughout, from Joy Division and Le Tigre in the soundtrack to Blur and Joy Division t-shirts worn by the characters (and more than one Fred Perry too I might add). Lots of great interaction between a group of 20-something male friends and had some good moments as well as some serious, but overall a good fun film. Recommended!

BEAUTY IN TROUBLE
4/10

A film about Kenny Rogers getting taken for a ride by eastern euro-trash. Okay, maybe not. It's a story about a family in Prague who is trying to get by after a flood caused them financial ruin. The husband is doing what he can to get by, but the relationship with his wife doesn't appear to be particularly strong, and the ensuing story leaves you with very little care for any of them. Except maybe the rich older gent that the wife shacks up with (who looks a bit like Kenny Rogers). Not the worst film I've seen, but I wouldn't bother. Some good performances by the aforementioned Kenny Rogers lookalike and also the slimy and despicable uncle.

BREATH
7/10
I might have mentioned how much I enjoyed Kim Ki-Duk's '3-Iron' at MIFF a couple of years ago, and so I was highly anticipating this film (as well his other MIFF offering this year, 'Time'). It's definitely got whatever it is that made me like 3-Iron. The funny thing is, walking out, I couldn't really understand why I liked it so much - and, for that matter, how he ever pitched the film successfully. But I did, and so did he, and that's a good thing. The story is about a couple with a small daughter whose marriage is going through a rocky period, and how the wife goes about visiting a convicted murderer in prison. Anyway, throw away thoughts about the plot and just watch - this was a really enjoyable film and I recommend seeing it. I like 3-Iron more, but this is still worthwhile. And remember, never leave inmates loose with toothbrushes.


SCOTT WALKER: 30 CENTURY MAN
6/10
I'm not sure how I discovered Scott Walker, but it was most likely because I really like The Divine Comedy's albums and Neil Hannon from the band is definitely influenced by the music of The Walker Brothers and Scott Walker's early solo material. So, I have a couple of their older albums and really like them. 'It's Raining Today' off 'Scott 3' is probably my favourite song amongst that collection. This film is a documentary about Scott Walker and was done by Stephen Kijak who did another great doco called Cinemania at MIFF a few years ago. I guess the thing for me is that I know of a certain Scott Walker, and that's the guy responsible for some popular music recorded in the 60s/70s. I didn't realise he was still making records, (althogh only one every 10 or so years) and that he'd certainly taken a more 'creative' turn since the 80s. If you're into haunted house/experimental/goth/clanging dischorded/meat punching fusion, then I highly suggest checking out his later efforts. But, I think I'll stick with the old cliche, 'I like your old stuff better than your new stuff'. Anyway this documentary did a good job at getting Scott to talk about his life and had some great interviews with the likes of Jarvis Cocker, David Bowie, etc, and surprisingly no sign of Bono who seems to whore himself around every music doco ever made. It was interesting to see what this artist chose as his musical direction when he didn't need to care about money or popularity anymore. But I think you'll probably want to be a fan of his to make it worthwhile.