A scene from Tale Of Tales.
June has been a very busy month for film festival enthusiasts. We’ve so far had the LBGT Film Festival, the Bangkok Silent Film Festival (ending today at Scala), the Singapore Film Festival, and the Human Rights Film Festival — all in the past two weeks. Now, the last cine-fest of the month arrives today at SF CentralWorld: the annual European Union Film Festival 2016 (EUFF).
In the past two years, the selection of the EUFF has improved. This year the line-up looks impressive again, with 17 films from 14 European countries, a fair mix of art house and commercial appeal on the menu. The festival runs from today to July 3 in Bangkok, then moves on to Chiang Mai between July 8-17; and to Khon Kaen between July 21-24. This is a good move, too, to spread cultural riches to provinces other than Bangkok.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights. Top of the bill is Tale Of Tales, a film by Italian director Matteo Garrone starring an international cast led by Salma Hayek. A medieval horror fantasy, the film tells a triptych of twisted fairy tales involving sea dragons, giant bugs, witches and princes — a modern re-imagination of ancient stories. The film divided critics when it came out last year, but is a ravishing production that will leave you enthralled.
From France comes Standing Tall, a tough-as-nails coming-of-age drama about the life of a juvenile delinquent who drifts from one halfway house to another, trying to construct a life out of his all-consuming anger; the film also stars Catherine Deneuve as a judge who tries to help the boy. Fans of drama should definitely check out The Broken Circle Breakdown from Belgium, shortlisted for the best foreign language Oscar two years ago. The outstanding part is that this is a European film that heavily features American country music in a story about a female singer, her troubled marriage, and her sick daughter. Veerle Baetens is highly magnetic in the lead role.
Another hot ticket is Victoria, an acclaimed German film about a Spanish woman in Berlin who’s partying at a nightclub when she meets four dangerous-looking guys, and from there the film takes you on a very unexpected ride.
Meanwhile, The Fencer is the first film from Finland to be shortlisted for the Oscars’ best foreign language film (it lost earlier this year to Hungary’s Son Of Saul). The story is based on the life of an Estonian fencer who fled the Soviet secret police, only to find that he can never run away from his past.
From Sweden comes a topical film: Bikes Vs Cars, a documentary that looks at how bicycles can change the way people live — expect bike enthusiasts to fill up the seats.
Other titles worth noting include Afterlife, An Existential Ghost Story From Hungary; Jack Strong, a spy thriller from Poland based on a real Cold War incident; Family Film, a Czech black comedy about a boy who’s left alone by his parents; and The People Vs Fritz Bauer, a German film about the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.