Filmfestivalen 2016

The winners will
be presented further down.

As per tradition,
or an old charter, or something, I thought it’s worth mentioning this year’s….

OK, so who won?
Well:

And that’s all
folks.

Film.
Filmfilmfilm.

The first
half is clever, well acted and coherent, told in two temporal planes. The main
character, the one connecting the two parallel storylines, is refreshingly
portrayed as a person rather than some magical spirit guide, one with nature,
as often indigenous people are. After a while, though, it kind of flips out.
Magic enters the scene, out-of-character allegiance swings occur, people are
being generally weird. But the decline is not too bad, and the film as a hole
still holds water.

Failed
the Bechdel test

4 canoes
of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/embrace-of-the-serpent

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4285496/?ref_=nm_knf_t1

I
care little for Jesse Eisenberg, but I find Jason Segel to be brilliant in most
that he does, and his portrayal of
acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace is no exception. This time he has some great material to work with,
as most of his lines obviously are straight from the author’s mind.

The lines
are great, but the film lacks conflict. It’s basically just two dudes talking,
but it’s still interesting.

Failed
the Bechdel test

3 pepsis of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/the-end-of-the-tour

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3416744/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_3

The early
history of film has seldom been told as playfully and visually innovative as this, and Tilda Swinton’s narration is the perfect blend of cheerfulness and
gravitas. Clever in-frame jokes and a loving approach to the silliness of
yesteryear hold this otherwise pretty nonsensical film well above water.

Failed
the Bechdel test

3
landlines with operators of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/dreams-rewired

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4414694/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1

Muslims like to
claim that their go-to-guy was an actual person, who actually lived. That might
be true, I have no reason to doubt that. The film, however, claims to be an
actual representation of historical events and depicting the real life of
young-to-adolescent Mo. Then, lay off the magic, please! With islam’s poor
track record of self-distance, and the film’s own claims of being honest and
true, suspension of disbelief becomes a problem when hocus-pocus abounds.

I’m certain that if
one could just ignore the self-seriousness and the absurd claims, this film
could be an entertaining one. If they shortened it from three hours down to
two, and added som events, characters, conflicts and, you know, entertainment.
I just came here for the comments.

Failed the Bechdel
test

2 drawings of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/muhammad-the-messenger-of-god

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3921314/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1

Triumphs
taking place on the holy ground of Ullevi holds a special place in my heart.
Sometimes it’s music, often it’s football. When it’s football, it’s always
because of IFK Göteborg. With one exception: Denmark defeating Germany in the
1992 Euro cup finals. While I wasn’t at the stadium, but in an as well-packed
beer tent nearby, that day I was Danish.

Clearly
the underdog story has been exaggerated, clearly the evil bureaucrats weren’t
as evil, and of course the nice, less payed amateur players weren’t as
awesomely sweet and allround spiffy. But truth remains: Denmark only got to
play because of a last minute disqualification of Yugoslavia, barely finished
second in their group, and as such, the underdog story is true. The nostalgia
factor and the location familiarity adds to the coziness of the film. Those who
weren’t around, or aren’t Danish, probably won’t enjoy it as much.

Failed
the Bechdel test

4 penalty shots of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/summer-of-92

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2378830/?ref_=nm_knf_t2

Based
on a script by Ingmar Bergman, Acolas puts Sophie Marceau in the part Liv Ullman was set to play. And
it’s a dream role for any actress, I’d wager. For this is no ordinary film.
Sure, there are costumes, set design, camera work. There are lines, lighting
and roles. There’s even special effects. But that’s not needed. This is a play,
a radio play even, with just one actor. And, quite possibly, one role. So,
while innovative and well executed, with an amazing performance by Marceau, one
has to wonder, what’s the point? Which might be part of the point.

Failed
the Bechdel test

3 costumes of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/a-matter-of-the-soul

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4287014/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1

Entertaining,
indeed. Historically accurate, dubiously. Well acted, certainly. Forgettable,
definitely. I did like the bookends with a twist, though.

Failed
the Bechdel test

3 pistols of 6

https://festival.giff.se/events/satisfaction-1720

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3702758/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1