by MATTHEW HAYS and MARK SLUTSKY

Alexandra’s Project

Whoa, those Aussie feminists are seriously hardcore! In Rolf de Heer’s feature, one standard-issue husband and father heads off to work from his suburban home. There’s nothing much to distinguish this day from any other, besides the fact that it’s his birthday. Wife and kids kiss Dad farewell, and he drives to the office (where he learns he’s got a kickass promotion).

Then it all goes downhill, as Dad arrives home to find wifey has booby-trapped the entire joint. He’s forced to watch a videotape of her reading off a litany of complaints about their dysfunctional marriage. Gary Sweet and Helen Buday offer brave performances in this new movie, a refreshingly strange take on marriage. Don’t let anyone tell you anymore of the plot points, just put this on your to-see list and get a gander of the action yourself. A hit in its native Australia, this is yet another assured and distinctive feature from Down Under. There’s something about those Aussies and the big screen. Is it in the water or something? (MH)

Il piu crudele dei giorni
(Ilaria Alpi’s Real Voice)

Based on the 1994 murder of Italian journalist Illaria Alpi and her cameraman Miran Hrovatin in Somalia, director Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani’s film portrays, in semi-fractured style, the events leading up to their untimely death. Alpi, a TV journalist who’d covered the war in the Balkans, was investigating a complex operation involving European companies smuggling toxic waste into Africa, and she was targeted when she got too close to implicating those in charge of the operation.

Leads Erika Blanc and Rade Serbedzija carry the movie quite ably; they’re both very charismatic and the developing chemistry between the two is enjoyable to watch, a sweet and vulnerable counterpoint to the story’s violence. The ruined wastes of Mogadishu - grounded ships, cratered streets - provide most of the movie’s visual backdrop, starkly beautiful and horrifying. Il piu crudele dei giorni is essentially a David and Goliath-style journalist-crusader story, not a new genre, but one well-represented here by the filmmakers. (MS)

Mes enfants ne sont pas comme les autres

The trials and tribulations of musical prodigies are the subject of Denis Dercourt’s feature, set in Strasbourg, France. Adèle (Elodie Peudepièce), in her teens, and her younger brother Alexandre (Frédéric Rouillier) are both scions of a musical family. The gorgeous Peudepièce is a gifted cellist, like her late mother, while Rouillier is a talented pianist. Both are driven hard by their father (Richard Berry), also a cellist, albeit "just" an orchestra musician, who never fulfilled his dream of becoming a soloist. Interwoven is the story of their maternal grandfather, an acclaimed conductor, and his son, who must balance his musical talents with the financial needs of his family.

Eventually Peudepièce falls in love and starts to stray, which predictably freaks dad right out, and the movie eventually moves into the "life of genius vs. normal life" territory. This itself is not so interesting, but the movie is redeemed by its style. The cinematography is stunning, making the movie absolutely beautiful to look at; as well, it’s paced very nicely, not afraid to slow down and focus on the musical performances, which form the crux of the story. (MS)

Luck

Toronto-based director Peter Wellington’s latest feature has a hapless young hero (Luke Kirby) who gets drawn into the get-rich-quick world of gambling. The sub-plot, which doesn’t entirely work, involves a romance with Sarah Polley, but that’s okay - Kirby’s considerable draw makes up for it. Here, he is utterly transformed from his role in the current Quebec hit Mambo Italiano (where he plays a gay Italian writer). What could have been an overly simplistic performance as a down-on-his-luck loser emerges instead as a sympathetic, layered characterization. Kirby is now the actor to watch; indeed, a star has been born. He works well with fellow adept castmates, Polley included. And the film boasts a very funny, intentionally loony last-minute plot twist. (MH)

Crapshoot: The Gamble With Our Wastes

Perhaps it says something about the state of the World Film Fest, but one of the very best films I’ve screened this year is a thoughtful NFB doc about what happens to human waste and the dilemma ridding ourselves of it is creating. Jeff McKay, the Winnipeg-based director behind Fat Chance, traces the history of the sewer back about 2,500 years to ancient Rome. What was a good thing then, he suggests, is now a disaster unfolding: too much sewage goes into the ocean, raw, and the treatment plants that are alternatives are producing fertilizer (made from human waste and god-knows-what chemicals) that’s being put on farms that grow our produce. Yeah, it’s disgusting all right, and it’s also a harrowing look at yet another environmental travesty that’s unfolding everywhere - not just Third World spots like India and Newfoundland. (MH)

The Anatomy of Burlesque

Doc filmmaker Lindalee Tracey returns with this feature-length look at the wonderful world of burlesque theatre and comedy, examining the history of the art form. From Mae West to Charlie Chaplin to Mata Hari, Tracey leaves no performer unturned in this exhaustive, accessible-yet-scholarly probe into the unique and sexy Burlesque universe. Good fun. (MH)

Wee world wonders

Short films are in good supply this year and here, briefly, are some highlights: Geoffrey Uloth returns triumphant with Wildflowers, a beautifully shot, poetic film about age and suicide. Lyrical and wondrous. Blue Like a Gunshot is Masoud Raouf’s striking and bold bit of animation, skillfully soundtracked. The original music for the film, by composer Robert Marcel Lepage, is exquisite. Oscar-winner Eva Saks scores with Colorforms, about the punishment one young girl must take from grandpa after being too defiant about taking orders from mom and dad. Little starlet Kristin DiPietra is a true delight to behold. Zen Turkey is an odder-than-odd oddity in which an overweight man gets loads of life lessons from a talking turkey. 2D or Not 2D is Paul Driessen’s typically inspired insanity, featuring romantic yodellers. Cinnamon Hill is a sobering, elegiac reflection on rape in an era of slavery. (MH) n

The World Film Festival screens from today, Aug. 28, until Sunday, Sept. 7. Info: www.ffm-montreal.org

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