Sunday, August 4, 2013

Four-Sentence MIFF Reviews #9-11: Oh Boy, A Werewolf Boy, Bekas

Oh Boy (Jan-Ole Gerster)

Law-school dropout Niko wanders around black-and-white Berlin, having brief encounters with strangers that range from humorous to violent.
Very much smacks of a 90s student film trying to be Woody Allen, with occasional interruptions from Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith.
Not much character development, not much plot, not much of interest.
Presumably named because when it ends you say "Oh boy, I'm glad that's over."




A Werewolf Boy (Jo Sung-Hee)

When teenage Suni and her family move to an isolated country house, they discover an adolescent boy living wild nearby, take him in and care for him.
But when the local sleazeball threatens Suni, the boy's protective instincts towards her manifest as a supernatural transformation.
A South Korean teenage werewolf romance that produced suitably adolescent reactions in me (especially to the bad guy: "Oh I hate him!!")
A bit long, but nicely non-Twilighty.



Bekas (Karzan Kader)

Two Kurdish orphans decide to travel to America and fly back with Superman so they can bring their parents back to life - they have a world map, and decide that America should only be a day or two's walk from Iraq.
A truly delightful and colourful film that highlights the boys' continued resilience and imagination in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
I was so attached to these boys that when the film suddenly descended into an incredibly tense life-or-death situation, I nearly took Tim's arm off (sorry Tim).
Also featured: a donkey named Michael Jackson with a BMW insignia on his bridle.



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