Sunflower Hour
Where: Odeon
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Rating: Four stars
A laugh riot from start to finish, Aaron Houston's politically incorrect mockumentary does for social outcasts and puppeteers with issues what Christopher Guest did for amateur actors (Waiting for Guffman) and dog people (Best in Show).
His punchy, cheerfully risqué yukfest is chock full of sight gags, low-brow humour and deliciously deadpan performances as a delusional quartet of puppeteers audition for a faux Vancouver children's television show produced by a slimy, unhappily-married couple (Peter New and Johanna Newmarch) whose claim to fame was introducing double-penetration to porn flicks.
The weirdo wannabes include Leslie (Patrick Gilmore), an evangelical minister's repressed son with a perma-grin and a puppet who preaches the "evils" of homosexuality; David (Amitai Marmorstein), a mild-mannered innocent from Port Moody with an Elmo-like puppet; Shamus (Ben Cotton), a bogus Irishman who only speaks through his thickly accented leprechaun-like puppet; and Satan's Spawn (Kacey Rohl), an angry Goth teen.
While some viewers may find the gay jokes and more low-brow sexual humour offensive, there's plenty of inspired spoofery, a terrific soundtrack that replicates bouncy TV show theme music and a cast so solidly in tune with Houston's cheapo, weirdly affectionate tribute to the underside of this peculiar showbiz sub-culture it ranks as a film many will want to put on that must-see list.
Donor
Where: Empire Capitol 6
When: Wednesday, 9:15 p.m.
Rating: One star
If an award were to be handed out for the festival's worst film, this Philippines drama about the struggles of a plucky young Manila street vendor who makes ends meet by peddling pirated DVDs and gay porn before being drawn into the world of illicit organ donation for profit would be a shoo-in. While Meryll Soriano is impressively natural as the heroine weighed down by her loutish deadbeat boyfriend, and director Mark Afable Meily's film at least has something to say about the lot in life such resilient women face in a patriarchal society, it's undermined by narrative clumsiness, emptiness and a generally half-baked feel until we're put out of our misery with an albeit gratuitously gory finale. We do look forward, however, to seeing this compelling young actress showcase her talents in a more deserving vehicle.
Tatsumi
Where: Parkside Victoria
When: Wednesday, 7:15 p.m.
Rating: Four stars
Director Eric Khoo's tribute to Yoshihiro Tatsumi is a biopic-of-sorts, one that will surely be appreciated by fans of "gegika," the adult comics the Japanese artist pioneered in the 1950s.
A thoughtful, meticulously rendered fusion of flowing, multi-layered images inspired by his 800-page graphic biography A Drifting Life, Khoo's film is both visually striking, as adult-oriented as Tatsumi's pictorial dramas and deeply moving as it charts the Osaka-born master's life from his beginnings as manga artist in Singapore through historic milestones that shaped his development. Tatsumi's own voice accompanies some of the animation in this brilliantly conceived flashback that incorporates renderings of five of his short stories. An intriguing blend of music, visual effects and animation, this is an artful gem.
mreid@timescolonist.com
