The Luang Prabang Film Festival
The Luang Prabang Film Festival is on at the moment and I finally have a chance to see as many of the films as I want.
For some reason it seems that every other year that I’ve been here I’ve had to work or I’ve been out of the country or…well, something has prevented me from taking full advantage of the number of movies on offer. But not this year.
As I post this it’s Monday morning and the festival started on Saturday. I’m squeezing in the writing of this post between movies and plan to update with little reviews of what I’ve seen as the next few day’s progress. Check back if you want to read the updates.
As for the Luang Prabang Film Festival itself? This thing is getting bigger and bigger. There are now 4 movies being shown during the day at the newly re-branded Sofitel Hotel and two more being shown in the evenings at the big outdoor venue.
The outdoor venue has had to move from its traditional location at the corner at the start of the night market, up to the Luang Prabang Primary School in the main street opposite Café Ban Wat Sene.
I suppose I should get a gripe out of the way first.
I have found that in both venues it is extremely hard to read the sub titles on the movies. This is a product of the setting, in that the seats are on a level surface. Go to a dedicated movie theatre and you are sitting on a slope, moving the person in front of you out of the way and giving you an unobstructed view of the screen. Level ground makes this much more difficult as the sub titles are always on the lowest part of the screen. I’m pretty tall and I have found myself standing off to the side at the night venue for the duration of the movie just so I can read it.
But it’s a relatively minor complaint to make given the opportunity that is being provided for us to see quality movies in a town without a movie theatre.
Ok, on with what I’ve seen so far, keeping in mind that I am not a movie critic, just a movie fan.
Saturday:
“That Thing Called Meant-To-Be”
This is the first movie I saw and was a delight. From the Philippines it is a bitter-sweet sort of romantic comedy and I love me a good rom-com. It was really well made, great acting with 99% of it being just the two main characters on screen. The story kept me interested and just wanting to see what was going to happen. I can’t remember looking at my watch at all which is usually a good sign.
Highly recommend this one.
“The Monk”
This one is from Myanmar and, while interesting, was a bit slow. I don’t know the state of the film making industry in Myanmar so I don’t want to judge it on its technical merits but I did find the story didn’t really keep me involved. What was interesting was the look into life in a temple in Myanmar but once the action moved to Yangon I became much less involved. I think it suffered a bit from trying to be minimalist and arty without quite achieving it.
Ok, but had more potential.
“Above It All”
The first Lao Film to be shown. This was the Grand Opening movie and an interesting one. It mixed a bit of gay tolerance with tolerance for other ethnicities in Laos. Strong production showed just how far movie making in Laos is progressing.
A good solid movie that shows a few different facets of Lao society, albeit from a middle class perspective.
“Chiang Khan Story”
A really interesting Thai movie. A romance that has a movie in a movie type of narrative without getting too complicated or managing to be overly melodramatic. There may have been a couple of times when I wanted to smack the protagonists around and say “just explain what’s going on and you’ll all be okay” but that’s a problem in the best of these types of movie.
Good, with great acting from most of the younger cast.
Tuesday:
“The Search For Weng Weng”
A documentary from an Australian B movie fan who is searching for a midget actor who starred in a series of Filipino movies in the 70’s. I didn’t know what to expect and was worried that it would be really bad, given the premise, but it turned out to be really good. It managed to be interesting and entertaining throughout, within its limited concept, and had the added, and unexpected, bonus of a surreal encounter with Imelda Marcos.
Surprisingly good, even if you aren’t a fan of B movies.
“The Last Executioner”
A biographical look at the man who was the last executioner in Thailand to use a machine gun, before they switched to injection. A strong story and the execution scenes are confronting but wavered a bit at the end with an attempt to look into his mind as he got older.
Really interesting, possibly could have done without the “spirit guides”.
“The Act Of Killing”.
I was interested in seeing this one, it was about members of Indonesian death squads who killed thousands of people in an attempt to rid Indonesia of communists. Unfortunately it was a really bad film. I actually looked it up when I got home, wondering if it was a mockumentary that I just didn’t get but no it isn’t. It’s Oscar nominated and has rave reviews but I was really disappointed in it. It went far too long and could have been tightened up considerably. The length and the surplus scenes of these killers just managed to turn them into buffoons and belittled the lives of all the people they had killed. There was so much pointless material in what could have been a strong and emotional documentary.
I walked out before it had finished and it’s only the second time I have ever done that.
“Really Love 2”
This is the sequel to a Lao movie that showed at last year’s festival so I was keen to see it. It is a movie full of cheesy situations, easy to spot jump scares and flatulence humour but the Lao audience loved it and that is definitely the way to see it. Watch it on your own and it will seem more than a bit corny but watch it with the audience it was intended for and you will appreciate it for what it is…a load of fun.
Wednesday
“Hanuman”
If you like Hong Kong kung fu movies then you’ll like this one. Described before it started as new wave Cambodian cinema it is full of blood, violence and martial arts all wrapped around a fairly standard tale of two brothers revenging their murdered father. The heroes may be a little bland but the villains, especially the head gangster, seem to be relishing their roles and help to provide depth to the many fight scenes. This was a fun one to watch with no expectations.
“The Last Reel”
Not much info was given about this one so I went in not knowing what to expect, and was really happy with what I saw. A story of love, redemption, movies and the need to see both sides of every situation. Not everyone you think you have figured out in this one is what they seem. Did a great job of showing the on-going impact of the Khmer Rouge without being too in your face.
“I Love You”
The third Lao movie and probably the weakest one so far. It did devolve into “Thai Soap Opera” territory on occasion and although it didn’t impress me a great deal the Lao audience seemed to enjoy it.
“Slam”
What a great movie. A message movie on the surface about how wearing a hijab shouldn’t stop young Muslim women from achieving their dreams it managed to get that message across by making her a pro wrestling fan. The strength and the character of the lead actress is what made this such a delight, along with a good supporting cast and a light handed touch on the morals of the story. A really positive, fun and entertaining movie that had subtitles in 3 languages.
“Gems On The Run”
In a way this is a bit of a typical chase movie with the good guys on the run from the bad guys. There are fight scenes, gun fights and all of the thgs you would expect but the characters are entertaining, the setting is a bit unusual and the end result goes against the typical Hollywood treatment. It may not win awards for its socio-political commentary but it’s a fun movie, which I’m sure was the intent.
“Men Who Save The World”
This one started out as a look at an old custom where villagers band together to literally carry an abandoned house out of the jungle but seemed to collapse into a bit of a farce involving mistaken identity, ghosts and a camel. I probably would have been happier if it had spent a bit more time on the house moving aspect and less on the men in drag trying to trap a confused ghost but it was entertaining if not completely memorable.
“Dearest Sister”
In my opinion this was the best crafted Lao movie on show. Atmospheric and willing to take the time to build suspense, it managed to take what could have been a clichéd story and turn it into something haunting (no pun intended). Everything about this movie showed a sense of professionalism, especially since the version we got to see a work print. I would recommend seeing this one, and I don’t want to give away too much until you do.
“The Second Life Of Thieves”
Some nice twists in this one and despite, in retrospect, not much actually happening on screen, it keep me interested and involved until the end. I didn’t warm to many of the characters but that didn’t mean they weren’t strong or interesting, just that I didn’t find any of them particularly likeable. But, like a car crash, you just can’t help looking as they all seem determined to make life as difficult as possible. Don’t watch this to feel good but do watch it.
“My Teacher”
I have the feeling that this one will be used as a recruiting film for the Laos Education Department. There is a lot of “be a teacher and educate the children who are the future of Laos” type of stuff wrapped up in a fairly predictable romance. There is a sub plot involving another romance but it is not worked into the main movie so much as a little movie of its own that we suddenly shift to. Ultimately it’s a story of the square jawed village boy who gets a city education but then turns his back on the pretty girl and the high paying job to go back to his village to teach the kids who will bring Laos into line with the rest of the world.
But, that’s the end of the Luang Prabang Film Festival for 2015. Overall I enjoyed the movies and, if I’m still here, will be lining up again next year. Thanks to all the organisers and film makers for a very enjoyable 5 days.