grodscorp@grods.comMIFF ‘08 film review: I Am From Titov Veles
 | Posted by Scott on Saturday 2 August 2008, 11:33 pm Categories: MIFF '08 Tags: Tags: IAmFromTitovVeles, MIFF |
Film rating: 1.5/5
Walkouts: 0/5
Pretentious clapping at credits: 0/5
BPM sighting: No
Child actor-turned-filmmaker Teona Struger Mitevska shines a light on the plight of Macedonian women, floundering in a society failed by both communism and capitalism. The women are three sisters: one sex-obsessed, one a recovering drug addict and one – the baby of the family – who hasn’t spoken since their parents death and, at 27, remains a virgin. In the broken city of Titov Veles, the sisters battle to make a start on life.
This was a pretty poor film, and events at the start of the screening didn’t bode well. Allow me to explain.
Most of the films at this year’s festival are showing at the old Greater Union cinema on Russell Street. I imagine this is because the Regent is out of action (damn you, Wicked) and because MIFF would be getting bargain basement prices from a cinema so desperate for custom. The foyer of the complex is pretty small and can’t even come close to holding the punters lining up for three sold out cinemas of festival films, so the ushers herd people out of the fire exits at the end of films rather than have to deal with them in the foyer. This makes for a lovely end of a film experience, what with being chucked out into a stinking and dark alley full of bins and piss.
Anyway, as the day goes on the films inevitably start to screen later and later as the load/unload of cinemas is clearly taking longer than the organisers expected. I Am From Titov Veles was scheduled to start at 7.20pm and they didn’t even start letting people in until a few minutes before this time. So I’m sitting there in the cinema and people are still streaming in the door and up the aisles and the lights go down and the freakin’ film starts! While people are still having their tickets scanned in the line outside the door!
What absolute and utter bullshit. I was appalled. Why should the poor punters at the end of the line miss the start of the film just because MIFF can’t get its shit together and run things on time?
But back to the film, I suppose. It was tedious. Nice cinematography but bugger all plot development, character arcs or genuine moments of emotional tension. At least the people who missed the start didn’t miss anything important.
