The festival has drawn to a close. Here are highlights from the final weekend.

Wonderful World

I cannot say that this was an altogether bad film. There were some funny moments and important lessons were learned. It came across, however, as a bit too cliché. It was writer Joshua Goldin’s directing debut, and he’s no spring chicken. I had hoped he would have known better, but instead this seemed to be the product of years of Hollywood programming. My biggest gripe (and it’s becoming a gripe with more films as time goes by) is the reliance on sex to further the plot. Matthew Broderick’s lead character does indeed need a spiritual awakening, but is the only thing that will get his attention a buxom exotic beauty? As soon as she appeared on screen, I knew that they would end up in bed together. Movies are a fantasy world, right? Let’s imagine a place where men don’t always think with their crotch.

It was nice seeing Michael K. Williams on the big screen. His character Omar is one of my favorites on TV’s “The Wire”. It would have been better to see the relationship between him and Broderick fleshed out a little more. As it was, most of their connection – apparently deep since Broderick escorts him halfway around the world – has to be assumed by the viewer.

Inju, the Beast in the Shadow (Inju, La Bête Dans L’ombre)

I must admit the main reason I saw this film was Benoît Magimel (delicious in La Pianiste). I was encouraged by the reference to Edgar Allan Poe in the film’s description. It is a fun French film noir set in Kyoto, Japan in the present day. There is murder, sex, intrigue, and an ostensibly smart man who really should have known better. What is obvious to the audience, is not so to the protagonist, Magimel, who is lead, of course, by his crotch with a bit of inflated ego mixed in. More entertaining than I had expected, the film hearkens back to the golden era of noir, which is pleasing in these times of excessive CGI violence and record-breaking profanity.

A Pain in the Ass (L’emmerdeur)

Hilarious French slapstick! See it!

North (Nord)

Another road movie of sorts, this one takes place on a snowmobile and a pair of cross country skis. A depressed Norwegian man must travel north to see his son one more time before his estranged wife moves south with her new husband. He makes a couple friends along the way, and I discover a new band!

Il Divo

Toni Servillo stars as Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, a particularly infamous man. (If you want to know if those ears are for real, watch him in Gomorra) A story with many players, spanning over a couple decades, a summary of events was given at the beginning of the film in several minutes of text only on the screen. This was a good thing, because then you can forget about trying to keep up with who’s who, who did what, etc. and just be taken in by the sights and sounds that make up this film. Excellent sound editing and use of the soundtrack and stunning visuals make it worth watching. I’m glad I got to see it at Cinerama on that huge screen. It has the makings of a blockbuster, if it weren’t for that Italian language thing. Movies with subtitles don’t generally go over well with the American masses. Too bad.

Home

A heartwarming and heartbreaking portrait of a family. We are introduced to them as they live their pastoral, idyllic lives beside a vacant highway amid vast fields. They are offbeat yet harmonic with each other. But then the highway opens, and their lives are completely changed. We watch as they first try to accept, then reject the chaos just beyond their front yard. It infects them, both individually and collectively. Home is a fascinating study of how progress can undermine humanity. Isabelle Huppert is delightful as always (see again La Pianiste, and another favorite, Hal Hartley’s Amateur).

OSS117: Lost in Rio (Rio ne répond plus)

Closing night selection of the festival. Director Michel Hazanavicius was on hand to introduce the film. More silliness from OSS117, the spy you love to hate. Some people complained the film was “more of the same”, but really, were they expecting the racist, misogynist, clueless character to have some sort of evolution? Enjoy it for what it is, and you will be much happier for it. Playing at SIFF Cinema 19 June, 7 pm. www.siff.net for tickets