Culture/Art/Film: Landfill Harmonic

This is the best feel-good movie I’ve seen in a long time.

I just watched it with my film buddy who I met at VIFF. This film is not about garbage, it’s about making the best of the junk that surrounds you.

The reason it’s uplifting is that it points out that no matter what your living conditions are like, through the power of hope and dreams you can build on becoming what you desire and we realize that music is that unifying force that binds all people. It’s pretty powerful. It’s actually a film on the power of music through very unusual circumstances. landfil5 landfil4

These kids play everything from the BIG THREE (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven) to heavy metal (play heavy metal with heavy metal) favourites.

Land Fillharmonic was showcased last year at various film festivals but was recently re-released in many cinemas worldwide (you’ll have to check in your hometown). If so, I highly recommend seeing it. WATCH TRAILER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCjbd21fYV8

Landfill Harmonic follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical youth group who live next to one of South America’s largest landfills. This unlikely orchestra play music from instruments made entirely out of garbage. When their story goes viral, the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight. With the guidance of their music director, Favio Chávez (a most amazing man), they must navigate this new world of arenas and sold out concerts. However, when a natural disaster devastates their community, the orchestra provides a source of hope for the town.

Photo: d. king – one of the instruments taken in the lobby of VanCity Theatre Tuesday night.

Instruments Beyond Borders...harnessing the power of music to better children’s lives. Many schools have now very unfortunately cut music from educational programs. It’s good to give back.

An entirely volunteer, charitable Society dedicated to delivering donated musical instruments and funds to music education programs in disadvantaged communities at home and abroad. In Vancouver instrument donations can be made at Tapestry Music (3607 West Broadway). Tax receipts for donated instruments are available upon evaluation.

Music heals the world. So will recycling.

Film Reviews

Style: Shoot First – the ART of capturing the MOMENT

Harry Benson: Shoot First

Now here’s a documentary for those who adore art, culture, music, fashion, politics, celebrity & larger than life celebratory, astonishing and horrendously shocking legendary moments in time.

Saying that Scottish photographer Harry Benson is a Zelig-like character who’s witnessed every major cultural and political event of the last 50 years is not an exaggeration. Here’s just a partial resumé of the man’s astounding life: he arrived in America with the Beatles in 1964 as a photographer for their American tour (he took the famous photo of the Beatles’ hotel room pillow fight); he has photographed every American president from Eisenhower to Obama; he was just a few feet away from Bobby Kennedy on the night Kennedy was assassinated; he was alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Meredith march and attended his funeral; he was in the room when Nixon resigned; he was there when the Berlin Wall went up—and when it came down; and he has taken iconic fashion photos for the likes of Vanity Fair, Paris Match and a half-dozen other magazines.

Benson, now 86 and still working, certainly deserves the wonderful tribute offered here in Matthew Miele and Justin Bare’s fascinating portrait. Featuring testimonials from Sharon Stone, Alec Baldwin, Donald Trump, Piers Morgan, Dan Rather, James L. Brooks, Henry Kissinger, Ralph Lauren and Joe Namath among others, the film reveals that Benson is not only a globetrotting legend of the photography world but that he’s also a nice guy!

TRAILER:

Source: VIFF M/A/D | Style in Film

Film Reviews

Life at Large: the HUMAN condition

Paraphrasing Janis Joplin: Happiness/Freedom are just two words for nothing left to lose.

Last week I watched a gripping, disturbing and captivating docudrama (with lightness at times) which was part of the VIFF screenings on….everyone…everywhere…everyday…appropriately entitled… human1

And guess what?

We’re pretty much all the same in the sense of what we all really long for…simple happiness.

I think that’s what first attracted me to the title of an Italian subtitled film that was on my list to see called “The Complexity Happiness.” Without knowing a thing about the film I wanted to see it…because happiness is a complex thing and not so simple for many to attain after all, is it?

Because everyone wants something…else. We’re different in the sense of what we own, the clothing on our backs, our environment which of course encompasses our living conditions, language, family and our bank accounts. But other than that we only really want happiness. And we all know by now that happiness does not come from having more money. Money minus love equals emptiness. End of story. There’s only so much pleasure you can attain by buying more….things. Having said that, there are more people in the world who have nada, but many are happy with what little they have if they have a strong family connection or for many, faith (in whatever they believe in). And we would be stupid to assume having no money at all is a good thing even if your family situation is balanced.

Balance in life is important for everyone and how can you be truly happy if you’re always fighting to find a way to feed your family, find a job, look after yourself and those around you?

It’s a BIG WORLD out there and for the most part…it’s out of whack and completely and unfairly UNBALANCED. human2

WHAT I’VE LEARNED FROM THIS POWERFUL FILM overall is… the world we live in can be a pretty sad place! I mean even checking out what’s going on with the U.S. election campaign…who would have ever thought it would come to this for the most powerful position in one of the most powerful countries? It’s a bit of a joke like a Jerry Springer gong show. And just before this film I saw “American Honey” which deals with misfit millennials looking to find work and fit into society and have some fun. The list goes on.

So yes, it was depressing to see more than enough faces from all over the world talk about their personal living conditions and socio-economic situation. It was meant to inform and upset from where we were sitting, in comfortable seats in a warm movie theatre with our popcorn & sodas. On a more uplifting note, there are some feel-good parts to the film as well. And we find out that some of the monetarily poorest people on the planet are the happiest.

But even happy people are not constantly happy…life gets in the way. How many people have you heard about in the past couple of years alone who are/were famous with lots of money who died from drug overdose, committed suicide, are or were severely depressed? How many are in rehab?

Maybe the secret to happiness lies in being contented. I think contentment counts for a lot. It’s a good balance of being mostly happy with a few disruptions along the way. We are, after all only human.

And unfortunately, unfairness is a way of life…for most.

Human trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Retnj3TsA

This is my last VIFF review until next year but I want to let you know that my friend Ann Marie Fleming WON for her feature length “Window Horses” – in the best Canadian Film Category. I am so happy for her. The wonderfully animated movie about poetry has an encouraging message. I highly recommend seeing it.

We must take happiness in doses…BIG or small!

Film Reviews

Film: Seduction/Secrets – The Handmaiden

The Handmaiden was my chosen last film to see from VIFF. It was an intriguing change from all the other selections. handmaiden5 It’s an erotic thriller with many a twist and turn. I can only imagine what the men in the audience must have been thinking in a few of the scenes….given what I believe men like to envision. But it was much more than that. Beautifully directed from acclaimed writer-director Park Chan-Wook who is considered the King of Korean cinema. His first English language film was Stoker starring Nicole Kidman. handmaiden3

Synopsis: with help from an orphaned pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) devises an intricate plot to seduce and bamboozle a wealthy, innocuous young Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance. The woman lives on a large secluded estate and the Korean pickpocket is hired to serve as her new handmaiden. But who is really fooling who here?

This movie was inspired by Welsh author Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith; with the setting changed from Victorian era to Korea under Japanese colonial rule.

It was a captivating piece of work.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkvHtfRAKNk

The film festival has formally ended but extra screenings of some of the more popular films will play in select theatres over the next several days. To find out more please visit: https://www.viff.org/

Film Reviews

Lifestyle/Film – from FRANCA to FREIGHTENED

The Vancouver Film Festival is almost over. For the past two weeks I’ve seen my share of GLOOM to GLAMOUR through cinema and ended up going home with either a smile on my face or more often than not, with a heavy heart. franca1 Being a film critic is not as simple as it seems. Did I say film critic? Well you know what I mean..my version. It’s kind of like speed dating (not that I’ve ever done that) – you have to weed through many movies before you come across a great film. But that great one will stick with you and may even change your life forever.

I even have a film buddy now. Someone I met in the pass holder lineup from the very beginning of the festival and we kept bumping into each other, sitting together, crying at times and finally comparing films and such and sharing real life moments in time (while waiting for each film to start). We promised to keep in touch and meet up every so often to see a new movie because we seem to have the same taste in film. And let me tell you that finding the perfect film buddy is a lot harder to come across than the other more popular kind of “F” buddy.

So I have only a few more reviews to share, a very small amount compared to all that was offered at the festival. I’m sending them into the VIFF press office and hopefully they’ll decide to invite me back again next year. This has not only been a real pleasure and a privilege but a great opportunity to share with you some very engaging films and a chance to expand my audience.

These two documentaries will make you question everything you buy.

Franca: Chaos and Creation

The high price of fashion…

I was looking very forward to this documentary about legendary editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia, considered the world’s most important fashion magazine. It’s the magazine for fashion insiders to visit the territory where fashion, art and provocation meet. Her astonishing but often controversial magazine covers have not only broken the rules but also set the bar high for fashion, art and commerce over the past 25 years.

Sozzani remains deeply committed to exploring subject matters off limits to most and occasionally redefining the concept of beauty in the process.

The film features interviews with Karl Lagerfeld, Bruce Weber, Baz Luhrmann, Courtney Love and many others. A film for style buffs.

*Trailer for Franca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvD8l12X9pA

Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping

The higher price of fashion. There’s always a cost. How much are we willing to pay?

This is in stark contrast to Franca and something to give serious thought to.

“There are three kinds of people in the world. The living, the dead and those that are at sea” – a line from the movie.

This film sheds real light on where a huge portion of our clothing really comes from. It will make you question your choices (hopefully) the next time you shop for that next great deal. Maybe we should read clothing labels like we are now paying more attention to our labels on food. Because there’s a story behind them and it’s not a pretty one. Those $20 jeans weren’t just shipped here from Bangladesh: the constituent parts traveled thousands of miles before they met in the factory. But it’s not just about clothing, it’s about everything we consume in our crazy world of WANT. And 90% of everything we consume arrives via ship so this is essential to know about. Because many of us are unaware of the consequences of industrial container shipping as it is today and has been for many, many years. And it’s drastic impact on the environment….which affects everyone and the future of the planet. But it’s not too late to make some changes…if only they will listen (but we don’t know who they really are because the owners are hard to track down).

Denis Delestrac is opening our eyes to the incredibly important implications of things we take for granted. And you won’t believe your eyes.

From the VIFF website:

Freightened is indeed a scarifying look at our oceans and harbours, and what the behemoths and leviathans that ply our seas are doing to them. It’s all because of what we buy! The unit travel costs of huge industrial container shipments are astonishingly small, but the environmental costs are ridiculously large. Why bother to learn more? Why think global and buy local? The open seas are shockingly free of oversight and regulation. Dirty fuels, chemical leakage and animal-killing noise abound in a regime of tax avoidance and maintenance neglect, and we know so little about it. What are the plans for our Port of Vancouver?

Food for Thought?

*Trailer for Freightened:

Art & Culture, Film Reviews

Design/Film: The Architect

“As an Architect I have the job of transforming hopes and dreams into wood, glass, steel and concrete. But if the dreams aren’t there, there is very little I can do.”

– a line from the The Architect

Clip from the Film — Still from the Film

Last night I attended the VIFF premiere of a new movie called “The Architect”. I wanted to see a light comedy after the heaviness of the last several movies. Something with a design element to it. The Architect was reminiscent of “The Cable Guy” starring Jim Carrey but only in the sense that the architect (played by James Frain) was annoyingly cloying in his attempt to help out, thus getting on the nerves of his employers as he tries to infiltrate their lives.

The movie was written and directed by Jonathan Parker who was in attendance to answer questions from the audience as was one of the main characters, Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, Broadway, etc.) Parker Posey plays his wife in this bizarre tale of obsession and deceit when a couple (played by McCormack & Posey) hire a supposedly top notch visionary architect to build their dream house right after buying a tear-down. But what they’re not prepared for is the architect’s brash ego informing them to follow his own designs and desires. The wife, a creative type of her own, gets swept up by the architect as creative designer – a stark contrast to her husband’s very practical side. A husband by the way, quite skeptical of the intentions of the architect in question.

You begin to realize who the dream house really belongs to – The Architect.

What’s funny is that Eric McCormack (originally from Vancouver) is building a home here and his own architect was at the screening. He pointed him out in the audience at the Vancouver Playhouse. He said if that wasn’t enough he also hired an interior designer.

Some lines from the film:

I don’t know why people hire architects and then tell them what to do

I believe it is just as important to design a chicken coup as it is to design a cathedral

Q & A with Director and Actor. Photo: d. king

The Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9pk_186P4

For more information on the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) please visit:

https://www.viff.org

Film Reviews

Culture/Film: Julieta and Elle

We’re still pleasantly engrossed at the Vancouver International Film Festival and I can hardly keep up with the reviews. julieta3 Today I saw two films back to back and I’m a bit mentally worn out. So much to discover and contemplate but I can tell you a little about the last two films with strong leading women.

I have a lot of appreciation for foreign films. Many times they have a lot more depth than North American cinema. I’m a big fan of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar since having seen Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, 1988. It was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film. And of course All About My Mother (which I loved even more) won an Academy Award for best foreign language film. The list goes on. So as soon as I heard that Julieta (the latest Almodóvar , sure to become another classic) was partaking at VIFF I had to schedule time to see it.

Told in flashback over 30 years of guilt and grief, this melodrama is based on three Alice Munro short stories. Critics are saying it is his best film in a decade.

What I love the most about any Almodóvar movie is the character study in itself – all about relationships, it never disappoints and you can guarantee the actors are the best of the best.

Emma Suárez is fabulous as Julieta. A beautiful woman who is leaving Madrid to start a new life in Portugal. But before she moves, and by chance, she bumps into a childhood friend of her estranged daughter Antía. She decides to stay in Madrid and returns to the apartment block where she and her daughter once lived. Then we’re transported back to the 80’s to find out the story about fate, love and separation.

I enjoyed the film very much but without giving too much away, I unfortunately didn’t completely understand the decision made by Antía (the daughter) and in my opinion it was a very undeserving situation.

Moving on…

Elle, on the other hand was pretty disturbing in a sick and twisted confrontational sense. I would classify it as a mystery/thriller with a wink and a twist.

I chose it because it’s a French film which stars Isabelle Huppert and is directed by Dutch filmmaker (and former Hollywood bad boy) Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers).

I liked the strong, seductive unemotional character of business woman (a CEO of a video game company) Michelle (Isabelle Huppert) with her dry sense of humour. She is superb in the role. I was disturbed and intrigued. This movie will most definitely spark a debate.

Julieta Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH5_4osOZK8

Elle Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBEV1w7too

There are four more days of filmgoing left. For more movie information please visit: https://www.viff.org

Film Reviews

Style/Film: Personal Shopper

I really wanted to love this film. Of course the name alone appealed to me as you must have already guessed. It was a definite YES on my list and it was a front runner at the Cannes film festival.

I mean it had ALL the elements of a fantastic movie. An unassuming young woman (played by Kristen Stewart) riding a scooter around Paris picking up vetements from shoppes like Chanel for her super model employer who is too high profile to do it herself. She also has a special gift of being a medium (not in size but in a psychic way). She’s waiting for a sign from her twin brother who passed away. And she’s able to tap into the spirit world when disturbing signs appear before her but they are not that of her brother.

The movie is almost unclassifiable. It has a little of everything but doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s a bit of a thriller but not really because it’s too disjointed. It leaves you a bit in the dark…wanting answers.

And even though Kristen Stewart does an excellent job in the role it made me question why a super model would choose a mopey dishevelled looking girl who doesn’t dress well to go to these upscale boutiques to choose clothing and accessories. Just saying.

But maybe I’m missing something because while I bided time at Nordstrom waiting for the next movie to begin I came across this image:

Apparently Karl Lagerfeld saw something special in the young actress beyond the messy hair and frowned lips. Lagerfeld & Stewart have collaborated many times to bring to life the true spirit (no pun intended) behind the fashion house Chanel. Speaking of the actress, Lagerfeld once declared: “She is a real personality. I don’t compare her to any other actress and she is really modern, whatever that means. And I think that she is perfect for the Chanel image of today.”

So who am I to argue with Karl!

But going back to the movie….I liken it to a Thanksgiving meal that you enjoyed but they forgot about the cranberry sauce and gravy.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hghXP4F3Qs

There is one more showing on Oct. 13th

For tickets please visit: https://www.viff.org/

Film Reviews, STYLE

Style in Film: Yohji Yamamoto – Dressmaker

YOHJI YAMAMOTO | DRESSMAKER & master tailer is a portrait of more than a Designer

“Live your creative life! Live your creative life!’” yohji2

Last night I attended the Canadian premiere of Yohji Yamamoto, Dressmaker – part of the wonderful lineup of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).

The documentary is an intimate look at the life and work of Yohji Yamamoto, one of the most influential and enigmatic fashion designers of the last forty years. yohji3

Not to mention flamboyant in his own disarming way but also non pretentious and a little melancholy. He does admit to putting all his emotion, all his excitement and philosophy into his clothing from the very beginning…all while puffing on a cigarette. I imagine his own clothing must reek of cigarette smoke. However…

Fashion editors agree – arriving at a Yohji Yamamoto show stirs a sense of anticipation not experienced elsewhere. yohji4

Love his designs? Hate them? Unsure? In any event you cannot deny the remarkable talent and avante-garde spirit of this now 73-year-old Japanese designer/artist who has never followed trends. He defies them! Extraordinary dressmaking is an ART in itself.

yohji6 yohji5

Along with Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo, Yamamoto was, of course, at the fore of an influential wave of avant-garde designers who emerged from Japan in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The film sets out to discover and uncover the many layers of the man, delving into the fascinatingly complex life story of this iconic and visionary craftsman.

Yamamoto opens up like never before. He invites the viewer behind the curtain and explores his most private and intimate thoughts and feelings. The film sheds light on his artistic approach and creative working process, contrasting them directly with how he sees the “Fashion” industry today and the direction society in Japan and as a whole, is heading towards.

Interviews with key figures – family, friends, employees and closest confidants – provide even more insight into this Japanese artist’s life journey and the core values that he and his clothing embody. If only we could understand what many of them had to say.

In this version they forgot to add the English sub-titles when they interviewed many of the key figures, mother included. Although Lost in Translation, I’m sure it was mostly positive.

“I’ve always dreamt of being free, but it won’t happen in my lifetime. I have too many people to look after.” – Yohji Yamamoto

Condensed from an article in Interview Magazine:

Born into wartime Tokyo in 1943, Yamamoto first studied law, but opted instead to go to work for his mother, a seamstress, and enroll in Bunka Fashion College. It was after a brief sojourn in Paris that he established his first label, Y’s, in Tokyo in 1972, debuting his eponymous line back in the French capital nine years later and blowing away the tight dresses and padded shoulders of the sartorial moment with the billows of dark fabric and a brand of intellectual playfulness that instantly earned him a place as one of the most forward-looking, paradigm-breaking, and versatile artists in contemporary fashion. But for a man whose work has consistently been associated with the cutting edges of things, Yamamoto has always remained remarkably trend-phobic, choosing to operate within a framework that has less to do with the whims of seasons and more to do with the development of ideas, as exemplified by his frequently loose, asymmetrical cuts, enveloping drapes, ample uses of black, and recurring flirtations with sexuality and androgyny.

Never conventionally sexy or trendy (Cathy Horyn of the New York Times has said, “Mr. Yamamoto likes to dissolve sartorial boundaries”), Yamamoto appeals to clients who appreciate wit, romance, and fashion history.

Yamamoto has also collaborated on pieces, collections and lines with a number of other brands, including Adidas (Y-3), Hermès, Mikimoto and Mandarina Duck; and with artists such as Tina Turner, Sir Elton John, Placebo, Takeshi Kitano, Pina Bausch and Heiner Müller.

Trailer:

https://vimeo.com/157722105

Film Reviews

Film/ART: Mad about MAUDIE

Maudie…

is the true life story of Maud Lewis, a self taught painter who rose to fame despite all odds. maud1 It was the film chosen for the OPENING GALA at the 35^th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). maud3 maud4

It did not disappoint. In fact it was one of the most compelling movies I’ve seen in a long time. A hauntingly beautiful movie about suffering, unlikely romance and ultimately success against numerous setbacks, in a cinematic landscape.

This quote by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross best sums up the main character’s personality:

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Set in Nova Scotia in the 1950s and 1960s, the story unfolds as Maudie (played by Sally Hawkins) crippled with rheumatoid arthritis decides to leave her family who have taken advantage of her personally and financially, for once and for all.

She meets a lonely reclusive fish peddler named Everett Lewis (played by Ethan Hawke) when he tries to hire a housekeeper.

The film unfolds from there as we find out how these two opposites fare in each others lives. Everett is a very difficult man and Maudie is determined to see it through with wit, heart and ART. maud2

It’s okay to give away the ending because by now everyone knows that Maud Lewis became a well-known and well deserved folk artist whose paintings hang in the White House.

This film is an Irish-Canadian co-production.

Cast member Kari Matchett is Canadian. She plays Sandra, a woman visiting from New York with nice shoes, a nice manner and an interest in the art that is revealed inside the little house Maud and Everett live in. She commissions Maud to paint some cards for her.

The movie was filmed in Newfoundland near Trinity (a location I visited while in Newfoundland a few years back) so it was familiar. The real location was near Digby, Nova Scotia (another location I visited on that same trip). The remote scenery is breathtaking.

Irish Director Aisling Walsh along with two other female producers were there to help promote the film and answer questions from the audience at the very end.

I met Aisling Walsh in the lobby after the film. Everyone had a ballot to vote how much (or how little) they liked the movie from 1-5, with 5 being the highest. I told her that I would give it a 5 but it really deserved a 10. Also, I was a mess from tearing up so much it’s a good thing I wasn’t wearing mascara.
maud5

“Maud’s story epitomizes triumph over adversity – “Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

https://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/maud-lewis

To find out more about VIFF or buy tickets please visit: https://www.viff.org/