Poligamy

POLIGAMY:  A harmless, cute little comedy about a man who is a bit hesitant about his girlfriend Lilla’s pregnancy.  Soon after she gets pregnant he starts waking up to different women in his bed… only they all claim to be his girlfriend Lilla, and his best friend keeps confirming this is true.  What is going on?  Well, he soon figures out how to enjoy this little “problem” he has, until he realizes that he sort of misses the original Lilla.  I give it 3+ out of 5 stars, only because there’s nothing terribly groundbreaking.  But I did thoroughly enjoy myself, Sándor Csányi is quite charming as the confused András, and there is a bevy of beautiful women.  If you’re looking for a well made light comedy, this is it.

Everything Will Be Fine

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE: I’m not even going to TRY to explain this film, but I give it a qualified 4 out of 5 stars.  It’s a conspiracy thriller that has a million twists and turns, involves political intrigue, war atrocities, filmmaking (of all things!!), adoption, and a love story.  It also had a great set of opening credits.  Unfortunately, exhaustion from previous night’s festivities caught up to me during the film, and I started dozing in and out for awhile.  There were so many twists, turns, and questions, that when I finally woke myself up I wanted to leave early because there was no way I’d catch up at that point.  But the exit door was across the theater, so I stayed in my seat.  Luckily, some answers started coming soon, and finally a whole lot is explained at the end.  I give it 4 out of 5 because I liked the surprising ending, and I liked that I was totally stumped throughout the film.  But some audience members who stayed awake were not so happy about being totally confused.  Still, I say take a chance – but make sure you’re awake enough to pay attention!!

80 Days

80 DAYS: My first 5 star film of the festival (besides those I’ve previewed early).  This film is beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, romantic, and awesome.  If the three stars – Itziar Aizpuru (Axun), José Ramón Argoitia (Juan Mari), and Mariasun Pagoaga (Maite) – had been there at film end I am confident they would have received a standing ovation.  Axun and Maite knew each other as young school girls, and had developed a close bond.  But after having no contact for 50 years they suddenly meet again while visiting others in the same hospital.  Maite has lived her life knowing she was a lesbian, but Axun had been married from a young age and had never considered anything else.  As the feelings develop between them, it is poor Juan Mari, the husband, who will have to deal with the consequences.  It was a very touching film, and should appeal to LGBTQ or straight, men or women, young or old, almost anyone can relate to something in the film.  I loved it.

All three still have more showings coming up, click each link to find the schedule and prices.