Fantasia Fest 2020 recap
Unable to unfold in Montreal as it has for the previous 23 iterations, the Fantasia International Film Festival became one of 2020’s first notable multi-day movie events to be offered digitally. Organizers’ inclusive move allowed critics like our James Shotwell and Edwin Arnaudin to virtually attend North America’s largest genre film festival and see practically anything they wanted at their leisure from the comforts of home. As a result, they were able to take part in something that otherwise likely would have only been experienced through peers’ dispatches via social media.
Check out their short takes on eight feature films below, which together form a fitting portrait of the range of programming offered by Fantasia every year:
In John Hyam’s Alone, a recently widowed woman attempts to outrun grief and finds herself held hostage by a maniacal killer in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a classic cat-and-mouse game set against the isolation of remote wilderness, and precisely what it sounds like — no more, no less. Alone‘s secret weapon is cinematographer Federico Verardi, whose electric talents give the film a feel of auteurism without stealing the show. Something as simple as changing the focal point of a shot without moving the camera pulls viewers into the back-and-forth dynamic between the leads, and, in doing so, he makes a familiar story feel fresh. Grade: B —JS
A daringly original film about madness that spoils its wonderfully mysterious plot in the final minutes through needless narration, The Block Island Sound comes incredibly close to being something special. Themes of natural disasters and our place in the universe combine to create a tense experience grounded in human drama, but the filmmaking team of the McManus Brothers miss the landing while trying to ensure everyone gets what they’re trying to accomplish. It’s the kind of mistake one would usually blame on studio intervention. In this case, however, it’s merely a lack of confidence in the material. Grade: C-plus —JS
One of Fantasia’s biggest gets, Chasing Dream is another energetic, visually-rich winner from prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To. His charming chronicle of the oddball relationship between MMA fighter Tiger (Jacky Heung) and hard-luck singer/songwriter Cuckoo (Keru Wang) has much in common tonally and content-wise with fellow tireless peer Takashi Miike’s recent First Love — kind-hearted brawlers are so hip right now — but has more on its mind than shock-and-awe carnage. Though To’s action sequences are expertly staged, the focus on Tiger’s toxic ties with his pimp-like manager, combined with talented, exploited Cuckoo’s struggles to attain the audience she so clearly deserves is rife with commentary on the pitfalls of fame and celebrity culture. Add in the complex sense of honor that Tiger feels for his traditionalist boxer mentor and To has another hit. Grade: B-plus —EA
Indie filmmaker Justin McConnell’s documentary Clapboard Jungle is both a thoroughly informative exploration of the difficulties of getting even a modestly-budgeted feature made and a bit of an information overload. Though it’s easy to admire McConnell’s dedication to his craft, his barrage of insights from famous genre filmmakers — including Guillermo del Toro, George Romero, and Paul Schrader — and others from seemingly every corner of the industry, plus his running commentary on his own projects’ struggles barely gives viewers time to breathe. But even with the onslaught and McConnell’s arguable overuse of self-footage as he takes phone calls and reflects on every conceivable thing there is to reflect on, one can’t help but want to see him succeed, and it’s a joy to celebrate his victories. Like the director’s narrative films, his latest non-fiction effort gets a mixed review, skewing positive. Grade: B-minus —EA
Dinner in America will be a timeless classic for a particular subset of moviegoers. It continues a tradition of anarchist slacker films such as Mallrats, Empire Records, and SLC Punk with a firm grasp on what it’s like to not give a fuck in a world that demands more of us than it ever offers in return. More importantly — and, perhaps, most surprising — is that the latest feature from writer/director Adam Rehmeier (The Bunny Game) is also one of the best romantic comedies in recent memory (a label it fights at every turn). Rarely has a film come along that contains all the markers of classic indie cinema while benefitting from the energy and pacing of mainstream entertainment. Dinner in America feels like the result of Edgar Wright collaborating on a screenplay with Kevin Smith while wearing out Fat Wreck vinyl and chain-smoking cheap cigarettes. It’s the kind of film that people will no doubt call an instant cult classic, but it’s made so well and is so damn sweet that I hope everyone will make time for it. Grade: A-plus —JS
Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen have done the impossible. With virtually no budget, extremely tight quarters, and a fantastic cast, the writing/directing team has delivered the best home invasion thriller in years. For the Sake of Vicious is every genre fan’s dream: a claustrophobic battle against evil, rife with high stakes and an even higher body count. It’s the bloodbath of the year, combining The Strangers with Assault on Precinct 13, and it runs under 90-minutes in length. Grade: A —JS
In Unearth, two families with an age-old feud find themselves plagued by an unseen enemy when one of the clans allows fracking on their otherwise worthless property. That terror doesn’t present itself until an hour into the film’s roughly 90-minute runtime, nor is its presence recognized until the final 15 minutes, but it’s what directors John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies hope will you get to see their film. The bait-and-switch premise, coupled with a painfully drawn-out small town family feud, however, makes it a tough watch. I have no doubt that Unearth exists with the best intentions, but it never comes together in a meaningful way. The drama is too timid and the violence overly incoherent. It’s a mess, and no amount of well-meaning can change the fact that viewers will likely walk away feeling as though they’ve wasted their precious time. Grade: D-minus —JS
Been wondering what David Arquette has been up to? No? Well, the entertaining documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette will give you the 411 as directors David Darg and Price James follow the actor’s recent attempts to become a pro wrestler. Reducing the apparent ridiculousness of Arquette’s new career path by delving into the controversy that arose after he became the WCW title as a promotional stunt for Ready to Rumble, the filmmakers nicely balance the performer’s professional and personal journey over the past 20 years, yielding plentiful laughs but a fair amount of gut punches, too. Like the wrestling matches in which Arquette partakes, it’s unclear how much of what’s seen in the film is “real” — a nagging question that occasionally plagues the proceedings. But regardless of the extent to which it might be scripted, the enjoyability factor is appropriately fairly high and sheds some welcome light on a largely forgotten former star. Grade: B —EA
(Photos courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival)
