MIFF 2014 Week One Round-Up

Annnnnnnd my fave time of year has rolled around again! People, for the next two weeks you will essentially find me living at the Forum, indulging in a few of Victoria’s finest at the Mandala Lounge.

Predestination

This year's Opening Night Gala Event movie was Predestination, a sci-fi film based on the short story All You Zombies and helmed by Brissie twins, The Spierig Brothers. I really liked their first outing, Undead, plus I was a teenager in the angsty grunge 90s so was eager to see an aged Ethan Hawke work his thang. Sci-fi’s not my thing so I’m automatically biased... I did find Predestination unnecessarily confusing and a little on the trope-y side. There was some beautiful imagery (albeit a little clichéd) and lead Sarah Snook is absolutely fabulous. However, half of the audience walked out at the end going, ‘What?’. I think it just kind of missed the mark.

Pulp: A Film About Life, Death And Supermarkets

Next up was a late night screening of the doco Pulp: A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets by Kiwi director Florian Habicht. Florian turned out to be a bit of a character, didn’t he, and hogged the stage for a good half hour before the lights even dimmed before announcing an impromptu Q & A sesh afterwards. Poor form, Florian, save it for the Oscars, mate. Using Pulp’s hit ‘Common People’ as inspiration for the structure, the doco is an ode to the Britpop band’s final concert in their hometown of Sheffield. Look, you could watch Jarvis Cocker washing the dishes and it’d still be fascinating viewing. The doco is cute and functional, but lacks depth or any real insight.

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

However, Mike Myer’s directorial debut Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon is the what a doco should be. A mensch is the traditional Yiddish term for ‘top bloke’, apparently, and what most of Hollywood’s heavy hitters think Shep Gordon is. Shep’s a charismatic, successful dude whose career as an agent has spanned decades and such acts as Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Groucho Marx and Blondie. He's also credited with the rise of the ‘celebrity chef’. Shep’s a gourmet cook who has broken bread with the Dalai Lama, a ‘JewBu’ (his term for Buddhist Jew), the adoptive father of his ex-gf’s children and counts Sharon Stone and an ex-Playmate among his paramours. It’s a well-structured and highly inspirational homage to a worthy subject. My stepdad is still raving about one particular story involving Alice Cooper, Groucho Marx and Paul McCartney’s round bed. See it.

#MIFF #SciFi #Documentary #RocknRoll #Celebitchy