Culture

The New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off this Thursday and runs until the August 21. Critic’s film editor Sarah Baillie gives a run down of our top ten picks for the festival. Make sure to head along, it only comes once a year!

Project Nim
 
Perhaps it is just because I love chimpanzees/cute animals, but this documentary looks amazing. In order to study the communication capabilities of primates, Nim the chimp was breast fed and raised by a human family like a normal child. This film follows his fascinating story.
 
13 Assassins
 
When I asked my friend why she was so excited about Takashi Miike’s latest offering, I got the response: “because it’s a Samurai film!” ‘Nuff said.
 
Miss Representation
 
The most common media criticism of Helen Clark was that she had terrible teeth. When the media are derogatory about the most powerful women in the country, what does this say about their ability to take any woman seriously? What can we do to change this? This inspiring documentary explores these issues, interviewing many influential women, including Condaleeza Rice. Girl power!
 
Love Story
 
Auckland film maker Florian Habicht’s quirky love letter to New York City; the place and the people.
 
Norwegian Wood
 
Based on the powerful novel by Haruki Murakami, the film adaptation looks to be absolutely picturesque. Set in Japan in the Sixties, Norwegian Wood is a beautiful tale of love and loss.
 
Melancholia
 
A planet named Melancholia is on a collision course with Earth, spelling the end of the world, on the same day as Justine’s (Kirsten Dunst) wedding. Apocalypse film + Kirsten Dunst + beautiful cinematography. What can go wrong, really?
 
Tree of Life
 
Unless you have been living under a rock, you will probably know that everybody has been going nuts about this film. Winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes this year, Terence Malick’s Tree of Life, the opening film of the festival is a must-see.
 
Submarine
 
A cute British coming-of-age comedy drama featuring two slightly strange but loveable teenage characters. From what I can see, it kind of looks like a bit of a mix between Skins and a Wes Anderson film.
 
Terri
 
I watched the trailer for this film and fell in love with it instantly. Terri is a lonely fat kid who gets bullied and gets in trouble for wearing his pyjamas to school. When the principal of his school (John. C. Reilly) decides to take him under his wing, the two form a unexpected friendship.
 
Medianeras
 
This film is so great! A twist on the romantic comedy genre, this Argentinian film is clever, witty, funny and lots of other positive adjectives. See last week’s Critic for a preview.