On your screens this week… “Cocoon”, “The Story of Pi”, “Women of Argentina”

This week, we recommend Cocoon, the History of Pi and many documentaries as part of the New Cinema Festival.

(1): Masterpiece, (2): Outstanding, (3): Very good, (4): Good, (5): Average, (6): Mediocre, (7): Poor.

Caught in the net (V Siti)

(4)

Czech documentary directed by Vit Klusak and Barbora Chalupova.

What’s this ? For the purposes of a sociological study, three actresses pose as twelve-year-old girls to sexual predators on the Internet. Several having blackmailed their pseudo-victims, meetings are organized to trap and confront them.

How is it ? Thanks to an elaborate film device, and to the credibility of their young accomplices, the co-authors of this documentary unveil a sexual misery as pathetic as it is worrying. Failing to provide new data on a phenomenon beyond the authorities, they are doing useful work by facilitating the arrest of some of these delinquents.

In video on demand on the New Cinema Festival online

Cocoon (Kokon)

(3)

German sentimental drama directed by Leonie Krippendorff

Starring Lena Urzendowsky, Lena Klenke, Jella Haase.

What’s this ? During a scorching summer, a shy and discreet teenager from Berlin, brooded by her big sister in the absence of their alcoholic mother, experiences her first sexual and romantic emotions with a sassy new pupil of her secondary school.

How is it ? Sober, endearing and lovingly filmed by the director, the young Lena Urzendowsky illuminates this admittedly classic learning story, but enriched with fine psychological observations. Sensual, attentive to detail, the staging wonderfully reflects the inner universe of the heroine, a little caterpillar emerging from its cocoon to take flight.

In video on demand on the New Cinema Festival online

Women)

(4)

French documentary directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Anastasia Mikova.

What’s this ? In front of the camera, women of all ages and from all walks of life relate a chapter in their intimate life, a painful memory and an episode in their career. Topics covered include violence, sexuality, marriage, work and education.

How is it ? Despite a rather vague guideline, this vibrant plea for the improvement of the condition of women stands out for its scope and ambition. Taking up the polished aesthetic of HUMAN (unpublished in Quebec), Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Anastasia Mikova frontally film their subjects, whose testimonies are often overwhelming.

In video on demand on the New Cinema Festival online

Women of Argentina (Que sea ley)

(4)

Argentinian documentary directed by Juan Solanas.

What’s this ? Overview of the situation of women in Argentina, at a time when the Senate’s refusal to recognize their right to abortion results in the death of one of them every week, as a result of a botched clandestine operation.

How is it ? Extremely effective, this militant documentary draws most of its strength from the moving testimonies of its participants and from a clever structure, which allows an examination of the causes and consequences of the problem. These qualities redeem the banality of a television report-type production and the few lengths of the whole.

In video on demand on the New Cinema Festival online

The Story of Pi (Life of Pi)

(3)

American Adventure Drama Directed by Ang Lee

Starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Kahn, Adil Hussain.

What’s this ? The only survivor of the sinking of the freighter that took his family to Canada, the teenage son of the owner of the Pondicherry zoo survives for 227 days on a lifeboat, in the company of a ferocious Bengal tiger.

How is it ? To translate the singular universe of Yann Martel’s novel to the screen, Ang Lee (HULK) has opted for a poetic and dreamlike approach which accentuates the symbolic character of this story of survival. Breathtakingly beautiful visual compositions and fiery acting by newcomer Suraj Sharma greatly contribute to this great success.

Saturday 6 a.m. on Cinépop

Target Number One

(4)

Canadian drama directed by Daniel Roby

Starring Antoine Olivier Pilon, Josh Hartnett, Stephen McHattie.

What’s this ? In 1989, a Globe and Mail investigative reporter tried to prove that a young Quebec drug addict, detained in Thailand for drug trafficking, was trapped by RCMP officers, who had mistaken him for a major player in the Asian sector.

How is it ? Appeared for the first time in 1987 in a minor film by Roger Cardinal, the journalist Victor Malarek is camped here with ardor by Josh Hartnett, alongside a very invested Antoine Olivier Pilon (MOMMY). Daniel Roby (LOUIS CYR) nervously orchestrates this reminder of the Alain Olivier affair, which had damaged Canada’s international image at the time.

In video on demand