CATS OF MALTA

With: Karmen Colerio, Michelle Degura, Salvu Gilson, Polly March, Nikki Micallef, Isaac Muscat, Matthew Pandolfino and Roza Zammit Salinos.
Director: Sarah Jayne Portelli

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

 

Director Sarah Jayne Portelli pivots a sweet-natured travelogue essay on the rampant strays of a central Mediterranean archipelago into a melancholic longing for traditional community values with her effortlessly lovely film, Cats of Malta. The personalities she profiles - feline or otherwise - combine in this charmingly irresistible testament to show one species can grow attached to another species, despite no reciprocation of affection whatsoever.

Maybe that is a little cynical (full disclosure - I’m a dog guy). There is certainly no denying that the expat Australian director has skilfully corralled an endearing collection of human and cat types, all bonded by their shared life on the island, and captured that coexistence against some truly flavourful location photography. 

The opportunity to explore Malta’s ‘Cat Culture’ comes to Portelli through her own ancestry - the project came to life on an extended trip back to her homeland - but her insight is vast; the documentary ultimately reaches beyond its azure shorelines and defines how animals and humans bring out the best in each other. A key thematic component of the documentary is the mental health boost that the island’s co-living arrangement provides.

The director hints at the profundity of this interrelationship with her first subjects, a father-daughter pair who turned their lives upside-down to save Nanoo, a stray that had become a favourite of their patrons just by hanging around. It is revealed that the elderly gentleman feels a kinship with the cat, and many others like it, because he cared for strays with his late wife. 

From this point, Cats of Malta paints a portrait of a place where kindness to fellow creatures is a cherished human virtue, and those who defy or deny the cats’ existence - the greedy developers, like those who demolished the iconic ‘Cat Village’; the cruel, dark-hearted types who deliberately maim or poison - are the true scourge of a modern society.

Portelli doesn’t address all the issues that might be raised when an island of 316 km2 (122 sq mi) - the tenth-smallest country by area - is populated by 100,000 cats. Not to be indelicate, but…surely there is an ‘odour’ problem? And the species as a whole is not exactly known for their silent ‘nighttime activities.’ More seriously, anti-cat advocates are denied right-of-reply when some of their actions are put under the spotlight.

All of which would unravel the sheer positivity at the heart of Cats of Malta, and that would be a shame. The joy that caring for and sharing life with the island’s four-legged fur-people is more than enough to sustain the upbeat narrative. Sarah Jayne Portelli captures a utopian existence for those who draw soul-enriching pleasure from caring unquestioningly, and of those who are happy to lap it up. 

MOOMINVALLEY: SEASON 3, EPISODES 4, 8, 12

Voice Cast: Taron Edgerton, Rosamund Pike, Warwick Davis, Bel Powley, Matt Berry, Jack Rowan, Chance Perdomo, Edvin Endre and Jennifer Saunders.
Writers: Josie Day, Mark Huckerby, Nick Ostler, Paula Dinan; based on characters created by Tove Jansson.
Director: Darren Robbie.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

 Screening at the 2023 Children’s International Film Festival from May 27 in Sydney and Melbourne.

Finnish author Tove Jansson’s sweet and heartfelt Moomins family adventures have entranced European audiences since they were first published in 1945 in the picture book, ‘The Moomins and the Great Flood’. The fairy-tale existence that Jansson envisioned for her creations - a rustic, rural life in a wooded valley, surrounded by fantasy forest denizens and towering, frosted Alpine peaks - has reached iconic status in the Scandi states, and is increasingly adored abroad.

Having conquered family markets internationally over their eight delightful decades (including a 1974 opera, a 1990 animated series that sold to 60 countries, and theme parks in Finland and Japan), the latest incarnation of the Moomins adventures is Moominvalley, the 2019 animated series now in its third season. Three English-dubbed episodes will have their Australian Premiere at the 2023 Children’s International Film Festival, satiating the small but burgeoning Australian fanbase.     

The first of the three 22-minute original narratives is ‘Inventing Snork’, in which cheeky pre-teen Moomintroll (revoiced by Taron Edgerton) tries to help the socially-awkward Snork better understand the value of friendship through compassion. The thematic throughline is accepting people for who they are, a familiar humanistic beat in Moomins’ storytelling. Rounding out the series is ‘Moominmamma's Flying Dream’, a sweet story in which Moominmamma's love of hot air ballooning is rekindled by her son, only for everyone to reach the conclusion that the joys of family is life’s greatest adventure. 

The best of the trio is the middle episode, ‘Lonely Mountain’. Moomintroll cancels his hibernation to find his best friend Snufkin, who has ventured deep into the mysterious Lonely Mountains for some meditative solitude. Moomintroll misses his friend and acts on that self-focussed longing, not realising that Snufkin’s time away helps make him the special friend he is. The range of complex emotions explored in the scenes between Moomintroll and Snufkin is terrific character-driven animation; the grandeur of the region and the harsh realities of both the wintry outdoors and growing up are beautifully realised.

In the three episodes programmed for the festival, we get a good indication as to why the Moomins have remained one of Finland's most beloved exports and Tove Jansson’s exalted status as a teller of meaningful fantasy tales is etched deeply in European culture. The Moomins speak to the profound truths in family life, steeped in the beautiful colours of their homeland and the vivid world of the imagination.

HUNGER

Stars Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Nopachai Jayanama and Gunn Svasti Na Ayudhya
Writer: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Director: Sitisiri Mongkolsiri

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

The Hunger of the title is a double-edged kitchen knife in director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri’s cutting, often bittersweet piece of high society takedown. Set in the ostentatious world of ultra artistic fine dining, Hunger speaks of the craving in us all to consume food prepared in a way far more elegantly than being easily digestible requires. This is food as art, and art that carries with it all the emotions, anxieties and eccentricities of the artist.

Hunger is also about craving a status above the social standing into which you are born, an existence that demands thin slivers of your soul be trimmed away to climb above those just like to secure a place amongst the wealthy but grotesquely compromised humans that appear to you to be better…somehow.

Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying plays Aoy, a talented young street chef at her family’s Thai noodle cafe. She discovers what she didn’t know she wanted when a scout for an elite food prep outfit slips her a card emboldened with the word ‘Hunger’. It’s a ticket to the world of Chef Paul’s kitchen; Paul, played with a fierce intensity by Nopachai Chaiyanam, likes her street-food touch, and starts breaking her down so he can build her up in his image (like JK Simmons did to Miles Teller in Whiplash).

Soon, Aoy is letting the family values upon which she was raised slide and the allure of attaining a certain type of ‘special’ social place is taking hold. Paul has long slipped into the amoral world of corruption, wearing the arrogance of existing above the law like a badge. Hunger spirals with an increasing unease towards one of two potential endings - a huge fall from grace, or a moralistic realisation to be careful what you wish for.

Hunger feels a bit overlong, but that only raises the question of what to omit, and that is not easy to answer. It plays equally convincingly as both a large-scale takedown of the vacuous, soulless upper class Bangkok society types, or as a more intimate character duel between Aoy and Paul, with her very humanity at stake. And, of course, it is an absolute feast for food lovers, whether you prefer the noodle cafe nosh or the food-as-art high dining plates.

THE MAGICAL CRAFTSMANSHIP OF SUZHOU

Director: Zengtian Sun

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Centuries of unparalleled commitment to a life of artistry and beauty are honoured with warmth and precision by director Zengtian Sun in the captivating documentary, The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou. The story of the city of Suzhou in the southern Jiangsu province of Eastern China is rich with the gifted and dedicated exponents of their chosen skill, and this breathtakingly lovely profile of a modern city embracing and honouring the artisans of their past is a fitting testament.

 The region is home to the most celebrated of all Chinese arts and crafts, works that are cherished both locally, by a population who recognise the wisdom and skill of the old practitioners, and internationally, where the one-off designs and unmatched elegance is big business. However, the filmmakers only fleetingly touch on how far the influence of Suzhou has impacted global commercial markets, instead focussing on how generations of intellectual and artistic enrichment have led to a prosperous modern metropolis.

After a brief prologue that enlightens us to the exalted status of the Suzhou craftsperson as seen through the eyes of a young boy, we are introduced to the artificer community in the form of 75 year-old Wang Xiawen, a master of lantern design for over 50 years, who is overseeing his small team on the eve of one of the city’s renown lantern festivals. 

What follows are extraordinary scenes of masterful artistry across several disciplines - Zhou Jianming, whose steady hand and exact eye has helped his olive-pit carvings become prestige items; the tiny culinary creations of the boat snack chefs; the women who maintain the traditions of Song Brocade silk weaving and embroidery; the furniture makers who turn centuries-old red sandalwood into Ming-style contemporary pieces.

As the documentary points out, the defining traditions of Suzhou combine, “the ingenuity of the literati and the dexterity of the craftsmen,” resulting in a people who, “will never compromise on the quality of life.” Zengtian Sun’s The Magical Craftsmanship of Suzhou embodies the same qualities - a work that revels in the history, refinement and majesty of one of the world’s truly unique city experiences.

AINBO: SPIRIT OF THE AMAZON

Featuring: Lola Raie, Naomi Serrano, Dino Andrade, Joe Hernandez, Thom Hoffman, Rene Mujica, Yeni Alvarez, Bernardo De Paula, Alejandro Golas and Susanna Ballesteros.
Writers: Richard Claus, Brian Cleveland and Jason Cleveland.
Directors: Richard Claus and Jose Zelada.

Rating: ★ ★ ★

A Peruvian/Dutch co-production, AINBO boasts a strong-willed, Indigenous heroine, self-assured and sturdy of character, with one determined eye cocked towards her personal goals, the other watching over her people and their traditions. This stirring, culturally-layered adventure deserves to do for the Amazon jungle what Moana did for Hawaii and Frozen did for snow. 

Our titular heroine (energetically voiced by actress Lola Raie), is at a junction in her growth, both as a young woman and as a member of her tribal community. The village lies deep in Candamo rainforest, an uncharted pocket of jungle that legend has it exists on the back of an almighty beast named Turtle Motelo Mama (Susana Ballesteros). 

Increasingly alienated from her best friend and new village leader Princess Zumi (Naomi Serrano), Ainbo is befriended by her ‘spirit guides’ - an armadillo named Dillo (Dino Andrade), and a tapir named Vaca (Joe Hernandez), playing the ‘Timon and Pumba’ sidekick roles. Together, the trio discover their land is threatened by encroaching tree-crunching steel giants. Guided by Turtle Mama and the spirit of her ancestors, Ainbo sets about fighting Yacuruna, the evil jungle spirit, who manifests in the form of a linen-suit wearing corporate scumbag, Cornell DeWitt (Thom Hoffman).

Directors José Zelada and Richard Claus utilise the template established by the Mouse House in films like Moana, Frozen, Brave and Tangled and craft a familiar story of empowerment and family and friendship. A point of difference emerges in the use of centuries-old Amazonian customs and lore to tell this contemporary tale, as well as its addressing of the issue of deforestation and land clearing of traditionally-owned land in the  Basin.

It is the indigenous-themed elements that work best in Ainbo; an over-reliance on goofy humour, the kind that assumes kids need a pratfall or an eyeroll to stay engaged, are less impactful. The best moments recall Kirby Atkins’ 2019 pic Mosley, which embraced heritage and legacy with an equally engaging connection to its characters and setting. The CGI character animation lacks Pixar fluidity, although thankfully avoids mimicking the cliched, ‘doe-eyed’ facial designs of so much studio output; the landscapes are beautifully rendered, capturing the breathtaking Amazon greens and blues with true artistry.

CLASS REUNION 3: SINGLES CRUISE (LUOKKAKOKOUS 3 - SINKKURISTEILY)

Stars: Jaajo Linnonmaa, Aku Hirviniemi, Sami Hedberg, Ilona Chevakova, Eino Heiskanen, Niina Lahtinen, Antti Luusuaniemi, Pihla Maalismaa, Mari Perankoski, Jukka Puotila, Kuura Rossi and Pertti Sveholm.
Writers: Renny Harlin, Aleksi Bardy and Mari Perankoski; based on characters created by Claudia Boderke and Lars Mering.
Director: Renny Harlin.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ 

The low-brow hijinks of middle-aged man-children has been a comedy staple the world over, nowhere more so than Finland. There, two bawdy, lamebrained romps - Luokkakokous (Reunion, 2015) and Luokkakokous 2 (Reunion 2: The Bachelor Party, 2016) - earned Finnish blockbuster status, boasting over 800,000 admissions. And when the words ‘Finnish’ and ‘blockbuster’ are paired up, the words ‘Renny’ and ‘Harlin’ aren’t far behind.

And so we find the action veteran making his first film in his homeland since 1986’s Born American, a forgotten B-action lark that was inventive enough visually and successful enough commercially for L.A. to notice. Soon, with the cult horror pics Prisoner (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master (1988) to his name, he would become Hollywood’s hottest director - Die Hard 2 (1990); Cliffhanger (1993); The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996); and, Deep Blue Sea (1999) represented a run of hits few directors experience (not to mention that cinematic asterisk, 1995’s Cutthroat Island, which was a whole other experience entirely).

For his homecoming present, the Finnish industry has gift wrapped Harlin a surefire hit in Luokkakokous 3 - Sinkkuristeily (Class Reunion 3: Singles Cruise), only asking in return that he brings his consummate style in service of jokes about catheterization, masturbating, flatulence, urinary retention, laxatives...you get the idea. Reuniting for #3 and leaving no doubt as to why the Reunion franchise is a crowd favourite are original cast members Jaajo Linnonmaa, the most popular breakfast radio host in Finland; Aku Hirviniemi, one of Finland’s acting superstars; and Sami Hedberg, the nation’s most popular stand up comedian.

Our immature mature-age trio are facing the hard truths of growing older. Antti (Hedberg) is fat and lonely, jerking off to infomercial hostesses and seeming barely coping with anything adult, like interacting with his young son (Kuura Rossi) and estranged wife (Ilona Chevakova). Tuomas (Linnonmaa) remains a free-spirited rock’n’roll wannabe, imagining life a non-stop party and sex with his wife to be far more spectacular than it is. By far the most interesting character development involves Niklas, aka ‘Nippe’ (Hirviniemi), who is sensing that his latent bisexuality may finally need acknowledging.

To get Antti some action, they decide that a singles cruise is the best option. Clearly, the film was conceived and greenlit pre-COVID while somewhat ironically, was one of the few that completed principal shooting during the pandemic. On the high seas, and with Antti’s senile father (Pertti Sveholm) doin’ alright with the ladies...to a point, the lovely Pilve (Pihla Maalismaa) falls for Antti; Tuomas almost scores with two Swedish poledancing influencers; and, Nippe goes full-Winslet with a handsome steward (Eino Heiskanen) in the cargo hold. 

Much of Class Reunion 3 is very beautiful to look at, with Harlin employing DOP Matti Eerikäinen to fill the screen with eye-popping colour and opulent sets, often bathed in smoky sunlight. It is a lot of effort to capture glistening gold fountains of urine or a shit-smeared bedroom wall, but this is where the Reunion films make their money (and likely a hefty sum for the director). There is a fun through-line in nostalgia, with oddly-placed but warmly recognisable references to the Village People, The Love Boat, The Shining and, rather distastefully, Carl Douglas’ gimmick-hit Kung-Fu Fighting. Just as much fun is had in spotting Harlin’s nods to his own career highlights, with none-too-subtle shout-outs to Cliffhanger and Die Hard 2.

Every repugnant moment and non-PC aside seems so calculated to offend as to make the very effort to upset redundant. Instead, there’s a goofy charm to the antics of the three friends; such is the level of their blokish idiocy, the joke is mostly on them. And when it’s not, the barbs are aimed at the most deserving - vulgar tourists, boorish stepdads, shrill social media types. This isn’t uncharted territory for Harlin - with shock comic Andrew Dice Clay, he upset everybody in 1990 with The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - and watching him once again indulge in humour puerile and extreme will be a guilty pleasure for many.

THE DEEP HOUSE

Stars: Camille Rowe, James Jagger, Eric Savin and Carolina Massey.
Writers: (French) Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury; (English) Julien David, Rachel Parker.
Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 

What do you call two internet influencers at the bottom of a lake? If you answered, “A good start”, you’ll likely find some dark-hearted glee amongst the legit chills in The Deep House, the latest from horror cinema’s most promising new directors of the ‘00s, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.

Brattish Urbex YouTuber Ben (James Jagger) has convinced his gf Tina (Camille Rowe) to travel the European countryside, exploring society’s forgotten relics, the kind that often hold supernatural potential. Ben is the sort of boyfriend who enjoys frightening Tina in abandoned mansions, because that’s what earns likes and shares on his travel site; on more than one occasion, Tina justifiably mutters, “You’re so annoying.” 

Their latest destination is a submerged home deep in a remote French lake. Led there by Pierre (Eric Savin), that most dangerous of horror tropes - the ‘mysterious local’ - Ben and Tina (with their underwater drone camera, ‘Tom’, as in ‘peeping’) are soon exploring the murky depths yet oddly pristine corridors of Montegnac House. The setting is pure ‘haunted estate’, but the claustrophobic intensity of scuba diving and the constant ticking-clock that is the oxygen reader exponentially increases the tension.

When their debut 2007 work À l'intérieur (Inside) was judged amongst the best of the new wave of French ‘hardcore horror’ films, the sheer brutality and filmmaking bravado of Bustillo and Maury earned them critical bouquets and cult status (both of which were less forthcoming with the arty hollowness of their 2011 follow-up, Livide). 

With The Deep House, they embrace a more barebones aesthetic; a first-person immediacy, the kind of filmmaking usually associated with the ‘found footage’ genre. Go-pros, drone lensing, body-cams, hi-tech mask-mics - the cutting edge tools of the video adventurer are used to record a fateful expedition, an undertaking filled with the kind of shocking revelations and otherworldly vistations that, ironically, would have ensured Ben the social media eyeballs he craved.

In the 14 years since they burst onto the scene, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury have only improved as cinema craftspeople. With almost an hour of its 83 min story spent underwater, the directors and their DOP Jacques Ballard were submerged for 33 production days, capturing Hubert Pouille’s detailed production design and Ilse Willcox’s set decoration with consummate artistry. That The Deep House manages to be a white-knuckle ghost story as well seems like a value-added bonus.

THE UNFAMILIAR

Stars: Jemima West, Christopher Dane, Rebecca Hanssen, Rachel Lin and Harry Macmillan-Hunt.
Writer: Jennifer Nicole Stang and Henk Pretorious
Director: Henk Pretorious

Screening at the South African Independent Film Festival on 23rd and 30th August. Released in North America on August 21st; September 11th in the UK; and, October 28th in South Africa.

Rating: ★ ★ ★

Reintegration into the peaceful stability of suburban family life proves tough for Afghanistan War doctor Elizabeth ‘Izzy’ Cormack (Jemima West; pictured, above), a guilt-ridden medic gripped by PTSD in Henk Pretorious’ psychological chiller, The Unfamiliar. When that safeplace also begins to unravel and her fractured reality is encroached upon by supernatural forces, this low-key but tightly-spun tale of terror balances the torment of a dissociative mental condition with some legitimately ghoulish scares.

Everything seems slightly off-centre upon Izzy’s arrival - stepdaughter Emma (Rebecca Hanssen) is distant; angelic preteen Tommy (Harry McMillan-Hunt) is acting out; husband Ethan (Christopher Dane), while more aggressively amorous than before, also brings too much of his work home. This proves particularly worrisome, given he is a Professor of Polynesian Culture and what he brings home includes a Hawaiian tiki that carries with it a dark spiritual presence.

There is a faint sniff of cultural appropriation in Pretorious’ premise; ‘cursed tribal artefacts’ as a plot device peaked with that Brady Bunch episode. In 2020, the notion that a Stygian symbol of Islander folklore is the kicker for a middle class white household’s torment is a bit ripe (even if the script tries to deflect). The director also draws on some familiar haunted house tropes that suggest pics like The Amityville Horror (1979, 2005), Insidious (2010) and a couple of the Paranormal Activity sequels were inspirations.

The pic finds some fresh energy when Ethan decides Izzy and the kids decamp back to Hawaii, allowing for all the supernatural forces toying with the family’s fate to fully emerge. Pretorious and DOP Pete Wallington shoot the reveal of the film’s devilish protagonist (repping stellar creature design work from makeup fx veteran Robbie Drake) with a genuinely nightmarish glee. The other ace-in-the-hole is leading lady West, who conveys first the strain of PTSD then the terror of a demonic face-off with the required intensity.

While the lack of cast starpower and workmanlike helming will keep this uneven but watchable creepshow from wide theatrical play, genre festival audiences and streaming services will certainly find space for The Unfamiliar. It is not unforeseeable that, in much the same way Freddy Krueger turned a support part in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) into a star-making, franchise-building turn, so might Pretorious and co-scripter Jennifer Nicole Stang focus in on their creepy demon star should sequels manifest.

LE CHOC DU FUTUR

English: THE SHOCK OF THE FUTURE

Stars: Alma Jodorowsky, Philippe Rebbot, Geoffrey Carey, Teddy Melis, Clara Luciani, Laurent Papot, Nicolas Ullmann, Xavier Berlioz and Elli Medeiros.
Writers: Marc Collin and Elina Gakou Gomba.
Director: Marc Collin.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

MARCHE DU FILM 2020: The international music scene was ripe for rebirth by the late 1970s. Disco was dead; punk had self-immolated; the decade’s rock mega-groups had peaked. As Marc Collin’s thrilling, giddy Le Choc du Futur paints history, the global musical new wave that emerged from that stagnant period, dominated the next ten years and influenced the next forty, was borne out of smoky Parisian apartments and the pulsating, youthful energy of young women musicians determined to forge their own paths.

A composer/music producer making his feature film directing debut, Collin is not telling one woman’s true story, instead utilising his narrative to filter the experience and legacy of pioneering synth-pop names like Clara Rockmore, Pauline Olivieros and Beatriz Ferreyra (and a dozen or so others, all listed at the end of the film). It proves rich source material; Collin and co-scripter Elina Gakou Gomba craft a lead character that honours extraordinary drive and creativity.

Twenty-something Ana (Alma Jodorowsky; pictured, top) is bedsitting a very small apartment (the setting for the bulk of Collin’s film). She wakes, lights a smoke, stretches, dances to Cerrone's Supernature; she is a young, free, contemporary, feminine spirit. She is also established as a modern electronic-music composer, booked to write ad music by her manager Jean Mi (Philippe Reboot, bringing ‘70s music biz sleaze in spades), but her talent is not developing, frustrating her output and stifling her motivation.

Three fateful moments alter the course of Ana’s life and the direction of modern music in the process. When her synthesizer breaks down, a technician visits her with a state-of-the-art Roland CR-78 beatbox; her music guru friend (Geoffrey Carey) avails her to the rich sounds of such artists as Throbbing Gristle, Aksak Maboub and Human League; and, a voice-over artist (Clara Luciani; pictured, above) turns out to be an equally talented lyricist, penning powerful words to Ana’s new sound.

There is not a great complexity to the plot, so nuance and shading falls to Collin’s leading lady. The granddaughter of legendary director Alejandro, Alma Jadorowsky is an electrifying central presence; everything about Ana’s creative process, determination and self-doubt stems from Jodorowsky’s natural screen presence and warmth. 

The story’s relevance comes in its depiction of music industry misogyny; alone in her apartment, Ana fends off three leery male visitors in the opening twenty minutes. Jodorowsky is bound by the 1979 setting in forming her reactions, but the strength she displays in overcoming finely-honed microaggressions (“You’re pretty, just be a singer”) provides a true modern heroine’s arc.

Le Choc du Futur is mostly about the music, of course, and Collin (whose multi-hyphenated approach to filmmaking sees him handle the synth score as well) fills extensive sequences with pulsating beats and fluid aural soundscapes, as envisioned by Ana. It is a rousing story, underplayed to near-perfection, made grand by the sense of artistic discovery it conveys.

TOURISM

Stars: Nina Endô and Sumire
Writer/Director: Daisuke Miyazaki

Reviewed at HYPERLINKS: A Static Vision Film Festival, in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, February 23^rd, 2020.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Two adorably clueless Japanese millennials stumble across adventure, anxiety and a (slightly) more expanded world vision in Daisuke Miyazaki’s Tourism. Starring the giggly girly duo of Sumire and Nina Endô as the bffs who live in the moment so as to record the moment, this dreamlike, free-form odyssey speaks to the teen and twenty-something audience in a film language that may prove too distractingly self-obsessed and directionless for some.  Which would be a shame, because it’s a sweet, likable, spirited insight into embracing friendship and defying alienation in the mobile-device age.

When a contest win provides Nina with two airline tickets to anywhere in the world, she is so ignorant of the world beyond her style-centric young life that she has no notion of where to go. Her friend Su (the actresses use their real names) spins her iPad to re-centre Google Earth and, after a few false starts (Yemen, Honduras), they settle on Singapore as their destination. The journey is all selfies, shopping malls and food courts (including a cool impromptu public dance sequence); Nina and Su are disappointed at the usual tourist sites (at the iconic Merlion Park water statue, they observe, “I thought it would be bigger”) and soon gravitate to the familiar sounds of commerce and capitalism.

In a moment of cataclysmic tumult for any young person, Nina looses her phone and becomes separated from Su. Lost, alone and unable to convey her desperation, Nina unwittingly undertakes her first true immersion in a lifestyle and culture not entirely her own. Led further astray by a well-intentioned good Samaritan, she wanders through diaspora communities; Indian and Muslim enclaves become her Singaporean experience. Found alone and sad, she is befriended by a young man who welcomes her into his home, where his extended family feed and dote on her.

Writer/director Miyazaki paints a generously upbeat picture of Singapore, having one character comparing it to Disneyland. One doubts a pretty, young, lost woman stumbling through the backstreets of any big city would have had quite the relentlessly positive experience that Nina enjoys, but Tourism (there’s irony in that title, to be sure) is a film that is imbued with a goodwill and blind sense of unironic hopefulness that is infectious.

Fuelling the pic’s positivity is undoubtedly the fact that it is a narrative feature drawn from an art installation project depicting modern life in the city, partly funded by Singaporean officialdom; the other component is a montage feature called Specters, which uses clips from the director’s previous works to portray modern civilised living. What does surprise is that Tourism so expertly melds splashes of social realism with a heartfelt sense of character, regardless of (perhaps even, despite) its origins.

Given that film employs mobile-phone framing (vertical and horizontal), ‘selfie-stick’ sequences and 4^th-wall shattering, direct-to-camera storytelling – all the love-or-loathe signposts of new-age film storytelling – the result is an engagingly old-fashioned story extolling the virtues of social engagement and experiential living.