Birds of Passage

This is a beautifully told story of two young friends. When Cathy is given an un-hatched egg from her father as a birthday present, she is told she must be present when the shell is cracked open. But instead, her friend, Margaux is the first to see the duckling and from then on the duckling considers Margaux to be its mother.

When the parents feel it best that the duck be given away the girls hatch (pardon the pun) a plot to return the duck to the wild.

Volcano

Maria and her parents live on a small farm on the slopes of an active volcano in Guatemala. It is arranged that Maria will marry her father’s employer but, while her betrothed is working in the city, Maria finds herself pregnant from a very short affair and the father of the child has left her behind. Although her mother does her best to abort the baby, her family comes to accept that “it was meant to be”. Disaster strikes when Maria is bitten by a snake and the man she is to marry appears to get rid of the baby.

It’s complicated I know. The subtle details are hard to explain – Maria and the child’s father really weren’t in a loving relationship, her betrothed appears to have unspoken reasons for wanting the marriage, and there are subtle reminders all the way through of the way women are treated.

This is the first film ever made using the traditional Guatemalan language, so that’s good.

This documentary opened this year’s festival. It is the story of eight exotic dancers, using flashback footage from their on-stage performances and interviews with the aging stars. It was fun to watch; all of the ladies took great pride in their careers, in spite of the sexism and racism they endured during their lives.

There was even a Canadian star among the group.

We first meet Lee and his young nephew, Patrick, as they enjoy time together on Patrick’s father’s boat. You soon get the feeling that something terrible has happened in Lee’s past; it isn’t long into the movie before things get worse with the death of his brother, Patrick’s father. The back story unfolds, often without dialogue, but with dramatic music and silent footage.

Some have called the film sad, but I think melancholy may be a better description.

There was a lot of hype about this movie but the quilters yesterday gave it very mixed reviews.

It is a musical, which I wasn’t aware of. It has lots of jazz music, which I’m not fond of, and there is a lot of dancing. I’m not a fan of Ryan Gosling and I thought Emma Stone’s performance was weak.

I’m not giving this one a thumbs up!