Tears of the Son

The program started with Dean Threadgold’s comedy “Tears of the Son”, a well done action film spoof. The setting is professional and the characters are complex and elaborated. One would only wish that Josh, the little boy with the huge ears who wants to cure cancer with the tears of action star Buck Harris, had more time for his personal development than the 15 minutes of a short film.

Displaying a couple’s nocturnal fight Sasa Bans “Interior, Apartment, Night” has the intention to show the abysmal  human depths as they become evident in actions of mutual injuries. As morning dawns the two deranged characters are finally able to show their affection to each other.

The aesthetically composed documentary “War and Architecture” by Ben Jakobs works with old recordings from the archive of the German construction company “Neue Heimat”. It draws a comparison between warfare and urban planning, quoting a pamphlet by architect Elisa Wood and combining it with excerpts from newspaper articles and books.

A rough gangster film that slightly reminds of Guy Ritchie’s movies – even though director Robin Pront doesn’t appreciate being compared to him – “Plan B” tells the story of two coke sniffing petty criminals that get into trouble with the Albanian mafia. And, of all people, it’s the softish Dutch writer they’re sharing their apartment with who unintentionally finds a definite solution for their problems. A well composed story line and clear, though quite stereotypical characters.

“Salvation”, an animation film by Russian director Maria Litvinova is an inventive picturisation of an opera perfomance that ends up with the audience drinking wine by the gallon and sailing on an Arch towards the sundown.

I'm ready

A great impact made the feature “I’m Ready” by Israelian director Esther Siton. An elderly father has to take the harsh decision to send his son, who has the Down Syndrom, to a home for the handicapped, because he himself is suffering from Alzheimer. Esther works with people with Down Syndrom herself and met her main actor through a girl at work. The story is told sensitively though never drifts off into sentimentality. A mature piece of work.