sarah_venn

First film from writer/director Drew Thomas set in the not too distant future where people have taken social media to a new level and broadcast their lives in real time through contact lenses which transmit to an app on their smartphones.

The film opens with an amusing advert in the style of real Google adverts. The below video was used in a viral marketing campaign and is not the actual one used in the film, but will give you an idea of what the film is centred around.

Doesn't seem so science-fiction now, does it? Maybe the not too distant future could even be next week! It does seem like the next logical, if not even more personal step up from blogs, youtube channels, reality TV and sharing of life moments on twitter and facebook.

The film starts with a car chase in which Wyatt Maddox (Taylor Handley) is driving accompanied with Tara (Kate French). We then later learn that this car chase ends fatally for Wyatt. The story then continues with Wyatt's soldier brother Jonah (Dominic Devore) returning home for the funeral. On discovering his brother's online existence under the channel name Wyld_Life, Jonah decides to pose as Wyatt and reawaken his channel in order to lure his killers.

Meanwhile, while the main story is unfolding there is a sub story in the form of Ashleigh Maddox (Skyler Day) the little sister of Wyatt and Jonah. She is at that impressionable high school age where having recognition and admiration from your peers seems like the most important thing to give you a sense of belonging. She is also a channeler and has her own fashion vlog. Here you see how she uses the vlog for online attention as she sits alone talking to herself in a mirror, but actually casting to thousands. She begins a relationship which she talks about and broadcasts through her channel. She later finds out that her boyfriend has been casting without her knowledge and during intimate times too.

Another sub story is about what people do to increase ratings, and therefore get sponsors to give them earning potential. Wyatt's angle was stealing cars, heightening his risk and also simultaneously boosting his ratings. Behind this are the sponsors which sell the advertising space on the casting channels to companies with a relevant product. Furthermore, this bred underground casinos where we saw the shadier side of being able to watch every moment of people's lives. Gamblers betted on people's life events in real time and long-term bets such as if a girl's pregnancy test would be positive or negative, and then if this led to abortion or keeping the baby.

This was an interesting film which shows the direction that social media could go and has gone in the past. From 2005 when Andrew Fischer auctioned his forehead for advertising space, to viral celebrity sex tapes, and the increased popularity of reality TV there definitely would be a market for what Channeling proposes the future of entertainment to be and our willingness to share more and more of our lives in order to get our 15 minutes of fame.

A Q&A session followed after the film, the distance between audience and director was approximately 5000 miles but through the wonders of Skype we heard the American accent of Drew Thomas as he sat in his car by a mountain in the glorious sunshine in California. Taking questions from the audience Drew said that he didn't feel that social media was to blame but that together with people it can be evil and pervasive. He showed this through the character of Ashley where he wanted to make the audience sympathise with her, however one festival audience member found her character annoying! But then I think that's how some people view social media, I find it particularly annoying when 'friends' of mine post every minute detail of their life – I definitely don't think I'll be tuning into livecasting channels in the near future, well, not unless they are doing something exciting…..

The Innocents is one of the classic Gothic films featuring in the festival line up. First screened in 1961 this screening was a preview of the digitally restored copy from the British Film Institute. An adaptation of the book 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James published in 1898 and the play in the same name by William Archibald premiering in 1950.

The film begins eerily with a totally black screen and the haunting sound of a child singing then the 20th Century Fox logo appears. The singing continues before the opening credits begin. As the credits display, we see a distraught Miss Giddens praying on the left side of the screen and proclaiming that she was only trying to help the children. Within the first few minutes of the film you are set up to expect the worst and I definitely felt shivers, and not just from the cold Winter air on the 1st day of December!

Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is employed by the uncle (Michael Redgrave) of the orphaned children Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin) to be their governess at his large estate in the country called 'Bry'. At first all seems well at the estate, Flora is well behaved and bright. But things begin to change when Miles returns after being expelled from school for some unknown reason of wickedness and being a bad influence on his classmates. Warning signs that something is not right with the children start when Miss Giddens sees a man on top of the tower, when she reaches the top she finds Miles there who claims he saw nothing. Also when accompanied with Flora Miss Giddens sees a woman in black across the lake, which Flora says she didn't see. After speaking to the housekeeper Mrs Grose (Megs Jenkins) it transpires that these figures are apparitions of the former valet Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde) and the previous governess Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop) who died a year ago. Miss Giddens is certain that the children are possessed by the spirits of the tormented lovers. This is evident in the way that Miles acts, as he may look like a young boy but speaks like an adult, especially when he recites the morbid poem about a 'lost lord' and also when kisses his governess goodnight, in what is a very intimate adult kiss. Incidentally for you fact fans out there Kate Bush's song 'The Infant Kiss' is about this very kiss. Miss Giddens attempts to exorcise the spirits from the children with mixed outcomes. She believes that if they say their tormentors names they will be free of them. Flora is sent hysterical and Miles has a much more tragic ending.

A great film and one true classic British horror film that every film goer who loves this genre should see. This was the first time I had seen it, and so glad I it was on big screen rather than a DVD at home. The darkness of the Little Theatre highlighted the extremes of darkness and light in the film and provided more atmosphere and creepiness. The questions that remain unanswered are if the children were really possessed, was the house haunted or was Miss Giddens just stark raving mad? Definitely a film that stays with you long after the lights go back on.

Review from the Bath Film Festival: http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/the-innocents/

Review for the Bath Film Festival, check it out online at: http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/young-beautiful/

French and sexy usually go hand in hand, and this film is no exception. Young and Beautiful, or in French - Jeune et Jolie- is a coming of age story of 17 year old Isabelle (Marine Vatch) told across four seasons as she discovers and experiments with her sexuality.

In the first season – Summer, Isabelle loses her virginity to Felix, a German boy while on holiday. The experience is not great and she has no emotional connection with the boy or the act itself, portrayed through her out of body experience.

In Autumn Isabelle is striding through Paris in high heels and meeting clients in hotel rooms and car parks. She remains emotionally detached, and no real reason is given as to why she enters the world of prostitution which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. The film is concerned with her actions and her behaviours rather than the psychology behind them. It is safe to say that the film has a lot of nudity and sex scenes in it, which you would expect from a film about prostitution! Despite her emotional detachment she develops more of a bond with one client Georges (Johan Leyson) and meets him regularly at the same hotel in the same room, until one fateful afternoon when Georges' heart just can't keep up and he dies while having sex with Isabelle. This sees the end of Isabelle meeting clients.

However, come Winter the police are investigating Georges death and track her down through CCTV footage. This section of film deals with the aftermath of her family finding out about Isabelle selling her body for sex. Her mother, Sylvie brilliantly portrayed by Geraldine Pailhas,

By Spring Isabelle is starting to act like a normal teenage girl; going to parties, having a boyfriend and trying to put the past behind her. We think she's going to be alright, have a regular life, but she dumps her boyfriend with such coolness after a family breakfast and without any apparent reason. Then she reinserts her old sim card into her phone and immediately receives text after text. We then see her going to the same hotel she used to meet Georges in and she meets his widow Alice (Charlotte Rampling) which gives an unexpected end to the film.

'We are the Best' is focused on three 13 year old girls as they form a punk band. The film has all the highs and lows of adolescence intertwined into the quest of being the best punk band ever; teenage angst, first love, friendship, crushes, family, identity and the disastrous consequences of drinking too much too young!

Klara (Mira Grosin) and Bobo (Mira Barkhammer) are two androgynous looking girls who don't fit in with others at their school, and are bullied for looking different. They love punk and live by the values of anti-establishment mentality and reject mainstream society and commercial disco music. One day at their after school club in order to get heavy metal band Iron Fist to stop playing their offensively loud music Bobo and Klara decide to fight music with music and start a band of their own. They don't have any instruments or indeed know how to play any, but that doesn't stop them, and I'm pretty sure there are some famous bands out there that started similarly. Outspoken and mouthy Klara nominates herself as lead singer and bassist, forcing Bobo onto the drums. Their song 'Hate the Sport' is about their dislike for PE and their fascist teacher. Whilst they can master the lyrics their musical ability does not improve. Bobo sees an opportunity in recruiting Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), a classical guitar player who is also a social outcast due to being a strict Christian. In a quest to convert her from Christianity to punk they cut off her long blonde hair to fit in with Bobo's crop and Klara's Mohawk.

The girls meet up with an all boy punk band that perform their catchy anthem 'Brezhnev and Reagan, F*ck Off!' Tensions between the friendship of Klara and Bobo arise when they both have feelings for one of the boys. However, friendship wins out and the band goes on to perform in a neighbouring town, where there is a great punk-fuelled ending to the film as they shout and hurl abuse at the audience in the venue.

Lukas Moodysson's We Are the Best! is certainly one of the most honest, heart-warming and endearing films about female friendship I've seen. It is adapted from his wife, Coco Moodysson's graphic novel, Never Goodnight. The story is a fictionalised account of her own teenage years as a punk rocker. It is definitely a film that can be enjoyed by adults as well as teenagers. The acting was amazing in the film and all girls gave a great performance, from Liv LeMoyne's wonderful folk playing and singing, to the comedic timings and playful nature of Grosin and Barkhammer, also special mention to the highly amusing, clarinet playing father of Klara played by David Dencik.

So far the film has picked up three awards; The Reykjavik International Film Festival Audience Award, Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix Award and Philadelphia Film Festival Best Ensemble. Will it win the Bath Film Festival audience award? I sure hope so as it definitely deserves it and it would wholeheartedly have my vote. I loved this film.

See the review on the Bath Film Festival blog: http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/we-are-the-best/

See this review on the Bath Film Festival blog:

http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/the-congress/

The Congress was 4 years in the making by director Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir). The film is based on the book The Futuroligical Congress by Polish Stanislaw Lem, first published in 1971. Though Folman doesn't follow the book to the letter, the main character is female rather than male and the story of chemical dictatorship is changed to that of the film studio running the world, it does stay true to its core.

Robin Wright (played by herself) is approached by her agent Al (Harvey Keitel) for a lucrative role that will make her career. After going over all the poor choices she made over the years, he tells her how she can reap the rewards with never having to work again. Mirramount studios in the form of gnarly film boss Jeff Greene (Danny Huston) wants to buy her image and use it to make movies without the need for her to be present. After much deliberation, and swayed by realising what treatment money can buy for her son Aaron (Kodi Smit McPhee) who has a rare condition, Robin signs the 20 year contract.

20 years later when Miramount studios wants Robin to renew her contract she travels to the Abrahama hotel, which is also hosting The Futurist Congress. To get there she breaks open a cartridge sniffs it, and is taken into the strange animated world. This is where the film gets wacky and surreal with around 50 minutes of the film in the quirky animation. Here Robin Wright looks like a cross between "Cinderella on heroin and an Egyptian queen on a bad hair day" as she describes herself. Details of the new contract unfold not only do they want to keep the image and personality of Robin Wright, but now also want to own the chemical of Robin Wright so that people can swallow a pill and become her. So not only can you watch your favourite celebrity, you can become them. Later Robin returns to the present day after being frozen in the animated world for an unknown length of time where the world is unrecognisable.

The film looks into many areas such as sexism, ageism, capitalism, identity and the human condition. It gives a view of a dystopian future where people can escape reality and become who they want to be by just taking a pill, fueling the celebrity obsessed culture and where reality is secondary and the world they have programmed and built is preferred and worshiped.

So I had high expectations of this film before I went in, and I left a little disappointed and a bit confused. Yes, it looks amazing and it talks about lots of interesting themes, but I think it lost itself in parts and made it over complicated. At first I thought that maybe I just didn't get it and it was too intellectual for me but I found other reviews that had the same viewpoint. Equally there are other reviewers who love it, so it's proving to be a bit of a Marmite film. I wouldn't dismiss the film totally though, I can see that there has been loads of work on the script - the film itself has a lot to say as well as being visually stimulating. I definitely think I would watch it again, and would urge you intrigued cinema goers to seek it out and make up your own minds. I suggest you take a look at the web page www.thecongress- movie.com, which has lots of visuals, behind the scenes and an interview with the director Ari Folman.

The film was introduced by Stephen Woolley the film's producer, he said that when looking into developing the film he had seen the play by Moira Buffini 'A Vampire's Story' in the Bristol Old Vic, and thought that making a vampire movie with the lead character being a teenager would be a novel concept. He wholeheartedly admitted that the movie doesn't seem as unique now due to the plethora of TV shows and movies with teenagers as the protagonists, from the twilight saga to the vampire diaries.

The film is centred on mother and daughter duo Clara (Gemma Arterton) and Eleanor Webb (Saorise Ronan) who are both vampires, or sucrients as termed in the script. Within the first 5 minutes Clara is being chased by a man, who ultimately meets his demise by being beheaded. And so the two have to abscond and find somewhere else to live. Not long after turning tricks in her new chosen town Clara meets lonely Noel (Daniel Mays) whose mother has recently passed and left him her dilapidated B&B called Byzantium, which Clara quickly rejuvenates into a brothel. There are flashbacks to 200 years ago when Clara and Eleanor were truly alive mixed in with present day. Clara had been a prostitute, thrown into the profession by Captain Ruthven (Johnny Lee Miller) after he and fellow officer Darvel (Sam Riley) had met her when younger on a beach. Eleanor had been brought up in a catholic orphanage unaware that her mother was alive until the day that Ruthven raped her and infected her with syphilis. In order to save her from the disease Clara takes her to a secret island, which she had previously visited to save herself from tuberculosis. She knew of the existence of the place after stealing the map to the island which had been given to Ruthven by Darvel. After Clara had given herself eternal life she found out that this was a gift that was to be presented form a secret brotherhood that Darvel was now part of. So not only was she not a man but she had stolen and then given the gift to Eleanor. This meant that the brotherhood saw the duo as aberrations and sought to destroy them. Not only does the film focus on the relationship between the female protagonists but also that of the blossoming young romance between troubled and lonely teens Eleanor and fellow class mate Frank (Caleb Landry Jones). After an assignment in their English class Eleanor writes her true life story and gives it to Frank as she does not want to lie anymore. He assumes it is fiction and passes onto their teacher who then suspects that Eleanor has problems at home. This leads to the brotherhood catching up with the pair and the chase ensues.

After the film, Stephen Woolley came back to the front of the theatre to answer questions from the audience. Stephen said that he had always been interested in the Gothic/horror genre of films since his days at the Escala cinema in London and distributing films such as The Evil Dead (1981) and Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). One of the stand out films for him in this genre is The Innocents (1961) which also showed during the Bath Film Festival this year.

He also said how he wanted to make a film with female leads as the majority of other vampire films were male dominant such as Bram Stoker's Dracula with exception to Harry Kumel's Daughters of Darkness (1971). However, having the two lead roles as females proved difficult in obtaining funding for the film and changes to the script had to be made. Originally part of the film was meant to be shot in Morocco, which I'm sure the crew would've potentially enjoyed more than filming in Hastings with all the glorious British weather! Stephen explained in the answer to a question as to why having female leads would hamper funding is due to the way the movie industry has operated for years and years. There is an ingrained set of rules and procedures for the buying and selling of films which have been put in place by the gatekeepers and have no bearing on the average cinema-goer's preferences. It seems that having a strong male lead is one of the tick box items that investors look for and are unwilling to part with their cash for a female lead unless it is for a stellar actress such as Judi Dench or Meryl Streep. The same is true for a first film for a director or a first film in a different genre as well. People in the industry are trying to make a science of what will make a good film, but of course it is an art and films with first time directors can be hits, as well as without male leads.

A question about the music on the film revealed that the score by Javier Navarrate (Pan's Labyrinth) is based on the Beethoven's Piano Sonata Opus 2, No. 3 as it is of the same period to the flashbacks and also this is the tune that Saorise plays in one of the scenes. Turns out she really plays it, rather than mimes and learnt the difficult piece in just 12 weeks! Amazing, and just shows what female leads are capable of.

I didn't even realise that Byzantium had been released in UK cinemas earlier this year. Now I would add it to my top vampire films alongside Interview with the Vampire, Lost Boys and From Dusk till Dawn. If you haven't already seen it, you've definitely missed the chance to see it at the cinema so I suggest logging onto Amazon (other DVD sellers are available) getting a copy for £7 and having some microwavable popcorn to recreate the experience. Enjoy.

Visit the Bath Film festival blog http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/byzantium/

The Machine is set in the near future where Britain is still in recession and the there is a cold war between the West and China. Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) a scientist working with the MOD is trying to create an implant that will bring human feeling and emotion back to the war veterans that he is treating, which will also be used in not only the robotic soldiers but the robotic peacekeepers as well. It is revealed that Vincent's daughter is extremely mentally disabled, providing another interest for his research.

The implants that he has developed make the patients extremely violent and also seemingly unable to communicate. Vincent teams up with Ava (Caity Lotz) who has developed software in which the robot isn't programmed, but learns from talking with her creator and shows signs of life and emotion. He hopes that with this technology he will make the breakthrough to making a conscious machine and on a personal side help cure his daughter. Ava becomes suspicious of the operation after she enters a restricted area and finds that the patients are kept as prisoners and does not trust Vincent's boss Thomson (Denis Lawson), and suspects his motives are against what she believes in.

Ava's snooping didn't go unnoticed by Thomson and he had her assassinated. Vincent then goes about putting Ava's software into a cyborg which is in the image of Ava herself, and so the Machine is born. To find out what happens I suggest you get to the cinema in March 2014 when the film will be released in the UK.

The Q&A at the end of the film with director Caradog James and producer John Giwa-Amu gave a greater insight into the films motives and workings. Carodog explained about the great level of research he did in preparation for the film, visiting the MOD and looking into the research they are currently conducting into robotics where they are looking at organic cells to assist how they develop Artificial Intelligence. He mentioned the quantum theory work of Roger Penrose who has researched consciousness and the brain. On talking about the future of humans and cyborgs, he thought the more realistic future would see how we augment our bodies such as with Google Glasses and he also mentioned how one audience member at the premiere in Tribeca had a chip in his hand to be able to access his computer. So maybe the future for is not too distant! Most of the audience enjoyed the film and questions of what it means to be human obviously arose, as well as the comparisons to Frankenstein. There was one festival goer who exclaimed that he thought the end of the film was like a scene in a video game and accused the producer and director of adding this for monetary reasons. They came back with the difficulty of balancing commerce with art, and that commerce doesn't necessarily mean making money but reaching a greater audience. Carodog finished by saying that their next film will be a horror, that they hope someone in the audience will be so scared they will have a heart attack – he hoped it would be the guy that asked the last question!

To see the review on the Bath Film Festival blog please visit:

http://bathffblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/the-machine/