#JPSniadecki

[tallguycm]

Top 10 Favorite Films of the 2010s: 1. KAILI BLUES (Gan, 2016) 2. LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (Gan, 2019) 3. UNDER THE SKIN (Glazer, 2014) 4. MUSTANG (Ergüven, 2015) 5. HOUSE OF TOLERANCE (Bonello, 2011) 6. LA FLOR (Llinás, 2019) 7. THE PAST (Farhadi, 2013) 8. KNIGHT OF CUPS (Malick, 2016) 9. THE ASSASSIN (Hou, 2015) 10. EL MAR LA MAR (Bonnetta/Sniadecki, 2018) . . . #bigan #jonathanglazer #denizgamzeerguven #bertrandbonello #marianollinás #asgharfarhadi #terrencemalick #houhsiaohsien #joshuabonnetta #jpsniadecki #movie #film #movies #films #2010s #cinema #worldcinema #cinephile #best #list #top10 #decade https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ThQyZhtbZ/?igshid=6cwki91x9o4q

[mplance11]

I Think I Can, I Think I Can ... Stay Awake?

The Iron Ministry, directed by J.P. Sniadecki showed the everyday activities of people who take the Chinese railways. The film depicted people crammed into every nook and cranny within the trains. People from all over china’s provinces came together on the trains in order to move from place to place. The film had some good interviews with passengers on these trains. However, a lot of the film was just video of people. Sometimes sleeping, sometimes buying food, sometimes sleeping, sometimes standing, sometimes sleeping, etc.

There were a lot of scenes of people just sleeping. I know that these scenes showed how crowded these trains were and the lifestyle of the people, but I think the film could have done with more interview and less sleeping scenes. Also, the movie took a while to begin. I like abstract images that when focused or taken in in a wider view reviles another picture; however, it took too long to get to the bigger picture in this film. I think the beginning needed to be shortened a lot.

The Iron Ministry was a good insight into another culture, and it did bring up some good points about how China’s society is changes, when there were actual interviews, however the movie was too long. The important information was also too spread out with too many similar scenes in between.

[bournehype]

Iron Ministry

This film was probably one of my least favorite at CIFF. Let me explain: I had an awesome first film and was looking for a great follow up.  This film held so much potential at the beginning and then just dropped off.

The positive things I did take note of was the skill of the director.  The camera work was amazing and very careful at points. The type of shots were vast and interesting.  Also the way the story (which wasn't that solid by the end) was told - in silence - was impressive. In the end it was definitely bottom 3 of the 9 films I sat in at CIFF.