Movies

A Return to Blogging with the Maine International Film Festival

64 Comments

After a horrible two-week heat wave and the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF), I have returned to blogging. I’ve certainly missed you all, and I’m happy to be back.

First, the heatwave. Hot and humid, then hotter and even more humid, complete with heat advisories. Heat advisories? In Maine? With the heat index, some days the temp was close to 100°. The best that can be said is that the heatwave is over for now, and today it’s rainy and cool, with the temperature being 67°. I’m wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and I’m as happy as only a Mainer can be in cool summer weather.

Now on to the Maine International Film Festival. Dee, Clif, and I have not been to MIFF since before the pandemic, and we were so happy to be back. The Film Festival features over 100 movies. Naturally, we couldn’t see them all, but we made a good effort, seeing 31 films in 9  days.

This might sound kind of silly, but it really is exhausting seeing that many films in such a short time. But it’s also fun and stimulating. We reconnected with old friends and met a few new ones. We talked about the movies we liked and the movies that left us cold. When you see that many movies, there are bound to be a few duds.

As the name suggests, the Maine International Film Festival features lots of movies from around the world, and part way through the festival, I realized how much I love foreign films. Thanks to MIFF, I went all around the globe—to Spain, France, Uganda, Mexico,  South Korea, Hungary, and Russia. I heard many languages, visited different cultures, and saw people who didn’t look like me. Yet, the concerns—the fears and hopes and feelings—were really not that different from mine. We are all human with similar needs and wants.

As it turns out, my daughter Dee has a huge DVD collection of foreign films, and MIFF has motivated me to start watching them, one a week. Even though MIFF is over, I can still go around the world.

Here are three movies that really caught my attention at the Maine International Film Festival:

  1. Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos): A Spanish film about an actor who disappears during the filming of a movie. His disappearance haunts family and friends, and while the story revolves around the central mystery of what happened to the actor, Close Your Eyes is also a poignant look at aging and memory. This is a leisurely film that takes its time unfolding.  If action films are you thing, this is not the movie for you.
  2. The Midwives (Sage-femmes): This French movie follows two young midwives, Louise and Sofia, as they begin their first job in a hospital that is understaffed. The Midwives is by turns touching and harrowing as Louise and Sofia struggle in different ways to adapt to the stress of delivering babies under circumstances that are less than ideal. This movie is a lot more graphic than the BBC series Call the Midwife, but it never seemed inappropriate. Let’s face it: childbirth is a bloody, messy business.
  3. The Echo (El eco): A slice-of-life documentary about a farming family in a remote village in Mexico. The director, Tatiana Huezo, captures the rhythm and the beauty as well as the limitations and the hardships of living a life close to the land. Warning: There is a brutal scene of a goat being slaughtered, and I averted my eyes. Fortunately, this is the only scene of an animal being killed, and despite this violence, The Echo is very much worth watching.

**********************************************************************

Readers might be wondering about the picture at the beginning of this post. It is a close up of an enchanting installation in the park next to the Maine Film Center and the Opera House, which hosted MIFF.

Here are some other photos of the Installation, a magical addition to terrific film festival.

 

 

64 thoughts on “A Return to Blogging with the Maine International Film Festival”

  1. Welcome back Laurie, so glad you enjoyed the film festival and that the temperatures are cooler again after the heatwave 💜 xxx

  3. The MIFF sounds fantastic. How wonderful to have the chance to see the films and then discuss them with others. It’s been great seeing more foreign films nominated for Oscars these past few years. I’ll look for the films you mentioned. Thank you for sharing about your faves!

  4. You’re so right: it doesn’t matter where you live, how you worship, the language you speak, or the clothes you wear, we are, at base, all the same. We really should be able to get along a bit better. The MIFF sounds wonderful, the heatwave not so much. Welcome back!

  6. The film festival sounds great fun! Quote: “I heard many languages, visited different cultures, and saw people who didn’t look like me. Yet, the concerns—the fears and hopes and feelings—were really not that different from mine. We are all human with similar needs and wants.”
    SO TRUE … 🙂 Where we live we are surrounded by people from different cultures and language. I love to people watch. Before people speak I try to guess which country they are from just from the way they are dressed. LoL

    Back to films … I could not watch that many films … I confess I have the patience of a gnat when it comes to watching TV or movies.

    1. Wonderful that you live in a place with so much diversity! That was a lot of films. But, as I am sure you’ve gathered, we are keen on movies.

  7. To paraphrase Robert Frost, I have been one acquainted with the heat, and I’m glad that you’re no longer having to deal with it. We don’t do well with cold down here; the conditions may differ, but the discomfort remains the same!

    Film festivals aren’t my thing, but I’m glad that you enjoyed yours. Of the films you mentioned, The Midwives was most intriguing. It would be interesting to compare the conditions and practices it describes to those common in upcountry Liberia.

    1. For now the extreme heat is gone, and I sure hope it doesn’t come back.

      The Midwives was intriguing, and I read that the film featured real women having real babies. It was intense.

  8. Beautiful photos and I’m so glad you’re back!!!! I love film festivals and that is an amazing amount of movies in that short of time. What a wonderful way to escape the heat and experience the world. Thanks for the recommendations and look forward to more from Dee’s movie library!! Harper and I are sending hugs your way celebrating your return!!🐾🙂

  9. Welcome back, Laurie! Like you, we were glad to see the end of the heat and humidity. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s coming back in a few days. Maybe it’ll be time to stay indoors and watch some of Dee’s movies! 😏

  11. Hope you had a nice blogging break. Now that you’re all relaxed and refreshed, we’ll be expecting some spectacular posts!! Just kidding. Sounds as if you had a fun time at MIFF. I’m not much of a movie fan myself. That many movies in nine days seems overwhelming to me. Glad you enjoyed.

  13. Sounds like a great time. If I had to watch that many movies I would be falling asleep. I’m glad to hear you are getting rain and the temps are once again agreeable. We had rain, cool temps, and now it is hot AGAIN.

  16. Welcome back, Laurie.

    I can well imagine that seeing so many movies in a short time would be exhausting. It’s good that you can pick one of your daughter’s collection and take your time watching and digesting it.

    I also love the art installation at the film festival.

    And Mainers aren’t the only ones grateful for a cool summer day in the 60s when long sleeves feel good! 🙂

  17. Lovely to see you back Laurie, and that you have enjoyed your movie time. I do love movies, and most Cinemas are air-conditioned, which really makes a difference too! We go to lots movies in our hot summers.

  18. Welcome back, Laurie. Wow, 31 films in 9 day!? Exhausting, particularly as I imagine most of them were subtitled? Although I enjoy watching movies from other cultures, reading subtitles sometimes makes it feel like very hard work, particularly when there is lots of dialogue. One subtitled film a day is the most I could manage.

    But at least I now know where all our summer sunshine has gone – you’ve had it in Maine! Over here it’s been unseasonably cool and wet this year, and while the temperatures you’ve had sound horrendous I do wish our 2024 had been a bit warmer and a lot drier.

    1. Yes, many of the films were subtitled. Actually, it doesn’t bother me at all to read subtitles. I’m a fast reader, and the words and images flow together without a problem.

      Too bad we couldn’t share our weather. Some of our warmth for you and some of your cool for us.

  19. It is good to see that you are back with us once more. Thise installations look intriguing and certainly add to a festive atmosphere. We no longer have a cinema in our town – it has left a hole in our cultural lives.

  20. Fascinating choices of film. Welcome back to blogging, although I have appreciated your keeping in touch. I like your photographs, and am pleased your heatwave is over. Best wishes to you both

  21. Lovely to have you back Laurie – I missed you. I love that installation and I enjoyed reading about the films and what they meant for you. Enjoy the DVDs

  22. That installation looks remarkable! I’m very keen to see The Echo as Huezo’s previous film, Payers for the Stolen, was excellent. (Well wort tracking down if you haven’t seen it, but it’s another tough watch.). I’m also very much looking forward to Close Your Eyes, which is available to stream over here. (Alas I missed it during it’s short run in cinemas.)

    1. I am not surprised to read that Prayers for the Stolen is a tough watch. So was The Echo. Hope you find Close Your Eyes on streaming. What an extraordinary movie!

      1. It’s streaming on the BFI Player, which I have access to, so hopefully I’ll be watching it soon. (Apologies for the typo in my previous comment…its short run, not it’s!)

      2. Had to look up BFI Player. Sounds excellent! Wonderful to have access to so many excellent streaming services. As for the typpo…no worries. I make plenty of my own.

  23. Well back, Laurie … 31 movies in 9 days? WOW!!!! …. You obviously enjoy the event, so I’m happy that you got to return to the event after the COVID break. I hate hot, humid weather … and it’s hard to imagine that it’s in Maine … so that must feel horrible. Oh well … fall will be soon. 😉

  24. Thanks for the film tips and the installation photos. Enchanting indeed. I reach for enchantment from our world all the time. Because I know it’s there. But I need fantasy books when I can’t find it.

  25. What beastly weather, Laurie. We’ve had our share, too, and it’s much more brutal (or I’m much less able to cope with it!) than at any time in the past. Thank heaven for those fronts which bring cooling relief! Welcome back — I enjoyed seeing those decorative structures (the goat, I could’ve done without, ha!!)

  26. A huge welcome back, Laurie! You were very much missed. That film festival sounds amazing. Thank you for the recommendations. The theme of aging and memory has definitely been on my mind.

  27. Wowsa! You really packed it in, Laurie. It sounds like good fun, though I wonder if you found it challenging to focus after so many films. Did you find yourself transposing the themes and plots?

    The art installation is breathtaking. I imagine it was quite beaufifull at night.

    1. No, I didn’t transpose the themes and plots. Probably because of the discussions we had after each film. Yes, the installation was beautiful at night.

    1. Thanks, Lavinia! The film festival certainly has rekindled my love of world cinema, and last night we watched the 1939 “Alexander Nevsky” by Sergei Eisenstein. I will be writing about it on tomorrow’s post.

  32. Sounds like a fun festival! I am 110 percent with you on the heat and humidity. Ugh! I try to enjoy each season, but this summer has surely been tough!
    -Julie

  33. Wow! I would love to attend a film festival. I try to watch foreign language films on long haul flights. This last time I watched a couple of Italian comedy/family films on to and fro Tokyo flights.

    Ours is wet summer here but we experienced heat wave in Japan. The day temperature went up to 40 C.

Comments are closed.