| Bath Film Festival 2009 |  |
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Mon 16th November 2009 to Wed 18th November 2009 at 6:00pm Sun 15th November 2009 at 3:00pm |
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Rather than hang out with boys his own age, Stefak prefers to wander the streets and railway termini of his hometown on his own. He’s also in thrall to his 18 year-old sister Elka, who reveals how he can ‘trick’ fate into providing the outcomes he wishes. One hot, hazy summer Stefak spots a man alighting from a train whom he is convinced is his estranged father – using Elka’s wisdom he dangerously contrives to direct the stranger into his mother’s shop… A delightful and much-garlanded comedy which offers insights into the mind of a yearning 6 year-old as well as an authentic portrait of working-class life in Middle Europe and plenty of gentle laughs. “…this realistic yet poetic gem” – Variety. CB
Sunday 15 November Michelle Williams shines in this multi award-winning follow-up to Old Joy from director Reichardt. She and Williams deliver a quietly poignant film which single-mindedly elucidates a tiny drama in the life of a lost woman and her lost dog independent of plot contrivances. Fleeing a failed past, and pursuing the promise of work in
Monday 16 November
Monday 16 November Last year we screened Black Sun, Gary Tarn’s film about a man’s coming to terms with the fact of being blinded. Blind Loves is an equally astonishing and revealing film which emphasises instead the search for companionship amongst those by whom that fact has long been accepted. Director Lehotsky delivers a visually striking combination of non-authored, observational documentary – we witness the quotidian demands of sightless lives – and wildly-realised fantasy – music teacher Peter’s visions of an undersea kingdom are vividly recreated in bold animated sequences. The effect is to plunge us into the experiences and longings of his subjects, engendering a heightened degree of emotional involvement. A beautiful film which makes for truly compelling viewing. CB
Tuesday 17 November Kisses is one of those films that survives and thrives on word of mouth. Everyone who sees it raves about it, and thus eventually an audience is built, and deservedly so. Dylan and Kylie are kids in their early teens in working-class
Wednesday 18 November Ezra is a solitary boy at boarding school who locks himself in his room, finding online comfort from images of sex and violence. When he emerges from his lair, he comes across the last moments of twin girls, which he devotedly records, rather than coming to their assistance. Director Campos was a mere 24 when he made this film, and it’s the kind of film that Gus van Sant or Michael Haneke might have made. The film is determinedly non-judgemental and does not offer the easy satisfaction of sympathetic characters, but you will find yourself remembering it for a lot longer than some dumb comedy. PR
Wednesday 18 November The mood conjured up by this film, in which the eponymous Helen seems to take on the identity of a missing girl, will linger long after its modest running time has past. Most intriguing is that we’re never sure if Helen, soon to be discharged from her care home and pondering the possibility of contacting her birth mother, is driven by some deep-seated prompt to assume the victim’s identity, or whether she is playfully testing boundaries in preparation for her impending independence. Directed in a coolly undemonstrative manner and performed with exemplary clarity, this “episode of The Bill drected by Antonioni” (Jonathan Romney) is one of the most distinctive British films of recent years. CB
booking: http://www.bathfestivals.org.uk/1618?b_id=4690 |
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| Tickets: £6, Concs£4 | Film |
The Rondo Theatre is supported by Bath and North East Somerset Council.
