QCinema Day 5:
Walk Up (Hong Sang-soo) *** - A middle-aged film director and the daughter he seldom sees visit an apartment building and explore it from one floor to the next. This is actually one of those auto-fiction films that have been very trendy with filmmakers recently (that is fictionalized semi-autobiographical films from famous directors). This is Hong Sang-soo's and it's the most minimalist and understated of the bunch. I have to admit Hong Sang-soo is a filmmaker I'm just starting to warm up on. I hated the first film of his I've seen but I liked the second one so I'm open to him. This one, well, I didn't hate it and I loved parts of it but as a whole, the film is just pretty good and nowhere near a masterpiece. The good performances make it enjoyable even though the script didn't seem to know exactly what it wants to do sometimes. Still an interesting watch.
Holy Spider (Ali Abbasi) **** - Based on a true story, this film is about a serial killer in Iran who targeted sex workers in order to get rid of the city of "corrupt women". A female journalist covering the story attempts to flush him out. I'm still not sure, but I have to say, when I got out of theater, I thought, this must be the best serial killer movie since Zodiac. I didn't remember if this was based on a true story when I went in but I was riveted from start to finish. The film is more than just a serial killer procedural. It is also a commentary and critique on the very patriarchal society which produced this monster. Indeed, in a film which already features some disturbing acts of violence, some of the most troublesome stuff actually doesn't involve killing but how people react to it. Plus as dark and disturbing this film is, it manages to sprinkle in moments of dark humor which adds yet another layer to the film. The performances of the two leads are outstanding. Overall, a great piece of work.
I also saw the restored version of Itim. It looks great.