As promised I am back with a recap of the Cleveland International Film Festival thus far:

Transylvania

This was the first film out of the gates and, man, did I love it. A trippy road movie starring the amazing Asia Argento. This is by far the most extraordinary and real performance I have seen from her. One of my favorites of the festival.

First Snow

A cool little indie film from the writer of last year's Children of Men. While I was a tad bit disappointed with the film overall, it is still a worthwhile film full of mystery and an excellent performance from the always great Guy Pearce.

Liquid Vinyl

A well made documentary about the world famous DJs of the underground dance scene. The film does a good job of showing where the music scene began and where it's headed to.


Angosto Definitely the sleeper of the festival. An extremely well made thriller told from 6 different points of view. Each segment adds more and more backstory and structure to the over all plot.
An awe-inspiring film.


The Old Garden

Not unlike that of Angosto, this film does an exceptional job with it's non-linear plot structure. The Old Garden flashes from the 80s in a time of protest, to the present day as the main character makes his way out of jail nearly 20 years later. Great film.

Red Road

While the film was nothing like what I expected it, I did believe it holds together quite well based solely on its outstanding performance. I may need a second viewing to fully appreciate it.


Cold Prey I loved this film! Is it something new? Of course not. Does it follow every horror cliche in the book? Check. But honestly, who cares. There are so many things this film had going for it. Great performances from highly likable characters, visually attractive cinematography, and even a few great scares. What I loved most about this film is that is followed the book page for page but it did it so damn well! By far the best horror film I have seen since Hostel and The Devil's Rejects. Highly Recommended!

Taking Father Home

A little film that tries so hard to be more than it actually turns out to be. While not by all means one of the festival's highlights, it does contain enough humor and emotion to make it a pretty likable film.

Fay Grim One of my favorites by a long shot. Not really exposed to much Hal Hartley I had no idea what I was getting myself into. While the reviews were not so hot, I was still anticipating the flick due to Parker Posey's presence. Man is this film insane. Dry dry humor, off the wall (yet smart) dialogue, and the most ridiculous plot in film history makes for one hell of a ride. Parker Posey shines in this film. Highly recommend for fans of truly quirky films!


Opera Jawa
By far the biggest surprise of the fest. I really didn't know what to expect of a musical from Indonesia but I was dying to find out. This film fascinating from start to finish. filled with an insane amount of symbolism and hidden meaning I am still in mystery of more than half of what took place in this film. While some will over look this film as an utter bore, I was left wanting to discuss the film with others directly after viewing. I honestly believe this is a film that any diehard film fan of international cinema should see.

And there we have it. 10 films so far with 7 more to go. Great festival so far, can't wait to see what else it has in store for me. I will return in a day or two with more to wet your appetite.