The FNC is in full swing!

Claude Chamberlan, Garrett Wareing, François Girard, 

Ministre de la culture Madame Hélène David, and Atom Egoyan

photo © Lena Ghio 2014

The FNC is in full swing! I am sharing a few of my personal highlights. Last Thanksgiving week-end I took in three great movies. First, Boychoir, a film by FRANÇOIS GIRARD, who received a Louve d'Or @ FNCfor this film, a filmmaker known for his movies relating to music: Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The red Violin, for example. You mustn't look at the details of the story to enjoy its spirit that is music. A disaffected young boy with the intervention of a teacher Ms Steel, DEBRA WINGER, and the return of a wealthy father, JOSH LUCAS, he had never met, finds his way to a prestigious private school that is specialized in creating award winning boy choirs. Its strong suits are the cast and the music. The interplay of great performers like DUSTIN HOFFMAN as Master Carvelle, KATY BATES as Headmistress, and a very contained EDDIE IZZARD as is itself musical but you add the multiplied talents of the young boys and that crystal pure voice of an upcoming star, GARRETT WAREING in the role of Stet and the movie blows you away!

Shinya Tsukamoto with his Louve d'Or @ FNC
photo © Lena Ghio 2014

Then I saw Fires on the plain. It is a remake of the original 1950's movie about the last days of the Imperial Japanese Army fighting in Leyte by Director KON ICHIKAWA. Here filmmaker SHINYA TSUKAMOTO puts intense color into a devastating situation human beings have somehow not yet mastered, questioning why we accept this, showing us the full horror of our inability to stop murdering each other. TSUKAMOTO wants us to live this horror of war at the ground level and his intention comes through. It is a delicate balancing act to maintain the viewers attention on the profound message of a film so replete with gore and maggots and flying body parts. To add to the state of confusion, as we see the events through the eyes of a very sick soldier who can't tell if he is alive or dead, is the luscious jungle with blossoming voluptuous red flowers that multiply relentlessly as humans decapitate each other. TSUKAMOTO's movie worked! I definitely DO NOT want to go there!

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is the final masterpiece of ISAO TAKAHATA who is retiring  and of Studio Ghibli of Japan who are renowned for their exquisite animated features like Spirited Away who are closing. The visual is so beautiful and youthful it is hard to describe without fawning over it. Ultimately it reminds us of the relativity of time. As much as its tender beginning is slow, it then rushes inevitably towards that moment when the Princess realizes, like we all do in times of major transformations, that this precious painful life on earth is over so quickly and how we cling to our loved ones and our beloved planet who has made us cry so much when it is time for us to go!

There is an exciting week-end ahead, follow the link to find out all the exciting activities.

-LENA GHIO