JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2014
SUNDAY 16TH FEBRUARY
BLUE RUIN
As tough as it is smart as it is suspenseful, Blue Ruin
proves that action cinema isn’t just the preserve
of the big Hollywood studios. It’s been a few years
since Jeremy Saulnier’s horror-comedy mash-up
Murder Party hit the festival circuit and won a lot of
fans. Now he’s back with a riff on the revenge movie,
immediately selected for the prestigious Directors’
Fortnight at Cannes.
‘Distinguished by the way it allies solid storytelling
to fine craftsmanship’ Screen International
Sun 16 Feb / Light House 1 / 6.15pm / 92 minutes
Writer-director: Jeremy Saulnier 2013 US
Cast: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves
Winner, FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes Film Festival
In the film’s solemn and quiet opening we meet
Dwight (Macon Blair), a homeless man who collects
trash for money. After reading about the release
of a double murderer he visibly transforms from
dishevelled bearded bum into determined member
of society. What follows is a deeply comic narrative
of family retribution, white-trash psychosis and
home invasion, set to the unsettling rhythms of a
weapons-obsessed world. Deftly shot, with thoughtful
widescreen compositions, this terrifically directed film
combines the classic feuding families set-up with the
meditative veneer of a very clever contemporary
arthouse thriller.
Ant Timpson
New Zealand International Film Festival
LA PAZ
When Liso, a handsome young man from a wealthy
Argentinian family, emerges from a spell in psychiatric
care, he finds himself struggling to recover the pieces
of his shattered life in this delicate and affecting
drama from Santiago Loza (Extraño).
Returning home, Liso finds his mother indulgent and
doting, his father somewhat more impatient with
his son’s apparent listlessness, while a succession of
encounters with ex-girlfriends provide glimpses of the
chaos his illness has caused. Only in the company
of his genial grandmother and Sonia, the family’s
Bolivian maid, does he find moments of respite from
his struggle, but when these comforts are taken away,
Liso’s hard-won equilibrium threatens to unravel.
‘oddly affecting’ The Hollywood Reporter
Sun 16 Feb / Cineworld 12 / 6.15pm / 73 minutes
Writer-director: Santiago Loza 2013 Argentina
Cast: Lisandro Rodríguez, Andrea Strenitz, Fidelia Batallanos Michel
Anchored by a sophisticated performance from
Lisandro Rodríguez as Liso, Loza’s film is gentle,
undemonstrative work, unafraid to draw comedy
from Liso’s condition but generous enough to
treat every character with the same clear-eyed
compassion. Beautifully shot in a palette of washedout
colours, La Paz is both a touching study of one
man’s journey towards recovery and a subtle parable
about Argentinian society.
Alistair Daniel
With special guest Lisandro Rodríguez
BOOK ONLINE AT JDIFF.COM 47