MIFF Day 13

Final day of MIFF for me and probably the most disappointing day for films.

• Terror’s Advocate

This is the story of lawyer, Jacques Verges who has made a living by representing terrorist causes. He began his career in Algeria and represented similar causes right up to Carlos the Jackal. Verges is an enigmatic, eloquent character, who has a penchant for terrorist women and spent 8 years on walkabout. One of the theories being he was working for the Stasi or the French Secret Service. Or both. Or he was with Pol Pot, an old uni friend. Verges justified his representation of “terrorists” as part of his anti-colonialist beliefs, French in Algeria, Israelis in Palestine and even justified defending a Nazi war criminal by comparing the actions of the French in Algeria to the Nazis in France. Whilst the content is fascinating, the intertwined stories of different terrorist groups across the Middle East and Europe, it was thoroughly confusing for me. I needed a Terrorism in Europe/Middle East from 1950s-1980s 101 to help me through the maze of information. I wanted to understand what was going on but I got bored and the doco was overly long.

• Cargo 200

What a horrible misogynistic film! If only I hadn’t been sitting in the middle of the aisle, I would have left (like numerous other people). This is a Russian film about a man visiting his brother on his way to his mother’s home in Leninsk. On the way to his mother’s, his car breaks down and he finds a house filled with strange characters and a vodka distillery. His brother’s daughter’s boyfriend goes out to a local club and meet a friend. The club shuts and they decide to get more booze and go to the same house. The girl is taken hostage by a local policeman and revolting scenes of sexual abuse ensue. Aside from the rape scenes (yes multiple), this is an interesting portrayal of a bleak 1980s Russia of crumbling infrastructure and morals. This film made me feel physically sick at certain points and I like horror films. There is something seriously wrong with the writer of this film and other film-makers using women as purely sexual objects for the taking as plot lines. Yuck.

• The Complete History of my Sexual Failures

This is a doco about Chris Waites, a slacker scruffyish 30ish loser , who has just been dumped again. He wants to know why he always gets dumped, so he decides to interview all his past girlfriends to find out what the problem is. This is a funny tale of Chris talking to his exes, his mum, set-ups by friends, trying internet dating, hilarious scenes with a bondage mistress, the realisation that he has an erectile dysfunction and having a go at Viagra. Chris has no self awareness. Whilst his exes give him feedback about his perpetual lateness, laziness, never having a job etc, he decides that he must like mental chicks. Funny but there was something fake about this film, I don’t know whether he was playing it for laughs but this did not feel real to me. Chris was stone faced through most of the film, despite the kooky stuff going on around him (except for the bondage scenes and a touching scene with the love of his life). Very entertaining though.