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Published Articles & Reviews
by Wendy Dent
53rd Sydney International
Film Festival
(Sydney, Australia)
article by Wendy Dent published on
Filmfestivals.com June 2006:
Sydney International Film Festival Matches World Football with World
Cinema
Sydney International Film Festival matches world football
with world cinema The poster image of this yearsí Sydney International
Film Festival was haunting. A nymph-like beauty, in mid flight, peers
deep into a wall of water. Her face swirls into the rhythm of the water
and is lost into its depths. And so too, that image was entrancing as
the cinema blackened and every hour yet another film festival debut
emerged from the darkness and spellbound its audience.
'Go deeper' was the message... and the 53rd Sydney International Film
Festival delved deep into the wealth of award winning films of world
cinema to find cinematic pearls of every thinkable style and genre.
One of the most engaging was the 'Latin Horizons' program, particularly
its selection of Brazilian films, from inspiring music docs such as
'Favela Rising' where Afro Reggae challenges and changes the world they
live in by the beat of a batucada drum, to a deeply epic drama which
swiftly shimmers through time and the shifting sands of Brazil; the
slow moving ëHouse of Sand'.
To both those uninitiated and to those addicted to Latin rhythms, 'El
Milagro de Candeal' was simply a beautiful film to serenade the soul.
It meanders between conversations with old friends reunited and new
friends found at the pace of a slow bossa nova, and ends on a high note
with a rousing rendition of unforgettable hits by Brazilian modern musical
legend Carlinhos Brown (of 'Tribalistas' fame) at the carnival of Salvador
de Bahia.
'Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures' was another crowd favourite, full of
wry quips and odd class collisions and cultural collusions. It gently
revealed an undercurrent of tension within the social classes within
Brazil, whilst delivering a delightful road-movie with a myriad of understated
moments between the German and Brazilian buddies at its heart. And thankfully
to its audience full of Latino-Australians, it showed Brazil and Brazilian
cinema holds more to offer Australian audiences than just the exotic
allure of danger and the bold beats of its faraway favelas.
Spanish language films also attracted a sell out crowd. 'The Gronholm
Method' was a Spanish/ Argentinean/ Italian corporate psychological
drama about an interview selection process full of mind games so misplaced
you would have to be mad to want to join the company. It was enough
to strike fear in the hearts of any job applicant ñ and much
audience debate after the film.
Another film that could have been programmed with an audience ëdebriefí
afterwards was the super-slick 'Secuestro Express', giving a different
and very daring look at the uber-industry of kidnapping in Colombia.
It left its audience confused whether to side with the glamorised gangland
kidnappers or fear them, as it crashed between comedy and chaos in a
surreal mismatch of dramatic thriller and hyper-real music video styles.
For those interested in delving into other tongues this yearís
Sydney International Film Festival also showed Australian films can
be a genre and a language unto itself. The opening night film 'Ten Canoes'
by Rolf de Heer traversed little known Aboriginal waters, and a culture
even more unfamiliar to some Australians than Brazil, whilst the gala
program of 'Solo' (by first time feature director Morgan Oí'Neill)
exposed the Australian urban landscape in a stylish film coolly serving
up the sleazy underbelly of 'ocker' organised crime.
This year was the year of Australian celebrity 'docos'
too, with strong documentaries featured by celebrated Australian drama
directors Jane Campion ('Abduction, The Megumi Yokota Story') Gillian
Armstrong ('Unfolding Florence'), and the inimitably effervescent Australian
TV host/journo extraordinaire Andrew Denton ('God on My Side').
But the highlight of the festival was a low profile world cinema gem
that was so well timed and absurdly charming that it shone above all
others. 'The Great Match' by veteran Spanish film-maker Gerardo Olivares
played with the trials and tribulations of remote tribes in the Amazon,
the Sahara and Mongolia to tune into the World Cup ñwith cinematographic
brilliance and comic finesse.
It was coupled with the Brazilian short 'Hardball' about
"A lusty young footballer who must choose between sex and the first
division", and screened on a Sunday afternoon whilst Australia
was in the grip of World Cup fever, with Australia about to face Brazil
in a historic sporting moment for our country. A goal for the programming
team - Whilst the streets were nearly empty, the cinema was nearly full.
The side program covering football was a winning move - and surely scored
new fans for both the football and the film festival. Yes Australia
has been swept up in the rhythm and glory of world football and thanks
to the Sydney International Film Festival, in some breathtaking moments
of world cinema too.
Wendy Dent Sydney Australia
26 June 2006
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