Numbers may not mean much — but with a whopping 181 films to choose from, diversity was never a problem at the 5th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF ‘08), which got off to an unexceptional start but managed to impress in its last days. For our self-afflicted fest madness, complicated screening schedules were created, intricate routes to venues were devised and in the end, we somehow managed to see it all (at least what we wanted to anyway). It was quite an experience, this wild rush…yet in this hallowed quest by the girded WearetheMovies.com team, cinematic gold was indeed found.
Listed are the 5 of the very best movies we saw at the Dubai Film Festival 2008, which may have come to a rousing conclusion, but that only means the countdown to next year’s event has already begun.
#1
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
109 min
This devastating film — the best at the Dubai film festival — about washed-up wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, features a central performance of astonishing sincerity and charisma by Mickey Rourke, whose own real life mirrors that of his tragic onscreen character. Director Darren Aronofsky exercises uncharacteristic visual restraint and draws out powerful performances that may move you to tears.
#2
Che
Steven Soderberg | USA | 2008
262 min
Che is a tour-de-force of storytelling and filmmaking. The movie, which will be distributed in two parts — Argentine and Guerrilla — was shown as one film at DIFF, separated only by a fifteen-minute break. Both films work perfectly as halves, complementing each other; the first is focused on Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s electrifying campaign to seize Cuba for Fidel Castro while the second documents his unsuccessful Bolivia campaign that ended with his execution. Benicio Del Toro gives one of the year’s most memorable performances in a film that is an anti-biopic, a war movie and a compelling docudrama all rolled into one.
#3
Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK/Ireland | 2008
96 min
This remarkable debut film from director Steve McQueen is both visually arresting and thematically engrossing. About the hunger strike of IRA republican Bobby Sands that ended in his death, it is an unflinching recreation of Sands’ political and personal ideology which you may or may not agree with, but it is hard to deny this man’s steely dedication to his principles. In a film of raw, silent power (there is very little dialogue) the most memorable segment is a 17-minute long conversation between Sands and a priest, filmed from an unmoving camera, placed at vantage point, that makes you want to stand up and applaud. Hunger is an exquisitely crafted film containing a clever, multilayered script, and a compelling lead performance by Michael Fassbender who starved himself for his role.
#4
Song of Sparrows (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha)
Majid Majidi | Iran | 2008
96 min
Is it any surprise that one of the best films of the fest was from Iranian auteur Majid Majidi? Dreary film themes are the hallmark of any film festival, so how refreshing to have Song for Sparrows, a film with so much love for life. Combining good old fashioned storytelling and beautiful imagery, it made us smile, and broke through our fortified wall of cynicism. Full of spirituality, Song for Sparrows is also a study on capitalism and the effect of selfishly accumulating material wealth.
#5
Vacation (Kyûka)
Hajime Kadoi | Japan | 2008
112 min
The biggest surprise at DIFF, Vacation studies, in excruciating detail, the last days of a prisoner on death row in Japan, and how this affects both the condemned and his executioners. It is a meticulously crafted chamber drama with unexpected deadpan humor that provides a counterbalance to the dour subject matter. The performances are uniformly excellent, but it is the depth of the director’s convictions and the precision of skill that makes Vacation absolutely riveting.
Because WearetheMovies.com loves lists (and admit it, so do you) it would have been unfair to highlight only 5 films, especially when we’ve seen so many — so, if nothing else, for that reason alone, we’ve added a sort of an encore to our first five selections. Here are other notable films that just missed our Top 5 list:
Biggest Crowd Pleaser
Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle | UK | 2008
120 min
Made with electrifying energy and effortless in its navigation of deep pits of despair, one could say Slumdog Millionaire almost earns its happy ending. A must-see for fans of the versatile director Danny Boyle.
Most Polarizing Films
Blindness
Fernando Meirelles | Canada/Brazil | 2008
120 min
A grim look at human nature during a blindness epidemic. Based on a novel by Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago, Blindness will provoke you as it uses literal blindness to depict humans’ moral blindness. Memorable for the debates that will follow; some of you will call it cruel, others clever.
Ballast
Lance Hammer | USA | 2008
96 min
An intense and emotional drama from first-time director Lance Hammer, Ballast keeps its secrets close to the chest, revealing them in small bursts that only later form a complete picture. Moody and contemplative, a film that will reward only the very patient viewer.
Best Films Even We Had Never Heard About
Adhen – Dernier Maquis
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche | France | 2008
93 min
Algerian-French filmmaker Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche creates a sophisticated visual and aural experience in a film that presents the absurdities of religion, capitalism and human nature. The most intellectually stimulating film of the 2008 Dubai film festival.
3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey | 2008
109 min
Another visually arresting film from Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan (who makes full use of the digital cinematography), that may also be described as Crime and Punishment- lite.
The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani and MADali.
