Film Festival 2008 Round-Up

14 November 2008

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Awards season is looming after the excitement of the big blockbuster summer and, as per usual, it's the festival circuit that has uncovered a string of movie gems that are expected to play a big part in the fight for the gongs.

Although the Cannes Film Festival opened with a bang as the Kung Fu Panda train rolled into town and had the world premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but there were a series of movies that stirred the audience and are expected to feature heavily come the Oscars.

Coming early in the line-up was Israeli animation Waltz with Bashir which depicts the massacre of the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. The film’s main character is director Ari Folman himself who realises that there are major parts of his life, his experience as an Israeli soldier during the Lebanon war of the eighties, missing from his memory and is one of the most talked about films of the year after it taking the festival by storm.

Angelina Jolie may have been part of the Kung Fu Panda spectacle at the beginning of proceedings it was Clint Eastwood's Changeling that everyone was waiting to see, a role that many expect her to at least get a Best Actress Oscar nomination, if not win the award itself.

Benicio Del Toro also kicked off the Best Actor competition with his portrayal of revolutionary Che Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's four hour epic Che, which will be released in two parts and has gone on to gather serious support as it played on numerous occasions on the festival circuit.

Steve McQueen's movie Hunger also caught the eye of the critics screening at Cannes to critical acclaim as did Gomorrah and Synecdoche New York.

But it was French picture The Class that scooped the prestigious Palme d'Or. François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighbourhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students.

Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As amusing and inspiring as the teenaged students can be, their difficult behaviour can still jeopardise any teacher's enthusiasm for the low-paying job.

François insists on an atmosphere of respect and diligence. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. But his classroom ethics are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods...

But Venice Film Festival was a major disappointment as it seemed to run out of steam at the half way point the writer's strike is being blamed for the lack luster line-up which is famous for kicking off the award season as well as highlighting movies that tend to do well when the gongs start to get handed out, while other are simply suggesting that 2008 is a bad year for film.

However there were a handful of movies that did shine including Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff, his adaptation of The Little Mermaid. The film follows a five year old boy named Souske and his relationship with a goldfish princess named Ponyo who longs to become human.

A second Japanese picture, Achilles and the Tortoise is also proving to be popular with the critics. The film, which is directed by Takeshi Kitano, follows Machisu who is born into a wealthy family but loses his parents as a child and decides to follow his dreams of being a painter.

But it was Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler that scooped the Golden Lion. The Wrestler follows Randy 'Ram' Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, a retired professional wrestler who was forced to quit after a heart attack threatened to kill him if he wrestled again.

Trying to move on Robinson starts working in a deli as well as moving in with an ageing stripper and trying to build a relationship with her son. But the chance of a rematch with his old nemesis Ayatollah proves too much of a temptation even though the fight could cost him his life.

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