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Join Luke McWilliams and Katy Haynes as they review movies dealing with addiction, new to cinema releases;
Luke has a look at cult-favourite, Leaving Las Vegas.
Join Luke McWilliams and Katy Haynes as they review movies new to cinema dealing with young folk coming to life’s crossroads;
Luke also reviews a movie favourite, Beautiful Girls.
Join Luke McWilliams and Katy Haynes as they review movies with very charismatic leads; new to cinema releases:
Katy also reviews a cult favourite The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Join Luke McWilliams and Marisa Martin as they prepare for tomorrow night's Tropfest Competition by having a look at the past 10 Tropfest Winners.
Marisa also updates us on the upcoming Lights Canberra Action Film Competition.
Good luck to local filmmakers John Frohlich andChristian Doran who have made it to the top 3 for the Telstra Mobile Masterpieces for their entry, Always the Son.
Rooster’s Breakfast is a Slovenian romantic comedy\drama directed by Marko Nabersnik adapted by the novel by Feri Lainšček. The film is Slovenia’s most acclaimed and commercially successful movies of all time.
Plot
We meet Đuro (played by Primož Bezjak) as he is being laid off from his work as a mechanic. Duro is however referred to Master auto-mechanic Gajaš's (played by Vlado Novak) who’s shop is in the idealic town of Prekmurje (region of Eastern Slovenia). Duro is hired as an apprentice and soon is mingling with Gajas’s eccentric friends who love to come to Gajas’ shop to gamble, drink and listen to music. Soon however, Duro meets Bronja (played by Pia Zemljjc), the beautiful wife of the neighbourhood mob boss Lepec (played by Dario Varga) where wackiness ensues!
Awards
The film won 5 awards at the 10th Festival of Slovenian Film: Audience Award For The Best Picture (Marko Naberšnik), Vesna For Best Directing (Marko Naberšnik), Vesna For Best Screenplay (Marko Naberšnik), Vesna For Best Actor (Vlado Novak) and Stop Magazine Award for best actor/actress (Pia Zemljič).
It is also the Slovenian candidate for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film nomination. In year 2009 film won CWB Critics Award at the 4th Annual South East European Film Festival, Los Angeles.
Interview
Mr Marko Nabersnik was kind enough to answer a few questions about the film.
The Movie Club - Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Rooster’s Breakfast with The Movie Club. What was involved in the process of adapting the novel to the script?
Marko Nabersnik - The film is based on the Slovenian bestselling novel with the same title. Its author is Feri Lainšček, one of the most acclaimed Slovenian writers. I adopted the novel with his help and with the help of Scripthouse Berlin and its script doctor Franz Rodenkirchen. In the book there is a much wider story about the private life of the character you saw in the movie. I only concentrated on the love story of a young couple and the romantic obsession of the main character, the old garage owner Gajaš, who is admiring the famous singer Severina. Of course, this is love at first sight which can not come true.
The Movie Club – Why was the movie not set in modern times? How has Slovenia gone through significant social changes since this time?
Marko Nabersnik - The novel was written in 1997 and I did not change the time period the story takes place in. One of the reasons is also that in the 90’s we were not in European Union yet and memories of communistic regime of Yugoslavia were still much more alive. And these are also memories which the main character Gajaš is influenced by. And because the story is set a little bit in the past the movie looks nostalgic, which people in Slovenia liked very much.
The Movie Club – What was it like working with the main cast? Had you worked with them before?
Marko Nabersnik - I worked with some of the actors. Pia Zemljič, who is playing the lead woman role, was also my classmate at the Film Academy in Slovenia. I worked with Primož Bezjak too. But the other cast is set up from the most acclaimed Slovenian actors. Vlado Novak, the main character for example played more than 100 theater roles, had a feature film introduced in Cannes (Artificial Paradise from director Karpo Godina) and I was honored that they accepted the offer to play in my first movie. And I think everybody can see how good Vlado Novak, the main character and leading actor, is. He gave a real push to the story and film.
The Movie Club – What were your previous works? What is your next project going to be and are you currently working on anything?
Marko Nabersnik - I finished the Film Academy in 2002. I have worked on more than 500 live TV shows in the entertainment industry since that time. In 2007 I finished my first feature film Rooster’s Breakfast and its box office success and successful distribution in the countries of former Yugoslavia brought me to the next film. My new film is Shanghai Gypsy. The shooting of the new film was finished in 2011. Now I am in sound postproduction. With the budget of 3,5 million US dollars Shanghai Gypsy is the most expensive Slovenian film of all times. The story is based on the successful novel Untouchables (again by Feri Lainšček) which won numerous awards and was nominated for Europe Book prize in 2008. The novel is also translated in English and you can purchase it on Amazon.
The story of the film Shanghai Gypsy is a love story. The main protagonists are members of gypsy family Mirga. The story about four generations is narrated by Lutvija Belmondo Mirga. Lutvija is also the central character of the film, a gypsy king, who decided to establish his own gypsy village. He names it Shanghai. Belmondo makes a living on smuggling and his power and influence grow large. He even gets local police and politicians on his side and that helps him to become untouchable for law. But with the downfall of Yugoslavia, smuggling of goods is being replaced by smuggling of the arms. Though lucrative, the business starts to threaten Belmondo’s personal life and he finds himself at the crossroads. Will he protect his own family or is he going to sacrifice his personal happiness for business ambitions?
The Movie Club – What is it like to enjoy Rooster’s Breakfast’s great success?
Marko Nabersnik - The success of the film had a good influence on my current career. I got the actual project Shanghai Gypsy and because the Rooster’s Breakfast was Slovenian Nominee for Foreign Language Oscar in 2008, it got some international contacts and the next film I am planning will be made completely out of Slovenia. There was a big teenage comedy hit called Going Our Way (from director Miha Hočevar) in Slovenia last year. That comedy got even bigger box office success than my film. Rooster’s Breakfast is now placed second. As you can see, Slovenian films are popular in my country and I am happy that you, and hopefully the audience of the Windows on Europe Film Festival liked the film too.
The Movie Club - I'm sure audiences will! Again, many thanks for the opportunity to discuss Rooster’s Breakfast with The movie club. Congratulations on the film and we wish you the best with your future projects!
Rooster’s Breakfast is screening as part of the Windows on Europe Film Festival at Monday 13 Feb at 7pm at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra.
For more information on Rooster’s Breakfast visit:
For more information on Shanghai Gypsy visit:
Luke McWilliams, Feb 2012
Kolorado Kid is a Hungarian movie directed by Anras B. Vagvolgyi.
In the summer of 1959 Béla Kreuzer (played by Zsolt Nagy), a loader and gambler, is handcuffed and arrested. He is placed in detention and at first thinks it is because of his dubious activities on the racecourse. It soon becomes apparent however, that the reason of his incarceration is due to his participation in the 1956 Hungarian revolution, where wackiness ensues!
Mr Anras B. Vagvolgyi was kind enough to answer a few questions about the film.
The Movie Club - Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Kolorado Kid with The Movie Club. Could you please tell us a little about yourself and your filmography.
I studied sociology in Hungary and Britain in the 1980s. At the time of the transition here I was pretty active, and has been one of the founders, later the editor of a weekly called Magyar Narancs, which reportedly has changed the language of the print press in Hungary and was a kinda fresh voice of the media here, won Pulitzer Price, etc.
In the mid-90s I was awarded with a Lucius W. Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, where I took the film class lead by internationally renowned Yugoslav director Dusan Makavejev. (His Australian pic, The Coca Cola Kid the - with Grata Schachi and Eric Roberts - probably might have an effect on me in finding out the title of my movie.) I made a short in NY and a doc in Detroit during this year. Later I made a bunch of docs, some in the States, one in Hong Kong, another one in South Africa. I was assistant to LA-based Hungarian director Gyula Gazdag for a doc on Allen Ginsberg. I worked with Bela Tarr on his movie Werckmeister Harmonies and with old master Miklos Jancso in one of his late pictures. I've written a number of scripts and Kolorado Kid was the first to be shot.
The Movie Club - Is the Hungarian revolution a great interest of yours? What made you want to tell this story?
I think in the history of the 20th century the 1956 revolution was the positive event in Hungarian history which was spectacular enough for movies. Also, I was born into the regime which followed it. And this regime was based on betrayal.
A very good elder friend of mine, the writer Istvan Eorsi was a political prisoner from his age of 25 in the aftermath of the revolution and his book (Reminiscences of the Good Old Times) on his prison years has a great effect on my film (he was a leading figure of the political and cultural opposition in the Communist years). His son, Laszlo Eorsi is a historian specialized on the stories of the guerilla groups of Budapest in 1956. He approached me with a series of reports of a jail mole: this was the jumping board of the script.
I like the film noir genre pretty much, and thought this genre would fit the storyline well, with the tension that no noir could have been made in Hungary in the 50s - that era was for "socialist realism" and comedies. Kolorado Kid is a multiple and cumulative betrayal story, sort of paradigm of my Hungary at the time, the place I was born into.
The Movie Club - Would you say this movie is against the death penalty?
I myself am very much against death penalty and about 300 death penalties occurred in Hungary in the aftermath of the revolution. I think this movie of course is against death penalty in general, but particularly it is against betrayal and moral relativism.
The Movie Club - What was it like working with your main cast? Was there any improvisation on set? How long did shooting go for?
Well, the story of making this film is a troubled one, recent politics and shortcomings in funding belated the process. We had 35 days of shooting between 2006 and 2008. I think a film like this in France or Germany would go for the double of our period for shooting, and in the US probably this film would have been shot in 90 days. We had a script, which has changed sometimes and there were rewritings, but in general we stuck to the script. I liked to work with the actors/actresses, no complaints. Same with DOP, art director, sound etc.
The Movie Club - What are your current/future projects?
I do preparation for a low budget thriller, a much bigger budget feature with the title "1989", I have feature animation project (about filmmaking and radical politics in Japan). I used to live in Tokyo more ten years ago - in the1970s. The last year and a half I shot a doc on a guy who's from Budapest, but is the singer of the most famous and scandalous black metal band in Norway. I think, these are enough for the next five years.
The Movie Club - Again, many thanks for the opportunity to discuss Kolorado Kid with the movie club. Congratulations on the film and we wish you the best with your future projects!
Kolorado Kid is screening as part of the Windows on Europe Film Festival at 7:PM, 15 Feb 2012, at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra.
Luke McWilliams, Feb 2012
Forbidden Fruit is a Finnish drama directed by Dome Karukoski.
We meet two teenage girls from a Conservative Laestadian community who travel to Helsinki, where they meet other people of their age. Here, they learn about a lifestyle that differs greatly from the girls' religious way of life, where wackiness ensues!
Mr Dome Karukoski and actors Marjut Maristo and Amanda Pilk were kind enough to answer a few questions about the film.
The Movie Club - Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Forbidden Fruit with The Movie Club. Could you please tell us a little about yourselves including your filmographies.
Dome Karukoski, 34 - Won over 30 international awards and is the director of the box-office film Lapland Odyssey which showed at the Canberra int. filmi festival 2011. My father is an American actor and my mother a Finnish journalist.
Marjut Maristo, 26 - Is studying in the university of Helsinki to become a teacher. She started working on films as an amateur and has also done some theater after receiving main roles in films like Forbidden Fruit and The Home Of Dark Butterflies. Marjut is currently in Barcelona continuing her studies, but still wants to do films now and then. Was awarded for her role in Forbidden Fruit in festivals in Vienna, Mons Belgium and Zerkalo film festival, Russia.
Amanda Pilke, 20 made her name by acting in the big series "The Eastern Front" that tells stories of a small village in eastern Finland. Amanda has now received numerous roles in films by first rank directors like Dome Karukoski (Forbidden Fruit, Aku Louhimies and Antti Jokinen).Amanda has received numerous awards for her role in Forbidden Fruit in Mons Belgium, Festroia Portugal and the the best supporting actress award in the Finnish film awards Jussi's.
The Movie Club - Are differing religions of great interest to you? What made you want to make this story?
Dome: I met a girl that was the real life "Rachel". She had left her church of Conservative Laestadians. After she left, her father disowed her. He told her that she was not part of the family anymore and that she was not allowed to meet her siblings. She was the most complicated girl I had met. She was the launching point for me to make the film. At the same time Aleksi Bardy, the screenwriter of the film was interested on making a film of the "biblical Finland". -An area up north in Finland where a lot of Lutheran sects are very strong.
The Movie Club - The recent American movie Martha Marcy May Marlene follows a young girl who escapes a cult and finds it difficult to assimilate into regular life. With the young characters leaving to 'taste the forbidden fruit', was there any temptation to enhance the differences between living a relatively standard Finnish life and the lives led by apostolic Lutheran families? What methods helped the actors to convey these differences?
Amanda&Marjut - We made a pact with Dome and some of the other actors that for four months before the film shoot, we would abide to strict rules like the Conservative Laestadians do. We didn't watch TV, listen to pop music, use any alcohol, curse or even dance, which is also forbidden for the sect. Instead of not having sex, we ate no candy. It would've been quite difficult to explain to our spouses that we are not allowed to have sex for four months. Leaving away candy was a good alternative for that.
The Movie Club - What was it like working on set? Had the main cast and director worked together before?
Dome - I worked with Marjut in the Home of Dark Butterflies and that worked well. It was my first time to work with Amanda. We became like siblings with the girls.
Marjut&Amanda - The same. We became like siblings with Dome. The most frightful thing for us was to jump from a 6-meter cliff into water. We were so afraid and almost didn't want to do it. Dome and some other crew members jumped in first to encourage us. So we did it!!! It was a leap of faith:)
We miss the crew and the jump.
The Movie Club - What are your current/future projects?
Marjut - I will study in Barcelona for a few moments. I might do some theater in the summer. But no movies yet.
Amanda - My newest film "Vuosaari" by the multiawarded Aku Loukimies is premiering in Finland now. I play a girl that wants to become famous with any cost. I'm also shooting a film with Hollywood director Antti Jokinen. This one is in Finland and Estonia and it's based on the famous novel "The Purge". It will premiere in the fall of 2012.
Dome - I have several projects on development stage. One is about racism, one about the modeling world and one is about the most biggest warhero of Finlanf Carl Gustaf Mannerheim. I don't yet know which one I'll do first. That solution will be made by those who finance films...
The Movie Club - Again, many thanks for the opportunity to discuss Forbidden Fruit the movie club. Congratulations on the film and we wish you the best with your future projects!
Forbidden Fruit is screening as part of the Windows on Europe Film Festival at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra.
Luke McWilliams, Feb 2012
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Join Luke McWilliams and Katy Haynes as they review movies from the Windows on Europe Film Festival:
Join Luke McWilliams and Katy Haynes as they review new to cinema releases;
Katy also shares a favourite movie, the cult-classic The Princess Bride
Special Guest: Marisa Martin from Enemies of Reality Media.