The 12th edition of the Morelia International Film Festival kicked off this past Friday, with the Mexican premiere of Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman. For the second year in a row, I'm in Morelia covering the fest for ScreenAnarchy, so expect reviews, features, and some cool photos too.
As usual, Morelia offers an immense lineup and nine days (October 18-26) are certainly not enough to watch each and every interesting title. Therefore I chose 10 essential films nobody attending Morelia should miss. The selection was based on the reviews and commentaries that my ScreenAnarchy colleagues made during previous festivals, and omits the highly anticipated - and damn good - Birdman because its one and only screening at Morelia happened already and unfortunately was not for the general public.
Check out ScreenAnarchy's picks for Morelia 2014 in the gallery below (links to reviews included).
Force Majeure (d. Ruben Östlund, Sweden) - October 18 (9:15 PM) & October 23 (2:15 PM)
A Swedish oddity that surprised more than one critic at this year’s Fantastic Fest, Force Majeure is, according to Twitch’s festivals editor Ryland Aldrich, “a black comedy that’s one of the funniest movies in years.” This is Sweden’s bet for the Academy Awards and winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes.
Foxcatcher (d. Bennett Miller, US) - October 23 (11:45 AM) & October 24 (8:45 PM)
I was pleasantly surprised to see Foxcatcher as part of Morelia’s programming because it wasn’t announced through the press release, even if it is one of the hottest films of the year. Bennett Miller’s previous effort, Moneyball, is one of favorites of 2011 and I have high expectations for the Steve Carell and Channing Tatum starring film adaptation of the real-life story dealing with Olympic champ Mark Schultz (Tatum) and John Eleuthère du Pont (Carell), the killer of Mark’s brother.
It Follows (d. David Robert Mitchell, US) - October 22 (10:40 PM), October 23 (4 PM) & October 25 (10 PM)
This is one of the most hyped horror films of the year. While it played Cannes, it was really during Fantastic Fest when I began reading lots of positive comments about it. There are some critics who weren’t impressed by it, like our own J. Hurtado, but those are part of the minority. Twitch’s Jason Gorber and Zach Gayne really liked it (for Gayne it is “the most impressive horror film” of the year"), and I just can’t wait to see what’s the buzz all about.
A great bonus: director David Robert Mitchell will personally present the October 22 and October 23 screenings.
Leviathan (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia) - October 21 (10:25 PM), October 23 (12 PM) & October 24 (12 PM, 8:30 PM)
Winner of the award for best screenplay at Cannes, Leviathan was described by our own Kurt Halfyard as “a masterclass in imagery and storytelling, one of the best films of the year, showcases a director at the absolute top of his craft who is still willing to lob a grenade into the power circles of his country.”
On the Job (d. Erik Matti, Philippines) - October 18 (7 PM), October 20 (7:30 PM) & October 25 (6:30 PM)
The Mexican audience might know director Erik Matti for Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, which was part of this year’s Macabro. Matti’s crime film On the Job arrives to Morelia without much noise, as it was one of those that weren’t even announced via the press release. But the film looks pretty interesting and comes with high praise by Twitch’s Asian editor, James Marsh, who named it one of the best Asian movies of 2013.
The Green Inferno (d. Eli Roth, US) - October 18 (10 PM)
Surprisingly, what our own James Marsh considered the best film of Eli Roth yet has had distribution problems in the United States. Roth’s ode to the Italian cannibal films, such as Cannibal Holocaust and The Mountain of the Cannibal God, was going to be released back in September but that never happened. While the movie has secured distribution in Mexico too, via Corazón Films, the release date in said country is uncertain as well; hence the screening at Morelia is a really great chance to finally check it out.
I must say I don’t entirely love any of Roth’s previous films, but I really dig the guy and I’m ready to have a great time with his first directorial feature length effort since 2007’s Hostel: Part II. Morelia is presenting The Green Inferno in 4DX, so it should be a whole lot of fun.
The Tribe (d. Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, Ukraine, Netherlands) - October 20 (10:30 PM), October 23 (8:15 PM) & October 24 (4:45 PM)
The notorious silent film that uses sign language and no subtitles at all is one of those works that you just can’t ignore. The Tribe was very well received by the ScreenAnarchy members who watched it at Fantastic Fest, being the film that got more mentions as the festival’s best (together with Force Majeure). I can’t wait!
Whiplash (d. Damien Chazelle, US) - October 18 (12:30 PM), October 20 (12:30 PM) & October 24 (12:30 PM)
Some days ago, master director William Friedkin tweeted: “Just saw Whiplash… an absolute masterpiece. Don’t miss it.” I sure won’t, Mr. Friedkin!
White God (d. Kornél Mundruczó, Hungary/Germany/Sweden) - October 23 (9PM), October 24 (1:30 PM, 21:30 PM) & October 25 (9:30 PM)
I love dogs and I’m not sure if White God will make me sad or happy. Either way, I’m very excited to check out this story of a young girl who tries to find her lost dog. The director Kornél Mundruczó will personally present the first two screenings.
Winter Sleep (d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey/France/Germany) - October 22 (10:45 AM), October 23 (6 PM), October 25 (4 PM) & October 26 (12 PM)
Attending Morelia and watching the respective Palme d’Or winning film should be a given. This year it was Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep the picture that took home the most prestigious festival award in the world.