Rented cats, Curling, and experimental film at SIFF

I haven't been as active hitting press screenings as I'd like. But I still managed to check in on a few upcoming SIFF films. The one I liked best of this recent set was King Curling which I definitely think is worth checking out. Also Rent-a-Cat if you're convinced there's no way you'd dislike a film with a lot of adorable housecats. Unfortunately that is the main attraction of the film - and it's not even like they talk or anything. Oh, almost forgot - I liked Rebellion as well. So actually it wasn't a bad week at all. Without further delay here's a quick rundown in no particular order of what I've watched in the last week or so

Fat Kid Rules the World - (USA) I kept wanting to like this story about a heavyset but nice kid who befriends a grungy high screen rocker with a substance problem. But the roller coaster between annoyance with the contrived situations and dialogs drowned out the more desirable moments. Nice lead performance - and well shot in the Seattle area, but as a whole it wasn't my thing. I know plenty of on the surface reasonable people who dig this film. But I think you can do better.

Rent-a-cat (Japan) - A young women runs a clearly underpriced rental business, among other endeavors. Ranking extremely high on the lots of adorable cats scale (even for this dog person) its unrelenting focus on quirk above all else left me flat. Or maybe it was that nothing really much happens over the course of the film. The picture brings some emotionally strong moments and a few laughs. But felt overly long whenever there
wasn't a feline onscreen. Especially after the first (of the episodic ) interactions with an elderly woman who misses her cat and loves to make pudding for her grown son. Pudding and cats clearly a winning combination for me.

King Curling (Norway) - The festival description calls this out as as The Big Lebowski of Curling films. I can see how one would arrive at that shorthand even though it's not that perfect a comparison. A man whose obsession with curling leads to a breakdown must overcome his demons and concerns of family to win a major contest to pay for a friend's surgery. Filled with slick visuals and humor this is one of the more fun films I've caught pre-SIFF. Perhaps not destined to be a classic I definitely think it's worth adding to your schedule.

Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings (Philippines) - billed as a campy gay zombie spoof from the Philippines I was intrigued. I worked hard to try to stay intrigued once my expectations met the actual material. But it wasn't altogether easy. The plot has to do with a series of murders in a small town where each victim was gay. Eventually there are zombies. Yes, and camp. There was some of that indeed. I spent some time thinking how parts felt vaguely borderline offensive to me. Though more importantly I just wasn't especially interested. So I stopped thinking about it futher.

Headshot (Thailand)- not a bad film, but one of the most mis-described SIFF films I've see so far this year. A Thai flashback ridden exercise into the history of a policeman/hit man/monk it held my attention enough to mildly recommend. It's just that the description I'd ready made it sound like an adrenaline ruled thriller. Not true. It's a far more meditative character piece with a mystery of sorts woven in. Just go when you're in the mood for that any things may turn out OK.

Rebellion - a historical docu-drama taking place in a French colony New Caledonia where a protest group has kidnapped a group of 30 gendarmes, killed a few others and retreated into the jungle. A team of specialists are flown in to try and resolve the situation. Complexities grow as politicians in the midst of an election meddle and pressure mounts for a resolution. As the goal of avoiding further bloodshed grows more and more remote the tensions mount. As do the viewers sympathies for both sides (absent the politicians). Unfamiliar with the history I'd judge it as a success in telling the tale it sets out to relate. With significant excitement at times within the action sequences. Most viewers will have seen something similar before. It's a technically solid execution with strong visuals and effective acting. I didn't need to have seen Rebellion for the story content. In the end though its solid delivery made for a worthwhile experience if the subject matter sounds appealing

Keyhole (Canada) - When Guy Madden makes a film points out that it's strange just doesn't feel like a fair criticism. There are some people put on this earth to create confusing media and Mr. Madden is consistently in that group. Shot in beautiful retro black and white it tells a tale of a bunch of gangsters holed up in a house, on the lam for reasons not well described and dealing with random ghosts. Or at least ephemeral creatures including an older man chained naked to his daughter's bed who accession ally flogs the gangsters with his chain. Or maybe they're all ghosts. I fear I'm making the picture
seem more intriguing than I found it. If you're a fan of Guy Madden I guess you need
to see this one two. I'm respectfully going to opt out of that club for a while. I'm sure
I'm missing tons of metaphor and intricately labelled storytelling or something. I'll have to live with that. Just don't say you weren't warned this film may be an acquired taste.