Russian Dolls (Les Poupées Russes)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Romantic Comedy

IFFEST 06 Day 5
*spoiler alert*
The things that made me choose Russian Dolls are the followings:
1. All the good movies' tickets are sold out.
2. Have to buy a make-up movie ticket because I can not buy ticket to Pan's Labyrinth (but watched the move eventually.)
3. It's a french movie.
4. Audrey Tautou is in it.
But dang, Audrey Tautou is not the main actress. I came late because I thought the screening was at 4.30, but it is at 4.00. So I was half an hour late.
Like usual french movie with a plot of a late 20s guy Xavier (Romain Duris) is looking for a perfect love, a.k.a. looking for definition of perfect love. He dates from one girl to the next. When I entered the theatre the guy is in love with Martine (Tautou,) a widow with a little boy.
The storyline is rather flat, but the portrayal of moods and atmosphere of the characters and the scenes are imaginative and innovative. Like very fairy-taley when Martine tells a tale of her being a princess looking for a right prince to her kid, time flies when Xavier awkwardly works with his friend's sister Wendy (Kelly Reilly,) riding a motorcycle is like galloping on a horse after Xavier score a night with Celia (Lucy Gordon,) a model he has a biography assignment on. Don't forget the scene when Xavier with his one lover chase each other buck naked in the streets of Paris.
But that's just about it. The storyline is predictable. So cheesy, like the dialogue when Xavier pursue Celia to Moscow at a St. Petersburg train station:

Wendy: You are my perfect love.
Xavier: But I am not perfect.
Wendy: That's what makes you my perfect love.

Ha! Cheesy. A corny movie, but in the end entertaining and lots of moral lessons for jombloer like me. Such as a monologue in the end...

Woman is like a russian doll*. You think she's beautiful on the outside, but if you open it there's always something else in the inside. You have to open until there's nothing left to open.

*a reference to a Russian setting (St. Petersburg/Moscow)

Sneaking In A JIFFEST Screening

My friend Boy and her friend Mita called me askeing me whether I want to tag along on free screening of short animated movies on E'X. I initially want to catch the Pan's Labyrinth movie, so I said neither yes or no. But when Mita texted I went, hoping to catch Pan's but if I was out of luck, watch the animation movies instead. I counted on getting the movie's ticket to Pan's Labyrinth on the screening day (a go-show) but eventually the ticket are sold out. To my disbelief Mita also managed not to get me the FREE damn ticket for animation, which is already out as well. So I was in E'X XXI and ticketless on this 4th day of JIFFEST.
Faun's and other good movie tickets are sold out. Damn.
But after I bought myself 2 self-pity tickets for tomorrow's Russian Dolls and next day's walk the line, my friend Boy (the other Boy, the mail one) who did actually pre-purchased the ticket texted me encouraged me to "go straight in, the theatre's empty" just when I entered my car.
I got back to E'X XXI, planning to be by procedure as I can to fill in the empty seats on Pan's Labyrinth screening, such as trying to still pay on the door. Confidently I went to Theatre 2, and was expecting the same 2 persons standing by the door. But there were none. There's no turning back, I carried my backpack on my hand, and open the door. Still no officials behind the door. Went straight in, and nearly stumbled some people (i took they were the designated door guard on a movie break, but heck they seems neither don;t give a damn nor they're in deep into the movie.
The theatre was NOT that empty. Quick, gotta find empty spot to avoid the scene. Ahh, a seat 2nd row from the front on the left wing near the entrance was empty. There was this girl sat next to it, politely asked if the empty seat was occupied, she said no. So I sat and watch the great movie (look at my movie review for Pan's Labyrinth.)

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

JIFFEST 06 Day 4
*spoiler alert*
I saw an early good review of this movie in Wired Dec 06 magazine, with a picture of the Faun/Pan caressing a small girl's face. The gruesome figure of the Faun gives the impression of he trying to do harm to the girl. It is not. Actually the Faun is the protagonist in the movie.
And not to mention the Paleman's photo. The two photos are enough to intrigued me to go see the movie, let alone the review itself.
I caught the movie maybe half-an-hour late (please refer to my blog's entry.) I kinda missed the important stuff in the beginning of the movie.
The movie's tone is set to gothic and grimm right when i see the movie. All is cold and nothing is cheerful about the movie. Guillermo del Torro (director, Hellboy) even portrayed what hollywood people are trying to avoid in a "Fairy Tale" movie, like torturing scene, etc. Heck, even these are things Tim Burton trying to avoid. Compared to this, Burton movies are children's story-telling. Hence the critics says this is a fairy tale for adult, which I also agree.
The fairy tale is the make believe world of Ofelia (the protagonist little girl) when she finds herself supressed by post-war environment and ruelty of his step-father, leader of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain.
The movie is trying to convey a message that even in the most grotesque figure of the Faun, and his not your average character of a good-fairy character, lies goodness.
Even when Ofelia died in the movie, it is her victory when she indeed entered the kingdom of the Faun (at least what I assumed it to be, I missed the beginning of the movie.)
(wondering if I managed to sneak in to next Pan's screening, just to watch the beginning part...)
the special effect is very superb, i thing this one's better done than what Weta did on Lord of the Ring Trilogy and King Kong. The effects blends right in in the atmosphere of the movie.
Oh yeah, the poster of the movie is very Burton-ist (like that of Sleepy Hollow)
Oh yeah one more thing, Alfonso Cuaron (director of one of my favorite movie Great Expectation, Y Tu Mama Tambien) is one of the producers.