Incendies

Denis Villeneuve - 2010
Ah, the tracking shot. Some here that redeem the film (and the world). After a rather underfed mucking around, cutting around, opening, a track on that single access (Resnais, insistence...) into an eye. Tracks into a group, or along with walking. Truth.
There's, with this, quite a bit of unnecessary foreshortening of shots and cutting around some very static staging (bit thin to argue it is content-wise justified, but possible). One wants the shot to go on in a longer frame. Some of these can be good, using non-centered framings of the people. Though this itself can also be opened to censure as their are some nasty tendencies of aestheticism of a pretty grim situation.
About as grim as the acting and the script, though we can get around that. Overall, I rather liked the direction, the tracking and the long shots. The plot has some good moments, a few truish ones, though centrally this is something of the Tintin about the adventures of an ingenue abroad that seems to all go very smoothly. We usually know a little more than they do, but the characters aren't really interesting enough to allow suspense. And the ending is of course absurd, deadly in its lack of realism, hammering home and by that succeeding in undermining the message of the cycles of violence.
Despite all these points, it did give us a look at something; uneasy as I am at the lack of specific location. Some problems, bad bits, but really more good than bad.

The Sweet Hereafter

Late 1990's, heavily garlanded Atom Egoyan picture. Not good at all.
We had high hopes at the start, with some nice realist photography and some Ian Holm magic (apart from a dodgy accent he remains excellent). Added to this, we have a swooping technique that does seem to build up tension.
The film though quickly reverts to its standard type, a classy T.V. movie-of-the-week with a slightly disointed narrative. The camerawork is to be honest boring, Egoyan's shooting technique (save one move to the sky) soon becomes rather pointless and meaningless. The performances are generally neither bad nor good, just a little dull. We suppose the script is decent, but few fireworks.
Thematically the film is relatively interesting, the children punishing the adults, but this remains at once unclear and, when it does intrude, a little smack over the head subtlety.
This film really dissapointed.

The Oscar Nomiated Short Films: Animation

These short films, with the exception of 'Loaf and Death', were shorter than the live action category. The best were better, the worst were worse.
French Roast: Good animations of the tramp and the nun, not a particularly fascinating story but interesting enough.
La Dama y La Muerte (The Lady and The Reaper): Funny, with some cool fast moving animation. Generally quite by the book, but some good little touches too (the locking of the boat)
A Matter of Loaf and Death: Half an hour long, this has all the cheesiness (badoom-chi), quirkiness and sentiment we love in Wallace and Gromit. Not great departure from their previous work, but no worse for that.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty: For our money the best of both days, this quick Irish comedy is just imaginative in its idea, sharp and fantastic in its execution, nicely layered in its use of animation, and above all damn funnt.
Partly Cloudy (not nominated): Shown before 'UP', this is bid budget and a little mawkish, but not bad at all.
Runaway (not nominated): Rather obvious in its politics, the first really political fiml here, a short parable that is probably right but doesn't say so in a particularly funny or new manner.
The Kinematographer: Has the greatest 'weight' of all the shorts, it is a moving and well animated tale. The best shot, with wonderful sweeping opening scenes, and an undoubtedly affecting story. Let down though by a poor script and rather wooden voice acting.
Logorama (Winner): A terrific idea, if rather annoyingly realised, it is a smart satire with some clever touches that maybe outstays its welcome/ doesn't exploit its premise fully. The swearing is also awkward.
So, we would have given the prize to 'Granny O'Grimm'. The animation category was, on balance, better than the live-action, and we would repeat the comments from yesterday about the encouragement of this art form, and patronisation of it, being applauded.