Fantasia diary: week two

>> Druids, fluids and smoking firemen

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Win some, lose some dept.: Hate to say it, but Santiago Segura's Torrente didn't quite deliver. A comedy about a corrupt cop, morally bankrupt and vocally proud of it, Torrente had potential. But the sad truth is, Bad Lieutenant was infinitely funnier. On the other hand, Gamera 3, presented by director Shusuke Kaneko, lived up to its hype. Slick, impressive and deadly serious, it nonetheless got some laughs--like when a weary bureaucrat asks, "Why are so many monsters always attacking Japan?"

Good taste dept.: Michael Almereyda was on hand to present his film The Eternal, an atmospheric, idiosyncratic and frequently comic exploration of dysfunctional families and matriarchal druid magic. The audience thought it was pretty good, but Almerayda, who wasn't permitted final cut, couldn't stay in the theatre to watch it.

"It's not that it was some masterpiece that I was forced to desecrate," he later told me. "I've just recognized that it's not the best movie it could have been. You know that old cliché, 'Too many cooks?' In this case, I had people spitting into the pot. Does that make it inedible? I don't know." Almereyda's back on the horse these days, having just finished his version of the dysfunctional family favourite Hamlet.

Go figure dept.: I loved the way Lau-Ching Wan and posse, in the HK firefighter drama Lifeline, relax after battling blazes by lighting up Marlboros. Yes, there still is sanity somewhere in the world.

Coming attractions dept.: this next week is good for cool, kimchi-powered Korean flicks, including Whispering Corridors, a repeat of the wicked black comedy The Quiet Family, and the super-tough action blockbuster Swiri. Also, catch the repeat of Kamikaze Taxi, a sharp and quirky Japanese yakuza film about honour, friendship, revenge and cultural identity.

Closer to home, a special treat not to be missed is Small Gauge Trauma, a quintet of shorts that includes Elevated (by Vincenzo Natali, creator of Cube) and Arthur Bradford's hilarious How's Your News? This one's an instant classic, with mentally retarded folks conducting man-on-the-street chats with confused and embarrased suckers.

Also on the bill is Divided Into Zero, the short three years in the making by Fantasia programmer Mitch Davis. An exquisite and disturbing ode to isolation, obsession and bodily fluids, Zero is, by Davis' own admission, a frustrating and ambiguous film. Still, it's a graceful debut bow by a hometown talent. He's off to Spain with it soon--best of luck, Mitch.