IFFR 2011
The International Film Festival Rotterdam, edition 2011, is coming up. This is my personal program for Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January:
A Stoker – PA1 19:00
Contemporary Russian film set in Leningrad in the early 1990s during the collaps of the Soviet Union. About a man whose whole world around him is changing, but he is not.
Cold Fish – LUX 22:15
Japanese horror film. From the catalogue: “Sushi is usually made of fish, but fish knives are also good for filleting people. The owner of a large aquarium shop employs chilling methods for ridding himself of creditors. The owner of a smaller shop becomes the victim of this money- and sex-hungry shark.”
Short Stories – LV2 10:00
4 short stories about parents and their children. To start the day early.
White Sun of the Desert – CI4 12:00
Russian cult film from the 1960s. Intended to be a Soviet answer to the Hollywood western genre, the director sneaked in his personal opinion about the failing melting pot of european oriented russia and the predominantly moslim people of central asia. A very current theme considering this week’s terrorist attack on Moskow’s airport.
Soul of Sand – CI1 14:15
A very Indian film in very Indian surroundings, yet not a very Indian film. A guard keeps watch strictly but pointlessly at a deserted mine. When a fleeing couple wants to hide there one night, his world shifts. A harrowing metaphor for unrelenting inequalities.
Sensation – SGZ 19:15
From the catalogue: “When all you have left to make love to is sheep, life can only improve.” I stopped reading after that and bought my tickets. Supposedly also about the current economic climate in Ireland. Oh, well…
Hot as Hell: The Deadbeat March – CI1 22:15
A Chinese horror film this time to bookend this festival’s program.
