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Julieta
Another full day of films at the 36th Atlantic Film Festival with literary adaptations with different approaches bookending the day. So many films and it all starts to blend together after a while, but some lovely moments on and off screen as so many people share experiences during the festival.
A solid adaptation of a Carol Shields novel with a great performance from Catherine Keener at the core as well as a strong supporting cast. Adaptations can be challenging and I wish that there was less narration as that tended to take me out of the film. But it was a good translation from the page to the screen of a story that was challenging at times. Overall it doesn’t take too many chances and tells the story in a straightforward way that suited the material well.
The first of the 1KWAVEATLANTIC films to screen as part of the initiative from Women in Film and Television Atlantic was Nicole Steeves’ Head Space which played to a packed house in the afternoon. The challenge for the filmmaker was to pitch, write, shoot, and complete a film within 5 months and for $1000. Writer / Director Steeves embraced the constraints of the initiative with a comedy about an agoraphobic actor and standup comedian starring (and edited by) Struan Sutherland. It establishes the premise well and then fleshes out the characters a bit more and reveals a gentle and somewhat sweet core underneath the humour.
Transpecos is a crime thriller about US Border Patrol agents that starts slowly and takes us on a journey as things start to go wrong. Unfolding largely in real time and taking full advantage of the locations, it’s a character drama that keeps you guessing about where it’s going, but you know that it’s not going to end well. Solid action and strong performances carry us through the compact running time in a film that maintains a focus on the characters without going over the top and not straying too far into commentary on the complex situation along the border.
Pedro Almodovar adapts 3 Alice Munro short stories into the gorgeously shot and designed Julieta. With Almodovar’s melodramatic touch and beautiful art direction, it washes over you like a warm bath. One of the great things about a film by Almodovar is his sense of humour with strange little touches throughout the film. It’s a story of love and loss, mothers and daughters, mystery and secrets. With most of his films I need to watch it more than once as the first time it’s a challenge to read the subtitles as the images constantly draw your attention away from the words.
We’re in the final stretch of the festival with a schedule that is a bit more open with more time for discussions and food and drink. It’s the best time of the year as we get to see the best cinema from here and around the world.
