As the clock ticks down to this year’s NZ International Film Festival, the Flicks writing staff are all getting pretty damn excited about what we’re all off to see. As you’d expect, there’s plenty to choose from – and it proved tougher than expected when we asked our writers to whittle their choices down to a top five each. Read on for a selection of films we’re individually looking forward to, with a pitch by each of us for our top pick and clickable links to find out more about each film…
Alex Casey’s picks
Sorry to Godard, Wenders and Polanski but any film containing a storybook demon wearing a giant top hat gets my top vote.
This particular subgenre of creep-your-guts-out-oh–god-there-are-bugs-flooding-through-a-crack-in-the-wall-again haunted house horror (as seen in smash faves Mama and The Conjuring) cannot be beat for late night festival fun. Far from over, haunted house/storybook/toy films just seems to be delving deeper, tearing up the floorboards to reveal even freakier foundations (also see Home for a new take on ghostly realty).
Plus, I haven’t been blown away by an Australian horror since The Loved Ones (2009), and writer/director Jennifer Kent is said to deftly deliver some truly chilling scenes. I dare someone to wear a top hat to a screening. No don’t I’m scared.
There are so many incredible films to choose from this year, but I must confess that The Babadook trailer is the only thing in my head every night before I go to sleep.
PS I haven’t slept in weeks, please help me.
Adam Fresco’s picks
Whilst I’m dying to catch Orson Welles classic The Lady from Shanghai on the big screen, it’s Japanese cult maestro Sono Sion’s latest foray into bad taste, bloodbaths and bonkers that gets my vote for this year’s must-see NZIFF movie. The promise of gore-splattered Yakuza battles, kinetic camerawork and off-the-wall, dark as a power-cut in a coal-mine humour has me antsy with ant-ic-ipation.
Leonie Hayden’s picks
Because the story of Pulp is one I would watch if it was made by a toddler with a cellphone, but also because Florian Habicht’s incredible empathy for ‘common people’, combined with an older Jarvis Cocker’s curmudgeonly charms is a friendship made in documentary heaven.
Rebecca Barry Hill’s picks
Korean director Joon-Ho Bong’s two-hour sci-fi epic has drawn much praise for its unusual premise, stunning visuals and seat-of-your-pants pace. So much for global warming. This is set in the near-future in another Ice Age; survivors have taken refuge in – wait for it – a train. Apparently more impressive than what you see pulling into Britomart, this forever circles the planet, its inhabitants segregated according to social status. Tilda Swinton plays the elite antagonist to Chris Evans’ lower class renegade.
Liam Maguren’s picks
From anime wonders (Patema Inverted, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya) to the beautifully bonkers (Consuming Spirits, The Congress), I feel spoilt with the glut of animated wonders in this year’s schedule. However, it is this Brazilian family adventure – running at a brisk 80 minutes – that has my full attention, telling the story of a young lad forced into the big wide world in a quest to find his father. Emulating the boy’s feeling of foreign wonder is a gorgeous visual style unlike anything I’ve seen in motion, and it’s that fantastical distinction that excites me more than anything.
Steve Newall’s picks
There are many Kiwi premieres gracing this year’s festival, but Housebound would have a spot on my list whether or not it came from these shores. Arriving back home with plenty of frequent flyer miles under its belt and luggage full of serious buzz from SXSW and Cannes, catching this Kiwi comedy-horror in its few festival screenings will be a killer experience, as those who have packed the Civic for other bloodsoaked genre fare will attest.
Tony Stamp’s picks
I’m a huge fan of all of Joon-ho Bong’s films, and can’t wait to see his English language debut. Snowpiercer marks his first full-on sci-fi pic, after he dabbled with the fantastical in The Host. Judging by the trailer it’s sure to be laden with political subtext, and continue Bong’s tradition of mixing thrills with absurdity, and comedy with tragedy.
Aaron Yap’s picks
I’m generally predisposed to jumping all over retro programming at the film fest – its ability to evoke hazy, dreamy, time-travelling viewing experiences is second to none – but throw noir into the mix, and it will be next level astral plane shit I will be trippin’ on. Orson Welles’ feverish 1947 noir doesn’t get as many plaudits as the grander Touch of Evil, but it’s just as thrilling, inventive and technically impressive, featuring Rita Hayworth in truly stunning, magnetic form. Seeing the film’s dizzying hall-of-mirrors climax unfold at the Civic in 4K might be the cinematic moment to beat this year.
