2013 Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival: July 25 - August 11, 2013.


Well its that time of the year again when MIFF rolls into town.  Below is the list of titles that I am seeing, which will be updated with a star rating and a brief review after I see each title.  At the end of the festival, I will follow it up with my top ten list from the festival. 

• BENDS  (***1/2)
• PASSION  (***1/2)
• MYSTERY ROAD  (***1/2)
• AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS  (***1/2)
• PATRICK  (**)
• STOKER  (***1/2)
• A FIELD IN ENGLAND  (1/2)
• A HIJACKING  (***1/2)
• NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN  (****)
• TENEBRAE  (****)
• CLOSED CURTAIN  (****)
• TIP TOP  (1/2)
• DEEP RED  [didn't see]
• THE SPECTACULAR NOW  (***1/2)
• A TOUCH OF SIN  (***)
• MANUSCRIPTS DON'T BURN  (***)
• BLANCANIEVES  (*****)
• CALL GIRL  (****)
• THE PAST  (****1/2)
• A QUIET PLACE IN THE COUNTRY  (**)
• INTERNATIONAL SHORTS 1  (***)
• MAGIC MAGIC  (*1/2)
• YOU'RE NEXT  (****)
• CHEAP THRILLS  (***)
• STORIES WE TELL  (***1/2)
• MOOD INDIGO  (***1/2)
• WRONG TIME WRONG PLACE  (**1/2)
• THESE FINAL HOURS  (****)
• BASTARDS  (***)
• FRUITVALE STATION  (***1/2)
• DRINKING BUDDIES  (****)
• THE PATIENCE STONE [didn't see]
• FRANCES HA  [didn't see]
• THE CONGRESS  [didn't see]
• RHINO SEASON  (***)
• LOVELACE  (***1/2)
• STRANGER BY THE LAKE  (***1/2)
• TIM WINTON'S THE TURNING  [didn't see]
• LES APACHES  [didn't see]
• LESSON OF THE EVIL  (***)
• A WEREWOLF BOY  (***)
• GALORE  (****)
• THE EAST  (***) 

 

Well, that is MIFF done and dusted for another year.  Unfortunately I have to be honest and say that this year’s festival was a rather disappointing affair for me, probably my least favourite MIFF for a long time, although not all the blame for this can be put onto the festival itself.  During the second week of MIFF, I was actually ill for the majority of it, so I found it particularly hard to concentrate while watching most films, even to the point that my enthusiasm dropped considerably and as you may have noticed, towards the end I missed a few films because of it all.  Besides my illness though, I actually thought that the program this year was far too safe, and there were a lot of good films that could have made it to MIFF that ultimately didn’t.  Both the “Night Shift” and “Giallo” sidebars turned out to be total duds this year too, with the selection of Asian films presented being also very disappointing.  Overall, I felt that MIFF had the potential to be a lot better than it ultimately turned out to be, and even though it was far from my favourite festival, I still look forward to doing it all again in 2014.  
Here is my traditional Top Ten list for MIFF 2013, but I just need to point out that I am not including films on this list that I had previously seen before I saw them again at MIFF, which explains why "Blancanieves" (a film I gave a perfect five stars to), didn't even make the list.  Anyway, here they are in reverse order:

10. STRANGER BY THE LAKE
9.  A HIJACKING
8.  GALORE
7.  NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN
6.  THESE FINAL HOURS
5.  YOU'RE NEXT
4.  CLOSED CURTAIN
3.  DRINKING BUDDIES
2.  CALL GIRL
1.  THE PAST

So there you have it, for the third consecutive year, my top film has been made by an Iranian director.  This year it is a little different because "The Past" was actually made in France, but this is quite an achievement, particularly from Asghar Farhadi who has directed two of these three films.
See you again at MIFF 2014.