A small update today, due to time restraints. Traditionally the festival has a closing film that was announced just recently, knowing The Band’s Visit from Israel. Then there is also the surprise film scheduled for tonight. I know what it is, but let’s keep things fun and not tell. The hint the Festival gave was that it features an American actor last seen in one of the films of the Festival six years ago. You do the math. Tuesday evening ended with one of the creepiest films I have ever seen, the Spanish fake horror shock-doc [â—REC]. I sat in a room full of professionals and reporters that were unabashedly screaming their lungs out. It is part of the Rotterdämmerung program of the festival. Next is the gastronomical Estômago, reminiscent of Perfume.
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With a tight schedule, a minimum to writing facilities and fatigue it is hard to write a daily report, hence the lack of updates yesterday. Monday started with two films from Down Under, A Song of Good and Men’s Group. DV really seems to be the trend these days even though it looks plain ugly. Tuesday started with Unfinished Sky, the Japanese drama This World of Ours and the film noir/conspiracy thriller Able Danger (not reviewed here).
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From Wednesday January 23 up to and including Sunday February 3 the 37th International Film Festival (IFFR) will take place in, well… Rotterdam of course. This year’s program is led by the new director Rutger Wolfson, who replaces Sandra den Hamer. As was the case in the past few years, Choking on Popcorn will cover the festival for the full ten days and will bring impressions as well as (short) reviews on a daily basis. This year’s festival is dominated by films from Brazil, France, India and the rest of Asia, which is part of the festival’s tradition. The focus is on films that would normally not reach the European and American screens.
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Being thoroughly intrigued by the work of David Lynch, an obsession that started after seeing his latest film Mulholland Dr. some years ago, alongside the childhood memories of Twin Peaks, I decided to (re)watch all of his films. In this series I will discuss his films, hopefully inviting the reader to give his or her own comments and ideas. Lynch’s films can hardly be categorized or interpreted in just one way. Eventually ending up with his new film, Inland Empire, that will get its premiere in May at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, I hope to engage you all in the wonderful frantic world of an extraordinary visionary.
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Things start to draw to an end here, with only the closing film, Good Night, and Good Luck. to go. Last night was ‘Night of Bad Taste’, Mariken and I attended. She was the only one capable of sitting through the final film, a cheap Chinese King Kong rip-off, called The Mighty Peking Man. Before that, the excited audience was able to see all kinds of clips and trailers of everything out there that is considered bad taste, but oh so funny. We got other cheap King Kong remakes, Danish sex films and my personal favorite: Messalina, Messalina! (also known as Caligula II or its German title which is hilarious: Messalina, Kaiserin und Hure). The Night of Bad Taste will also tour around the Neths the following months, so keep you eye on that one. Anyway: I have a whole bunch of small reviews for you today. So let’s get started.
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This year there is special interest for the biopic in the IFFR program. Not only will the festival be closed by Oscar-candidate Good Night, and Good Luck. by George Clooney (review soon), but there is also the biopic about Gustav Klimt (see earlier report) and a wonderful dazzling film about the life of intellectual and political activist Soe Hok Gie. Some more short reviews in this fourth report. Remember longer reviews will follow in the next weeks.
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The general tendency of most films I saw so far is, directors don’t seem to be able to cut some of their features short. I saw some pretty interesting films, that just dragged on for thirty minutes too long. I just got back from seeing Tideland, Terry Gilliam’s second film in one year (after Brothers Grimm). I don’t know whether to hate or love his work. He was responsible for making the only single film I have ever left for which I paid (namely, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I definitely loathed). Anyway: an upcoming cold is not keeping me from seeing films. A bunch of short reviews today.
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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.
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On Wednesday January 25th, the official opening of the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam took place. Audience members could see the Dutch premiere of what has been described as Ang Lee’s ‘gay western’, Brokeback Mountain, a film awaiting Oscar gold. The honor of being the official opening film went to Shunichi Nagasaki’s remake/make-of/sequel of Heart, Beating in the Dark. Here on Choking on Popcorn I will post regular updates. I hope to do one every day, but with the tight schedule of five to six films a day, that is a hard task. I will also post very small reviews and ratings of the films I saw. That way, you can still go see some of the films you can read about in the updates. Longer, more elaborate reviews will be posted when the festival is over, so after February 5th.
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In this post you will find all reviews of films shown at the 35th International Film Festival Rotterdam. New reviews will be added on a regular basis. In this paragraph you will find the latest updates. Also check out the reports in this specials section, since they also include very quick reviews.

This first update includes a link to the review of Good Night, and Good Luck.
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