Looking back: Film Festivals 2013

This year we hit 31 film festivals and film series. This year we got a film out at Sundance, went international with Hot Docs, Toronto and Fantasia, found some new friends and visited with some old favorites. All the festivals gave us a ton of films we fell in love with.

There is no way to recount every festival, there were simply too many, with too many films and too many neat things happened. Since I can't recount it all I'll give you some highlights (in order of occurrence):

New York International Children's Film Festival every year the festival year gets going with the first jewel in my top five must attend film festivals. Why do I feel like I'm the only one who realizes how good this festival is? My god every year two or three of the best films of the year come from its screenings (Ernest and Celestine and Day of the Crows this year). and no one seems to notice until way after the fact.  It says Children in the title but the films are for everyone and just damn good. If the festival made any missteps its that its now so big its too scattered to get from the multiple locations. Still I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Tribeca We covered 80 features films this year. 80 features- plus lots of shorts. Its insane. However since I and the rest of Unseen Films are insane film nuts this festival is perfect for us. I think this may have become my favorite festival of the year. Its 6 weeks (Press screening start in March) and its lots of movies and lots of talk and lots of insanity. Hell, Mondocurry has us considering all going in on an apartment for this year. For me the best part is this is the one New York Festival where you get to see tons of movies without any preconceived notions since many of the films have never been shown anywhere before. This year I saw so many great films (The Rocket, Red Obsession, Frankenstein's Army, Before Midnight...) I can't wait for next year..

New York Asian Film Festival/Japan Cuts What can I say? JACKIE FREAKING CHAN . Thank you guys. Yea I know it was two weeks early but JACKIE FREAKING CHAN. I love this festival. I love the guys who run it. We hit almost every movie and we all had a blast. I know Japan Cuts isn't really part of NYAFF but they crisscross and I can't see them as anything other than one festival. My one fear about the fests is that Samuel has left the building and his ability to pick good Japanese films may be impacted, I know the influx of Asian film toward the mainstream has impacted their selecting process, but then again they found some winners like Bad Movie, The black films, Countdown, Juvenile Offender. I got to see Eric Kot prove he was the funniest man in the world and I saw this which made me cheer and proved Grady is no longer the greatest intro man going.

Fantasia was something we backed into. We had no intention of covering it, but the oppurtunity arose and I dove in with both feet. Wow Wow and wow. I had so much fun just seeing the movies I'm considering going to the festival in person next year. I loved the mind expanding nature of the choices, from Burning Buddha Man to Across The River to Thanatomorphose to Jack Attack and one of my favorite films of all time Decelerators. Yea there were some clunkers but even those were intriguing.

New York Film Festival is the longest running of the fests listed here and it's a great deal of fun. This year we had the joys of Captain Philips and The Immigrant and Costa De Morte. While this year was very up and down, it still was more up then down and the downs were better than most other festivals ups. My only real complaint with this grand old girl is more and more she's showing things that have screened elsewhere.  Still if you're not elsewhere its great to see the films.

Doc NYC latest addition of the big five of must see New York festivals is non-fiction manna from heaven. I love it. Its possibly the best programmed New York festival- I mean the bad films are only bad when compared to the best of the films screening. This is also a must ATTEND festival. you have to go. Most of the filmmakers are there so you get to listen to their thoughts and even talk with them. Truly a festival for and by film lovers. This year it gave me the chance to see my best film of 2014- Things Left Behind. You have to make time and attend next year.

Rocks Off Pro Wrestling- I went to one screening but this is old school. Its a film festival by fans for fans and it felt like home. I had such a good time that should it have the same vibe next year- where I'm planning on going to everything- I'll make the big 5 a big six. And oh yea- the Q&A that followed the film was one of the best I've ever attended.

The South Asian International Film Festival opened my eyes last year to South Asian film. I who knew nothing  last year I suddenly saw the wonderful things that was coming from the region. This year the collection of films impressed the hell out of me. There were some winners and even the not so much winners were really good. I can't wait for next year.

Lastly I have to say that I don't know what to make of  The New York Chinese Film Festival. Yes I got to meet Donnie Yen, but I'm not sure what to make of the festival. Its got great films, great guests but ran at an odd time (3 days midweek) and seemed to be badly managed (people were milling around waiting for Donnie Yen, did anyone really know this was happening? and the ticket screw up on opening night). This could and should be one of the best festivals of the year.  I'm hoping it gets better next year since this should be truly great.

Those are the highlights of this year. With 2014 only days away we're already working on next year with The New York Jewish Festival getting heavy coverage starting next weekend, and we're talking about covering a horror festival in Syracuse and another in Boise (no seriously). Who knows where we'll end up...

The Best of the First 5 Years of Gkids at IFC starts Friday

Starting Friday is a look back at the first five years of G-Kids releasing. This is a super series that any film lover must must must attended. Unless you’re a diseased film fan like me odds are you haven’t see many of these films and you should.

We at Unseen have seen all but two of the films (Eleanor’s Secret and Tales of the Night have yet to be viewed-but I am angling to see both.) We’ve reviewed everything we’ve seen except My Neighbor Totoro which I figure you’ve all seen and don’t need me to push you toward seeing it.

My two MUST SEES are Ernest and Celestine, which is the best animated film of the year, and Nocturna which is simply one of my favorite films of all time.

To help you decide how to spend your entertainment dollar here are links to all of the reviews we’ve run:

Welcome to the Space Show

Ernest & Celstine Again this is the best animated film of the year.

A Letter To Momo

Nocturna This is one of my most favorite films ever. 

The Secret of Kells

Grave of the Fireflies This is one of the greatest films I've ever seen-period.

A Cat in Paris

Summer Wars

From Up on Poppy Hill

Chico & Rita Leave the kids home for this one

The Rabbi's Cat (3D)

Azur and Asmar (This is great wonderful and there is a problem with the review- I will correct and get it up)

Mia and The Magoo

Sita Sings the Blues (The review isn't cooperating, I'll fix and get up)

The Painting

Lots of great movies this week and next all coming to a theater near you

This week is Thanksgiving and while we're doing a week of bad films as our regular posts that doesn't mean you should have to suffer watching turkeys. To be honest this is the start of the holiday movie season and there are tons of great films coming to a theater near you.

First off there is a ton of great stuff if you're in New York.

Edward Yang is getting a retrospective at Lincoln Center. This will include the first theatrical run of A Brighter Summer Day which I reviewed about two weeks ago. Its a stunning coming of age film that will knock your socks off. As one person at a press screening for another film said "I didn't expect to like it. I went because I had nothing going on that day. But I instantly fell into it and all I can say is its one of the most amazing films I've seen all year". Yes yes it is.

BAM is running 2001 on Thursday and Friday and Tarkovsky's Solaris on Saturday and Sunday. If you've never seen them on a BIG screen it's worth schlepping into Brooklyn.

The New York International Children's Film Festival continues their weekly screenings at the IFC Center with two films with some winners over the next couple of weeks.

This weekend, starting Thursday is one of my favorite all time films ever any where period the end. Nocturna is a Spanish animated film that is beyond wonderful and marvelous. Its the story of a little boy in an orphanage who has to travel across the city late one night to find out why the stars are going out. Its a film that explains what happens at night when we are asleep. You MUST see this film. How great is this film? Its the first film that was ever reviewed here at Unseen Films.

While not as good as Nocturna, Oblivion Island is also one of the early reviews here at Unseen. the film concerns a young girl who travels to the land of discarded items to get something she lost back. There are some magical moments here and it's worth seeing when it runs the first weekend in December.

Mid December through mid January the NYICFF and the IFC Center will be running all of the Ghibli feature films up to 2008 in subtitled and dubbed versions. If you've never seen things like Porco Rosso or Howl's Moving Castle or any of the others on the big screen this is your chance. (For those outside of New York the NYICFF now has the theatrical rights to all of the films and they will be releasing them to theaters around the country)

December 9th at the Museum of Art and Design in Manhattan My Beautiful Girl Mari will screen. Another one of my favorite films of all time the chance to see this on a big screen is a treat. Here is more proof that Disney, Pixar and Ghibli are not the only ones cranking out classic animation.

As for those of you around the country the next two weeks brings some heavy hitters to screens near you.

Hugo, A Dangerous Method and My Week With Marilyn and The Artist all open this week. All are worth your time and money to see them.

Next Week we get the good but wildly over rated Shame, with a great performance by Carry Mulligan.Also opening is the off kilter film from Beat Takashi Outrage. Both films aren't all they should and could be but both offer enough that they are worth seeing if they tickle your fancy.

As you can see there is plenty of reason to get out and see a great film.

Raining Cats and Frogs (2003)

The first film from Jacques-Rémy Girerd the director of Mia and The Magoo, and who is also one of the producers of The Cat in Paris was Raining Cats and Frogs. Like those earlier two films the film is a visual treat.

The film is set in motion when the frogs deduce that another great deluge is coming and they warn a small boy, named Tom, and his friend. They then tell Tom's adopted father and mother. Eventually everyone, including animals from zoo,the friend's family runs the local zoo, end up in the grandfathers house which acts as a literal house boat. However complications arise when the carnivores tire of eating potatoes every meal and a wounded turtle arrives with plans of her own.

Wonderful family film is charming enough to be the sort of film that adults may treasure more than kids. It’s exactly the sort of film that I have frequently discovered thanks to the New York International Children’s Film Festival… which is how I discovered this when it had a several weekend run at the Festival’s weekend screenings at New York’s IFC Center.

Watching the film I was curious as to why this film isn't well known in the US until some late in the game twists sent the film into rather dark territory with the carnivores staging a take over. It's the sort of thing that I know many American parents might flip out over, with some semi-graphic violence (A bloody bite and some chickens meet a bad end) and some adult language. Still it's nice that the filmmakers treat the audience as if they were adults.

An aside: I find the New York International Children's Film Festival running of this film over say Takashi Miike's Ninja Kids rather troubling. There is this weird rippling effect through their choices of late in that they won't run some films because they might upset parents and yet they will run other films that in many ways are more upsetting.

As some of you know I spoke with one of the organizers after I saw Ninja Kids and he said that he didn't think they could run it because the film had cartoony violence which parents might object to. I then mentioned that the short film Hammerhead had parents freaking out when two women kissed. He shrugged and said they were trying not freak out the parents. Real but cartoon like won't play but animated but realistic will.

Ultimately I think you're going to freak out some parent at some point no matter what you do. I think the trick is going to be how do you freak out the least number of them. I would think you do that by showing good films, after that let the chips fall where they may since I think quality will win over those unhappy with what you're showing.

I'm guessing that there is some seriousness and a moral made it okay to have chickens being roasted with a blow torch, where the silliness of the Ninja Kids!!! coupled with poop and fart jokes worked against it.

Forgive me, I find a good film is a good film regardless. I also have the sense that had I had a child and I walked into Cats and Frogs with it's brightly painted colors and it's being portrayed or looking like a little "kids" film I would have been more upset to find death and destruction then had I wandered into something called Ninja Kids!!! and seen the violence implied by the title.

Thats just me of course.

Getting back to the subject at hand- If you get a chance to see Raining Cats and Frogs I suggest you give it a go. It's a beautiful film with a great story and some witty lines.

(ADDENDUM as those of you know Ninja Kids DID in fact play the NYICFF in 2012 so I stand pleasantly corrected)

Mia and the Migou (2008) (aka Mia and the Magoo aka Mia and the Migoo)

This is a beautifully animated movie that has a great two thirds and then kind of slides off the rails in the last third. Well not so much goes off the rails but becomes overly preachy and loses its way. It's a must see for the art and for the things that work...

Wait, I'm getting a head of myself. Let me start over.

Mia is a little girl living all by herself in an unnamed country. Her mother is gone. Her father is working far away helping to build a resort in a haunted forest. When something happens. Mia feels an urge to go see him and heads off with three lucky charms to find her father. Along the way she meets a variety of people and the Migou, a group of earth spirits who guard a magical tree at the center of the forest. She also runs into a boy named Aldrin and his dad, who is a developer with all his money tied into the resort plan.

Beautifully animated film looks like a painting come to life. Its a visually stunning film that I've run on Canadian DVD a couple of times just to watch the images. The film looks like no other feature film out there. Its truly amazing. I would suggest looking for the trailers but even they don't do the film justice since they don't capture the full scope of the beauty of the film.

The story is full of great characters. They are for the most part real people. They behave like real people, with Aldrin's dad doing some very nasty things when he feel his future is threatened. (I should also mention there is a few choice words used). And of course there are the Migou, a fun bunch of creatures who will make you laugh and touch your heart and believe in magic.

The story is for much of its running time a real joy. Its the sort of thing that will make you want to curl up in front of the screen and lose yourself in the proceedings. For most of the running time things happen because that's they way they have to happen; in other words the film is hitting its marks perfectly and flawlessly, basically reducing the viewer to a ball of mush going "oh wow".

Unfortunately in the final third the film begins to slide and go sideways. The story, which for most of its running time was perfectly told, suddenly feels forced. The eco message that has been running quietly through the the film has been forced to the front with very mixed results. Yes, this allows for some stunning set pieces, but characters and plot suddenly stop moving naturally. We can feel the hand of the filmmakers moving them around and the film clinks along until it stops. Several of the characters, Aldrin for example, ultimately are seen to have little purpose other than to act as an audience surrogate. What was for much of the running time one of the great viewing experiences of the year suddenly is diminished.

Frankly, the end of the film leaves me feeling disappointed...

...and yet I recommend the film whole heartily.

I know its weird, but you have to understand the problems with the film don't kill it, they simply make a truly great film into a solidly good film. Its a matter of degrees. Had the first hour of the film not been as wonderful as it is (and its good enough to recommend the film on the strength of it alone), this would have been very good one start to finish, but the film starts off so strong that the clunkiness of the last half hour can't help but disappoint you and wish it had the strength to do the distance.

Trust me you do want to see this. Its worth the effort to see it, especially if you're a fan of the art of animation.

Currently out on (I believe) Canadian DVD in French. The film is also playing here and there in theaters (the NYICFF just played it for two weekends as part of their on going film screenings)

While I think the film is perfect for little kids, especially if they can hand a bit of scary violence, you may want to wait until you can get an English dubbed copy if your kids can't do subtitles. I believe the print used by the NYICFF was dubbed into English.

8/4/12 ADDENDUM- The film is being released on to American DVD on August 7th in English.  Also the spelling of the Magoo changes depending upon which translation you have from Migou to Migoo, to Magoo

Help I'm a Fish (2000) (NYICFF Flashback)

Animated film from Denmark, it was dubbed into English by a British cast that includes Terry Jones and Alan Rickman. Its had a strange route to the United States in that it i hasn't been available except as an import. I picked this up a few years ago the only way I could get it was as an import DVD.

The story is a simple one. When Stella's parents go out for the evening she and her brother are left in the care of their Aunt and their cousin. When the kids go fishing they are forced by the rising tide to go into a cave where they end up at the home of a marine biologist named Professor Mac Krell. Stella accidental drinks a potion that turns her into a starfish and is tossed into the sea. In an effort to find her her brother, cousin and the Professor set out in a leaky boat, but a storm comes in and the two boys are forced to drink the fish making potion while the Professor is washed over board. Losing the antidote, its found by a fish named Joe and his shark friend who end up turning slightly human from exposure to its properties. Joe then sets out using the potion to make himself king, while the kids, helped by a sea horse named Sasha try to get it back and back to normal.

Small scale animated film is perfectly paced at a mere 75 minutes. The story is simple and while it wobbles a bit at the start once it gets going its a pretty good piece of fluff. Its the sort of thing that is completely mindless and completely entertaining.

Is this the greatest animated film? Oh, lord no. Its a small trifle. The sort of thing that you'll like while its on and the kind of wonder about afterward. The problem with the film is that there really isn't much to the plot and had one had a mind too one could probably chop a good ten or fifteen minutes out of it.

On the other hand this is a surprisingly good film. There are some really wonderful animated sequences (The octopus is amazing) that make this a surprisingly good looking film. Best of all the film is full of great lines (The exchange when Alan Rickman orders his second in command to eat himself as punishment is hysterical) and great moment (try not to tear up when Stella tells Sasha he can't go with he and she tries to make him go away) that prove that the filmmakers are trying to do more than just make a cookie cutter kids film.

This is a film that is worth watching if you can find a copy, especially if you have small kids. I really think the kids will eat this up. Which is why I'm kind of at a loss as to why this film has never gotten a US release (I can't see any sort of release except for the odd screening). Frankly if it wasn't for the NYICFF I never would have heard of this film. Its a film that is completely under the radar except for a select bunch of fans who are constantly trying to figure out why the film has yet to get any sort of US release. I have no idea why this is since its definitely better than many similar direct to video films that get a big play.

If you have kids, this is worth keeping your eyes out for.

5 Centimeters A Second: A Chain Of Short Stories About Distance (2007) NYICFF Flashback

I missed this at the New York International Children's Film Festival and had to wait for the DVD release...

Three interconnected stories about love and loss and how some hearts change and some don't.

Part One: A boy goes to meet a girl who lies at the end of a long train ride.
Part Two: A girl in the boy's new high school tries to attract his attention.
Part Three: Years later.

The tales are bittersweet, lovely, and delicate. They perfectly capture the feelings at differing stages of being in love, both as a winner and a loser. They are not perfect, but since they are almost tone poems of emotion it's okay, because the emotional weight of the film is what you will recognize and will turn you to mush.

What would parents and young kids have made of this at the Film Festival? I know the kids would have trouble processing it since their experience wouldn't allow for it (they haven't loved like this yet), and the parents would probably be broken hearted..."Mommy why are you crying?" How do you explain this sort of emotion to a child?

As for me, I have no idea what to say...similar and yet different to the director's Voices Of A Distant Star, this is a film about distance and communication (or lack thereof) and how the heart approaches what it yearns...

I am moved to somewhere beyond words by this film. Echoes of my own life aside, there is something about the emotion that moves you to "why am I crying?...I don't know..." The wall against such things had been punctured and while the tears were never a torrent there were a few moments where they definitely flowed.

It's not perfect; frankly I don't know what it is, but it moved me...

Take my advice, and that of the song at the end...tell the person you love that you love them.

Currently out on DVD in the US and elsewhere.

----
Addendum. In theory the three films can be seen as separate films. Forget it. While the first two would work that way, they don't really seem like much until you get to the third film. It builds on the first two to make something heartbreaking.

Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006) NYICFF Flash Back

Because I've been attending the New York International Children's film Festival and writing up previous films as "Flash Back" reviews I find I keep coming back to this film again and again both in the reviews and in my mind. In order to get past this I'm re-posting my thoughts on the film that I posted right after I saw the film in it's American premiere:

I saw this film at the US premiere at the New York International Children's Film Festival and it really knocked my socks off.

The plot of the film has a high school senior named Makoto Konno going through life blissfully hanging out with friends, and trying to cope with the pressures of being a high schooler. On a day when everything is going wrong Makoto suddenly discovers that she has somehow become able to leap through time. Suddenly able to relive great days or correct past mistakes she thinks she has somehow managed to to find a way to make her wishes (and those of her friends) come true. Unfortunately it soon becomes clear that some of the changes have consequences that she never intended.(I dare not say too much more since the revealing too much will clue you in too early as to whats going on in the film, perhaps taking a bit of the edge off the wonder. Trust me you'll thank me once you see the film yourself).

More like a novel than a movie this film takes its time getting to where its going and its better for it. Here we have a bunch of likable kids who are simply trying to get out of school and go on to the next level, at the same time trying to deal with things like lost puddings and the members of the opposite sex. Since we get to know and to like the kids (and adults) we become invested in what happens to them. Will they make the right choice? Who can say when you have the ability to do it over again.

One of the better animated features of the last year (from any country) this is a smart drama/comedy/romance/thriller. This is unlike any American animated film of recent vintage in that it talks to its audience with out dumbing everything down or needing to follow some corporate formula for success. Here is a film that is more than just dumb jokes, but is instead about people. This is a movie that should be seen by anyone who wants to see a great movie, and not just an animated one.

Summer Days with Coo (NYIFF Flashback-kind of)

This is the story of a boy who picks up what he thinks is a cool looking stone by the river and in the process of washing it awakens a "gappa", a river spirit, the Coo of the title. The spirit moves in with the boy and his family, however it eventually becomes clear that he can't stay, especially after a media circus ensues, the boy sets about setting the gappa loose.

I was planning on doing a proper write up of this film but after writing up Tree of Palme,which I'm mixed about, yesterday, and looking at my notes on this film, and thinking about the film, I've come to the conclusion that I really don't care for it.

I know that this is a strange thing to post but, I'm not that big a fan of it. I'm not sure why I'm mentioning the film, I mean why mention the film if you don't like it? For some reason I feel that I should.

Actually, I do know why, its the animation. There are several amazing sequences that really made me go "Oh WOW". The dragon sequence, Coo and the boy swimming, Coo and the dog interacting as well a few others, are truly beautiful to see.

But as good as they are they are just sequences, not a whole movie. The rest of the film feels like a by the numbers TV sitcom or dramedy that runs two and a half hours. Its simply too long to support the small story.

Is it worth seeing? On this one I can't make that call. On some level I must feel that way since I'm mentioning it, on another maybe not.

Currently the film is difficult to see in the US. There is no US release and its availability as an import is spotty. Odds are you're not going to run across it, but if you do at least you'll know what it is.

Tree of Palme (2002) (NYICFF Flashback)

This is second in a series of reviews of films that played at the New York International Children's Film Festival in years past. This is also a review of a film that is more for the adventurous film watcher, well no that's not right, this is more for those who like to see truly beautiful movies since this is a stunningly beautiful work of art, but is not all its cracked up to be in the drama department.

Actually I'm going to be very honest here and say this movie is wildly too long and may very well try your patience, however the art work of the animation is truly amazing. Then again I've read somethings on line that have spoken glowingly and have called it one of the truly great animated films. Since there is debate there is choice...and here's an opportunity to decide for yourself.

The film is a variation on Pinocchio, with a broken down robot that lives with a scientist being refurbished and sent on a mission by a passing warrior. Along the way the robot has adventures and changes those he meets.

The trouble is that the film drifts along in its own way not always making it clear how it got from point to point and place to place. The film often moves at a snails pace as sequences meander along as if the director didn't know when to stop.

Takashi Nakamura, the director, has said that this was a labor of love for him. Its a deeply personal story that has great meaning for him. I like that he got to bring his dream project to life, however this seems to be a case where the director is much too close to the project. I like Nakamura's work, if one looks at his list of credits at IMDB one can see that he has done some great work, including a stint at Studio Ghibli and directing an animated film I really like, Catnapped. However it's also clear that his strong point is the visuals, since most of his work has been as a designer.

And his visual sense is AMAZING. If you want to know why I'm mentioning this film, its the visuals. This film is a throw back to the days of Disney but fused with the sensibilities of Japanese anime. Its a film that you want to take out and put on just to watch to see how it was animated. The images are often moving masterpieces. Say what you will about Nakamura's story telling here, you can't fault his visual sense which make the film worth seeing. Look at the details in the early sequences. Look at the composition and use of space. Look at how the characters move. Its masterful.

Okay maybe I'm being overly technical and overly gushy about the technique, but when its this beautiful I want to make people look deeper then the surface.

Is this film worth seeing?

Its worth a shot if you think you can go with a film that's better visually then dramatically. (Then again as I said I've read some reviews that speak glowingly of the film as a whole). If you're not one to groove on the sights you may want to stay away. (This is one of those "okay" films that I'll mention in passing from time to time because I think its worth letting people know its out there so you can decide)

Its widely available from a variety of sources so I think you shouldn't have to go out of your way to find it. You may even have a friend who has it that you can borrow it from. Actually I think you should probably rent this or borrow it rather then buy it just in case it doesn't click. I also recommend you have a second film in case this films two and a quarter hours becomes too much.

Yobi the Five Tailed Fox (NYICFF Flashback)

In conjunction with the New York International Children's Film Festival which started Friday I'm going to post some flashback reviews of films that they have showed and which one should keep an eye out for. I've loved some of these and I've liked some, but all are worth giving a shot if you run across them.

This is the first of the flashbacks It's a film called Yobi the Five Tailed Fox and it comes from Korea.

This is a beautifully animated (actually its one of the most beautiful animated films I've ever seen on DVD) about Yobi, a five tailed fox, some aliens who've crashed in her forest, a school for troubled children, Mr Shadow, a bear, love, the ability to steal souls and a few things I'm missing.

This is an overly busy film that is better in parts than as a whole. Its almost as if the filmmakers (including the director who did the stunning-in the truest sense-My Beautiful Girl Mari- which is one of my favorite animated films) had too many things they wanted to do but only had 85 minutes to do it. This is one of those films where there is just too many pieces that don't always come together.

The story as a whole, which boils down to simply Yobi falling in love with a human, just doesn't work. Mostly it's because there are so many side trips that distract from the "main" story and the side trips are more interesting then the main thrust of the story. I kept wanting it to go in directions other then where it was going because the plot line didn't have a natural progression to that point (actually it felt like a dog, or fox, being taken out for a drag instead of a walk).

This isn't to say its a bad film, its not, I wouldn't have it here on Unseen Films it it were. To be pefectly honest this is actually a pretty good movie, but there are these small moments that are of such incredible power and such absolute revealing truth that the central plot line feels so completely artificial compared to them. The girl looking in the mirror, the bear (in every scene he's in), the little girl and her teddy bear (or lack there of) are among the many wonderful moments I want so much to tell you about but I can't bring myself to spoil them. There is real magic in the moments that it makes the rest of the film seem weak.

I would probably guess that kids will be more forgiving than adults, however the small moments will strike adults more deeply than they will the kids. Its the details that is going to make you want to see this film more than once.

If you are willing to take the good with the (not really) bad, if you want to see some stunning animation and experience moments of true magic (I mean hair stand on end, eyes get wet "Oh Wow" moments), I recommend this film.

You'll like the movie and love the moments...(actually the moments and the film's beautiful look are what make the movie worth seeing) I am in awe of the moments

And I have to add that bear is some of the best character animation I've ever seen-and it mostly requires nothing but him sitting there doing nothing...and moving you to tears.

This is currently not available in the US, however it can be found as an import DVD from various sources.

New York International Children's Film Festival A Loving Puff Piece

If you want to see films that are not readily available or films that may be the big thing tomorrow one of the best places to go is a film festival. We’ve all heard of the various big name film festivals, The New York, Cannes, Toronto, Montréal, and of course Sundance. These are the places that many films use as launching pads for many of the big films of tomorrow. They are also a great place to see films that you won’t see anywhere else. They are in general a treasure trove of hidden treasures.

In the interest of giving you a taste of what film festivals are like I’m going to begin a series of articles on the various film festivals that I and others have attended. Of the film festivals I’ve listed above the only one I’ve attended is the New York Film Festival; however there are many many other festivals out there. If you look at the sidebar to this blog you’ll see a few festivals listed and over the next bunch of weeks I’m going to write up those and perhaps some other film festivals (or at least hope to find people who can write up some other festivals.)

I’m going to start with a festival that starts here in New York , The New York International Children’s Film Festival. This is, in humble opinion, the best programmed festival that I’ve run across. The festival quite simply has a knack for not programming bad films. I’ve been attending the festival for several years and I have to say that I haven’t attended a bad film, and while I have run across films that they programmed after the fact that didn’t thrill me, I don’t think I’ve run across a film that really made me truly wonder what they were thinking. (I think the ones I haven’t liked were more a matter of taste. For example two films from this year Fantastic Planet and The King and The Mockingbird are two well loved films that I find visually wonderful, but dramatically dull.)

Generally the festival has run on weekends late February and through March, which makes it a nice way to ease into the spring like weather. There was one year where the festival ran for a whole year on select weekends at the IFC Center in Manhattan and this was a nice segue into what they do now, which is run several films a month at a variety of locations (the IFC Center and Symphony Space) all through the year.

The people behind the festival have moved on from showing films to releasing them as well. They has a hand in the release of Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest in the US; they arranged numerous screenings of Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues and right now they are the US distributor of the Oscar nominated Secret of the Kells. They also will arrange screenings of various films for schools and organizations.

I won’t go into a full list of films they have screened since I think a list of films can be found at their website, however I do want to say that I will be posting reviews of some of the gems that I’ve seen at prior festivals over the course of the next few weeks ( Nocturna, The Girl Who Lept Through Time, Help I’m A Fish, Porco Rosso, Yobi the Nine Tailed Fox, Summer Days with Coo, Tree of Palme, among others.) What I do want to talk about is the neat things they do and find.

One of the thing that I love is that the festival is trying to do more than just show films. They run workshops for kids to get them involved with film. Its hands on film production showing the kids that they can do films of their own. One workshop is running in conjunction with this years festival. They are also running a seminar on ventriloquism that will have Tony award winner Jay Johnston appearing to teach and talk with the kids. I hate that I’m too old for their workshops because they look great, and since they tend to fill up really fast I’m guessing many parents feel the same way.

The festival has also managed over the course of its life to bring films to the US that might have been locked away forever in their home country. This year for example they are running what they say is the only English subtitled print of Gwen and the Book of Sand. This is a very beautiful, breathtakingly animated story of a girl in a world after the fall of mankind. Gwen and her people are living in a desert trying to survive. I’ve seen some of the film on an unsubtitled French DVD and it really impressed me. I’m going to see the film when it screens later in the festival because I want to know what its all about.

The festival has managed to form solid bonds with many of the worlds best filmmakers. They regularly show many of the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Frequently manage to show films that most people have never seen. A few years ago they scored a huge coup when they brought to the US several Miyazaki short films that were only to be screened at the Ghibili museum. I was lucky enough to attend the screenings and I honestly think that these short films are some of the most magical ones that the master animator ever made.

And speaking of short films….

One of the places the festival shines is in their short programs. They usually have at least for six programs of just short films and they are a fantastic selection. Not only do they do at least two general shorts programs, they also do one geared for “tots”, one for young women, and one of scary films. This year they’ve added one for teens and they are also show casing one animated shorts from France . It’s an amazing selection of films and the collection is so good one wishes that they would put the selections out as DVDs because there is nary a bad one in the lot. The really tough thing about them is they seem to have such a good reputation that that they are usually the ones that seem to sell out the fastest. If you want to see what I mean look at the schedule and you’ll see that this year they seem to have added a couple extra screening of the general short and tot collections (In years past it always seemed to be two or three showings). If you want to see good films you won’t see anywhere else you need to see these collections. (I’m kind of bummed that I can’t make any of the screenings because of scheduling conflicts)

The single draw back to the festival this year is that it’s become so big that its now spread out all over New York . It’s in five different locations and they are all over Manhattan Even the three closest are a good distance from each other and they aren’t conducive to getting from one place to another in a short amount of time. This is really going to drive people crazy if they are going to or from Symphony Space which is 90 blocks (on a different subway line) from the next closest place The Cantor Film Center on 8th street . (If you’re going you have to think about what you’re seeing and where the screenings are)

I know people are going to say that I’m being a suck up, but I’m not really, this is the best programmed of the films that I’ve attended. I’ve been thinking about the various Festivals I’ve attended and I find that the collection of the films they put together simply have more winners then losers. It’s a great little festival that has rapidly become a place for film lovers of all ages, not just for kids.

If you can try and go. The Festival starts this Friday and then runs Saturdays and Sundays through March 21st. Details can be found at the link in the side bar or above. Be warned several of the screenings have sold out so if there is something you want to see get tickets now.

Nocturna (2007) and The NewYork International Children's Film Festival

This is the story of Tim. He's a little boy who lives in an orphanage but doesn't get along with the other kids there. He is very afaraid of the dark and has to pull his bed by the window each night so that he can be watched over by "his star". One night while looking out over the city he notices that the stars, including his star, are going out and he rushes up to the roof of the orphanage to see what is happening. There he meets the Cat Shepherd. The Cat Shepherd is in charge of the cats that go out at night and put all of the children to sleep. When Tim refuses to go to sleep' he wants to try and find out what is darkening the stars, the Cat Shepherd is forced to take Tim to the head of Nocturna, the night world, in the hope that he can help find out what is behind the darkness.

This is simply put one of the most magical films I've ever seen. It perfectly explains what is going on in the world when we are all asleep. If you wanted to know why you're hair is messed up, or who makes the weird noises in the dark, or why you're socks go missing, its all explained here. There are several wonderful set pieces with extrememly clever dialog and verbal puns that play on differing levels. The film is also a grand adventure as Tim is forced to travel across the city in order to stop the Darkness from wiping out everything. In typical, but not preachy, fashion Tim also grows up. Its so nice not to have the moral beaten into out heads.

In many ways the film will remind you of things like Monsters Inc, Moon Girl, Spirited Away and a few others. But the connections to other films will be fleeting as this film creates its own marvelous world of its own. I've seen the film upwards of ten times now and each time I do any notion of the film being a copy of any other film becomes less and less. Nocturna is a film and a place that is uniquely its own (one need only look at the design to see that). As I've said elsewhere the odd flashes of recognition actually work to make the film better because in a weird way it makes it all more real.

One of the joys of the film is that it plays to both kids and adults. I've shared this film with some people where I work so they could show it to their kids. In every case where I did so this turned out to one of those films that both the parents and the kids could watch and enjoy repeatedly.

The repeat viewings is one of the reason that I love this film so much. Adria Garcia and Victor Maldonado who wrote and directed the film did something wonderful with this film, they made a film that gets better with each viewing. Here is a film that grows as you see it each time. What you learn at the end effects the beginning on the next viewing. Characters that you barely notice in the background at the start of the film, are seen in the fore front later on so that when you watch the film over and over again you notice how neatly the film is all tired together. Its all throw away stuff but it adds weight to the proceedings.

I love this film a great deal. It is easily in the top something or other of my favorite films of all time. Certainly its one of the few recent films of any stripe that I have happily sat down to watch more than once. (And no I don't think it's perfect, the denouncement of that the Darkness is is weak, but I don't care because the rest of this film is so wonderful)

If you love great adventure or animation or just great movies you have to try and find this film. It is an absolute shape that this film does not, to the best of knowledge, have a US distributor.(This is the one Unseen Film that I am constantly asked by parents if there is going to come out on DVD so they can pick up copies for friends)

I was supposed to see this at the New York Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) in 2008 but I missed the screening. Because I loved the trailer I decided to try and find the film on DVD and I ended up getting the Region 2 Spanish DVD from an Amazon e-seller. If your DVD player can play Region 2 discs I recommend that you try and pick up a copy. The disc not only has the film in its original Spanish language with English subtitles but it also has a fantastic English vocal track that I like even more.

The mention of the NYICFF above allows me to plug the film festival and say something extremely important about it.

The NYICFF is a great film festival. The one for 2010 starts next week and a link can befound in the link section of this blog. It's a showcase for films from all over the world and while they call themselves a Children's Film Festival the films are simply great for everyone. The parent organization, Gkids, runs films all year long at various theaters in New York and the surrounding areas and they have moved on to film distribution with this years Oscar nominee, Secret of the Kells (a review will follow) and other films like Sita Sings the Blues.

The most important thing about the film festival is that the films don't "suck". Yes, I know thats a tad base but at the same time it states clearly that the films they choose tend to good across the board. To be certain the films will vary with your own interest, but for the most part I've never really seen a bad film at the festival. Having been to any number of different film festivals over the year the fact that I haven't run into any truly bad films is unheard of.