Going to a film festival requires some type of commitment to the films and to the schedule of the festival, especially when the festival comes with special events, press conferences, parties and concerts. And even if you make your choices of films, you will definitely be detoured by others spectators that found one “must-see film”. This is what happened at Transylvania International Film Festival in Cluj, Romania, and I thought of making my own list of must-see film. Enjoy!

photo blog.tiff.ro

When you see that a film director like Xavier Dolan being a master of stories, dialogue and camera, you might have a bit of a shock of the maturity Dolan is capable of at only 24 years old. After J’ai tué ma mère (2009) and Les amours imaginaires (2010), the Canadian filmmaker goes to another level with Laurence Anyways. The story: boy meets girl, they fall in love, then he admits he always wanted to be a woman and that he is now sure he wants to make a sex change. And the rollercoaster begins. The film is an intellectual parade: little hints of what will come (there is a scene where she goes to the supermarket to buy sugar and there is on the background a child crying and you snap understanding what this means), discussions about writers and concepts (he is a teacher).

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Although this might not be for everyone since it has that arty touch, it is visually powerful and there is also the stunning actors’ performance (Suzanne Clément and Melvil Poupaud) and one of the best soundtracks. During the film, a spectator said “I fear that Xavier Dolan will die soon. All that talent in one person is not a good thing.” Hopefully, we will see him growing, because he surely has much to say.

A Hijacking is a powerful drama about the four months Somali pirates spent on a Danish cargo ship along with the crew, waiting for the money to be delivered. And as if the tension wasn’t enough already, the CEO of the company wants to negotiate directly, which is risky, since there is the psychological pressure of him personally knowing the crew.

photo totallydublin.ie

Even though they never let their guns down, the Somali pirates party with the Danish crew. The director Tobias Lindholm creates here a nail-biting tensioned situation. As times goes by the crew is more miserable, the Somali loose temper easily and they are all hoping to go home as fast as possible. What makes the film powerful is the multiple perspectives from which the spectator can see the hijacking: there are the hostages, the Somali pirates, the CEO, the crew’s families.

And, not to say anymore, even though you’ll appreciate this European film, in the end you might find yourself hoping it would end happily like an American film, with no deaths and the heroes going home.

One of the controversial documentaries that were presented in TIFF is The Act of Killing. This terrifying documentary that shocked the audience since its first screening is directed by Joshua Oppenheimer who follows the “gangster” (as he likes to call himself) Anwar Congo, an Indonesian that took part in the massacre of around 100.000 people during the Indonesian killings (1965-1968). Oppenheimer makes Anwar and his colleagues re-enact the murders and talk about them. Therefore, the camera is not only a simple observer, but the tool that makes them confess and see what victims must have felt.

Anwar’s openness towards his murders makes the film feel anything but real. If at the beginning the killers want to create this image of gangsters and very cool people who had just a little different job, they end up breaking down.

photo childofklang.files.wordpress.com