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Otago Daily Times

Just the ticket: 5 fixes for a fabulous festival

Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival is back with another almost overwhelming lineup. But worry not, Weekend Mix film reviewer Amasio Jutel has five ways to make the most of it, using the festival's popular five-film multipass. 1. GOOD VALUE: If you're concerned about a quality-assured return on investment, here are the best value films to play it safe on. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT Director: Jafar Panahi Iran/France/Luxembourg Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for The Circle (2000), and later winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Taxi (2015), Jafar Panahi completes a European film festival treble with Cannes' Palme d'Or winner It Was Just an Accident. This Iranian political thriller is the NZIFF's opening night film selection for a reason. Driving at night, an accident damages Eghbal's car, whose night goes from bad to worse when the garage he pulls into is that of a former political prisoner, who believes Eghbal to be the intelligence officer who tortured him. Strongly recommended The Regent Fri Aug 15, 7pm The Regent Wed Aug 20, 3.45pm THE TEXASCHAIN SAW MASSACRE + CHAIN REACTIONS Director: Tobe Hooper Director: Alexandre O. Philippe USA I'm cheating a little bit on the five-film pass with this double feature, but these two deserve to be paired together. It's difficult to call as divisive a genre as horror "good value", but a 4K restoration of one of the genre's most important documents, paired with an exploration of its legacy by one of cinema's most studious documentarians, Alexandre Philippe, is not to be missed at this year's festival. Chain Reactions looks at the cultural legacy of the Texas road trip that turned bloody. Strongly recommended The Regent Sat Aug 16, 9pm The Regent Sun Aug 17, 10am (Q+A) EDDINGTON Director: Ari Aster USA Eddington is one of the few films on this list that could easily have been cast under any ticket. This conspiracy Western is set amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in New Mexico. With three significant movies already under his belt, Aster might be the most recognisable name at the festival this year. Expect Beau is Afraid, not Midsommar, in this polarising satire about TikTok, misinformation, and libertarianism. Strongly recommended The Regent Sun Aug 17, 5.15pm WENT UP THE HILL Director: Samuel Van Grinsven New Zealand/Australia Aotearoa's glowing winter scenery serves as the backdrop for this tonally sombre and narratively fantastical reimagining of the classic nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill. Dacre Montgomery and Vicky Krieps are transcendent (literally) as estranged son and grieving widow to Elizabeth, layering agony and endurance into each frame. As the pacing settles in, so too does the tonal horror, and new truths about their relationships come to light. Strongly recommended Rialto Thurs Aug 21, 6pm WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES Directors: Bela Tarr, Agnes Hranitzky Hungary/France/Germany/Italy Bela Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky's art-horror funeral march on lingering fascism in Eastern Europe is desolate, desperate, and formally distinct. Werckmeister Harmonies is one of the most important texts in cinematic history, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it projected on the big screen should not be passed up. Strongly recommended Rialto Sat Aug 30, 12.45pm 2. WORLD CINEMA: Here's a globetrotting adventure in world cinema for a fraction of the cost of plane tickets, spotlighting five unique cultures and countries that figure prominently as characters in this mixed bag. THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE Hasan Hadi Iraq/USA/Qatar The first of several Cannes award-winning films under this ticket, The President's Cake is the directorial debut of Iraqi writer/director Hasan Hadi. Nine-year-old Lamia is chosen to bake a birthday cake for President Saddam Hussein. Amid the Gulf War's crippling food shortages, Lamia faces an Odyssean task of gathering ingredients to avoid imprisonment. The Regent Tue Aug 19, 1.30pm The Regent Sat Aug 23, 10am THE SECRET AGENT Kleber Mendonca Filho Brazil/France/Netherlands/ Germany The Secret Agent is a high-stakes political thriller out of Brazil. Starring Wagner Moura and set during the period of Brazilian military dictatorship, the film won best director at Cannes and can be expected to feature prominently with other award bodies until the Oscars, in March, next year. Filho's last award-winning film, Bacurau, was an electronically-scored Spaghetti Western-feeling political thriller about a small town resisting colonial genocide. Strongly recommended The Regent Sat Aug 23, 2.45pm THE NEW YEAR THAT NEVER CAME Bogdan Muresanu Romania/Serbia This slow-burning historical "tragicomedy" explores six convergent lives during the 1989 Romanian revolution, which saw 42 years of Marxist-Leninist communist government come to an end. The ensemble piece is a snapshot of this moment, teleporting viewers back in time, into the streets of Bucharest. Rialto Sat Aug 23, 3pm SOUND OF FALLING Mascha Schilinski Germany This gothic German anthology film follows four women over the course of a century, exploring their intersecting lives, which slowly twist together and emotionally unravel as secrets are spilled, and their intergenerational trauma haunts the narrative. Rialto Sun Aug 24, 12.45pm HAPPYEND Neo Sora Japan/USA A near-future Orwellian exploration of Japan's social environment, Happyend is a lo-fi science fiction film that tackles adolescence and the surveillance state. Faced with the threat of a catastrophic earthquake, two troublemakers turn their district dystopian after a prank on their principal backfires. Neo Sora also directed the documentary, Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, which featured at the NZIFF last year. Rialto Thurs Aug 28, 6pm 3. GENRE: The cinema is for the cinematic, and these five films are sure to reward on the big screen. Here are five striking genre movies you shouldn't miss. RESURRECTION Bi Gan China/France Artfully composed high-concept science fiction. In a future where no-one can dream, a woman discovers the one creature that can. Its inventive dream logic extends from the narrative to the very composition of the film itself — a vibrant and unknowable trance-like state to lure the viewer in. Formally operatic and narratively Kafkaesque, director Bi Gan cites seminal German expressionist films The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu as key influences on Resurrection. The Regent Sun Aug 17, 8pm THE SHROUDS David Cronenberg Canada/France Last year, we celebrated a kind of "Cronenbergian horror" at The Substance; this year, we have the real deal. Re-animation and body horror are the subjects of legacy horror film-maker David Cronenberg. In The Shrouds, he explores post-death, blurring reality and illusion, human flesh and technology, in a post-modern, grotesque, semi-autobiographical, horror/sci-fi. The Regent Mon Aug 18, 8.15pm SPLITSVILLE Michael Angelo Covino USA Perhaps the most straightforward comedy on this list, Splitsville will have you splitting at the seams with its uncomfortable absurdity. A potential four-way open marriage complicates emotional boundaries in this Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona-starring indie dramedy. The Regent Fri Aug 22, 6pm BRING THEM DOWN Christopher Andrews Ireland/UK/Belgium Christopher Abbot and Barry Keoghan are rival farmers in this violent revenge thriller about Irish shepherding families. Rialto Wed Aug 27, 8pm HARD BOILED John Woo Hong Kong What if The Departed were a Hong Kong action movie? Hard Boiled is "pedal to the metal" action hysteria — a delirium of guns, guts, and glory. Leung's pained performance carries the emotional weight of the film, doing the Herculean task of showing up Chow Yun-fat in a Hong Kong action film. Hard Boiled is a two-hour-long action scene complete with thrilling standoffs, horrific throat slits and hilarious baby antics. Strongly recommended Rialto Sun Aug 31, 7.30pm 4. CINEPHILE: After seeing Eddington, here are five more films for the Letterboxd users. BLUE MOON Richard Linklater USA/Ireland On March 31, 1943, acclaimed Broadway duet Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were opening Oklahoma!, their first musical written together. The movie focuses on Rodgers' former creative partner, Lorenz Hart (portrayed by Ethan Hawke), who was struggling with alcohol and depression. The film largely takes place at a bar, with Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott in supporting roles. The Regent Tue Aug 19, 6pm The Regent Fri Aug 22, 1.30pm SIRAT Oliver Laxe Spain/France Hardtek raves in the Southern Moroccan desert don't cater to dads searching for lost daughters. Watch Sergi Lopez navigate psychological purgatory in this Jury Prize-winning sandy neo-hippie thrash. The Regent Wed Aug 20, 8.15pm THE MASTERMIND Kelly Reichardt USA/UK I'm hooked on the bouncy, rhythmic score that underlies hazy shots of Josh O'Connor lifting works of art from public museums. The Mastermind follows Reichardt's oeuvre of working-class individuals, this one living a double life as an art thief in 1970s Massachusetts. The Regent Thurs Aug 21, 6pm SORRY, BABY Eva Victor USA Tackling dark subject matter with an honest and authentic approach to comedy, Sorry, Baby is written by, directed by and stars Eva Victor. Victor's "traumedy" spans five years in the healing and aftermath of sexual assault by her former professor. Her balance of dry wit and heartfelt emotion compassionately considers the survivor experience. The film also stars Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges. Strongly recommended The Regent Thurs Aug 21, 8.15pm SENTIMENTAL VALUE Joachim Trier Norway/France/Denmark/ Germany Joachim Trier reunites with Renate Reinsve after their modest 2021 sensation, The Worst Person in the World. Trier's authentic and slightly naive sensibility speaks directly to high-strung young creatives. His films navigate an ocean of feelings — joy, melancholy, anger, loneliness — centring characters traversing the messy reality of life. Stellan Skarsgard co-stars as a film director and estranged father to Reinsve. Strongly recommended The Regent Sun Aug 24, 6.45pm 5. THE STUDENT TICKET: This ticket spans low-budget DIY projects, illicit substances, social media parasocialism and Dunedin on screen. LIFE IN ONE CHORD Margaret Gordon New Zealand/Australia Exploring the life and work of Shayne Carter, Life in One Chord lives in the heart of Dunedin's music scene. Traversing Dunedin's suburbs, this punkish rockumentary premieres globally at the Regent Theatre. The Regent Sat Aug 16, 6.15pm (Q+A) The Regent Tue Aug 19, 3.45pm WORKMATES Curtis Vowell New Zealand Unacknowledged love between Kiwi creatives comes to the fore in contemporary Shortland Street director Curtis Vowell's workplace comedy, Workmates. In a desperate plea to save the antique theatre they both love, best friends Lucy and Tom explore the awkward arena of workplace crushes. With rave reviews out of Auckland, be sure to add this one to your watchlist. The Regent Mon Aug 18, 6pm LURKER Alex Russell USA Part-Nightcrawler, part-The Talented Mr. Ripley, with stars from Saltburn and Bottoms, this modern music industry psychological thriller looks at pop stars, parasocial fans and social media stalkers. The Regent Tue Aug 19, 8.15pm THE WEED EATERS Callum Devlin New Zealand The Weed Eaters is the festival's spiritual heir to a '90s Peter Jackson horror-comedy or a Taika Waititi 48-hour film festival entry. Take the title literally and beware the intensity of your munchies. Think of this in the same ilk as Texas Chain Saw, cannibalism, carnage and all. Rialto Fri Aug 22, 8.15pm LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese Australia In the Gay-laxy, in the queer utopian kingdom of Clitopolis, an anxious and introverted Princess Saira misses her ex, and must summon her feminist battle axe to save her situationship from incel aliens. From real-life couple Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, this Cartoon Network-inspired intergalactic romp is designedly unrestrained and wickedly funny with delightful musical numbers. Strongly recommended The Regent Sat Aug 23, 8.15pm