More must-see global cinema from week three of the Seattle International Film Festival.
If you’re like me, you can really only see two or three movies each day during SIFF. Anything more is just overkill (and you might lose your job).
But to stay true to the fest’s international spirit, you should make sure you get your daily dose of films that show you a world outside our borders. So here are my day by day picks for what to see this week:
Tuesday
Our Children
If you caught the 2009 French gangster film “A Prophet” then you know the onscreen chemistry between actors Tahar Rahmin and Niels Arestrup is irresistable. But the word is that it’s female lead Émilie Dequenne who steals the show in this film about the self-destruction of a Belgian/Moroccan family.
(also screens Friday at 1:30pm at Uptown)
Wednesday
Pussy Riot: Punk Prayer
The story of the band who put the word “pussy” on the lips of newscasters around the world. Veteran producer Mike Lerner and Director Maxim Pozdorovkin follow the Russian punk art collective from their outlandish protest on the alter of a Moscow cathedral through the high profile trial that made them international celebrities.
(also screens Sunday at 3pm in Kirkland and June 9th at 7:30pm at Uptown)
Thursday
The Summit
Seattle’s weekend warriors may find themselves humbled by this Irish-made documentary recounting the tragic story of 11 mountaineers who died trying to scale K2. The film mixes found footage with on-the-mountain reenactments to recreate the ill-fated expedition to chilling effect.
(also screens Saturday at 1pm at Harvard Exit)
Friday
A Hijacking
If you only have room in your life for one ripped-from-the-headlines movie about Somali pirates this year, I recommend you skip the Tom Hanks vehicle “Captain Phillips.” Instead check out this Danish thriller.
(also screens Tuesday at 6:30 pm at Uptown)
Saturday
Comrade Kim Goes Flying
Have you ever seen a North Korean movie? Me neither. But this one, about a young coal miner who dreams of becoming a trapeze artist, looks pretty bizarre. Funding for the film came from the West, but every frame was shot inside the “hermit kingdom.”
(Also screens Sunday at 12:30 pm at Pacific Place)
Sunday
Barzan
The laws of shameless self-promotion dictate that I include this Seattle Globalist-produced documentary about a Kirkland family caught up in a terrorism accusation. But really, other people think it’s pretty good too!
12:30 pm at Kirkland Performance Center
Monday
La Playa D.C.
Columbian director Juan Andrés Arango tells the story of a young hair stylist in search of his missing brother on the mean streets of Bogotá in this tense, vibrant film that displays the global reach of hip-hop culture
(Also screens Sunday at 10:30 am at Harvard Exit)
