SIFF 2018, the wrap
Jun. 13th, 2018 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ironymaidenit's over as of Sunday. my stamina and my enthusiasm ran out during the last week. these should be the last of the reviews.
Jinn
American indie film about a high school senior in California whose mother converts to Islam. our young heroine is a well-drawn teen who finds herself conflicted and curious, especially when there's a hot Muslim guy in her class. this was uneven but had so many good moments; worth keeping an eye out for whatever the writer/director does next.
Naila and the Uprising
doc about the female leadership in the first Intifada, and another of the "oh, I remember watching this news segment" docs. I guess I'm that age now? anyway, interesting take on what was happening in Gaza in the late 80s from the inside. the Palestinian revolution on the ground was run by women, since the men were already locked up. I had forgotten (or was always unaware) that Arafat was representing the Palestinians from exile. so the people who were actually inside occupied Palestine had no idea what the PLO was up to and no say in the Oslo accords. the subject was beaten under interrogation until she miscarried, and later did a stint in prison with her infant son from her second pregnancy. the doc avoided saying if she did anything more than circulate pamphlets, but the doc also didn't demonize Israel the way I thought they might; Israeli journalists were the heroes of the miscarriage story since Naila's husband brought them evidence and they created the PR tempest that got her proper medical care.
for locals, Pick of the Litter will be at Best of SIFF this weekend and it is sweet and life-affirming so you should go. DOGS. they also have the fab hockey doc The Russian Five. (The Last Suit is selling fast but will have a run here later.)
I think this is my lowest film count as a passholder, but it's also the first year I've had a pass and not taken days off for movies. stupid life stuff getting in the way. but hey, seeing less films means that I was pretty careful about what I did see. no walkouts this year, and I think my worst film was a Fools' 4, which is middling on their nine point scale.
Jinn
American indie film about a high school senior in California whose mother converts to Islam. our young heroine is a well-drawn teen who finds herself conflicted and curious, especially when there's a hot Muslim guy in her class. this was uneven but had so many good moments; worth keeping an eye out for whatever the writer/director does next.
Naila and the Uprising
doc about the female leadership in the first Intifada, and another of the "oh, I remember watching this news segment" docs. I guess I'm that age now? anyway, interesting take on what was happening in Gaza in the late 80s from the inside. the Palestinian revolution on the ground was run by women, since the men were already locked up. I had forgotten (or was always unaware) that Arafat was representing the Palestinians from exile. so the people who were actually inside occupied Palestine had no idea what the PLO was up to and no say in the Oslo accords. the subject was beaten under interrogation until she miscarried, and later did a stint in prison with her infant son from her second pregnancy. the doc avoided saying if she did anything more than circulate pamphlets, but the doc also didn't demonize Israel the way I thought they might; Israeli journalists were the heroes of the miscarriage story since Naila's husband brought them evidence and they created the PR tempest that got her proper medical care.
for locals, Pick of the Litter will be at Best of SIFF this weekend and it is sweet and life-affirming so you should go. DOGS. they also have the fab hockey doc The Russian Five. (The Last Suit is selling fast but will have a run here later.)
I think this is my lowest film count as a passholder, but it's also the first year I've had a pass and not taken days off for movies. stupid life stuff getting in the way. but hey, seeing less films means that I was pretty careful about what I did see. no walkouts this year, and I think my worst film was a Fools' 4, which is middling on their nine point scale.
