Buried (MA15+
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Stars: Ryan Reynolds
Rating: 4/5
88-minutes, screening from 7 October
For many, the idea of spending ninety-five minutes sealed in a pine box buried somewhere in the Iraq desert is simply unimaginable. There surely are some who might reconsider the suggestion when told they might be sharing the box with Ryan Reynolds.
In the absence of any guarantees, however, I’d steer away from the idea. Unfortunately, in Buried, truckdriver Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) wasn’t offered any choice when he was bundled into a coffin while unconscious and buried. When he wakes, breathing heavily and desperate for air, the darkness and claustrophobia are almost too much to bear, even after discovering a pocket knife, a torch, a lighter and a mobile phone. Conroy had been at the rear of a private convoy shipping supplies across Iraq, when insurgents ambushed the trucks and killed everyone but him. Now the kidnappers have a ransom in mind, and Conroy has ninety minutes to scrape up five million dollars, or he’ll join his colleagues in the afterlife. For such a simple premise, and what seems to be a remarkably simple production, Buried offers a surprisingly tense experience to audiences. Written by Chris Sparling and directed by his equally unfamiliar director, Rodrigo Cortés, the film is presented in real time and exclusive to the Conroy’s coffin. Ryan – who has come a long way since Van Wilder: Party Liaison – offers an excellent performance delivered under extreme circumstances, and cinematographer, Eduard Grau delivers some impressive footage in such a confined space. Aside from one silly and frankly unnecessary device intended to ratchet up the tension, Buried is an extraordinary example of simple, but satisfying suspense.
Festival fare will give you the shakes, among other things
Lavazza Italian Film Festival
Palace Centro and Palace Barracks
Screening from 6 to 24 October
Screening at Palace Centro and Palace Barracks cinemas from 6 to 24 October, the Lavazza Italian Film Festival again lives up to its reputation as a vibrant and exuberant celebration of one of the world’s richest cinemas.
There are a couple of special treats I’ll be looking forward to, including the screening of What Do You Know About Me?, Valerio Jalongo’s fascinating documentary about Italian cinema since its inception, and this event will be followed by a panel discussion organised by Griffith University.
Touted as one of the most expensive films ever made in Italy, Baarìa charts the evolution of modern politics in Italy, as it follows the lives of three generations of one family. Set in the Sicilian region of Baarìa, Giusseppe Tornatore’s curiously edited saga features a stirring score by veteran composer Ennio Morricone.
Speaking of politics, Draquila – Italy Trembles is documentary-maker Sabine Guzzanti’s scathing examination of the aftermath of an earthquake in the Abruzzo town of L’Aquila, which left three hundred dead, and 70,000 homeless. Guzzanti takes Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his cronies to task for some astonishingly brazen cases of corruption that marred the city’s reconstruction and the relocation of the earthquake’s victims. Often very funny, this documentary will leave you shaking with anger.
In The First Beautiful Thing, (pictured above) directed by Paolo Virzi, we follow the gorgeous Anna (Micaela Ramazotti) through the eyes of her bitter young son, Bruno (Giacomo Bibbiani, & as an adult, Valerio Mastandrea) as she lives a turbulent but passionate life with a series of lovers. And in Gabriele Salvatores’s Happy Family, Alessandro Genovesi’s very clever stage-play transforms into a complex film about the construction of narratives, as Ezio (Fabio De Luigi) begins writing a screenplay, and finds his quirky characters coming to life and trying to influence their own stories.
• For more information about sessions, events and prices at the Lavazza Italian Film Festival, check out the website: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au
THE BINGE
King of surreal experience
Paul King directed more than 20 episodes of The Mighty Boosh, and it shows in his debut film, Bunny and the Bull, a delightfully surreal experience charting the recovery of an agoraphobic young man reliving a seminal moment in his life through his imagination.
Featuring Edward Hogg as the nervous Stephen, and Simon Farnaby as his best mate, Bunny, there are also cameos from Noel Fielding and Julian Barrett, and some gorgeous set design and editing.
New York, I Love You has its roots in the minds of producers Emmanuel Benbihy and Marina Grasic, who devised the idea of celebrating “cities of love”, and then invited acclaimed directors and actors to collaborate on a series of short films about each city. Paris, Je’Taime was the first, and films about Jerusalem, Shanghai, and Rio de Janeiro are on their way. New York... features productions from the likes of Fatih Akin, Mira Nair and Natalie Portman, and performances from dozens of high-profile actors. Not quite Paris..., but still very entertaining.
David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom (pictured above) is currently performing quite well on US screens after a very successful season in Australia, and big things are expected with the film’s coming DVD release. This gritty drama about a grubby Melbourne family of bank robbers features some fantastic performances from the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and the amazing Jacki Weaver.
If you missed Animal Kingdom at the movies, here’s your chance to find out what all the fuss was about. It’s interesting to compare all the kerfuffle about Casey Affleck’s faux-biography about Joaquin Phoenix, I’m Still Here, with the reception of Exit through the Gift Shop, the documentary about celebrity graffiti artist Banksy.
Whether directed by Banksy or his eccentric mate, Thierry Guetta, or by both of them in concert, the doco is still an intriguing and often spectacular examination of the world of street art.
