Fan-tastic Fan-tasia - I'm a fan !

I was discussing movies the other day with a fellow volunteer at the mountain, and he expressed to me his disappointment that the movie industry is no longer producing new ideas. To a certain extent, I agree with him. Hollywood movies are now all remakes. Of children's books. Of comics. Of old movies.

So this is where Fantasia comes in play. Fantasia is a film festival. As their staff puts it :
"Since its inception in 1996, FanTasia has been an event hell-bent on showcasing the most exciting, innovative and individualistic examples of contemporary international genre cinema, with an emphasis on unveiling films very rarely seen in North America. It has become a hugely popular Montreal summer tradition for roughly 70 000 festival-goers to spend three weeks being amazed by sensational celluloid from Japan, Spain, South Korea, Italy, Hong Kong, Germany, Thailand, Denmark, France, Russia, India, New Zealand, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Holland, Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, Great Britain, the US and of course, Quebec and Canada. As fellow film fanatics, we pride ourselves on getting the works that we love in front of an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience. We also do everything possible to bring these films to the attention of potential distributors and the international media."

This is definitely a forum for new ideas, and funky film making. I've already seen 2 Fantasia movies, Ashura (Japan, 2005) and Crying Fist (Korea, 2005). I will take the time to write a review of both, but in the meantime, let me say this : both were interesting and new. Both had a film technique that was very different from what we're used to. It was, indeed, very refreshing. I can't wait to see more ! (I must say, with the weather we have here, it's nice to be in a nice cool cinema for a few hours...)

ON ON !

The Beaver