SFF14 – films I didn’t mention

Almost … these two films almost made it into my reviews, but HILL OF FREEDOM by Sang-Soo Hong became too boring (after a good start: witty dialogues, a dog named “Dream” and a well reasoned anachronic storytelling made for some fun, whereas clumsy filming and overacting destroyed much of the effect later on), and SECOND COMING touched me as extremely irritating with it’s relentless (and utterly senseless) subjective camera.

Ok, I watched it directly after THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY – and I knew then, that whatever followed wouldn’t have it easy to compete. Nevertheless: Dear indie filmers, please stop that stupid mannerism of shaking your cameras as if we were all sitting amidst some earthquake. It makes no sense. It’s not modern any more. It’s just irritating and it looks as though you were too lazy to make it right.

There were many more films at Stockholm Film Festival who don’t get reviewed simply because I didn’t get a chance to see them. Press viewings were reduced to none (!) or one (!) a day – only Nov14 had 4 viewings (which would be the average for Zurich Film Festival per day) – and there were no reserved contingents for press in the cinemas … so no film, unless you bought normal public tickets (which were of course sold out for the important films). So what the heck is my press pass for anyhow?!? Well … I love Stockholm, I really do. And I’d have never thought that it would feel more ‘provincial’ than Zurich.