{"id":3971,"date":"2015-09-21T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?p=3971"},"modified":"2015-09-21T11:44:43","modified_gmt":"2015-09-21T16:44:43","slug":"fantastic-fest-2015-preview-day-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2015\/09\/21\/fantastic-fest-2015-preview-day-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day Two"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Art<\/a>

Art by Chris Bilheimer<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest<\/a>, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year\u2019s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.<\/p>\n

As in year\u2019s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part\/day preview.<\/p>\n

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Fantastic Fest Preview Day Two<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Victoria<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

You say the words \u201cthe film is one shot,\u201d and that\u2019s enough to stop most people in their tracks and entice them to see them movie. VICTORIA, however, is much more than that one accomplishment. You can count the number of films that have legitimately pulled off this feat on one hand, and VICTORIA may be the best yet. Sebastian Schipper\u2019s latest film is a technical achievement worthy of the highest praise, elevated by a wonderful performance from lead Laia Costa, who this year became the first Spanish actress to win the Best Actress award at the German equivalent of the Oscars (called the Lolas \u2013 which VICTORIA won five of this year, including Best Picture and Director). Costa plays the titular character, a free spirit with an infectious charm. She\u2019s trusting, eager to meet new people, experience new things and is seemingly free of judgment. She\u2019s capable of being both your best friend and an object of desire, and can surprise you at any moment.<\/p>\n

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The spartan twelve page \u201cscript\u201d (more of a loose set of scenarios) is fleshed out with naturalistic improvisation by the stellar cast. Before it ramps up to the abundant third-act action, Schipper gives you ample time bond with Victoria and her new friends. By the time things starts to go south, you truly care what happens to these characters. .<\/p>\n

VICTORIA seems destined for cult status, but it really is much larger than that. It\u2019s a collusion of great technical skill and breathtaking emotional performance that make it one of the great discoveries of recent memory. Don\u2019t miss it. (James Shapiro)<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?t=4&v=tCGo-tQrvPg<\/p>\n

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Tikkun<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

God\u2019s plan for Haim-Aaron seems to end with the ascetically devout Yeshiva student dead in the shower, killed by a slip that results in a brutal blow to the head. But his father, seeing his son\u2019s naked corpse stretched out in the family\u2019s living room, refuses to give up when the EMTs do, and he continues performing CPR until his son \u2014 dead for 40 minutes \u2014 somehow sputters back to life. Haim-Aaron finds himself reborn and seeing the world \u2014 once an austere prison of devotion and books and head-rocking prayer \u2014 through new eyes. Almost literally, as he discovers he no longer needs his glasses. He also finds his faith shaken, his family alien and his stifled sexual desires raging. Unable to sleep Haim-Aaron begins hitchhiking from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, where he slowly dares himself to experience the sensual and carnal pleasures of the world.<\/p>\n

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Avisha Sivan\u2019s gorgeous black and white film walks through a surreal valley of death where talking alligators rise from toilets, boners in the shower bring Yahweh’s retribution and a father must consider fulfilling Abraham\u2019s fatal mission for God. TIKKUN brings us into the closed-off world of the Hasidim and Sivan\u2019s actors obliterate the line between performance and reality. Lead Aharon Treitel is an amateur actor who was once a Hasid, while Khalifa Natour, a Palestinian actor familiar from THE BAND\u2019S VISIT, plays his rabbi father. Though it has a touch of PI and a dash of Lynch, TIKKUN stakes out a unique juncture between kitchen sink realism and uncanny supernatural weirdness. A hypnotic and transcendently disturbing examination of piety, destiny and blood sacrifice TIKKUN contains both the most beautiful and the most deeply shocking imagery you will see at Fantastic Fest. It will test your belief \u2014 or disbelief \u2014 in God. (Devin Faraci)<\/p>\n