2014 Chicago Film Festival
This concludes another year of the Chicago Film Festival,
which this year featured Scandinavian films and a celebration of many former
prize winners as a celebration of their 50th year, still the longest running
film festival in North America. While
others are flashier and create more hype by screening American premieres of
prize-winning festival films, Chicago screened a handful as well, including the
Cannes Palme d’Or winner, and plenty of films no one has ever heard of, where
the festival is all about a mix of the known and the unknown, and taking a few
chances on films you may never see elsewhere.
This site will post the ratings of a few of the rabid
film-goers that shared their thoughts and comments of their festival
experience, where we are often at odds with one another when it comes to the
same films.
We all might pick and choose our differences, where once
more someone’s favorite is someone else’s least favorite, which also happened
last year at the fest between Kirk and myself - - where my best of the entire
year (seen at the fest) 2013
Top Ten List #1 The Missing Picture (L'image manquante) was Kirk’s least
favorite film at the fest - - this year it’s Evan and myself, where his
favorite is my least favorite.
Nonetheless, we can appreciate the consideration shown to each film
in the various comments, which is always helpful, especially at a film
festival, where we’re continually asking others what they thought about various
films, as part of the beauty is how we each see things so differently.
Hard to understand just how differently sometimes.
Walking through the crowded hallways or standing uniformly
in line after line, we often lose sight of just how uniquely different we all
are.
It's interesting that our comments, even within our own
little group, reflect that.
Robert at Cranes Are Flying
A
1967 Gold Hugo for Best Film and Best Director
Clouds
of Sils Maria A 96
A-
The
Fool (Durak) A- 94
B+
Timbuktu B+ 91
The
Evolution of Bert B+ 91
Speed
Walking (Kapgang) B+ 90
B
González B 87
Stockholm B 87
Ärtico
(Arctic) B 86
B-
National
Gallery B- 82
The Owners B- 82
C+
It Follows C+ 77
C
Cru (2014) C 75
The
Salvation C 74
Still
(2014) C 70
D
Evan Wang – Biology Masters degree student at IIT
Here are my ratings for the 40 films I saw, one by one in
order of preference. Each will be accompanied by a short comment, basically in
one or two sentences. I usually adopt a 1 to 10 scale when I rate films, but to
make it easier for discussion, I decided to convert them into the letter system
used by most of us so far.
One more note. As I once heard from Jonathan and Robert,
their verdicts on each film are based upon comparisons to other films they have
seen before, and should be consistent with the rating system that has already
been built in their minds. Well, that is not what I am doing, because it feels
almost impossible for me considering how different these films are. Therefore,
instead of trying to figure out my own universal standard, I would rather just
give all the praise to a film I really love, and throw every harsh word on my
mind to something I deem as a complete waste of time. I also find it very
annoying when I see a film that is neither good enough for me to like, nor bad
enough to hate. So the ratings might seem a bit polarized, but I guess that is
okay.
A Stations of the Cross
What blow my mind are the two different
ways of looking adopted in the film. One of them is the persistent gaze,
through which all the static shots are taken. Unlike many other films employing
a similar approach, it is not impassively observing from the judging eyes of an
intruder, but fixed with the greatest kind of compassion on each one of the
people trapped in their own belief. The other is what we see in the final shot,
which is the only continuous camera movement in the entire film. Before turning
up to the gloomy sky, the pair of eyes lent to the audience takes a
heartbreaking last look at this world, utterly with love that reminds us of what
we often neglect in search of the so-called truth.
A Here’s Your Life
Only one film is shown during the 2
hours and 40 minutes, but it feels like watching at least five of them. It is
what could happen to Boyhood if
it is set during the historical background of WWI. While things change rapidly
through all the teen years, friends, romance, and jobs keep leaving and
entering young Olof's life. Some would unexpectedly come back, and others
forever disappear. In this first feature, Jan Troell has already displayed his
unconstrained creativity in a kaleidoscope of cinematic techniques.
A Fanny and Alexander
An epic story taking place in a family.
Bergman infuses his eternal curiosity about human nature into the view point of
a kid, presenting his understanding on the ultimate virtue of truthfulness, as
well as the contempt for hypocrisy.
A- Winter Sleep
Ceylan managed to create an astonishing
tension that is ready to explode at any minute, only from trivial, ordinary
conflicts, in a place isolated from the rest of the world. He also knows
exactly when is the right moment to release the audience from the almost
claustrophobic indoor quarrels to the breathtaking scenery of winter
Anatolia.
A- Timbuktu
The shattered beauty of the land
occupied by Islamic rebels is unfolded in Abderrahmane Sissako's poetic film
through intentionally fragmented stories and an intermittent score. As hinted
by the gazelle running aimlessly to escape its predator at both the beginning
and the finale, a path that could lead the people in Timbuktu out of their
misfortune is devastatingly absent.
A- Supernova
While many people try so hard to turn
their films into a thought-provoking exploration for the meaning of life, the
way Tamar van den Dop offers her interpretation looks almost effortless.
"Everything can come out of nothing". An earthly tribute to humanity
is patiently brought out through the story of an adolescent girl's sexual
awakening and a bunch of physical laws, supported by the subtle and fearless
performances from young actress Gaite Jansen and Tamar van den Dop herself. It
is also worth noting that flies are captured buzzing around in plenty of the
scenes, probably echoing the vanitas theme of Dutch Golden Age still life paintings.
Our transient nature has always been one of the major inspirations for artists
from Holland, but this film is not another lament on that. Quite the contrary,
it affectionately celebrates the succession of life, which is not any less
spectacular than the explosion of supernova.
A- The Babadook
It has everything that is required for
a decent horror film, but what makes it even better is that it never bothers to
convince the audience about the existence of supernatural, and the suspense
lies much deeper beneath the threat hovering on the screen.
"All children see monsters," but sometimes the grown-ups might be the
ones who are scared although they are no longer used to admitting it. Behind
the demon from a kid's bedtime book, this is actually a story about a mother
and her son's fight against themselves and the nightmare that has haunted their
life all the way since the tragic past. An expected twist at the end
brilliantly presents both illusions and the reality on the same stage,
elevating the film to a profoundly moving point as a testament to the strength
of love.
A- Tir
A documentary-style fiction that could
easily feel dull, but in a righteous way. Mainly consisting of beautifully
taken static shots both inside and outside the vehicle, it follows an
teacher-turned-driver who works for a trucking company in his life of endless
toil on the road, and gives the audience a realistic view of the troubled
economy in Europe through only a few barely dramatic moments. Deliberately
contrasting highly automated machinery with over-exploited human labor, Tir is a film that dares to bring
notice to the critical issues rather than just making itself interesting to
watch.
B+ Black Coal, Thin Ice
It is very impressive to see how
Chinese independent director, Diao Yinan, adapts the key elements of Film Noir
for a realistic set-up of contemporary China that is so detailed and
distinguishable. Although his intention is way too obvious in the addition of
certain scenes, including a few references to Noir classics that do not really
help the plot, Diao did a perfect job on softening the pessimistic tone toward
the unsympathetic fate into an attitude of silent resistance, challenging the
notion of justice imposed by the system. The daylight fireworks, as literally
translated from the Chinese title, are the defiance of the night.
B+ 1001 Grams
The highly organized style of
mise-en-scène is rarely as effectively used as it is in this exquisite
Norwegian allegory. Shapes, colors, as well as Marie's life as a metrologist,
are all arranged in precise order when everything starts to fall apart. Here,
visual language takes over the most important part in storytelling, which is
usually done by vain dialogues. Looking up from the aisle between two concrete
buildings, where Marie and her father used to stand and chat, the narrow strip
of the starry sky seems to be the best metaphor for the overlooked beauty in a
industrialized world. Sometimes, an extra gram is just what we need to remind
us how much more there is beyond the perfectly measured kilo.
B+ The Iron Ministry
This feels like an overnight
journey across China on the train, which actually takes the filmmaker more than
3 years to shoot. Showing a touch of cinema vérité in the film, director J.P.
Sniadecki brilliantly hides his existence by becoming part of the environment,
or even part of the country, instead of simply avoiding contact or
communication.
B+ Force Majeure
The wry, and surely very
original, sense of humor might be the most obvious factor that makes this film
stand out. What should not be ignored, though, is the great subtlety it conveys
working as an examination on marriage and relationship.
B+ Clouds of Sils Maria
It is one of the few films that I
could not wait to rewatch right after the festival. Once again, Assayas
elegantly exerts his large repertoire of cinematic techniques into this
multiple-layered drama, delving into the female psychological realm between
youth and maturity. Each of the three main characters, well played by Juliette
Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloe Grace Moretz, has a certain part in the
persona that mirrors the other two. Sometimes, the implicit dynamics might be
too complicated to follow, but the film never fails to bring enough enjoyment
and lead the audience through the meditative experience.
B+ Of Horses and Men
In this bold and very funny
satire, the behavior of men is truthfully observed by the eyes of horses, but
perhaps not so much by men themselves through the binoculars held in their
hands. The distinct life style and landscape in Iceland plays an important part
in the six interwoven stories, while the implications appearing to be pretty
clear and universal. The beginning and the end of the film parallels each other
with two "erotic" scenes, probably to point out for people in the
modern world, who suffer so much from all the trouble they have created, that
only sex is what really matters.
B+ The Owners
With its unadorned
appearance, The Owners stands
as an ingenious satire of the society in Kazakhstan. Bearing a surreal tone
replete with metaphorical colors, singing and dancing, it well earned itself
the festival's awarding for originality.
B The Princess of France
Despite being based on
Shakespeare's 16th century comedy, Love's
Labour's Lost, The Princess of France is in fact very modern.
Other than subtly corresponding to the original play at some key points, such
as having two books mixed up to echo the switching letters part, the film does
not really follow the Bard's plot. Instead, director Matías Piñeiro focuses on
the recreation of the tangled character relationships which all lead to the
central figure, Victor, who is both obsessed and confused about love. Certain
scenes in the story are repeated more than once with different characters and
outcomes, showing each possibility that could result from Victor's decision, as
well as the film's texture combining multiple layers of fiction and reality. Of
course, it could be rather painful reading the subtitles for the lines written
by Shakespeare, translated into Spanish and then back to English, but you
really do not need the comprehension of ever word to appreciate the joyful tone
of this unique adaptation. Another film that makes me eagerly looking forward
to its official theatrical release.
B Refugiado
Thanks to the fluid camerawork
and an sensitive eye for color and light, Regugiado depicts the Argentine urban life in a way that is
both beautiful and realistic. Well balanced between cuteness and intensity, the
journey taken by the mom and her kid to escape from the abusive father has a
simple and absorbing quality.
B Why Be Good?
Although most of the fun comes
from Colleen Moore's adorable performance, the film still deserves more credit
for the message it sent advocating for gender equality, which fits naturally
into the delightful, if a bit too conventional, modern Cinderella story.
B The Fool
A dorm building with cracks from
the basement to the roof symbolizes the corrupted social structure in Russia.
Director Yuri Bykov created a triumphant combination between drama and reality.
Occasional long takes and the lively score also add to the irony of the film.
B Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amslem
The religious court in Israel
might be a pure tragedy for the women who have to go through it in order to get
a divorce, but not necessarily so for a film trying to address the issue.
Behind the endless debates upon which the entire film is built, it is a woman's
path fighting for her freedom against the other gender and a society that
refuses to change. Each of the male characters is portrayed with more than one personality, and the impact of the absurd system can easily
be seen whenever their patriarchal authority appears to be threatened.
B Cathedrals of Culture
Half of the six short films
included in this series are pretty fascinating. The Berlin Philharmonic episode
from Wim Wenders and the Centre Pompidou one directed by Karim Ainouz, whose
film Futuro Beach is also
shown at this year's festival, might be the most impressive two for all the
eye-opening details offered through their observation and absolute passion on
the architecture. Margreth Olin's introduction of Oslo Opera House is another
interesting one, presented from a particular angle highlighting the venue's
connections with the artists and audience who inhabit it. Visually alone, these
are also the ones that would make you forget about the burden of the 3D glasses
when you follow the camera into the buildings' hidden corners. The other three,
however, are rather disappointing compared to them. The Halden Prison looks
cool, but does not feel like anything special in director Michael Madsen's
poetic presentation. Robert Redford spends most of the time he is given to tell
the glorious history and significance of Salk Institute, which you can easily
find by Googling it, only with repetitious time-lapse videos shot on the same
locations, and Michael Glawogger's understanding of the National Library in St.
Peterburg is nothing but book-reading in English with a strong Russian accent.
As part of "a film project in 3D about the soul of buildings", these
failed ones seem to have all paid too much attention to the word "soul"
without ever caring about the buildings where that soul is supposed to come
from.
B Nabat
A quiet accusation against war
and the trauma it brings to Azerbaijani people. In a highly consistent pattern,
the camera tracks Nabat, an elderly woman who refuses to leave the land where
her family has always belong, while often briefly detaching from the character
to unfold the ravaged surroundings as an important, or even the most powerful,
part of the film. The approach suits well with Nabat's wordless resistance in
spite of her simple life being dramatically changed by warfare, and the
over-controlled unvariedness is more or less balanced by the realistic
portrayal of the natural environment.
B- Maestro
Based on the story of how actor
Jocelyn Quivrin met Éric Rohmer and worked with him on Rohmer's last film The Romance of Astrea and Celadon,
Maestro is an interesting
combination between delicate style, inspired by Rohmer, and intentional
goofiness. As a funny tribute to the late French master and his attitude toward
life, it also celebrates love and the magic in the creation of art.
B- Stockholm
This two-act drama never has the
potential to become something like the "Before Trilogy" in one film,
but the first act, corresponding to the falling in love part of any romance, is
certainly fun to watch with the amusing mystery that lies in the mutual
temptation between the couple. After their relationship hits the climax,
though, young director Rodrigo Sorogoyen decides to alter the course by simply
turning one of them's behavior to the exact opposite, and everything starts to
predictably slide towards the destined end. In a sense, it might echo what
happens in reality, but surely in a pessimistic way. Meanwhile, all the wit and
mystery is gone from their life together, and from the film as well.
B- Free Fall
It might have been more
interesting if I watched the film with no idea about it at all. In these
surreal-looking allegories, a bunch of figurative depictions of indifference in
marriage and family are visually presented in the literal sense. Refreshing at
first, it only offers less and less surprise once the trick is all figured
out.
B- Ne Me Quitte Pas
It sounds like another story
about mutual support between people in trouble, except that it is all true. As
documented by the film, the middle-aged alcoholic duo, who both seem to have
reasons and inclination to commit suicide, become the only friend left for each
other while trying to get out of the misery leading them toward
self-destruction. Shot and edited in the fashion of a fictional dark comedy, it
makes you wonder how much effort it takes to capture those hilarious moments
from almost the same tedium day after day. As we can predict, nothing really changes
at the end of the film, but life still goes on. So does their friendship.
B- Artico
There is a powerful contrast
between the few close-ups, usually on the emotionless faces of the central
characters, before each "chapter" and the static medium shots from
the back or the side of people, or only their silhouettes in certain scenes,
which work as the major components of the narrative. Through this approach,
director Gabriel Velázquez expresses his concern over the younger generation's
struggling in the economic crisis and their frustration taken out in violence,
as well as the uncaring nature of the society. Unfortunately, the film doesn't
go much further beyond that. The unvaried locations and visual style sometimes
makes it look like a lifeless play staged in front of pages torn off a scenic
calendar.
B- Joy of Man’s Desiring
Director Denis Côté beautifully
blurs the distinction between men and machines when they cooperate in the same
standardized procedure, and made the over-utilized space in factories and the
manufacture of different products looks fascinating. However, he perhaps did
too good a job in creating a realistic experience for the audience. Between the
thematic speeches or conversations at the beginning and the end, you really do
not have to kick yourself for dozing off in the hypnotic rhythm of loud
mechanical noise, during the wordless part of the film that lasts for at least
half an hour.
B- Mr. Kaplan
Some of the audience might recall
Alexander Payne's Nebraska like
I did when they see another film about an old man who realizes that it is still
not too late to make his life count. To be more specific, he, Mr. Kaplan,
starts a secret investigation on a man suspected to be an exiled Nazi. His
driver and sidekick is an ex-cop fired for someone else's fault, whose story
happens to mirror the past of the guy they are trying to get. With its bright
colors and a heartwarming score, this hybrid of suspense and family drama does
have a point on redemption and the meaning of life, but it would only remind
you how good Nebraska is in
terms of capturing the charm of the ordinary.
C+ Viktoria
It impressively evolves from a
political satire into a feminist examination on family and blood. The major
problem is that most of those lingering arty shots do not do much other than
dragging the film into an unnecessary 2.5 hour length.
C+ In Order of Disappearance
This Norwegian film works more or
less as a self-mockery of its own genre, featuring an exemplary citizen, played
by Stellan Skarsgård, who turns into a revengeful killer after loosing his son
to gangsters, a vegetarian villain, and a death count keeping track of people
who get killed, but while it is always funny, the inconsistently-paced story did
not feel convincing enough when I tried to take it more seriously.
C+ Two Days, One Night
The Dardennes set up a drama
where a young wife and mother, who suffers from depression and frequent nervous
breakdowns, has to persuade each of her co-workers, including exactly one Arab
and one African immigrants, to give up a €1000 per month bonus for the sake of
keeping her job. Although it is very watchable, the latest film from the
filmmakers who are acclaimed for their commitment to realism feels nothing more
than just expertly stacking the deck.
C+ Dust on the Tongue
It becomes clear toward the end
of it that the slowly built-up intensity would only lead to the inevitable
death of the central character, an aged patriarch who is toughened through all the
years fighting for survival and power, in a way that he would never have
planned. Gone with him is the end of an era that he represents in Colombia,
while the future ahead does not look any brighter. There are quite a few great
shots in this film, but it is still a bit painful to sit through the vapid
part, waiting for everything to make sense.
C Miss Julie
Ullmann extends the location
where everything takes place from the kitchen to a larger part of the manor,
but instead of offering any extra depth, this results in all the nuance of the
naturalistic play being spread out on the table, only adding to the
over-dramatics of this "faithful" adaptation. With Jessica Chastain
and Colin Farrell both giving competent performances, it is too bad that most
of the acting is filmed in the wrong shots.
C- We Love You, You Bastard
Sandrine Bonnaire was the only
reason why I thought it should be worth checking out. I was right about her,
but not so much on the quality of the film. In this phony drama about a man's
dilemma between too many lovers and the byproducts of them, his daughters who
are played by other pretty French faces, even the beautiful scenery of the Alps
look pretentious.
D Paris of the North
Toward the end, the idea of it
turns out to be "if I get bored here, why not just leave?" That is
exactly what I should have done during this film.
D The Piano Room
With all the stories tied to love
affairs, money, drug dealing, homosexuality, pregnancy, AIDS, suicide and
murder happening in one room where a piano does not make any sense other than
providing music for each of them, this should easily be the cheesiest film
shown during the festival without much competition.
D The Salvation
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, the
Danish tough guy who has to revenge every one of his family, again, and Eva
Green who literally loses her tongue to speak, plus an ex-French soccer
star, The "blood-spattered" Salvation might be able to get away
with its CGI created western look, but fails miserably in reviving the lost
spirit.
D Corn Island
Unfortunately, it falls, almost
scene by scene, into a specific category of art films which is distinguished by
natural beauty disturbed by looming violence, a teenage girl who decides to
take a bath when danger is approaching and the essential scarcity of dialogues.
Yes, just another one of them, this time taking place on an island where the
poor old man spends a year growing corn, only to find that it is doomed to be
all washed away.
D Concrete Night
Supposed to be a tale about how
the moral messages we send could warp the life of the next generation, Concrete Night actually follows a
14-year-old punk until he ends up beating a suspected child molester, who even
goes to church, to death, leaving his soon-to-be-jailed older brother
devastated in remorse. The delusional cynicism of the film is only aggravated
by the pretentious, weirdly contrasted black and white.
Kirk Madsen – former projector and theater manager at Facets
This was a very good festival for me this year. With
the festivals spotlight on Scandinavia an excellent choice as so many films
from that part of the world are really quite good(A few bad ones too
though). I saw 31 films and way over half of the films I would
recommend(18). 1 film is a top 5 film of the year and 5 films are top ten
material.
Here they are in order of preference-
1. FORCE MAJEURE (TURIST) dir. Ruben Ostlung
Sweden/Denmark/France/Norway
One of the best of the year. This was a white hot
experience for me as the whole film seemed fresh, new and exciting. The
look and feel of the film is just outstanding and the editing including sound
was unexpected and surprising. The dark black humor interspersed with
searing dramatic passes keeps the audience on their toes. Probably the
worst date movie of the year. A-
The 5 films below can all be considered for top ten films.
2. THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND
DISAPPEARED dir. Felix Herngren
Sweden
CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA dir. Olivier
Assayas
Switzerland/Germany/France
IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE dir. Hans
Petter Moland
Norway
These 3 films are all BIG movies. Sweeping, beautiful
and startling.
100 Year Old Man... is a very funny briskly paced comedy
following a 100 year old man through his exploits now and his past 100 years of
life. Turning up, with no intention of his own, in historical and world
changing events, this is one of the funniest films of the year. Profane,
quick and sweet in its own dark hearted way. B+
In Order Of Disappearance is what hollywood would love to
make. Just like a big summer blockbuster crime thriller but with swagger
to spare. Starting out as a straight ahead murder for revenge plot and
then expanding into one of the funniest dark comedies ever made. Stellan
Skarsgard is perfect as the out for blood father of his sons' killer with an
amazing Norwegian winter backdrop of white on white snow. B+
Clouds Of Sils Maria is probably Assayas' best film in many
years. This is a movie movie. Big in every way from the locations and the
performances to the story and filmmaking style. Modern too,
this still has an old fashioned sweep and formality to it that is breathtaking.
B+
SPEED WALKING dir. Niels Arden Oplev
Denmark
RUDDERLESS dir. William H Macy
USA
These two films are just the opposite of the previous 3
films but only in scope and storytelling. These two films are small independent
films that show big isn't necessarily better.
Speed Walking is the story of a boy and his family dealing
with grief while adolescence is in full bloom. Performances all around,
especially the kids are outstanding and the heartfelt emotions from happy to
sad resonate far after the film is over. This is a kind of film that
could only come from this Scandinavian country with the handling of sexuality
and portrayal of the these kids. Fresh, funny and devastating all at
once. B+
Rudderless is actor William H Macy's directorial
debut. This is another film dealing with loss and grief but taken from an
entirely different angle. Billy Crudup gives an outstanding performance
as a father of a son killed in a college shooting and the way he deals with
that loss. The less said about this surprising and effective film the
better except that the music in the film performed by Billy Crudup and Anton
Yelchin is amazing and will break your heart. B+
3. THE CIRCLE dir. Stefan Haupt
Switzerland B
THE FOOL dir. Yuri Bykov
Russia B
FUTURO BEACH dir. Karim Ainouz
Brazil/Germany B
LAND OF STORMS dir.Adam Csaszi
Hungary/Germany B
SUPERNOVA dir. Tamar van den Dop
Netherlands, Germany, Belgium B
THE WAY HE LOOKS dir. Daniel Ribeiro
Brazil B
XENIA dir. Panos H Koutras
Greece B
4. 1001 GRAMS dir. Bent Hamer
Norway B-
ALLELUIA dir. Fabrice Du Welz
France/Belgium B-
NO, THANK YOU dir. Samuli Valkam
Finland B-
THE SALVATION dir. Kristian Levring
Denmark B-
STOCKHOLM dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Spain B-
The films below (grades C+, C and C-) are films that I found
aspects of worthwhile and not a waste of time for me but would not recommend
them to others.
5. FREE FALL dir. Gyorgy Palfi
Hungary C+
JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING dir. Denis Cote
Canada C+
SOMETHING MUST BREAK dir. Ester Martin
Bergsmark
Sweden C+
THE THIRD ONE dir. Rodrigo Guerrero
Argentina C+
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT dirs. Jean-Pierre and Luc
Dardenne
Belgium/Italy/France C+
THE WORD dir. Anna Kazejak-Dawid
Poland/Denmark C+
6. BLACK COAL, THIN ICE dir. Diao Yinan
China/Hong Kong C
BLACK PANTHER-THE STORY OF EMILIE JACOB dir.
Samuel perriard
Germany/Switzerland C
EL CORDERO dir. Juan Francisco Olea
Chile C
SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS dir. Matteo Andreolli
Italy C
7. ABLATIONS dir. Arnold de Parscau
France/Belgium C-
The 2 films below were my only complete waste of time films
in the entire fest!
8. CONCRETE NIGHT dir. Pirjo Honkasalo
Finland/Sweden/ Denmark D
STILL dir. Simon Blake
UK D
Frank Biletz –
history professor at Loyola
A Winter Sleep (Turkey/Germay/France, Nuri Bilge Ceylan).
A- Here's Your
Life (1966, Sweden, Jan Troell).
A- Corn Island
(Georgia/Germany/France, George Ovashvili).
A- Stations of
the Cross (Germany, Dietrich Brüggemann).
A- Clouds of
Sils Maria (France/Germany/Switzerland, Olivier Assayas).
A- Timbuktu
(France/Mauretania, Abderrahmane Sissako).
A- A Dream of
Iron (South Korea/US, Kelvin Kyung Kun Park).
B+ The Fool (Russia,
Yuri Bykov).
B+ National
Gallery (US/France, Frederick Wiseman).
B+ Human Capital
(Italy, Paolo Virzi).
B+ The Look of
Silence (Denmark/Indonesia/Norway/Finland/UK, Joshua Oppenheimer).
B+ Beloved
Sisters (Germany/Austria, Dominik Graf).
B+ Force Majeure
(Sweden/Denmark/France/Norway, Ruben Östlund).
B+ Two Days, One
Night (Belgium/France/Italy, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne).
B+ Red Rose
(Iran/France, Sepideh Farsi).
B The Word
(Poland/Denmark, Anna Kazejak-Dawid).
B Refugiado
(Argentina, Diego Lerman).
B An Eye for
Beauty (Canada, Denys Arcand).
B Black Coal,
Thin Ice (China/Hong Kong, Diao Yinan).
B A Few Cubic
Meters of Love (Iran/Afgahnistan, Jamshid Mahmoudi).
B- Joy of Man's
Desiring (Canada, Denis Coté).
B- In Silence
(Czech Republic/Slovakia, Zdenek Jirásky).
B- The Lamb
(Turkey/Germany, Kutlug Ataman).
B- Fort Tilden
(US, Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers).
B- Paris of the
North (Iceland/Denmark/France, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurosson).
C+ El Gort
(Tunisia/UAE, Hamza Ouni).
C Still (UK,
Simon Beale).
Jonathan Dabian (software installer) Schedule and Grades
Soma Sinha Roy (brain surgeon) and Scott Jenkins (husband)
Schedule and Grades
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