Mumbai Film Festival 2014: Here are the films that you shouldn't miss

The Mumbai Film Festival came very close to going the dodo’s way after losing sponsors and going bankrupt. Luckily the spirit of cinema abided, and thanks to donations from both Bollywood bigwigs and film buffs the festival is all set to roll next week. This year, the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) will showcase more than 180 films from over 20 countries at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival. Beginning Tuesday, 14 October and continuing for a week, cinephiles from all over the city have very good reason to come to the suburbs since the three venues are in Juhu and Andheri. [caption id=“attachment_1747093” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] You can sign up for entry passes at mumbaifilmfest.com or at the venue. The opening night film this year is Susanne Bier’s Serena, starring familiar on screen couple Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. David Ayer’s power-packed war thriller Fury, starring Brad Pitt, closes out the fest. Here are 15 more films that you shouldn’t miss: A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT Dir: Ana Lily Amirpour (Iran/2014/107 minutes) Hailed as an ‘Iranian vampire western’ and set in post-apocalyptic Iran, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a black and white film that redefines the vampire genre by mashing together elements of horror, thriller, romance and drama. It opened to rave reviews at Sundance. KILLA (THE FORT) Dir: Avinash Arun (India/2014/110 mins) Director-cinematographer Avinash Arun’s debut film Killa won a Crystal Bear from the Children’s Jury and a Special Mention from the International Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival this year. The film is about an 11-year-old boy who is forced to move from a big city to a small Konkan town after the death of his father. ONE ON ONE Dir: Kim Ki Duk (South Korea/2014/122 mins) Kim Ki Duk has been consistently doling out visceral, emotionally-charged films for years now. This time, a group of terrorists try to avenge the death of a little girl by going after all of the suspects in the case. Like most of his films, One on One is supposed to be a commentary on life (or the lack of it) in South Korea. MOMMY Dir: Xavier Dolan (USA/2014/139 mins) The 25-year-old director’s latest film has scored some seriously high acclaim at the festival circuit this year, including pocketing the Jury Prize at Cannes. Mommy chronicles the tumultuous relationship between a woman (Anne Dorval) and her psychologically fractured son (Antoine Oliver). SAINT LAURENT Dir: Bertrand Bonello (France/2014/150 mins) One of the two Yves Saint Laurent biopics that arrived this year, director Bertrand Bonello’s film is widely considered the superior one. It’s also France’s official entry to the Oscars. Gaspard Ulliel stars as the titular character and critics say the film is as eye popping and classy as Laurent’s products. ALTMAN Dir: Ron Mann (USA/2014/100 mins) Robert Altman has made some of the most culturally significant movies of our times, and fans of the man should not miss Ron Mann’s acclaimed documentary chronicling his life and work. The film features fans of Altman such as Robin Williams, Julianne Moore, Bruce Willis and Paul Thomas Anderson who was Altman’s ‘backup director’ of A Prairie Home Companion. BOYHOOD Dir: Richard Linklater (USA/2014/165 mins) You don’t really need a reason to watch Richard Linklater’s latest film – every movie buff would be aware or already has watched his incredible twelve-year-old experiment. Those who refused to catch the film on the communist shores of the internet will have a chance to see it on the big screen – the way it is meant to be experienced. TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT Dir: Dardenne Brothers (Belgium/2014/95 mins) Critical darlings Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are back with a new film that has once again scored tremendous acclaim. Marion Cotillard plays an everyday Belgian woman who must plead with her colleagues to vote for her because otherwise she’ll lose the menial job that keeps her family going. THE BLUE ROOM Dir: Mathieu Amalric (France/2014/76 mins) Matthieu Amalric, star of The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and Chicken with Plums, directs this thriller, which made a few waves when it screened at Cannes. The film stars Amalric himself and Lea Drucker as a couple who indulge in adultery and a lot of madness in a hotel room, while criminal investigations loom over both of them. CLOUDS OF SILS MARA Dir: Oliver Assayas (USA-France/2014/125 mins) French filmmaker Oliver Assayas wowed us two years ago with Something In The Air, and now he’s back this year with Clouds of Sils Mara. It is a “meta fiction” ghost story with three powerhouse female performances from stars Juliette Binoche, Chloe Moretz and Kristen Stewart. COMING HOME Dir: Zhang Yimou (China/2014/111 mins) Zhang Yimou, the visionary behind the Wuxia classics Hero and House of Flying Daggers, is back with a hard-hitting drama that echoes his work in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. The film is set in mid 70’s China and chronicles the lives of people heavily affected by the political changes in the country. SHE’S LOST CONTROL Dir: Anja Marquardt (USA/2014/110 mins) Anja Marquardt’s debut film, set in New York, won rave reviews at the Berlin Film Festival. This indie film began as a kickstarter project and blossomed into a chilling thriller a protagonist who works as a sex surrogate. PARTY GIRL Dir: Samuel Theis, Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger (France/2014/97 mins) One of the most intriguing films at this year’s festival is Party Girl, directed by three first-time filmmakers, Samuel Theis, Marie Amachoukeli and Claire Burger. The film follows the semi-fictionalized life of one of the filmmaker’s mothers. The protagonist, Angelique, quits her blossoming job at a nightclub in France to marry a man she barely knows. Incidentally, the actor playing her groom was found three days before the shoot. Party Girl won the Un Certain Regard and Camera d’Or at Cannes earlier this year. GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE Dir: Jean Luc Godard (France/2014/70 mins) It’s still a little tough to digest that the great Jean Luc Godard is still making films, and great ones at that; and in 3D. This year he’s cooked up Goodbye to Language, a 3D social commentary on contemporary life, told via a collage of scattered images. Reviews suggest fans of abstract and experimental cinema are going to have a blast. The film shared the Cannes Jury Prize this year with Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. A MOST WANTED MAN Dir: Anton Corbijn (USA/2014/122 mins) Anton Corbijn, the bloke behind some of the most famous U2 music videos and the cult classic Control, returns to English language cinema with a John LeCarre espionage drama thriller. The film features Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his last starring role.