Without overhyping things, today may be the greatest day in the history of mankind.
I say that because the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival will be screening one fantastic film after another. Granted, the festival is taking place in Switzerland, some 8,000 kilometers (or 5,000 miles) away from where I am writing these words. If I hurry, I still won't make it in time.
Yet some may be reading this in Switzerland, or in nearby lands, in which case I encourage you to hasten to one of the festival's marvelous screening locations and inhale deeply. I myself have been granted the favor of watching two of the premieres in advance, namely, the dramatically surprising Filipino zombie flick Day Zero and the oft-irreverent Taiwanese puppet movie Demigod: The Legend Begins; look for my reviews to be published later today.
I've seen Ronny Yu's classic The Bride With White Hair, of course, but only on DVD, so I truly envy those who can see it on a big screen tonight. My colleagues have seen other films that will be screening today; click though the gallery below for a collection of their thoughts.
Decision to Leave
Screens today at 14:30 and again Tuesday evening. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
I hate Zach Gayne. He is my fellow writer, but I hate him because he has already seen the new film by Park Chan-wook. Well, I suppose I should put that aside and point you towards his review, since he saw it at the Cannes Film Festival recently. (ED: Wait, Zach went to Cannes and reviewed it? Who approved that?).
"Ultimately, the most enthralling aspect of Decision to Leave is the haunting beauty of its almost-Shakespearean sense of romantic doom. Like the film’s femme, it is an utterly bewitching work of chilling romance and I remain deeply under its spell."
Zach's review contains more words of gushing admiration. Sigh. I hope to see this film, someday. Let this be a warning to you in Switzerland: do not miss it.
Dual
Screens today at 14:30, again on Wednesday late afternoon, and again in the late afternoon hours on Friday. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
The third feature film directed by Riley Stearns (Faults, which I very much liked, and The Art of Self-Defense, which I did not) sounds like a winner, according to our reviewer, co-lead critic Mel Valentin, who saw it in connection with the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and wrote in his review:
"Dual may be nowhere near as bleak or despairing as Dostoevsky’s novella, but it’s just as comically absurd and subversively satirical, taking scalpel-precision aim at our 21st-century over-reliance on and co-dependent relationships with science, technology, and capitalism."
Karen Gillan and Aaron Paul star, so the combination of filmmaker and on-screen talent sounds very appealing.
Maika
Screens today at 14:30 and again on Saturday morning. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
I've just now realized that all three of these films in this preview are screening today in the same hour, so I do not envy the choice you must make. The only one I've seen is Maika, a Vietnamese "zany and cosmic adventure." My friend and editorial colleague saw the film at Sundance and filed his review earlier this year:
"Gorgeous scenery, a jaunty background score, zany alien adventures and rambunctiously winning performances from its young cast make Maika a charming diversion, something desperately needed these days."
Huesera
Screens today at 22:15, again on Wednesday evening, and a third time on Saturday evening. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
"An anxiety-filled nightmare," according to the program notes. But you always want more in the way of description, don't you? Feast your eyes, then, on my editorial colleague Andrew Mack and his review out of Tribeca:
"Even though this is [Michelle Garza] Cervera's debut feature, you would think she's been making movies her whole life. Touted as a talent to watch out for, Huesera is such an impressive looking film to begin with, shot with precession, clarity and purpose. … This is the power of Huesera, a horror film that will speak to its audience and affect them in different ways. It is not a one note horror film. It hits differently than most."
No. 10
Screens today at 19:45, again on Wednesday afternoon, and still again on Friday afternoon. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
Directed by Alex van Warmerdam (Borgman), the film screened last year at Fantastic Fest, where I saw it and thereafter wrote my review:
"It's a freakin' fantastic (?!) film. It begins like a deadpan comedy of sorts about an adulterous affair among actors and their director as they rehearse a new, absurdist stage production. Then it morphs effortlessly into something else entirely, and I will definitely not be writing about that, because I am definitely not going to spoil that for anyone who enjoys van Warmerdam's films."
My lips remain sealed.
X
Screens today at 21:45. Visit the official festival page to learn more.
(Pro tip: if you're looking for information on this film, type "Director Ti West X" into your search engine to avoid being inundated with, well, no judgments.)
"Far from the slow burn storytelling of his last three horror features, House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, and The Sacrament; X is a balls-out sexy slasher that recalls his earliest work and proves that the much-maligned subgenre still has potential to surprise after over forty years of exploitation."
Those are the words of our own J Hurtado, who saw and reviewed the film at SXSW this year. It's screening tonight, one time only.
Visit the official festival page to learn more about today's programming.