FEST Guide: Recommendations

Adam (‘Tom Hiddleston (I)’), an underground musician reunites with his lover for centuries (Tilda Swinton) after he becomes depressed and tired with the direction human society has taken. Their love is interrupted and tested by her wild and uncontrollable little sister (Mia Wasikowska). New movie directed by Jim Jarmusch. 

 VENUS IN FUR

Venus in Fur (French: La Vénus à la fourrure) is a 2013 French drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on the play of the same name by American playwright David Ives. The play itself was inspired by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s novel Venus in Furs.The film premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 25 May. In January 2014 the film received five nominations at the 39th César Awards. In September 2012, it was announced that Roman Polanski would direct an adaptation of David Ives’ 2010 play entitled Venus in Fur. At that time,Emmanuelle Seigner and Louis Garrel were attached in the lead roles.While filming was scheduled to begin in November 2012, production was delayed until January 2013 and Garrel was replaced by Mathieu Amalric. 

Thomas is a writer-director of a new play, an adaptation of the 1870 novel Venus in Furs by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Alone in aParisian theatre after a day of auditioning actresses for the lead character, Wanda von Dunayev, Thomas laments on the phone of the poor performances to come through. As he is preparing to leave the theatre, an actress named Vanda arrives disheveled. In a whirlwind of energy and unrestrained aggression, Vanda convinces the director to let her read for the part. To Thomas’s amazement, Vanda shows great understanding of the character and knows every line by heart. As the audition progresses, the intensity is redoubled and the attraction of Thomas turns into obsession.

BLUE JASMIN 

New movie directed by Woody Allen. Jasmine French used to be on the top of the heap as a New York socialite, but now is returning to her estranged sister in San Francisco utterly ruined. As Jasmine struggles with her haunting memories of a privileged past bearing dark realities she ignored, she tries to recover in her present. Unfortunately, it all proves a losing battle as Jasmine’s narcissistic hangups and their consequences begin to overwhelm her. In doing so, her old pretensions and new deceits begin to foul up everyone’s lives, especially her own. Stars: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

Blue Is the Warmest Colour is based on the 2010 French graphic novel of the same name by Julie Maroh, which was published in North America in 2013. The film had its North American première at the 2013 Telluride Film Festival. It has received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language. Many critics have declared it to be the best film of 2013.

Adèle is a high school student who is beginning to explore herself as a woman. She dates men but finds no satisfaction with them sexually, and is rejected by a female friend who she does desire. She dreams of something more. She meets Emma who is a free spirited girl whom Adèle’s friends reject due to her sexuality, and by association most begin to reject Adèle. Her relationship with Emma grows into more than just friends as she is the only person with whom she can express herself openly. Together, Adèle and Emma explore social acceptance, sexuality, and the emotional spectrum of their maturing relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HauccYYhQk4

THE GRATE BEAUTY

New movie directed by  Paolo Sorrentino.  Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

NYMPHOMANIAC

Nymphomaniac  is a 2013 two-part drama film, written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Uma Thurman, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, and Connie Nielsen.The world premiere of the first part of the five-and-half-hour-long uncut version premiered on February 16, 2014 at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.

Nymphomaniac is a wild, poetic drama about a woman’s erotic journey from birth to the age of 50 as told by the main character, the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, Joe. On a cold winter’s evening, the old, charming bachelor Seligman finds Joe beaten up in an alleyway. He brings her home to his flat where he tends to her wounds while asking her about her life. He listens intently as Joe, over the next eight chapters, recounts the lustful story of her highly erotic life. Seligman reads a lot of books, from which he has acquired various general knowledge. He connects the stories told with what he has read about.

The story is divided in two volumes and eight chapters, Volume I follows young Joe as portrayed by Stacy Martin, while the older Joe in Seligman’s apartment is played by Gainsbourg, and Volume II follows Joe as portrayed by Gainsbourg.