Tuesday at HIFF

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BALANDA AND THE BARK CANOES is a documentary about making a movie TEN CANOES in a rural native community. The Balanda, or white man, is invited by a friend to make a movie about his roots. The elders died with their secrets and to recreate a story about bark canoes, the director/writer must rely on phots taken by Donald Thomson, an anthropologist from the 1930s. I don't know if I'll make it to the actual movie. The making of was quite interesting. The people feel that telling this about a young man who covets another man's 3rd wife, in an authentic manner will give connect them with their past and bring them pride in who they are.


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TIME AND TIDE grew out of an interest in a story the directors read on the Internet about Tavalu, one the newest and smallest nations in the world. It is a group of nine islands near Fiji. An American business bought the country's URL, DotTV. They visited Tavalu and became interested in the natives concerns about the rising sea due to global warming and the changes brought by globalization. They advertised for people they could interview and were invited to join and Malaga, a group of Tuvalu expatriates living in New Zealand. The elders are saddened by the changes progress has brought to the islands of their childhood, and the younger generation is bored and want to return to McDonalds and movies.


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The Host

is a comedy sci-fi movie that is advertised as the biggest box office hit in Korea. It is a fun movie about a mutant that turns up in the Han River. The monster is a big fishlike creature that is very agile, has a very big mouth and ain't too cute. It gobbles up a bunch of people including the daughter of the convenience store family. The dysfunctional family -dad with his bleached blond hair, grandpa, the college graduate uncle, and the olympic archer aunty, unites to rescue her. If they can survive working together, can they save her? I'm not going to tell.

I will rate Baranga 4/5 acorns, Tuvalu 3.5/5 acorns and the Host 4/5 acorns with 1 clive. I'm taking a day off from the festival tomorrow, but maybe will see a mainstream movie like The Departed.