CLUMSY CHARM: Fine, Totally Fine
by MALCOLM FRASER,
MARK SLUTSKY and
CHRISTOPHER SYKES
A note for Nazi-hating Fantasia-goers: the fest has just announced that, in a bit of a coup, their closing film will be Quentin Tarantino’s much-anticipated WWII epic Inglourious Basterds. The film will screen at the Hall Theatre on Wednesday, July 29 at 9:45 p.m. and is sure to be packed, so get your tickets now!
And now, on to the reviews…
Embodiment of Evil
Brazilian actor/writer/director José Mojica Marins resuscitates his iconic Coffin Joe character from the ’60s and ’70s in this explosive comeback. Released after 40 years in prison for multiple murders, Joe immediately resumes his reign of  terror, wreaking carnage from his headquarters in a favela while evading a sadistic policeman and a twisted priest. Dressed in a top hat and cape and assisted by a hunchbacked henchman, Marins is a villain straight out of the old school, his every utterance along the lines of “I will yet conceive my perfect son, even if it means imploding the entire cosmos!” But this campiness contrasts with startlingly violent and perverse imagery; like Buñuel or Jodorowsky, Marins (who’ll receive a lifetime achievement award at the fest) is hell-bent on assaulting moral niceties. (MF)
Best Worst Movie
A lot of movies lay claim to the “worst movie ever” title—everything from Plan 9 From Outer Space to more recent “classics” like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room—but there’s something special about 1990’s Troll 2, directed by Claudio Fragasso in the wilds of Utah. The movie’s bizarre awfulness has attracted a cult following in recent years and now Michael Stephenson, who as a child actor starred in the film, revisits the movie’s kooky creators and examines the dedicated fans who loved it in this cheerful doc. If the film has a star, it’s the Craig T. Nelson-esque George Hardy, a beloved Alabama dentist who played the dad in the original movie and who radiates a likeable positivity. The film could have spent a little less time on the fans, though it takes an interesting twist when Fragasso shows up and doesn’t seem to be totally onboard with the whole “worst movie ever” thing. This Saturday, July 25, the presentation will be followed by a screening of Troll 2. (MS)
Fine, Totally Fine
Charming but slow comedy that delivers a surprisingly fresh angle on the classic love triangle. The highlight of the film is the very funny deadpan delivery of YosiYosi Arakawa, who plays über-loser Teruo. Arakawa has high hopes of opening the world’s scariest haunted house, yet instead of constructing a plan of action, he spends his time watching horror movies and pranking his friend Hisianobu (Yoshinori Okada). Both men fall for the meek but charming Akari (Yoshino Kimura) despite her near life-threatening clumsiness. Very low-key in its entirety, Totally Fine works because of the subdued on screen chemistry that develops between the three characters. Not likely to sweep you off your feet, but certain to leave you smiling. (CS)
Breathless
Definitely not to be confused with the Godard classic (or ’80s Richard Gere remake thereof), Yang Ik-Joon’s drama is possibly the least glamorous portrayal of criminal life ever committed to film. Writer-director Yang stars as Sang-Hoon, an enforcer for a loan shark who blithely beats people to a pulp for a living and speaks in a disaffected tone, laced with Tourette’s-level profanity, to everyone from his boss to his kindergarten-aged nephew. Not for the faint of heart—the first hour has brutal, grimly realistic beatings in almost every scene—the film slowly turns from nihilism-drenched kitchen-sink realism to an unexpectedly touching human story with shades of neo-Shakespearean family drama. First-time director Yang delivers a surprising standout of this year’s fest. (MF)
BAD AS IN GOOD: Best Worst Movie
Crime or Punishment?!?
Seeming at first to be completely lacking in any linear narrative, Crime is a complex, absurd comedy that marries Dostoyevsky’s debate about society’s indifference to crime with a Kafkaesque justice system that is the very mockery of efficiency. Of course, the end result is quintessentially Japanese and, therefore, sure to strike a chord with Fantasia fans. I, on the other hand, found it awkward and lacking the energy needed to keep me interested. When a failed model is arrested for stealing a magazine, her punishment (oddly enough) is to become the chief of police. This job leads her back to an old flame who, despite attempting to murder her some years ago, she still finds appealing. As pessimistic as it is bizarre. (CS)
FANTASIA RUNS THROUGH
WEDNESDAY, JULY. 29. FOR
SHOWTIMES AND MORE INFO,
SEE FANTASIAFEST.COM
|
