1 post tagged “i cannot stomach watching the infliction of pain”
Today was the last day of SIFF. I ushered at the Cinerama this time. I'd only been in this theater a couple of times: before its renovation, to see Shakes the Clown, and last July 4, shortly after the theater reopened, to see the Transformers movie on the huge wrap-around screen. (Note: neither of these are my kind of movie, but I'll see almost anything with my brother and sister-in-law, or within the early days of courtship.) During today's shift, I got to see two films (except the first 15 minutes of both, being on late seating detail).
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami won the overall festival audience favorite award and was also my favorite. I usually avoid movies about difficult family relationships and grieving, but am so very glad to have seen this one. I found it surprising, touching, lovely, and at times spine-tinglingly magical. A preview is available here.
Military thrillers are also not really my kind of movie. However, aside from several eye-averting and plug-your-ears sickening torture scenes, I enjoyed Les Femmes de l'Ombre (Female Agents) very much. It tells the story of five French women, working for the British Special Operations Executive (I'm probably saying this wrong) during WWII, on a mission to assassinate a Nazi officer who had been the lover of one of the five.
From earlier this week ... for any readers out there who are fans of Prairie Home Companion or rhubarb, I'd also like to give two enthusiastic thumbs up for Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes.
Those with an appreciation for gorgeous fair-haired people (sometimes nude), drug-smuggling thrillers, and/or beautiful islands in the Wadden Sea would probably enjoy Summer Heat. (Warning: it contains a gruesome attack on a birdwatcher by an owl.)
And finally, I found Jack Black much more appealing as a kung fu-fightin' panda than as a wielder of a guitar pick.
