[FIFAM 2015 Josef Staif]

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

This American comedy is completely crazy. But I believe that in 1977 when the
movie was made it was revolutionary. This short stories combined in the form of TV
commercials or advertisements are really funny, sometimes even provocative.
Actually I can imagine that in 1977 this film could have been forbidden. It is parody
on the most iconic things from the era of 70's from fast food, through pornography
to kung-fu movies or TV news in general. Most of the time I was really amused and it
made me smile and laugh loud even now, almost 40 years later. It is important to
see the old movies so we can appreciate the work of the directors and other people
who participated in the process of creating this movie. Today the technology is really
different so it is a different type of work, in my opinion.
Eva ne dort pas / Eva no duerme (2015)
This movie is a great addition to the famous Evita movie (with Madonna and Antonio
Banderas) or stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, because the musical is about
the life of Evita Pern and ends with her death, but in Eva ne dort pas we get the
second part of her story, what happened after her death. It is not documentary
movie even when it contains parts of historical archive footages of argentinian
crowds crying for Evita or rebelling after her death. It is really a mysterious story of
the evil Argentina. How the oponents of Juan Pern wanted Evita and her body being
erased from the people's memory. I loved the soundtrack that perfectly joined the
movie and in some parts even I wanted to cry for Evita's death. The story was not
difficult to understand even in spanish language with french subtitles. The process of
embalming the corpse of Evita, transportation of her prepared body and then one of
the Pern's generals being interrogated by the oponents to know where is her body,
it was very emotional. The director showed us Argentina in very realistic way and
that is what I appreciate the most about this emotional movie.
The Blues Brothers (1980)
This movie from the begining of 80's is about the power of friendship and how can
be put together the effort to help our friends, to do the blues music and in the same
time to run away from the police. This movie is iconic and it had really nice PC game
in 90's, that I knew before the movie. I am glad that finally I had the oportunity to
see the movie thanks to Film festival in Amiens. This film is full of blues music and I
always appreciate good music used in the movies. It is also one of the older movies
with later well known actors John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Star Wars star Carrie
Fisher this time in the role of assasin. The music influence in 80's is really present
througout all the film and I would reccomend this movie to everybody who loves
blues music - join Jake and Elwood Blues on their journey to get the money to save
the convent where they have been raised...
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

[FIFAM 2015 Josef Staif]

Everybody knows the story of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It was made into movies
already many times, but this is one of the first adaptations of the famous story. What
I loved the most was the atmosphere of old movies, it was black and white,
obviously, with few coloured scenes with the painting - the picture of Dorian Gray.
But what helped this atmosphere was the music, it made whole film just perfect. We
could see one of the future stars - Angela Lansbury in the role of naive actress and
singer Sybil Vane. The classical story got a new dimension for me, because I read
the book and I saw the newest film with Ben Barnes playing the role of Dorian Gray.
But this old film version is the best, better than the new movie, better than the book
itself. The way how it was done just brought me to the age when it happened, the
end of 19th century. I could only recommend this book to everybody who loves old
black and white movies, just as I do.
Crache-cur (2015)
This french-polish movie is focused on the themes that are still very important family and growing up. It shows both of them in a very naturalistic way, how it
actually is in the real life sometimes. I think that this movie is good for us to realize
what we have and what we experenced in the past. Also the meeting with the polish
director Julia Kowalski was very interesting. She explained the background of whole
story and talked about the relations between the actors. Also when somebody from
the audience asked her about the music in the film, she said that it was her brother
who composed it and that it was his first work on a movie for cinemas. These
meetings are amazing because usually you do not have the chance to ask the
director or any other creator about the things behind the story etc. One of the
themes in the discussion was about female directors. It is also another interesting
thing to discuss, because most of the directors are men. I liked this movie because it
was something different from the other films that I saw during this film festival.
Jack et la mcanique du cur (2013)
This is the only movie for children that I saw during this film festival. Even though it
is not counted to the ten movies we had to see, I decided to write about it, because
it just made me sad and in the same time happy. Firstly, the animation used in this
movie is not much often used. It reminds a little bit movies by Tim Burton, but it is
different. I liked it a lot. The story was unusual and it was not predictable, how it
ends. Usually this kind of movies has its happy ending but not this one. This different
ending makes Jack et la mcanique cur a sort of melancholic film, but why not, I
really apreciate that it is different from the others. Next thing I really liked about this
movie is the soundtrack. Even the story is set to the end of 19th century, the music
was very modern and sung mostly in french but also in english or mix of both in the
same time. Also the selected countries where the story takes place is interesting,
from Edinburgh in England to Valencia in Spain. In the end, I do not think this movie
is only for children. It can be easily watched by the adults and they will not be
bored...

[FIFAM 2015 Josef Staif]

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
This film is interesting because it shows us how the werewolfs were presented
almost 25 years ago. Nowadays you can see werewolfs quite often in the movies so
we can compare the presentation of those creatures in the past and the present. I
think that the transformation from man into the werewolf in this movie is very
realistic and considering when the film was done, the designers and costume
makers did really good job. The rest of the movie was quite predictable and not so
good, but in general review I am really glad, that I saw this film because it was
interesting to see a science fiction movie from the past that is not so well known.

The Stupids (1996)

The Stupids is a really good comedy. The humour in this movie is very stupid, but I
just loved it. This kind of humour made me laugh a lot during this film. I think that
John Landis choose good language and cultural jokes, that he successfully put
together to make this grotesque movie. I can only recommend it to those who love
witty humour and jokes and I am sure I will watch this movie at least once more in
the future...
Innocent Blood (1992)
From the werewolfs in the movie American werewolf in London, it took John Landis
11 years to come up with a film about vampires. But Innocent Blood is very
interesting combination of different genres - it combines horror movie about
vampires with action movie about mafia gangs. Again I can mention the special
effects, that were used here. The vampire eyes, supernatural strength, vulnerability
to sunlight or killing a vampire, that is only few of the special effects that were used
in Innocent Blood. I think that it is really interesting combination of themes, mafia
and vampires. It is original and I really appreciate that and I would deffinitely
recommend it to my friends...
Spies Like Us (1985)
In this movie, John Landis tried another theme - the espionage. And he mixed it with
a humour so the result is espionage comedy. And it works. The film was funny, the
plot was unpredictable and it takes place in Pakistan and Soviet Union, so another
thing that is not so common in the films. Those who saw more of John Landis movies
can recognize some familiar faces like Dan Aykroyd or Frank Oz, who already played
in his movies in the past - Dan Aykroyd in Blues Brothers, Frank Oz in Innocent
Blood...
Into the Night (1985)

[FIFAM 2015 Josef Staif]

Action movie about two characters who didn't know each other before. Running
away from gangsters from Persia / Iran and why all that? Because of stolen
emeralds... John Landis chose famous Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer as the lead
characters, but this was only the beginning for their careers as both got famous later
in the 90's. And once again, we could saw Dan Aykroyd in one of the side roles. I
suppose he is John Landis' favourite...
The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
This movie is not as old as the others I saw during this film festival (if I do not count
the competition category) and it was really good choice. The story about old man
Burt Munro from New Zealand who loves his motorbike and his dream is to travel to
United states to set the new world record with a motorbike on a track. What I liked
about this movie was the main idea of going for a dream no matter what. He had
some problems with his heart, he had problems with money and with his motorbike,
but he never gave up and worked hard so he got what he dreamed about. In
addition, this film was made of a true story and this is almost always the best way
what to choose. This film is definitely one of the best I saw during this fim festival...
General overview of FIFAM 2015
Firstly, I have to say that I really appreciate this film festival. I have never been to a
film festival like this one and maybe that now I will start, because I really liked it.
The movies were really different one from each other even if the director was the
same. Different themes, different decades But all of the movies I saw during FIFAM
2015 was great. I have to admit that normly I wouldnt watch some of these
movies, so I am really glad that I saw them now. I like comparing them and trying to
find some similarities or differences. I didnt knew John Landis before FIFAM 2015 so I
am also glad I had the opportunity to discover his movies and his style. Comparing
those eleven movies I saw (plus one extra movie for children), they were really
different one from each other. From sci-fi, through horror movies until film musicals
or crazy comedies. There was also one biographical movie and those are usually
quite good, from what I saw before. I think that the students and people should go to
these festivals and try to see those different movies, because it is something what
you cant see at home. I also appreciate the old black&white Picture of Dorian Gray,
because it wasnt screened in Czech Republic where I came from, and I really loved
that, because it is one of my favourite styles. And from the movies in the
competition category, I understood even if it was in French or with French subtitles.
That means that the films are so good that the language isnt a barrier. Thanks for
this opportunity and I wish FIFAM good luck in the following years and who knows,
maybe I will return to Amiens one day for this amazing festival, again