Preview: 47th Chicago International Film Festival, Part Two

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CHICAGO – Some of the most wonderful diversity within the 47th Annual Chicago International Film Festival can be found in the mid-section of this year’s line-up as virtually-guaranteed Oscar nominees screen next to much-smaller films from around the world. Hopefully, you made it out to see one of our recommendations from the opening act of the fest and are eager for more.

Here’s the best of the majority of the first full week of the 2011 festival — October 10th-14th (although some will screen again after those dates while a few from our first preview also have multiple options still upcoming).

The top tier of film’s in the mid-section of the 47th Chicago International Film Festival includes, in alphabetical order this time because I just can’t bring myself to choose between such distinctly-differing fare: “Coriolanus,” “Hotel Swooni,” “My Week With Marilyn,” “Patang (The Kite),” “Snowtown,” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”

Coriolanus
Coriolanus
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“Coriolanus”
October 13th, 8pm

The great Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with a modern adaptation of one of William Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, the violent and political “Coriolanus.” With himself as the title character and supporting work from Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, and Vanessa Redgrave, “Coriolanus” will certainly appeal to a hungry arthouse audience when its released early next year, but you’ll probably hear about it before then as The Weinstein Company will almost certainly make a major push for a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the incredible Ms. Redgrave. She gives one of the best performances of her incredible career here and, although I have some issues with the film that I’ll get into more with a full-length review, it’s well-worth seeing just for what Redgrave does with only a few scenes. She’s amazing. Again.

Hotel Swooni
Hotel Swooni
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“Hotel Swooni”
October 12th, 6:40pm
October 13th, 5:40pm
October 17th, 2pm

This interesting Belgium piece might come off as manipulative and a bit melodramatic were it in English but there’s something about it that clicks in the center of an International Film Festival. It’s a piece about bad parents and stale marriages that proves, yet again, that people on the other side of the world have problems not dissimilar to your own. The titular location serves as the setting for several interconnected stories including one of a woman coming to her sister’s wedding just as she’s realizing that her own marriage is going to fall apart, another in which a maid’s estranged mother checks into the luxury suite so she can die of cancer, and one where a little boy separated from his dad goes to their dream vacation spot in hopes of being reunited with him. The film is undeniably a bit forced in its structure and coincidences but there’s a genuine quality to the performances here that really gives the piece weight. You believe these people and don’t really care that the script might be pulling at your heartstrings. It’s not the most memorable film of this year’s fest but it’s a nice diversion from all the VERY heavy material this year.

My Week With Marilyn
My Week With Marilyn
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“My Week With Marilyn”
October 12th, 7pm

Anyone who follows the Academy Awards should use pen when they write in Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh for their respective categories if they’re going to try and predict this year’s nominees. Playing icons Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence Oliver, respectively of course, they are simply spectacular (as is Dame Judi Dench in a small role) in this light but enjoyable film, a flick that has been harshly treated by some critics screening it this week in New York but should be popular fare. It is a slice of old Hollywood brought to life and The Weinstein Company has a proven track record when it comes to agreeable art house fare. It’s a bit too much to say that this is 2011’s “The King’s Speech,” but the film has a similar quality and tone in that its greatest strength is the performances of its ensemble, particularly Williams & Branagh (less so an ineffective lead turn from Eddie Redmayne). “My Week With Marilyn” may be flawed but it is so in enjoyable ways. Even if it’s disappointingly thin, Williams and Branagh keep it always interesting and never boring.

Patang (The Kite)
Patang (The Kite)
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“Patang (The Kite)”
October 11th, 6:10pm
October 13th, 2:20pm
October 14th, 9:10pm

I felt it something of an obligation to see “Patang” after the director’s mother introduced herself to me at the Preview Party for this year’s event. An Indian film made by a young man from Chicago makes this the best example of what the Chicago International Film Festival should be in that, well, it’s truly Chicago and truly International. However, if I didn’t actually like the film, it wouldn’t be here in the highlights. So, I’m happy to report that this is a subtle, beautiful, even mesmerizing piece about going home again and digging up buried skeletons. A man returns with his lovely daughter to his dead brother’s family for an annual kite festival and, slowly, bitter feelings about the past come to the surface. The film is a gentle piece that takes its time like a kite spinning over the city. It’s alternately beautiful and down-to-Earth but, most importantly, it feels heartfelt and genuine. There’s no artifice here. Nothing fake. Prashant Bhargava’s mom should be proud.

Snowtown
Snowtown
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“Snowtown”
October 14th, 8:30pm
October 15th, 9:40pm

I couldn’t have imagined that there was a more brutal film at this year’s fest than the harrowing “Miss Bala” but “Snowtown” certainly gives it a run for its money. This is intense, horrific filmmaking about one of Australia’s most legendary serial killers and the young man who he basically turned into his apprentice. The film opens with skin-crawling scenes of pedophilia, moves on to male rape, gets to the murder of a dog, and then really gets scary. “Snowtown” is an intense piece about what can happen to a young boy when the only father figure available to him is a model of pure evil. It’s incredibly well-made and memorable, although not for everyone. You’ve been warned.

We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

“We Need to Talk About Kevin”
October 11th, 7:30pm
October 18th, 7:45pm

Another year, another amazing Tilda Swinton performance. I have some serious issues with the film overall, which I’ll get into in my full-length review for the film’s release on December 2nd (it’s deeply flawed by directorial excess), but there’s just no faulting any of the decisions by one of our best living actresses. A lot of actresses have won Oscars and never matched that career peak but Swinton has gotten even better since her Academy Award with stunning work in “Julia,” “I Am Love,” and, now, “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” In nearly every scene of the film, Swinton plays a woman dealing with the fact that her only son is a psychopath. Her distant husband is played by the versatile John C. Reilly. The film flashes back and forth between the upbringing of Kevin and the aftermath of a woman dealing with unimaginable tragedy and, worst of all, the guilt associated with her thinking she could have stopped it. As mentioned, I think the film is flawed but it must make a piece like this one simply because you won’t see many better performances than Swinton’s, not just at this year’s fest, but anywhere in 2011.

John C. Reilly will be in attendance on the 11th. Watch for our red carpet footage.

Click on to page two for other potential highlights — films that either didn’t screen at all or for which we couldn’t make the time to cover with synopses courtesy of the Chicago International Film Festival.

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