Wednesday, July 28, 2010

GENERATION UNDECIDED (2008, Elmar Szucs, A++++++++++)

FILM SEEN OUTSIDE THE FESTIVAL

THAT SOUNDS GOOD (เราสองสามคน) (2010, Leo Kittikorn, Thailand, A+)


FILMS SEEN IN THE NEXT SHOT FESTIVAL ON JULY 14:

1.GENERATION UNDECIDED (2008, Elmar Szucs, Germany, documentary, A++++++++++)

This film is very humanist. It reminds me of other German documentaries which deal with ordinary men, such as

1.1 THE CHAMPIONS (2003, Christoph Huebner, A++++++++++)

1.2 THE HOUSEWIFE'S FLOWER (1999, Dominik Wessely, A++++++++++)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166106/

1.3 REDEMPTION (2009, Sabrina Wulff, A++++++++++)

I like the way German documentarians portray the lives of ordinary men, their hopes, their shattered dreams, their hesitation about choices in life, and most importantly, the struggles in their lives. The people in these German films may not be exactly "ordinary" in some people's viewpoints. But I think these films show many things in the lives of these men which may strike a chord with some viewers.

Somehow GENERATION UNDECIDED is the opposite of THE CHAMPIONS, because GENERATION UNDECIDED ends with the success of one of the interviewees. This interviewee becomes hopeful in life. However, THE CHAMPIONS saddens me a lot when the "hopeful" interviewees become "hopeless" at the end of the film.

If I have to choose some Thai films to screen with these four German documentaries, I will choose:

1.4 BACKSTAGE (2010, Rungroj Pengpunchum, 15 min, A+++++)
This documentary is about the life and dream of an ordinary man who works at the backstage of concerts.

1.5 TO (2010, Uruphong Ruksasad, 16 min, A+++++)
I'm not sure if this film is a documentary or a fiction. But it looks very real to me. It deals with the life of an ordinary man who has been working for a few years after graduating from a university. He realizes that he is just a person, an ordinary person who may not be important at all to the society, the country, or the world.

2.HAIR (Vincent Hau Wei Chen, A+++++)

3.I’M A UNIVERSITY STUDENT (กูเป็นนักศึกษา) (2010, Ronnachai Panichkul, Thailand, documentary, A+++++)

4.EGO’S MASK (Huong Yu-run, Taiwan, A+++++)

5.A DAY ALONE (2010, Haidar Afandi, Singapore, A+)

6.LES CLOWNS PLEURENT AUSSI (2009, Maguy Fournereau, France, A+)

7.THE DOVECOTE (2008,Romain Beaudéan, France, possibly A+)

8.MENTALLY FAT (2008, Antti Heikki Pesonen, Finland, A+)
http://vimeo.com/12506856

9.24-7 (Alison K., A+)

10.NGÃ (EGO) (2009, KT Doan, Vietnam, A+)
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1242599800138

11.KISSING FACES (2009, Wesley Leon Aroozoo, Singapore, A+/A)

12.HAPPY NEW YEAR (2009, Wu Yu-chi, Taiwan, possibly A+/A)

13.SUNFLOWER (2010, Charlotte Michel, France, A+/A)

14.UNITED WE STAND (2009, Alejandro Pedregal, Finland, A+/A)

15.LOVE IN VAIN (2009, Mikko Myllylahti, Finland, A+/A)

16.WRITTEN IN THE MARGIN (2010, Oriane Descout, France, documentary, A+/A)

17.I AM (Khairul Zikri Kamarulzaman, A+/A)

18.DIALOGUE ABOUT GOD (2010, M. Fazrie Permana, Indonesia, A+/A)

19.WEDLOCK (2010, Haidar Afandi, Singapore, A+/A)

20.SUDDEN DEATH (2009, Alison K., A)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRZddtdnV-0

21.WE NEVER REALLY TALK (Ditta Aprilia, A)

22.EPIPHANY (2010, Han Xuemei, Singapore, A)

23.PEACE HOUSE (Chang Y-ning, Taiwan, A-/B+)

24.THE DARKEST WHITE (2010, Chen Ping Hong, Taiwan, B+)

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