HKIFF

Grbavica [10 April, 2007, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre]
It's set in post-war Grbavica, where people still mourn for the pain they have been suffering for a decade through. Esma and her daughter, Sara, lives in the district of Sarajevo, where people wait for dead bodies to be evacuated and identify their families. What's between the mother and daughter has been the hidden truth of what's happened to the father - said to be a 'shaheed' (who fought for Bosnia and died in the war). When Esma starts a relationship with a man she met at work and Sara urges her mother for the 'death' certificate of her father for the school trip, the ugly past uncovers. Esma was raped by the Chetniks and gave birth to Sara (a 'bastard' she called...). We come to realise how hard it can be for the woman to look at her daughter's face and constantly reminds her of the humiliation.
The opening scene and one towards the end highlight the sharing of pains among the women in Grbavica along with the singing. Though I couldn't possibly understand a word, the melody carries itself a sense of melancholy, misery and despair which touches the heart of not only me, but everyone in the theatre.
It's a worth seeing film that urges us to reflect on war, once again.

Princess (Animation) [9 April, 2007, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre]
MISSED again coz Mr Chow constantly called on me... ZZZzzz...

The Free Will [8 April, 2007, Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium]
So far the worst choice I had for the festival.
It certainly aroused my interest at first of the topic - rape. Theo, a convicted rapist, who is released from prison and tries to enter what his mate called 'hell'. The constant rouse of violent desire and hate for women makes him incapable of fitting in the society. All the more, a sense of loneliness soon consumes him. The same happens to Nettie who starts her new and independent life and tries to cut off connection with her father. She encounters the same difficulties Theo has dealing with the opposite sex. Sooner, their gradual understanding of each other's pains draws them together and they fall in love.
However, the film doesn't end in ease but in pain and confusion. Theo commits the crime again and breaks off relationship with Nettie. Nettie, in desperation, chases him after and finds Theo in the same condition ends his life to release himself again, not from the concrete prison, but the mental.
I said 'confusion' in the end but in fact, I feel that the director doesn't explain lots of things and tries to prolong some parts unnessarily. The 163-min long film seemed to me a 4-hour film filled with loads of gaps and blanks. All these create the emptiness and fragments of the plot development. I try not to be too critical, yet I must say, I'm truly disappointed at how the director handles the subject matter 'unwisely' and clumsily.
If loneliness is the issue, there shouldn't essentially a rapist and a victim of abuse. If not, what exactly is the focus? The fact is, there's none.

Don [7 April, 2007, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre]
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!! There's always so much to explore from Bollywood movies and this one with some shadows of Infernal Affairs, Matrix, Jackie Chan and Mission Impossible, we're looking at nothing like those Hollywood blockbusters with loads of violence and sex. The film does have lots of action and exciting scenes, sex appeal and complicated plot. It also maintains its own Bollywood style of singing and dancing (which always brought the audience to laughters...). The most surprising thing I found in it is the ending. I can't tell much coz I really wanna you to go and see for yourself (and you'll know why I liked it so much about the ending).
For the plot, Don is the villain who's in the 'dirty' business and VJ, as a street musician, (un)luckily asked by a police officer to be a replacement of Don for they have the same looks. All the complications start with twists and suprises throughout.
P.S. This film is already a remake of a classic back in the late 80s - SUCCESSFUL as it was!

Flanders [7 April, 2007, Hong Kong City Hall Theatre]
MISSED because of hangover...

Black Book [5 April, 2007, Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre]
Everyone might say, 'the old song' when a film is set at WWII concerning how Hitler carried out massive genocide of the Jews. Well, this film gives us not only bad Germans killing innocent Jews and people in a country. It poses bad Germans vs good Germans (who would negotiate justice with the 'enemies'), brave Resistance people vs treacherous companions, and many more of these shifting the perspectives of the 'stereotypical' to the 'uncovered'. We are told that a Jewish lady falls in love with a German officer, a mate sells everyone out in the Resistance for money and honour, a declaration of liberation means revenge and dangers - it's so much so different.
The black book, as the title, discloses all the conspiracy and plots and serves the key to unfolding the truth to the characters and the audience.

Jindabyne [4 April, 2007, Hong Kong City Hall Theatre]
Finally, I managed to catch my first film of the HKIFF 2007.
It's an Australian film about racism, honesty, family, love and gender conflicts. It all started with the murder of an aboriginal young woman, whose body was found by four white men fishing in the wild river on a mountain. Their decision to tether the body to a tree and leave it in the water (out of 'good' intention to keep the body 'intact') triggered outrage from the community people (especially the aborigins) about their indifference to report discovery several days later. But the matter doesn't just end up in more hate issues between the white and the aborigins; it leads to the breaking up of relationships of the couples and lovers, and even that of a family.
In the meantime, Claire and Tom have long hidden their true emotions from each other, which along with the controversial incident, bring them into vigorous confrontation of blames and distrust. While Claire once left Tom for 18 months after her first delivery of their son, Tom has long endured the scare of losing Claire again, which may again leave him alone with the son.
All these chaos settle when every character comes to uncover the truth and open themselves up for love and trust.
It's an inspiring film in many different ways for reflection but maybe the director still needs more tactics on delivering the message to the audience effectively.

Thirteen Princess Trees [25 March, 2007, UA Times Square]
MISSED again! Thanks to my torturing stomach pain...

London to Brighton [22 March, 2007, UA Times Square]
MISSED because of time-consuming staff meeting... (again, with loads of bullshits and stuff, excuse me!)