Give Indonesian Film A Chance

Over the last couple of weeks the Indonesian film industry and government have been feuding over film subsidies.

I don't understand the ins and outs -- nor for that matter the players -- of the local market.
The Jakarta Globe put together a series looking at the issue, film history and reader feedback.

It gave me a little more understanding and also helped me find a couple more films to research.


Give Indonesia Films a Chance

Indonesian Films That Give Reel Satisfaction

Subsidies from Government

Hollywood Film Ban Debate

Pozsgai Film in Dallas

The Hungarian Multicultural Center in Dallas will host Director Zsolt Pozsgai's "The Earth's Lover" at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, March 19.

Pozsgai is a Europa Prize winning playwright, theatre and film director. He was born in 1960, Pecs, Hungary. "The Earth's Lover" is about the maker of world-famous porcelain of Pecs, the inventor of eosin, Vilmos Zsolnay. It's a story from Hungary which takes place at the end of the 19th century.

Indonesian Film Industry & Government at Odds Over Funding

The Indonesian film industry and the Indonesian government are at odds over a program in which the government would provide funding for films that "instill love to the nation, raise patriotism and national defense."

Director Joko Anwar, told the Jakarta Globe, "If the ministry only subsidizes films that improve patriotism, it would actually just foster the creation of bad patriotic movies. Filmmakers will try to meet the criteria needed to get the subsidy instead of focusing their creative efforts on producing a quality film."

Click here to read more from the article.

'Biutiful' at the Academy Awards

Only 'Biutiful' made it through from our Sister Cities countries to the final five nominees at this year's Academy Awards. However it's really a Spanish film directed by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iinarritu. That's not to say it isn't an amazing film and Javier Bardem probably deserves the Academy Award for his performance.

Generally the purpose of this blog is to talk about the culture of our eight Sister City countries as portrayed in film. A similar situation happened a few years ago with Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labrinth."

If you can find "Biutiful" in a theater, go see it. It is a dark, often depressing film. but the performances are amazing and there are many interesting production elements. I love the scene in which Bardem crosses a bridge in the city and the camera pans to a foreboding flock of birds sweeping and diving the city and its inhabitants below. Are they birds or spirits?

Watch the trailer.

The Baader Meinhof Complex

I finally got around to watching this film.
I had no idea this antiestablishment terrorist organization existed. It had some thrilling moments, but at points felt like "and then this happened and then this happened ..." I was looking for something more along the lines of "The Lives of Others," which was amazing.
I don't have any political or historical reference for this film, so it felt mostly like a documentary.
It's still worth a watch. But I wouldn't put it at the top of your Netflix list.  

Tivo & Netflix partnership makes foreign film watching easy, even in Fort Worth

So I found a solution to finding foreign films no matter where you live. Through a partnership, you can instantly watch many Netlflix films on your Tivo. (Blockbuster just announced a similar arrangement, but I don't know the details.)

I also found out through Tivo that you can watch You Tube films on your TV. The quality is not so hot, but you can get access to a lot of films that just aren't available.

During the planning for the Lone Star International Film Festival two years ago, I was trying to get "Kala: Dead Time" as the representative from Indonesia. We never came to terms, and I could never get a screener or view the film. But this week I found in on You Tube and finally go to watch it. Cool film and would have been great to premiere in Fort Worth.

On Netflix I recently watched "Without the King," "The Counterfeiters" and "Rape of Europa".

"Without the King" gives an interesting perspective on the lives of folks in Swaziland. I don't have any idea how accurate it is.

"Rape of Europa" is a great documentary about theft of artwork across Europe during World War II. It's amazing the lengths people went to to save art from theft and destruction. Check it out.

Asian Film Awards

The Japanese film "Tokyo Sonata" won the top award and best screenwriting at the third annual Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. 

Masahiro Motoki" Masahiro Motoki won the best actor award for his work in "Departures," which won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film last month. Director Hirokazu Koreeda Hirokazu Kore-eda was honored for his work on "Still Walking." 

Other Best Picture nominees were Chen Kaige's Peking Opera film "Forever Enthralled," Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff," Director John Woo's Chinese historical epic "Red Cliff" and Indonesia's "The Rainbow Troops."  

"Rainbow Troops" (Laskar pelangi) premiered at Berlinale in the Panorama division. "Departures" won nine Awards of the Japanese Academy in addition to the Oscar. The animated "Ponyo on the Cliff (Gake no ue no Ponyo)" featured an all-star cast with the voices of Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Betty White.  "Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang)" lead actor Kaige Chen  was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.