It's day five of the MIFF and us raging film fiends are so strung out on 35-millimeter spools of the chronic that ushers have to carry our delirious asses up the aisles of every theater. But with five more glorious days left to go, quitting is not an option.
Here are three flicks (representing three continents) you'll want to catch before your concerned loved ones stage an indie-vention and shove you in a van headed for rough cut rehab.
The Imposter
In this documentary from UK director Bart Layton, Frédéric Bourdin, a notorious French-Algerian con artist, reveals the details behind the most audacious stunt he ever pulled: as a young man, he convinced a grieving Texas family that he was their son who had disappeared at 13 three years prior. The director allows the criminal himself to tell his own story, aided by cinematic recreations. Interviews with law enforcement officials who were duped by Bourdin and the sharp investigator who finally cracked open the case help illustrate the unfathomable duplicity of this slippery man. Showtime 7 p.m. at Coral Gables Art Cinema. Tickets to all films are $12.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Nothing says "sadly delusional" like a 30-year-old man who lives in his mom's basement and believes that M. Night Shaymalan's ridiculous alien movie Signs harbors cryptic messages important to his own life. That's Jeff, Who Lives at Home, starring Jason Segel. All his overworked mother (Susan Sarandon) wants for her birthday is for her big lazy boy to put down the joint and get off the couch long enough to make a trip to the hardware store. On the way, he chances to meet his older brother Pat (Ed Helms), an encounter that leads to a less serendipitous discovery when they spot Pat's wife having lunch with a mystery man. The event takes them on a long, eventful, and existential adventure. Showtime 9:30 p.m. at Regal South Beach Cinema.
I'd Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips
This film is pure Brazilian sexiness set against a steamy and lush Amazonian backdrop. Making its North American premiere, this film casts Gustavo Machado as Cauby, a photographer whose work takes him to the center of the Brazilian Amazon region. He lives in a shack where he fantasizes about a native bombshell named Lavinia (Camila Pitanga). Soon pictures of her are plastered all over his hut. Flashbacks reveal that Lavinia was a sex addict before she was "saved" by a local preacher who romanced and married her in the process. But Lavinia's ravenous libido is awakening, and she's soon weaved a sticky web that will have dire repercussions for everyone involved. Seasoned directors Beto Brant and Renato Ciasca collaborated on this ultra-modern looking film. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. at the Tower Theater.
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