Showing posts with label
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
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Showing posts with label
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
Show all posts
Carre Blanc (2011) (2nd viewing) d. Léonetti, Jean-Baptiste (France)
When I first saw this in April at the 2012 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, there were no English subtitles on the print screened, so I figured I might have been missing some of the finer points of this dystopian effort about a young boy trained from an early age to be a behavioral instructor for a mysterious governmental organization. As it turns out, the cryptic approach persists even when one does understand what’s being said, as there are few answers as to who the mighty Orwellian conglomerate is, what its employees actually do, and why breeding and croquet are so important to the culture at large that reports on both regularly interrupt omnipresent music programs. Even so, writer/director Léonetti’s sober film (whose title translates to “white square”) holds the attention with tense scenes of violence and, as the adult version of the lad, Sami Bouajila’s commanding screen presence is well put to use as the inscrutable tool of the corporate machine. It’s a head scratcher and a discussion starter, which is what I think Léonetti was going for.
Eliminate Archie Cookson (2011) (1st viewing) d. Holder, Robin (UK)
Pleasing and occasionally bloody diversion about Paul Rhys’ mild-mannered surveillance technician (i.e., he listens to wiretap recordings) who find himself on the hit list after he receives a mysterious pair of audio reels in the post. Couple this with his marital problems and the fact that his assassin turns out to be an old family friend (a show-stealing Paul Ritter), and the results are a clever, if somewhat leisurely paced, comedy thriller. Rhys received a special acting award from the 2012 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Thriller Jury.
Whistleblower, The (2010) d. Kondracki, Larysa (Canada/Germany)
Rachel Weisz is a divorced police officer struggling to secure a transfer to be closer to her daughter, so when the opportunity to accept a lucrative international peacekeeper gig in Bosnia arises, she accepts the job. It’s here that she learns of a human trafficking syndicate, one that involves numerous UN officials and hordes of American citizens protected by international immunity. As you might assume from the title, Weisz takes it upon herself to bring down said organization in this “based on true events” political thriller that will have you shaking your head at humanity’s astonishing capacity for cruelty and how bureaucracy almost always chooses the bottom line over morality. Not a feel-good movie in the slightest. Winner of the "Thriller" prize at the 2012 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
