Tag: Victoria Film Festival

On Isa Willinger’s Hi A.I. and When Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

nullBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Victoria Film Festival 2020
Feb 12 | 3:15 PM | SilverCity #3

Spoiler Alert

Isa Willinger‘s Hi A.I. is a bizarre and long documentary about attempting to replicate human behaviour. This filmmaker shows how they work in the modern world than science fiction. We all worry about something along the lines of Terminator ala Skynet or I, Robot will take a decade or two more to realize before coders can replicate how the brain works to create that level of uncertainty.

Thankfully, this film is not about the dangers of artificial intelligence. If we can ignore the aspect of trying to put the technology into a human body (it’s still creepy to look at no matter what), the possibilities are endless. We are not there for cognitive ability, but it’s fascinating to see where we are with it now. The creations on display here aren’t ghosts in the shell or a machine either. Gilbert Ryle explains cognizance quite well and reference to his work was brief.

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[Victoria Film Festival 2020] Entering the Vast of the Night, A Movie Review

The Vast of the Night Movie PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Spoiler Alert

When much of the movie takes place in the Vast of the Night, the movie theatre (or your home video setup when it arrives to streaming) better be colour corrected to enjoy the picturesque nuances crafted by director Andrew Patterson and cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz. Even the use of solid blacks for long moments of dialogue gives a sense of you’re listening to a radio play than a feature length film.

The technical work behind this micro budget film is nothing but short of brilliant. I suspect the cameraman used a drone to create a beautiful long tracking sequence which stretched from one end of a small town to another. The tale, without giving too much away, deals with themes common for the era it’s set in–fear of the cold war and a threat nobody expects.

We’re not talking about what’s happening south of the border either. In Cayuga, New Mexico, all seems normal. The two nerdy teens, a self-assured Everett (Jake Horowitz) who works at the radio station and a very gabby Fay (Sierra McCormick), a switchboard operator, are the focus. Both performers have a sweet chemistry as they try to figure out what’s going on in true Hitchcock fashion. They are very capable of solving the best crimes in ala Nancy Drew too. It’s easy for me to know the outcome because of my enjoyment of this sci-fi suspense genre, but these kids are in the dark until the adults they are in contact with reveal an unsettling truth. To know more, this review is split. Huge spoilers are coming.

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[Victoria Film Festival 2020] Hiding Behind the Men’s Room is Sweet Music

The Men’s Room is a sombre documentary about a men’s choir who don’t have much of a future for themselves.

The Men's Room PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Feb 7 | 6:30 PM | Capitol 6
Feb 14 | 12:15 PM | The Vic

For Vi er Gutta (original title) or The Men’s Room is a sombre documentary about a men’s choir who don’t have much of a future for themselves. This movie length work by Petter Sommer and Jo Vemund Svendsen follows “The Male Choir,” a band of merry men who should be burdened with uncertainly. They are 40 somethings by my reckoning. Every Tuesday, they get together and sing the blues. It’s laced with references about women, whisky and wine one day, or that desire for rockstar fame in another. Ivar is their conductor. He helps the team fine tune their singing voice and honestly, they’re quite good. The music is therapy for them.

When they learn their lead has cancer, the plot is simple. Just how long does he have? They’ve been asked to open for Black Sabbath–no easy feat–and they better be on top of their game.

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Independent Film Shows Taking it “Easy” is Hardly That

Life is never Easy for anyone, ever. Isidoro (Nicola Nocella) had a chance for doing great things, but in whatever happened in his early career from transitioning from a champion go-kart racer to Formula One, it all came crashing down.

Easy

Life is never Easy for anyone, ever. Isidoro (Nicola Nocella) had a chance for doing great things, but in whatever happened in his early career from transitioning from a champion go-kart racer to Formula One, it all came crashing down. This detail is important and gets explored in the comedy-drama simply known as Easy. This film’s title is also the nickname given to this protagonist

He could have cut the calories earlier, but since he has become too big boned for his own good, he believes a lot of opportunities were lost. He’s become destitute and alone. Hints of clinical depression suggest he’s never gotten the help needed for a happier life. Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki shows that life at home is not as simple either. His mom fawns over his sibling brother and his room is like a mausoleum. All he remembers is his former glory and has little to look forward to in his adult life.

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The Power of Myth in Mirai no Mirai is Strong

Mirai no Mirai is a wonderous tale that I’ll be watching time and time again.

Mirai no Mirai Movie PosterMamoru Hosoda‘s Mirai no Mirai (未来のミライ) will get a North American home video release on April 9th, 2019 through GKIDs, but I had to see this title on the big screen first! It was this year’s Jammies and Toons selection at the Victoria Film Festival; they often feature an anime. This part of the show is one I’m always there for, and they sometimes promote it as part of Canada’s Family Day celebrations when the dates line up. This work by Studio Chizu is certainly the perfect choice.

This movie is jovial and very reassuring in teaching attention-seeking Kun (voiced by Jaden Waldman in the dub and Moka Kamishiraishi in the original) how family matters. Every time he acts up and tries to run away, his world gets turned upside down ala Alice in Wonderland. The Lewis Carroll references are light, but Tick-Tock if the time runs out, he better get the moral of what’s being taught to him Charles Dickens style, lest he gets forgotten. His parents are generally forgiving, but sometimes they feel too exasperated.

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Seder-Masochism, An Animated Magnum Opus

Easy

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Seder-Masochism is an animated film that’s not easy to classify. In one level, it’s a very loose retelling of Passover Seder, and in another, it’s an animated Broadway musical! One part developed to entertain and another part attacking the patriarchy within organised religion, I’m not certain if I should worry. I have my own opinion about following the light and never patronise how others follow God.

With this work, the events from the Book of Exodus are retold by Moses, Aharon, the Angel of Death, Jesus, and the director’s own father. The Goddesses, humanity’s earliest deities, are well represented. Presented are effigies of Lilith, Catal Huyuk, the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Venus of Willendorf. Great Isis is just as important, and a lot of time is spent interpreting what this ancient Egyptian culture’s spiritual path is like. Much of it is accurate, including the roles she played in Greco-Roman times. With these character designs, the way these Egyptian figures look suggests a sense of worry because of what’s looming.

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