[CIFF Capsule Review] Life Feels Good

Life Feels Good Director: Maciej Pieprzyca Country: Poland CIFF Screening: October 20, 2013 (11:45am) Life Feels Good is based on a true story of a Polish man, Mateusz, born with cerebral palsy, that was was diagnosed as mentally disable at a young age. However, the diagnosis is far from the truth. The film uses Mateusz's internal dialogue to set certain scenes, oftentimes…

[CIFF Capsule Review] The Harvest

The Harvest Director: John McNaughton Country: United States CIFF Screening: October 19, 2013 (8:30pm) The Harvest is a psychological horror/thriller about a married couple, Richard (Michael Shannon) and Katherine (Samantha Morton) taking care of their son, Andy, who was born with a debilitating disease. Worried for his well-being, they keep him sheltered from the outside as they drug…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Heli

Heli Director: Amat Escalante Country: Mexico CIFF Screenings: October 19, 2013 (9:30pm), October 20, 2103 (8:30pm) Most of us are aware of the violence and prominence of the drug cartels in Mexico. In Heli, the unfortunate reality of the situation is fictionalized in an oftentimes brutal 95 minutes of screentime. The titular Heli is a 17-year-old factory worker living within…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Chasing Fireflies

Chasing Fireflies Director: Roberto Flores Prieto Country: Colombia CIFF Screenings: October 18, 2013 (5:30pm), October 19, 2013 (11:45am) Manrique lives a solitary life watching over an abandoned salt mine in Colombia. His only forms of social contact are with a stray dog and a co-worker who insists on telling mediocre jokes before giving Manrique daily security codes. His…

[CIFF Capsule Review] La Jaula de Oro

La Jaula de Oro Director: Diego Quemada-Diez Country: Mexico CIFF Screenings: October 16, 2013 (8:00pm), October 17, 2013 (6:00pm), October 22, 2013 (1:15pm) To some, the United States represents hope for a prosperous future. The path some have to take to achieve that future can be dangerous and oftentimes illegal; however, the risks far exceed the alternative. In director Diego…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Like Father, Like Son

Like Father, Like Son Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Country: Japan CIFF Screenings: October 16, 2013 (6:00pm), October 19, 2013 (7:00pm)   How would you react when you found out the life you were living was a lie, that the child you have loved and nurtured for six years turns out to not be your biological son at all? In Hirokazu Kore-eda's Like Father, Like Son, the Nonomiya…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Hide Your Smiling Faces

Hide Your Smiling Faces Director: Daniel Patrick Carbone Country: United States CIFF Screenings: October 14, 2013 (6:15pm), October 16, 2013 (6:30pm), October 22, 2013 (1:30pm) Hide Your Smiling Faces takes place in a rural, densely-forested town where kids play in the woods and swim in lakes. While light on plot, the film nudges its main protagonists, brothers Tommy and Eric, along…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Lasting

Lasting (Nieulotne) Director: Jacek Borcuch Countries: Poland and Spain CIFF Screenings: October 14, 2013 (5:45pm), October 15, 2013 (3:00pm) http://youtu.be/0aYn5hCp7po   Summer love rarely lasts, yet it's usually because of circumstances outside of the couple's hands. Yet, for those days, weeks, months, those shared moments feel like they're everlasting. In Jacek Borcuch's…