Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway: NZIFF Review

It's obvious that Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway is going to be in some people's wheelhouses a lot more than others.

Miguel Llansó's nutty film is really a mashing of various genres and for some, a test in patience.

Riffing kitsch with Commodore 64 graphics, stop motion with martial arts, and 70s capers with sleaze, the loose story concerns CIA Agents DT Gagano (on his last job) and Palmer Eldritch. 

Both are guinea pigs in a top-secret experiment where they’ll go into a coma to fight a Soviet computer virus named Stalin in a virtual reality world. Only that world sees them wearing paper masks in a kind of low-rent Hallowe'en style showdown.

Granted, there's creativity rippling through Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway, but to be honest, you need to be at least three beers deep or deeply in love with film-making to fully appreciate what's transpiring here.

There's no doubting Llanso's gonzo style recalls portions of Town Called Panic's creativity, and the head-trippery on show here is something that really does need to be embraced before it induces a migraine.

Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway won't be for everyone, and that's fine. It could only be part of The Incredibly strange section of the programme - so embrace its weirdness for what it is.

Martin Eden: NZIFF Review

Martin Eden is the very definition of a film festival film.

Artfully shot, with a central character who's lost in purpose and deep in love, and a protagonist whose looks are set to swoon.

And yet, it's all so painfully meandering and devoid of real emotion that Martin Eden becomes a slog not an uplifting experience.

Luca Marinelli stars as the titular Eden, a sailor who is considered lowly in the world.

Romanced by women, but ultimately adrift, he one day saves a lad from a beating on the docks and is taken home to say thanks. There he meets Jessica Cressy's Elena, and promptly falls in love.

But lacking an education and a sense of culture, he feels he's not worthy and so sets out to better himself - all the while clashing with the world he's come from.

There's no denying Pietro Marcello's adaptation of Jack London's Martin Eden is beautifully shot.

On 16mm film and lensed with subtlety and with throwback soundtrack, it feels like the essence of a coastal Italian holiday, complete with lots of good looking people and working classes mingling and clashing.

But the heart is missing within, making Martin Eden feel like the characters are just that - certainly Elena is nothing more than a doll speaking lines, and it's distracting.

Marinelli makes a more likeable lead, with his old time good looks marking him out from the crowds and showing his conflict within the classes.

However, ultimately, this tale of self-education is a little too self-obsessed and brooding to appeal to the masses. Its self identity is lacking, and while its wafting qualities are committed well to the screen, its final feeling is one sadly of indifference.

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist: NZIFF Review

The Exorcist is not a film that requires further discussion.

Much has been written, filmed and even spoken about the 1973 film, which would lead you to believe that Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist isn't worth your time.

And while director Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary at times feels like more of a director's commentary on a DVD rather than an essential hitherto unseen or unheard chat of the film, it has one single thing going for it - William Friedkin.

Over the 100 minutes duration, Friedkin is the sole reason to stay for this examination of the most influential horror movie ever.

With a spry touch and an energetic dissection of parts of the film and the making of it, Friedkin is great company. From the spat with Lalo Schifrin that ruined their friendship to Friedkin's disappointment after a meeting with a composer, the director's penchant for a good story and a level-headed approach to the movie and its legacy renders Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist a little more heft than perhaps it's due.

Philippe may have done previous work on dissecting Psycho and Alien, but it's here that he lets Friedkin perform the dissection, gifting insights from inside the production and his own thoughts on fate and the flaw he perceives to be in The Exorcist.

There may be a feeling that much of the discussion's come from previous releases, and there is only really one new insight into the movie, but Friedkin makes for such a genial host and gifts you the feeling you alone are being talked to, that Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist feels like a more intimate experience than you'd expect.

There are moments when Friedkin looks lost in reflection, and perhaps a more aggressive interviewer and format would have pestered their subject to prise more information out.

But by leaving Friedkin to do the work, Philippe's documentary feels more authentic and more insightful than what thousands of others have said on The Exorcist before.

Animation Now 2020: NZIFF Review

The 2020 Animation Now selection greatly benefits from the personal touch of its curator, Malcolm Turner.

Every single film in this collection feels personal to Turner, who delivers eloquent introductions, advising the audiences what to look for and why the shorts have been selected.

It's a masterful use of the VOD platform for the festival strand, and while the collection has its usual hit and misses, there's no doubting Turner's passion throughout - and it's infectious.

Some of the animated fare is the usual mindboggling stuff that's more abstract and obtuse, but nevertheless visually entertaining.

That said, the mix of handpainted fare and simpler computer animated drawings shows the industry itself is in rudely good health, with some 4000 selections needing to be waded through by the festival.

Japan's Locomotr is a curious surreal 3 minute piece; elsewhere, Swiss director Michael Frei's Kids leans heavily into Escher and is all the better for it, its simplicity rendered in the most mind-blowing way; and Polish superhero drawing Rain amuses as much as it uses its blank canvas to tell a compact story.

All in all, Animation Now 2020 feels globally more personal than ever before - and it's all the better for it.

Wendy: NZIFF Review

Perhaps the most obviously commercial offering of the New Zealand International Film Festival for 2020, Wendy has pedigree in its director, the creator of the wondrous Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Blessed with a prodigious lead in Devin France as Wendy, Benh Zeitlin's take on the Peter Pan story is a film that's more in love with the land and its leads than in its actual storytelling.

When Wendy tires of her life in a railwayside diner, she is startled to see another kid atop a train. Jumping on the train with two friends, she finds herself transported to Neverland and into the life of Peter Pan.

JM Barrie's tale is gifted an environmental feel in among Zeitlin's eye for the wild. 

Through the deltas and over the lands of the heartland of America to the lost island, Zeitlin's freewheeling camera makes a great fist of the landscape, and recalls many of the shots of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

While not every child actor hits the necessary straps, and while the older section of the actors feel too ragtaggle to be complete, the exuberance and wide-eyed nature of France makes for a great companion on this journey.

"The more you grow up, the less you get to do the things you want" may be a fair adage espoused at one point, but thanks to a haunting score, talent when it's needed and a sense of adventure, this is a Peter Pan story like you've never seen before.

Family Members: NZIFF Review

A little more than just a hang-out movie (though barely so), Argentinian film Family Members concerns siblings Gilda and Lucas.

The pair return to their mother's home after her unexpected death and find it taped up, the scene of a crime. Breaking in and settling in, they begin what they believe will be a simple goodbye to their mother and issues, but are subsequently thwarted by the onset of a nationwide bus strike.

Rendered unable to leave and effectively stranded, the duo finds ways to live - Lucas strikes up a friendship with local Guido, a bond born of shared bodybuilding loves; meanwhile Gilda spends her time flirting with a long distance boyfriend, whom Lucas suspects doesn't exist.

To say Family Members is languid is a massive understatement - the film is in no hurry to go anywhere anytime soon.

However, weird messages from within a hole in the beach and thanks to quirky scenes like throwing their mother's prosthetic hand in the sea, the film finds a kind of pace that's intriguing, but occasionally soporific.

The push-and-pull dynamic between the duo is interesting enough to keep you entertained, and while the blandness of seaside life is nicely committed to the screen, the film's subtleties keep the long term love far away from it.

It may be a film of growing pains, but Family Members' slow-burn to get anywhere ethos is also its worst enemy - despite the occasional whimsy, this one doesn't have the lingering power after the film's done.

Sandra Beerends - They Call Me Babu New Zealand International Film Festival Q&A

Your Name

Sandra Beerends

Title of your film

They Call Me Babu

Tell us about your 2020

The premiere of They Call Me Babu was at Idfa in Amsterdam, end of November 2019.

The film released directly afterwards and from then on I had a Q&A tour around the country,

which continued in 2020.

Then in the first week of January 2020, I received the ‘Christal Film Prize’ for reaching 10.000 visitors in the cinema, which is huge for a documentary in The Netherlands.

End of January I was visiting Biarritz (France) for the screening on FIPA, where I had a Q&A for a sold- out theatre in the wonderful Casino at the beach.

In February and March I still had Q&As and lectures and won the Audience Prize at IFA .

March 2, I was nominated for The DDG award (Dutch Directors Guild).

How has Covid-19 impacted you and your film?

March 12, was the Award Ceremony for the DDG Award, and then it was cancelled, due to Covid 19.

(March 14, my youngest son was supposed to travel for 4 months to South America, but 1 hour before the plane leaves I read about the outbreak of Dengue and Corona and we cancelled the trip, I am so happy he stayed home)

March 16, all the theatres were closed (after 16 weeks in the theatres for They Call Me Babu)

and all lectures cancelled.

The film was then screened via PICL (on line streaming in cooperation with distributors) 

All the film festivals were cancelled or postponed.

May 6-17, screening at on line Dokfest (Munchen/Germany)

May 17, winner Dokfest Horizonte award.

May 19, winner of BUMA award (for the music of Alex Simu for They Call Me Babu)

May 19- 28, screening at on line TDF (Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival), Thessaloniki (Greece).

May 20, release of the DVD.

June 10-21, selected for Sydney Film Festival (Australia) in the program ‘Europe! Voices of Women’.

June 29, broadcast on NPO 2 (Dutch Television), a lot of publicity on radio, TV and other media, almost 500.000 people watched it.

July 24- August 3, Selected for New Zealand International Film Festival

So about the impact of Covid 19

Everything stopped at our ‘Intellectual lockdown’ (as called by our Prime Minister Mark Rutte).

But I was lucky to already have had a wonderful premiere at IDFA, 16 weeks  in the theatres and wonderful (inter)national reviews). So for me it was- although sad - not a big deal to be screened only on line.  And it did bring me an award at Dokfest and maybe a greater audience and publicity at Sydney Film Festival. The only restriction about not screening at online festivals is for Indonesia. 

Because  the film is about the history of Indonesia, from the perspective of an Indonesian young woman, working as a nanny for a Dutch family, I really want to be there when it is screened.

For me, as a filmmaker with Indonesian roots,  it is very important to talk about the film with the Indonesian public. There is a lot of discussion going on about our ‘shared’ history. And I hope this film can be a start to look together at our history and share our feelings.

I want to end with saying that I am very happy to have been selected for the NZIFF and I hope a lot of people will see it.

What's the moment you wish audiences were seeing in a theatre, and why?

See also question 7.

But in general, looking at a film in the theatre can be magic!

Maybe, people online don’t look at the credits, and that is a pity, because it is there I made a special moment to make a tribute to all the women who contributed with their stories. I made a kind of graphic moment to get them out of the shadow, mirroring the scene  with the white kapok (plantseeds used for pillows and matrasses), in which you will see the women responsible for tossing up the kapok.  And because it has been a life changing journey for Alima, the music for the credits is kind of consoling to give the audience a moment to come back to reality.

What have you learned about film-making, the film-making community and the film-going audience during the pandemic?

From one moment to the other, it felt like there was suddenly a virus attack, like in a movie. The whole world stopped and so did the film industry. Luckily in The Netherlands there was a financial allowance from the government and the National Film Fund. After some weeks people start to make movies with others by ‘zoom’, developing new stories and plans and film ‘beautiful silent Amsterdam’. The film audiences looked at all kind of online platforms, mostly for free, but after some time, it was boring, nothing new and then luckily there were all the books that you planned to read one day… 

What's the single best moment of your film?

How can I prefer one single moment? Every moment is precious to me…

But if I have to, maybe it is the moment that my main character Alima falls in love with Riboet (before that she felt very lonely without the Dutch kid Jantje, she was taking care of) and this love, triggered not only her female physical awareness but also her intellectual and political awareness and she feels she can contribute to the world and feels connected to the women in the world. 

The music support her emotions from loneliness, to falling in love, to  I can dream, I can make a difference, I feel connected to all the women. And the portraits of all this different women are beautiful.

What do you plan to do next in terms of filmmaking?

I have lots of Ideas but they are all growing inside, as a kind of creative pregnancy.