Day 10: September 16

I ran out of films to see, watching back-to-back miserable flicks to start the day. The evening turned out better, with a fine MM to cap of this year's fest. Got to drink with the likes of festival darling (and soon to be Bond villain!) Mads Mikkelsen as he was hanging with Colin and the crew from Sheitan. Into the wee hours the group of us decompressed after a long ten days of movie madness.

Mainline
Directed by: Rakshani Bani-Etemad, Mohsen Abdolvahab

Grade: FAIL

A miserable, drab film about a mother enabling her daughter's heroin habit. A shoddy affair, with over-the-top acting, annoying characters and incredibly banal look.

Invisible Waves
Directed by: Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Grade: D+

An overly long, slow burn of a film that's tangentially tied to the Yakuza genre. Lugubrious shots (including several minute-long cuts to lightly waving water) make for quite a challenge to stay interested this late into the fest. The story of betrayal, poisoning, karaoke and manky cruise ships is often convoluted despite the deliberate pace. Still, there are moments of humour and action that keep it from being a complete mess.

Amazing Grace
Directed by: Michael Apted

Grade: B-/C+

Amazing Grace tells the tale of William Wilberforce, the British politician who spent decades trying to abolish slavery. This historical drama did well to not bog itself down in procedural details, and the exemplary cast is quite good. In the end, however, it didn't sustain itself, and while the subject matter is ripe for investigation, the film isn't quite up to the challenge.

Lights in the Dusk
Directed by: Aki Kaurismaki

Grade: B+

Another weird, frigid tale by Kaurismaki, this one detailing the manipulation of a night watchman for the sake of gaining access to accomplish a robbery. Femme Fatales, awkward dinners, snappy dialogue and an interesting setting keeps this quirky film chugging along.

Sheitan
Directed by: Kim Chapiron

Grade: A-

A heck of a way to end the fest, this kids-in-the-country vibe mixes teen horror with Deliverance. Vincent Cassel is unrecognizable as the twisted hick, and certainly steals the show. It's all very predictable, of course, but this is exactly the type of straight ahead silliness to cap a long ten days of movies.