BIFF kicks off on the 23th of November – here’s another peek at two more titles showing during the festival.
The Congress [rating: 4/5]
Wow. I don’t really know where to begin with The Congress, or how to succinctly encapsulate for you the experience of viewing it. But I’ll give it the old college try.
It’s like watching a simmering pot, which then vomits a rainbow all over you, pushes you down a rabbit hole and then when you hit the ground, rubs your face in the dirt. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and making sense of it may drive one completely insane, but truth be told it is quite a marvel. I can’t imagine what minds conjured up such a world.
Essentially the first section is a Robin Wright slam fest. She plays herself, at the mercy of studio execs that have obliterated the need for actor’s altogether – having created a complex scanning program that once completed, allows them to create any performance via computer. 20 years later, after reluctantly agreeing, she heads to the ‘The Congress’ – where the film flips into psychedelic animation (the result of an addictive hallucinogenic drug). She’s frozen, she finds a suitor, it’s all like a swirl of technicolour. I think Robin herself sums the film up perfectly when she utters the line “it’s like a genius designer on a bad acid trip”. See it for the spectacle, it’s certainly a unique view of the world!
Big Sur [rating: 4/5]
Jack Kerauoac – the poet of the beat generation. Or by his own admission, a “40 year old jaded man). Big Sur chronicles Jack’s times spent post the success of iconic novel On The Road and whilst writing his latest novel, visiting old friends and fellow poets, falling in love, musing over camping trips and experiencing solitude.
The film plays out like one of Kerauoac’s novels – his constant poetic narration seemingly pulled straight from the titular character’s pages. It’s got all the characteristics that made the generation so perfect for filmic portrayal – cigarettes, booze, road trips, hitchhiking, brooding, art and wisecracking. If you enjoyed the 2012 adaption of Kerauoac’s novel On The Road, then you will certainly find joy in the carefree nature of the way it was. Worth it for the stunning cinematography alone.
For more information visit biff.com.au
