Saturday was a very busy day, but also filled with terrific films. All public screenings seem to be sold out, which I consider a good sign. This year the program has been decreased, making it easier to see the more popular films. Last year there were so many long features, causing some were only to be shown once or twice during the entire festival.

I really recommend you go see the Pusher trilogy by Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn. Refn made the first Pusher film (his debut) in 1996, turning it into one of Denmark’s biggest successes ever. The documentary Gambler is about the process of making Pusher II and III. Refn had to pay back over 5m crowns (about $ 1m) after the financial disaster of his film Fear X. On he edge of bankruptcy, Refn also had to take care of his wife and new born kind and find artistic justification, when there wasn’t any, for making a sequel to Pusher. Due to conflicting schedules I had to miss part II. Oh, and definitely go see the new Soderbergh: Bubble. Best film I have seen so far.

Bubble (2005)

Soderberg seems to be going back to his roots more and more. His latest, Bubble, is about a middle-aged woman, Martha, who works at a doll factory. She is friends with high school drop-out Kyle, who also works at the same factory. When a new girl, Rose, is employed, Martha sees her friendship (and apparent crush) with Kyle fade away. The cast consist of relatively unknown actors and the dialogues seem to be improvised. This natural approach is breathtaking and it is amazing how the actors are able to let their emotions be read straight of their faces. Truly excellent.

Pusher I (1996)

Refn’s debut deals with a bunch of Copenhagen drugs dealers. The plot and characters don’t have much substance, but the speed of Refn’s directing and the mix of action and comedy are enough to keep you glued to your seat.

Pusher III (2005)

This time the story is focused on Milo, a Yugoslavian drug dealer, getting ready to give his daughter the best 25th birthday imaginable. The lure of earning some money with a fairly simple XTC deal is way too tempting. More raw than Pusher, but still worth seeing. You could also see part III without seeing the other two Pusher films.

Gambler (2006)

Not so much dealing with the artistic motives of Refn to shoot two sequels to Pusher, Gambler is a documentary by Phie Ambo about the hard process of escaping total bankruptcy and convincing Danish film pros the need of the sequels. Intimate and appealing portrait of a talented Danish film maker.

Opal Dream (2005)

Australian film of the director of The Full Monty, about a girl and her two invisible friends. When these friends get lost (so to speak) her father starts looking for them at his opal claim. A neighboring claim holder accuses the father of trespassing and opal stealing. How a completely innocent childhood fantasy can have major consequences. Sweet, maybe a bit to sweet, but still a nice feel good movie.

Yaji and Kita – the Midnight Pilgrims (2005)

Yaji and Kita are two gay lovers, leaving their town in the Edo era, to help find a cure to get Kita off addictive pills. Fantasy and reality are intertwined in this crazy, campy but very hilarious fantasy film. Being the directing debut of Japanese director Kuda Kankuro, Yaji and Kita is a two hour rollercoaster rider that hardly makes sense plotwise. But then again, who cares?

The Great Yokai War (2005)

Overly productive director Takashi Miike delivers his first children’s fantasy film. A young boy becomes ‘Kirin Master’ and sets out on an adventure to save the Yokai. Amazing mix of weird monsters and characters, stop-motion and CGI animation.

All images courtesy of International Film Festival Rotterdam