Take One (Dec 2003 - Mar 2004)

Short, mingles Edgar Allan Poe and voodoo in a tale that plays ironically off its inspiration: a sentimental old song about a dead mother’s eternal love. Ramalho finds it amusing that because of his movie’s nod to the famous tune he was able to secure most of his funding from the government. The fluidity of his work displays a talent that merits support, but it’s nevertheless delightful that bureaucrats would okay hardcore Gran Gguignol in a steamy jungle where a maddeningly sexy witch is played by Debora Muniz, an ex-porn star. Not to mention that the film was written by Pai Alex, a real-life Macumba priest now serving, time. Among the Canadian movies it programmed, FanTasia offered an advance look at Québécois director Eric Tessier’s supernatural thriller, Sur le seuil. Opening on the inexplicable actions of a demented cop and a suicidal horror novelist, the movie’s storyline has struck a chord with Quebec viewers, earning almost $1.5 million after two weeks in release. On top of that, after hearing about the picture from a FanTasia attendee, Miramax opened remake discussions with producer Nicole Robert. In 2002, FanTasia was cancelled because its beloved venue, Montreal’s Imperial theatre, was undergoing renovations. A year later, it still is. Moving the event to Concordia University in 2003 gave organizers a case of the heebie-jeebies that proved unfounded. The university offered a big theatre, which it upgraded with a giant screen, new projection equipment and state-of-the art sound. And by the end of the already long event, the inexhaustible Mitch Davis and other organizers responded to popular demand by tacking on two nights of extra screenings. A movie that did not play FanTasia, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume | toys happily with the Asian VengeanceIs-Mine story, a blood-soaked genre often graced by transcendent moments. Choreographed by Yuen Wo-ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and featuring icons like Sonny Chiba, Tarantino’s movie is a dream about Asian genre pictures, and as a dream, it has preposterous moments. The picture is as playfully ironic as it is action-packed, which is why you can imagine it flowering to life from the collective unconscious of the audience that loves Fantasia. Maurie Alioff is Take One’s Associate Editor. Montreal World Film Festival (8/27-9/7/03) By Maurie Alioff Controversy dogged the 27th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival (MWEFF). In May, the Venice Festival complained loudly that the MWFF’s late start date would cause the two events to overlap. Moreover, an August 27 opening meant that Montreal would still be running during the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) first four days, another overlap that stirred up dismay. MWFF president, Serge Losique, and his VP, Daniele Cauchard, pointed out that 2003 was not the first year they had launched their festival so late in August. They insisted they had good reasons for their action, which in no way was intended to be hostile. Losique and Cauchard also were compelled to explain why the festival had lost its Class A status, a designation for competitive festivals awarded by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations. (The festival’s detailed position on these matters appears on its Web site.) Long before the talk heated up, the MWFF did a makeover, rejigging its categories and increasing the number of prizes it handed out. At this year’s festival, in addition to the World (formerly Official) Competition Awards, and other jury honours, festival-goers had more of a say, picking favourites in new slots like best European, Asian, African and even Oceanic films. The MWFF was asserting a view of itself that many of its fans buy into: the event’s “openness to the entire world,” as the 2003 press kit puts it. The implication is that while American movies are welcome, they don’t overshadow the program. This philosophy must work. According to Cauchard’s office, the festival drew 250,000 admissions. The 2003 MWFF played 439 movies from 68 countries, including a rarity from Sri Lanka, Prasanna Vithanage’s August Sun. A contender in the World Competition, the movie marshals a cast of 900 to tell three different stories that unfold during the tortured country’s vicious civil war. Another civil war is invoked by Serbian Goran Marcovic’s Kordon, winner of the MWEFF’s top honour, the Grand Prize of the Americas. A previous winner at the festival, Marcovic’s grim new picture concerns the Milosevic government’s brutal reaction to the rebellion against it. Also set in the former Yugoslavia, FRIPESCI winner The Professional, directed by Dusan Kovacevic, TAKE ONE