Chess of the Wind
A new restoration of this 1976 Iranian thriller (which was very quickly banned in its country of origin) and a film that's very much in the vein of Clouzot's 1954 LES DIABOLIQUES, Hammer's 1960s psycho thrillers and even Andy Milligan's bizarre gothic tales of weird families intent on bumping each other off to inherit a fortune. When the matriarch of a wealthy family dies she leaves her money not to her husband but to her daughter from a previous marriage. Both the husband and his two grown stepsons are keen to get their hands on the money but the wheelchair-bound daughter isn't prepared to lose it without a fight and even murder. But if the patriarch is subsequently killed why do the police see him two days later? And who was it musicians claim sent them to the house to perform? A fascinating film from a culture not known for this kind of subject matter, CHESS OF THE WINDS also boasts an effective music score that gets under your skin. All this and THE EXPANSE's Shohreh Aghdashloo in her first film as the daughter's handmaiden. Good stuff & recommended if you can find it - it's currently available only on a Korean Blu-ray or as part of a US Criterion box set.
Transcending Dimensions
A monk holds the secret to moving to other dimensions, aided by the severing of your little finger. One of his acolytes has disappeared (and is in fact now part of a trans-dimensional experiment). The vanished monk's girlfriend, who is not quite what she seems, gets her assassin colleague to find out where he went. This involves a trip on a spaceship, a much smaller monk, a naked lady who functions as a toilet seat warmer, and a lot of other things before we get to a final battle. That's about as much sense as I could make of this one, which very much feels like a mishmash of stuff the director wanted to see in a film without worrying too much about how much sense it made or if it all fitted together. But if you're a fan of Japanese craziness this will be your big dose of it for the year.
The Arbiter
An unexpected gem, THE ARBITER asks the question: What if Walter Hill's THE WARRIORS was low budget, British, and funny? Rival gangs of pyromaniacs, roller skaters, graphic designers, ice cream salesmen and others rule the city at night, turning parts of it into no-go zones that the police have agreed to stay away from as long as no guns are used and no property is damaged. But one gang is threatening to wipe all the others out and it's the job of Verril (Craig Russell) to act as arbiter between the gang leaders and the police to reach some sort of solution. THE ARBITER starts off hard and fast, flinging as much comedy as action at the audience in its opening act such that by the time things slow down a bit it has you firmly on its side, all the way to the highly satisfying conclusion. A genuine low budget treat and very much a highlight of the festival.
Redux Redux
Irene (Michaela McManus) travels from parallel universe to parallel universe to kill the man who murdered her daughter in every one. In one of them she also ends up rescuing his latest victim, 15 year old runaway Mia (Stella Marcus), who joins Irene on her journey to some understandable reluctance on Irene's part. Each of the parallel universes is remarkably similar and the killer remains conveniently the same in each, but then that's not the point of REDUX REDUX which is more interested in looking at the dehumanising effect Irene's lengthy vendetta has had on her as a human being. And to that end it succeeds admirably.
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