MIFF Review: Tiny Furniture (Lena Dunham, 2010)

There is a pretty good chance that this film will hit pretty close to home for a number of media and art graduates. Are you one of those young people who have completed a college or university degree and return to live with your parents (or remain living independently) with the hopes of using that education to find the career you want, only to realize that your credentials don’t add up to as much as you think? In order to get by were you forced to find yourself a mind numbing job, frustrated by your situation and disillusioned by the thought that the stress you have put yourself through may result in naught? If so, you may find this film a refreshing and touching examination of such a disillusionment. Alternatively, you may feel angered and offended.

Yes, I share similarities with Aura (writer and director Lena Dunham), the 22-year-old lead of Tiny Furniture, who returns to her family’s Tribeca loft having graduated from her Midwest Liberal Arts College. She has nothing to show but a film theory degree, a failed relationship and a lack of motivation and direction. Essentially, there are some similarities to Mike Nichols’ The Graduate here, but this is the definition of the independent hipster comedy where the lead is at odds with the complexities of the world and trying to salvage an identity. There is no denying that this is an impressive debut from Dunham, but my interest was rarely heightened here.

MIFF Review: Melancholia (Lars Von Trier, 2011)

Lars Von Trier’s hotly anticipated follow up to 2009’s Antichrist garnered controversy at the Cannes Film Festival once again with the outspoken director being banned from future festivals for bizarrely expressing his admiration for Hitler during a media press conference. Kirsten Dunst went on to win the Best Actress award and the film, considered to be one of Von Trier’s least controversial (considering the subject matter), was met with largely positive responses. It was my first screening of the 2011 Melbourne International Film Festival.

I think the comments Von Trier made at Cannes were overblown out of proportions. The man, though it doesn’t seem to be the case judging by his resume to date, has a sense of humour. In Melancholia, this is eerily prevalent in the bizarre wedding sequences that make up the film’s first, and superior, half. Essentially, Von Trier’s idea for the film was to dramatise how a depressed person reacts more calmly than others in a situation of high stress. The man has a past plagued with anxiety and depression, so he is certainly no stranger to the afflictions. But the sledgehammer subtlety he adopts overwhelms some of its more brilliant reservations.

Monday Links (08/08)

I wasn't going to do 'Monday Links' this week, but I figured I'd start the day with something easy to get my brain working. Even though I had a solid sleep, I still feel ridiculously tired. It's also an opportunity to check out everyone's work from the weekend, which I unfortunately had to neglect. Earlier in the week I watched the pretty hilarious horror spoof, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and reviewed Rouge, the final film in the Trois Couleurs Trilogy. After I get through all my MIFF reviews, I intend to check out Rise of the Planet of the Apes and L'illusionniste before continuing with Kieslowski's The Decalogue and the Altman films I have vowed to watch this month. When? I don't know!

So, without further ado, here are some great articles from this week:

MIFF Diary (August 5th-7th)

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who visited the site and commented over the weekend. Apologies for the delayed responses. All I had was my phone for the entirety of the weekend so commenting back was difficult. I also feel very out-of-the-loop with everyone else's blogs, so I'll get around to catching up ASAP.

Here are the crazy antics I got up to in Melbourne for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF):

Friday August 5th

It sure was an early start to the adventure. Following a smooth trip to Sydney Airport, we caught a 6.15am flight to Tullamarine Airport, Melbourne. We arrived in the city centre shortly after 8am courtesy of an efficient shuttle bus. My companions for this adventure were my two friends Thomas Jordan and Virginie Galvez. Like me, Thomas made the journey to watch the hotly anticipated films we had booked tickets for. Virginie, leaving the country next month, had never been to Melbourne and wanted to see the city before she left. With our first film of the day, Lars Von Trier's Melancholia, scheduled for 6.30pm, we had the entire day to check into our hotel (Rydges) and to explore the city.

Our first stop was a cafe called Cumulus, where we devoured a much-needed breakfast. Surprisingly, we were able to check into our hotel room at about 10am, which freed us of our cumbersome baggage. Our next stop was another cafe (yes, I drink a lot of coffee), which had been recommended by a friend of ours. It was a trendy little establishment which served up great coffee and had a roof adorned with chairs, which I thought was pretty cool. After a quick walk-through of the State Library, we then made our way out to Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. We spent most of the day there. Amongst the highlights were the chance spotting of Dylan Moran (and Virginie's accidental photograph of the man), the dirt-cheap DVD purchases of Notorious, The Killing and Dawn of the Dead, and the mussels and beer we ordered at the Little Creatures Brewery.

MIFF Adventures

Unfortunately, there will be a complete absence of posts this weekend because I will be out of town. Another state actually. I am currently packing for an early flight to Melbourne for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). From Monday, expect my usual 'Monday Links' but also a MIFF diary, chronicling my adventures in Melbourne (the films I see, the people I meet and the expected chaos of the 'Closing Night' party), and reviews for Melancholia, Tiny Furniture, Drive and Another Earth.

Here is my schedule for MIFF.

Friday August 5 
- Melancholia (6.30pm)
- Tiny Furniture (9.00pm)

Saturday August 6
- Drive (7.30pm)

Sunday August 7
- Another Earth (4.00pm)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Trailer: Twixt (Francis Ford Coppola, 2011)

I have been trying to resist trailers recently, but when I saw that footage of Francis Ford Coppola's new film (which is playing amongst the Special Presentations at TIFF) was available, I had to have a look. With Val Kilmer starring as a character resembling Stephen King, it looks...interesting. Check it out below, but be aware, it does reveal quite a lot. 

Releases 04/08

There are four new releases hitting cinemas today. They are Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Beaver, Love Crime and Red Dog. I have already seen The Beaver, but my enthusiasm to see the other three is non-existent. Luckily there are some great films to see in Melbourne this weekend!


Rise of the Planet of the Apes - A single act of both compassion and arrogance leads to a war unlike any other - and to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The Oscar-winning visual effects team that brought to life the worlds of Avatar and Lord of the Rings is breaking new ground, creating a CGI ape that delivers a dramatic performance of unprecedented emotion and intelligence, and epic battles on which rest the upended destinies of man and primate. So, we discover the origins of the world first portrayed back in Planet of the Apes (1968), a science-fiction classic with one of the greatest twist endings in cinema history. Amongst the cast of Rise are James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow and Andy Serkis. Early reviews have been strong.

Classic Throwback: Trois Couleurs: Rouge (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

As the third and final film in the Trois Couleurs Trilogy by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski, Rouge is a magnificent achievement and is arguably the most moving and inspiring of the trilogy. Shortly after making this film, the 53 year-old Kieslowski announced it would be his last. His sudden death in 1996 made this extraordinary film even more significant. Rouge, like Blue and Blanc preceding it, examines one of the French revolutionary ideals. It is about ‘fraternity’, exploring the way that lives can become randomly connected through ‘coincidence’ and ‘chance’ and the unlikely bond between two people who seem to have little in common. 

It may be influenced by my love for Irene Jacob (The Double Life of Veronique), but Rouge has always been my personal favourite of the trilogy. The conclusion always leaves me with chills, and following my most recent viewing (I have seen it on five occasions now), it remains one of my favourite films ever. Rouge’s plot, while intricate, detailed and rich with philosophical meaning, is actually quite concise and easy to follow. To delve into each of the meanings Keislowski deftly squeezes into scenes will likely spoil the delight of the experience, so I will try and keep this analysis relatively brief.