Day 5
It's O deg Celsius with a chill factor of -12 deg C. It's been snowing today and will continue to be icy cold the next few days. Well, I leave tomorrow so I guess I wont' suffer too much but its been strange getting back to a city that snows. Its the wind that's a killer here in Chicago.
Today's films:
Senior Year A debut feature by Zhou Hao, the film has screened at IDFA. It's about the lives of those in their senior year as they prepare to take their university exams, their families and how they cope with the pressures thrust upon them.
The Monastery - Mr Vig and the Nun Wills are tested, and lives are changed forever in this heartwarming and often-hilarious documentar about 2 very different and stubborn people who have to work together. Mr. Vig is a well educated 86 year old bachelor and owner of a worn down castle situated in the Danish country side. who dreams of turning his castle into an orthodox Russian monastery. Enter a delegation of nuns headed by Sister Ambrosija who have come to Denmark in order to assess the castle's suitability. And this sets the ground for a delicious conflict between Vig and Ambrosija. Vig is sanguine - as only an old man can be - about his shortcomings, he's fixated on people's noses, he's never been in love, and he's only ever been close to one person: his father, while the sister has her own plans. And she is totally dedicated to her cause - and a control freak. A very enjoyable and charming film. *****
War Dance In darkness, some of us reach out to the light. This moving film follows the historic journey of three children (Dominic, Rose, and Nancy) and their school in the Patongo refugee camp. The school is the first school from the northern war zone to make it to the finals of Uganda's national music and dance competition. This cinematic and profound film follows the children in their journey, children who are not only the victims of the rebels but are abducted to become the rebels. Against the backdrop of the war, unimaginable violence and grief, these children sing and dance with vitality without fear in protest and in celebration. They dance and stomp to the rhythms of their ancestors carrying the hopes and dreams of their entire village with them. This film moves you to the core, consuming you in the grief and then taking you on a flight of hope and joy. *****
Today's films:
Senior Year A debut feature by Zhou Hao, the film has screened at IDFA. It's about the lives of those in their senior year as they prepare to take their university exams, their families and how they cope with the pressures thrust upon them.
The Monastery - Mr Vig and the Nun Wills are tested, and lives are changed forever in this heartwarming and often-hilarious documentar about 2 very different and stubborn people who have to work together. Mr. Vig is a well educated 86 year old bachelor and owner of a worn down castle situated in the Danish country side. who dreams of turning his castle into an orthodox Russian monastery. Enter a delegation of nuns headed by Sister Ambrosija who have come to Denmark in order to assess the castle's suitability. And this sets the ground for a delicious conflict between Vig and Ambrosija. Vig is sanguine - as only an old man can be - about his shortcomings, he's fixated on people's noses, he's never been in love, and he's only ever been close to one person: his father, while the sister has her own plans. And she is totally dedicated to her cause - and a control freak. A very enjoyable and charming film. *****
War Dance In darkness, some of us reach out to the light. This moving film follows the historic journey of three children (Dominic, Rose, and Nancy) and their school in the Patongo refugee camp. The school is the first school from the northern war zone to make it to the finals of Uganda's national music and dance competition. This cinematic and profound film follows the children in their journey, children who are not only the victims of the rebels but are abducted to become the rebels. Against the backdrop of the war, unimaginable violence and grief, these children sing and dance with vitality without fear in protest and in celebration. They dance and stomp to the rhythms of their ancestors carrying the hopes and dreams of their entire village with them. This film moves you to the core, consuming you in the grief and then taking you on a flight of hope and joy. *****
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