Left Flank

My dismal experiences with the 13th PIFF continued tonight. This is just not a good year for the festival and me.

Tonight I anticipated my first true «choice» among all the films I have not been able to watch. Still Walking, by KORE-EDA Hirokazu managed to be both poignant and unsettling. What I most liked about this film was how it didn't interfere with the deteriorating dynamics of a family built on a failed marriage between its elders. Its most evocative character is the elderly mother, who at one point plays a record all assume to be a loving bond with her difficult husband, only to find out its her way of torturing her husband for an affair with a woman who liked to sing the song. The cinematography featured broad canvas shots of family members who nonetheless are about as unloving as strangers. Unfortunately, a succession of technical errors marred the performance, something which I've not experienced in all these years of attending the festival.

Last night my wife and I saw The Good, the Bad, the Weird. In years past, I avoided mass-market South Korean films for films I couldn't see otherwise, and probably never will again have the chance. So confident was I, that I could schedule and reserve any ticket I wanted after a few years of well-organized festivals, I am reduced this year to two mass-market films, and two first choices. The tribute film is a pale shadow of its inspiration, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Instead of the sparse irony and gentle symbolism of the spaghetti western, the South Korean version is verbose,bloated, and tediously galloping towards a finale about as rewarding as an empty treasure chest. It's one redeeming feature is Song Kang-ho's performance as «Weird» Yoon Tae-goo, easily outclassing «Bad» Park Chang-yi with his dark mascara and laconic (for Korean standards) Park Do-wan the «Good». In place of the original's infamous «Bridge» scene, the tribute seemingly opts to make violence ever more unrealistic and tedious. Finally, despite the Manchurian setting, the script sacrificed authenticity for spoof and quiet condemnation with jingoism.

Two more days, one more «choice»...I'm considering bagging it.

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