# Off-topic Rants

This is a documentary about a community of a former mining town, which is dealing with poverty and illegal drug use. It’s a compelling, yet chilling portrait, but unfortunately, I found it kind of dull.

I really liked this movie. It still amazes me that people can come up with such fantastic scripts, which only feature one location and a couple of actors. This is a film about two dodgy looking ex-criminals that are travelling on the last night train to Fremantle; basically your stereotypical loud drinking train bogans. One of the men is a real big and scary man, although clearly smart but also with obvious anger management issues. The other is more of a side kick; young, less intelligent, immature, but quite funny. When an attractive woman gets aboard the train, both men are instantly captured. To an outsider, it would look like a couple of drop beats are harassing a young attractive woman, which is basically correct. At the next station, an older woman boards as well as a quiet geeky young man. As the trip to Fremantle continues, the power balance takes a much unexpected twist. This is one of the best Australian thrillers I’ve ever seen. The whole movie is just so tight and unpredictable. Although you know that the characters aren’t what they seem, you can never quite work out what their real story is. The best part is everything only becomes clear at the very last moment, so you’re pretty much at the edge of your seat the whole movie. I really loved everything about this film. The acting was superb. All the characters felt very, very real. The dialog was absolutely spot on. I really liked the classical music that played right through out the film. It added a nice subtle ambiance and helped set a great mood. It also helped reinforce the feeling of danger in some of the more dramatic scenes. The sound effects and Foley were great. Audio wise, the film felt very natural and authentic. This is a really entertaining film that keeps you guessing none stop. It also shows that you don’t need a lot of money to make a fantastic film. All you really need is a good idea.

Markus lives in a small German village, with his adoring wife, working as a metal worker, and a part time fireman. After saving the life of someone who attempts to commit suicide, he goes on a weekend training session with the fire brigade. On the first night, he gets blind drunk and wakes up in bed with a waitress. Despite the fact that he still loves his wife, the relationship between Markus and the waitress grows and continues. This film explores Markus’ life, as he attempts to keep both relationships going. I found this film to be very slow and boring, and I guess because Markus was cheating on his wife, I didn’t really feel any respect for this character. The photography was very bland, and dreary, and the soundtrack was also very uninteresting and unexciting. It was another one of those typical “look inside someone’s life” kinds of films – but it was a life I would have preferred not to intrude into. As soon as this film started, I couldn’t wait for it to end.

This is a really well structured documentary, exploring the history of Punk over the last 30 years. Mixing interviews with video clips, and animations, this is a really good film that sheds some really interesting and cool facts on a world I’ve never had anything to do with. It had some really funny moments, but what made it so entertaining was that the pacing was so fast. You didn’t get a chance to even think about being bored, which is great. I really enjoyed this film.

This is an amazing insightful documentary that takes an extremely close look into the world of Raul Castells, an Argentinean man who is fighting for the rights of the poor people in his country. You are right there with him, as he organises peaceful and non-violent protests against the corrupt government. Raul is non-religious, big and loud, walking, talking, yelling, screaming machine that devotes all his energy and power to his beliefs. He would die for the good of the people that support him – and this film proves it. This film really takes you on a journey, and helps you understand what this country is going through. It has some amazing footage and has been edited together perfectly. This is a very inspiring film.

This is a film about a young man who travels with his mother to a shopping centre after a really big night of heavy drinking. Whilst driving along, we watch and observe some really uncomfortable and depressing conversations between the two. This is a really simple film, that is mostly driven by powerful dialog, although the opening scene is quite dramatic as the man returns home really, really drunk and without a key. It’s a short film that basically shows a unique insight into a troubled man’s life. I’m not quite sure if I liked it or not.

After watching so many slow films over the past couple of days, it was a relief to see a non-stop action packed movie. Despite the fact that I’m really not a fan of sword fighting movies, I was definitely ready for this one. It’s an epic movie about a group of 17th century sword fighters that team up together to defend a village against an army of ruthless killers, who aim is to exchange the dead bodies of the towns people for cash. Jam packed with sword fighting, decapitations, disfigurations, lush landscapes, strong men, sexy women and fancy wirework, this film is a visual masterpiece. The soundtrack is complex and in-your-face, with some face-cringing skin-slicing moments. The music is grand, with some great orchestral sections. Although I didn’t really like the story line, as it was a bit to fantasy for me, that didn’t matter. There was no time to think about it. You basically sat down and were taken on a hair-raising rollercoaster ride, full of magic and almost traditional special effects. If you’re in to blockbuster fight sequences, or have recently watch way to many human interest movies, then you can’t go past this one!

This is a film based on a true story of a Catholic priest and a young idealistic English teacher who found themselves caught up in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Filmed on location and employing actual survivors of the genocide, this is a deeply affecting and moving film that conveys a very important and powerful message. The cast is truly remarkable. As a viewer, you develop a huge attachment to all of the characters. The images are incredible, and although there are a lot of horribly graphic scenes, they needed to be included. Although you come out of the theatre feeling completely emotionally drained, it feels like a privilege to watch this film.

Why was this film in the festival? It’s basically just a whole lot of random shots of an empty town. It’s just ten minutes of boring footage with a poor soundtrack. What a waste of my time!

This is a really great short film about a young Latino-Australian man, who lives with his loving mother and grandmother at home and works night shifts at a produce market. He decides one day that he’s sick of his current job, and wants to apply for a job at a shoe shop. This film basically explores the struggle to even get to the point of an interview. It’s so great to see a financially struggling family work together and think outside the box. This film also focuses on the courage needed to turn ones life around. Visually, this short was very well filmed, with an appropriate soundtrack and score. It tells a very basic story, and thanks to a strong yet small cast, does it very effectively.