Category Archives: Film

VENICE FILM REVIEW: Adrian Sitaru’s ‘Hooked’

Posted on September 1, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Romanian director Adrian Sitaru’s smart little fable “Hooked” tells of a man and his married lover who go for a clandestine picnic in the countryside and meet a young woman who seriously complicates their relationship. … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Yu Lik Wai’s ‘Plastic City’

Posted on September 1, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Yu Lik Wai’s overblown crime story “Plastic City” tells of an ageing Chinese godfather to a crime syndicate in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with a mystical connection to the Amazon jungle. It’s like watching Don Corleone … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Fabrice du Welz’s ‘Vinyan’

Posted on September 1, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – A metaphor for the inexpressible grief a woman feels after she loses her only child in the great Asian tsunami in 2005, Fabrice du Welz’s “Vinyan” turns into a murky, wet jungle picture. It tells … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Bernard and Trividic’s ‘L’autre’

Posted on September 1, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – A snapshot of a woman who must deal with being alone in her late 40s, “l’autre” (The Other One), written and directed by France’s Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, fails to offer anything new … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Patrice Toye’s ‘Nowhere Man’

Posted on August 30, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – In Belgian director Patrice Toye’s “Nowhere Man,” an apparently comfortably off and happily married man sees a raging house fire and on the spur of the moment walks into it in order to fake his … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Marco Pontecorvo’s ‘PA-RA-DA’

Posted on August 30, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – The combination of a do-good clown in a red nose with street kids badly in need of help causes a “Patch Adams” shudder but filmmaker Marco Pontecorvo’s engaging first feature “PA-RA-DA” steers clear of the … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Christian Petzold’s ‘Jerichow’

Posted on August 30, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – The postman keeps threatening to ring in German director Christian Petzold’s “Jerichow,” a love triangle involving an older man, his younger wife and the hunk who comes to stay. Benno Furmann and Nina Hoss give … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’

Posted on August 30, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – In his third film examining the conflicts that arise from being distinctively creative, Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano uses the mathematical paradox of the title “Achilles and the Tortoise” to chase after the true nature of … Continue reading →

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Top film composers lined up for 35th Ghent Film Festival

Posted on August 23, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett The World Soundtrack Awards 2008 at the Ghent Film Festival in October will see British composer Dario Marianelli, who won the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for best score this year for “Atonement,” once again meet … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO: ‘Parque Via’, Ilaria Occhini, Tayanc Ayaydin win

Posted on August 18, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Festival juries like to spread their gongs around so it’s no surprise that Italian star Ilaria Occhini won the best actress award representing “Black Sea”, which otherwise might have won as best picture. That … Continue reading →

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