While we’re semi-aware of the hidden textural layers many movies may weave, generally speaking a film rarely has to dig deeper than slick visuals and claw hammers to keep team Corridorstyle happy. And although we really don’t need any new reasons to stick OLDBOY, BITTERSWEET LIFE, or THE CHASER in the DVD for the umpteenth time, Andrew Lowry at The Guardian has an interesting take on a possible catalyst for Korean cinema’s recent love for bloody revenge.
Confessions, Dogtooth, And Oscar
Great to see that two Sitges favourites have made the list of nine nominees for best foreign language film at the upcoming Oscars.
It seems like an age since we saw DOGTOOTH (KYNODONTAS) at Sitges 2009 but its weirdness is unlikely to have diminished over time or repeat viewings so it’s a little surprising to see it make “The Show”.
CONFESSIONS was a visual feast at this years festival but the stunning slow-mo and soundtrack combinations could have made it all too easy to miss the masterful tale of revenge bubbling beneath the surface. Good to see that it didn’t slip by Oscar.
The list of nine will be whittled down to five final nominees prior to the big event but making it this far is already recognition of a job well done. Recognition too for Sitges and their continuing success at programming some of the best films around.
La Casa Muda Gets Tickets To The Dance
While we were impressed with the finish quality LA CAS MUDA achieved using nothing but sticky back plastic and old Fairy liquid bottles, we felt the film itself fell somewhat short. Shooting in one continuous 80 minute take (has that been verified yet?) is pretty cool, but it was 80 minutes of a girl crawling about on all fours moaning and groaning………hold on! That sounds pretty cool.
What the hell do we know?!
As reported over at Bloody-Disgusting Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, the creative team behind 2003’s OPEN WATER, obviously saw the film’s potential and decided to remake it as THE SILENT HOUSE.
In rapid fashion, and with the help of ELLE DRIVER (that’s the production outfit behind one of this year’s Sitges favourites RUBBER, not the Hattori Hanzo sword-wielding Daryl Hannah from KILL BILL), the team have wrapped in time to show the film in the Midnight Section of Sundance 2011 next month. That’s a mere 8 months after Gustavo Hernandez’s original first attracted attention at Cannes.
And before we go, has anyone seen star of THE SILENT HOUSE Elizabeth Olsen and THE WIRE’s Felicia “Snoop” Pearson in the same room? The hair braids aren’t fooling us.
CHRYSALIS Director Julien Leclerq Is Up For L’ASSAUT
2007 was a pretty good Sitges year and a 33 film festival marathon for team CS. One of the films to come out of nowhere was France’s Sci-Fi answer to Jason Bourne, CHRYSALIS. The stylish near-future production combined with old-school, bone-crunching fight sequences meant this was a festival hit for the team.
Good news then to hear that CHRYSALIS director Julien Leclerq is ready to tackle his second feature L’ASSAUT, based on the real life highjacking of Air France Flight 8969 on December 24th 1994. The account of the highjacking reads like a script written for Bruce Willis which should suit Leclerq who certainly has “action” in his directorial locker.
A Serbian Film And Its (New)Bourne Identity.
Those that followed our Sitges Film Festival Blog this year will know that we were fairly under-whelmed by A SERBIAN FILM. It made our festival short list purely on the buzz that preceded it (some might say as intended by the filmmakers) with the deal being sealed when it was pulled from the UK’s Film4 Frightfest program. Though not ones to chomp-on about exclusive, premier screenings and little-seen uncensored cuts, we do nonetheless like the fact that Sitges affords us the opportunity to see films (or versions thereof) that may otherwise lay a little off the beaten track.
Although we ultimately felt that the film bordered on silliness, losing much of its dramatic impact in the process, it would appear that from this post over at Alan Jones’ Frightfest Diary we were in fact fortunate to see it in its uncut form and the Sitges Festival organisers may have bitten off more than they can chew as a result.
Rare Exports Director Jalmari Helander Talks Turkey
Though we were a little surprised to see RARE EXPORTS scoop the best film award at Sitges this year it was certainly worthy of its best Director and Cinematography awards. Then again, a Christmas film where we’re presented with full-frontal nude shots of Santa’s little helpers swinging their christmas baubles in the crisp Finnish air certainly registers on the festival’s weirdometer scale.
Head over to our friends at Quiet Earth for an interview with the film’s director Jalmari Helander where he makes reference to the great reception the film received from the Sitges audience (something we can attest to)
Mason and Howard. Not lacking in LUSTER.
Good news from Todd Brown over at Twitch with THIS PIECE on the latest installment from the collaborative force that is Adam Mason and Simon Boyes. Throw in Andrew Howard (Wales’ answer to Jason Statham), the man who has the enviable pleasure, and uncanny knack, of bringing to life the twisted imaginations of Mason & Boyes, and this has the Corridostyle team’s full and undivided attention. And that’s before we even get around to blurting out repeatedly (in an overly-excited schoolboy crush kind of way) that LUSTER will also be bringing the eye-catching talents of Holly Valance to the screen.
We unfortunately didn’t make it to the screening of Mason & Boyes’ 2009 collaboration BLOOD RIVER at this year’s Sitges festival (Shaun had actually already seen it anyway) but Mr Mason kindly gave us the opportunity to view their impressively crafted experimental horror PIG earlier this year.
Our very first experience of this trio revelling in each other’s company was during Sitges 2007 with the excellent THE DEVIL’S CHAIR. In that mind f*ck gore-fest Howard carried off “insane” all too convincingly and judging from LUSTER’s Synopsis, with its two lead characters being one and the same, it looks like these three are going to have plenty of fun messing with our minds once more. (and what a great one sheet for LUSTER by the way)
And if you fancy listening in on how the minds of Mason & Boyes warp together then check out their Podcast series where they “ramble on about their lives both professional and personal and the experience of being a Brit trying to make it in LA”.
Somebody should be crucified for this
Following similar gripes about planned remakes of OLDBOY (Sitges 2004 – thankfully still on the drawing board) and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Sitges 2008 – we played mardy and refused to watch the remake LET ME IN screened at this year’s festival), we’re to be reminded once more that we, as speakers of the English language, are just not that into foreign language films and the only thing for it is to repackage them without those annoying subtitle-type-thingys at the bottom of the screen.
The LA Times have a piece (HERE) on how Pascal Laugier’s MARTYRS (Sitges 2008 – Colin loved it, Shaun didn’t. Get the wine in) is to be remade for American audiences with Daniel Stamm (THE LAST EXORCISM) at the helm.
The opinion we voiced previously was nothing new for those opposed to these kinds of remakes but we’re going to bleat it out again anyway as we’re firmly in the camp that believe the original films have far more to offer before Hollywood breaks out the make-up.
We can think of “no reason” to like this.
Although it appears to have had a mixed reception in some quarters Quentin Dupieux’s RUBBER certainly left its (skid) mark on us at this year’s Sitges Festival (see Day 3 of our 2010 Blog).
In a recent interview with Todd Gilchrist over at the WSJ’s Speakeasy Dupieux explains how the killer tire popped into existence.
RUBBER director Quentin Dupieux on why he made a movie about a killer tire.
Good To Know We’re Not The Only Ones
Though not necessarily what we expected we liked Gareth Edwards’ MONSTERS when we saw it at Sitges this year. We unfortunately didn’t bump into Gazza at the festival otherwise we would have bought him a beer but it’s nice to know he enjoyed himself while he was there:
(From an interview by Kurt Halfyard (www.rowthree.com) posted at Twitch (www.twitchfilm.net)
Kurt Halfyard: Hi, How are you doing today?
Gareth Edwards: I’m good, how are you, are you doing OK?
KH: Fine. I am glad we finally got a chance to sit down and talk, because I missed you in Toronto and then I just missed you again in Spain. How was your Sitges experience?
GE: It was great! I think that out of all the festivals they have it down the most, everything run so well in one location!
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