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What-To-Watch Thursday is Overdose’s new weekly film concept: every Thursday – which traditionally is Premiere-night in the cinemas across Amsterdam – we will review at least two films that are definitely worth your while. Our main goal is to shield you from horrible films and wasting your precious time. In the process we will try and give you as much in-depth background, without spoiling anything!
The Oscars
Anticipation: This Sunday it’s Oscar time! Several Cinemas in Amsterdam are hosting special nights to celebrate the 85th time the famous award show is being held. So this time I won’t be reviewing a particular film, but in fact I’ll just tell you were to go for your Oscar fun. There will be plenty to choose from on your last day of the weekend: start you day off at Kriterion and head for the coziness of De Balie a couple of hours later, where they have their annual Oscar night – co-hosted by Cineville.nl.
Appreciation: At 15.00 you can start your day in Kriterion for the Oscar Nominated Shorts in the category Animation, followed at 17.00 by the category Live-Action. Both screenings can be visited separately and consist of five short films. Tickets are 9 euro per screening and a combo-ticket can be obtained for 15.
The second part of the shorts screening will take up about two hours of your time, so around 19.00 you can go and grab a quick bite before you start drinking at 21.00, when Jameson will offer a free drink at De Balie. Obviously, drinks are only for those who also go to see the special preview of David O. Russell‘s new comedy Silver Linings Playbook with it’s stellar cast consisting off Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence en Robert DeNiro. I have not seen this film – and unfortunately I can’t predict the future – however, with it’s 8 nominations and versatile director Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter) in charge, it should be interesting enough. This year the film receiving the most nominations was Lincoln with twelve, followed by Life of Pi with eleven. Check out all the nominees here. And if you really can’t wait ’till Sunday, you can go ahead and predict this years Oscar winners here.
After the screening the fun doesn’t stop and De Balie will offer a night long program of Oscar related madness, with immediate discussion on this years winners around 02.00 and many more entertainment. So see you there!
Where to see: Nominated Shorts screening at 15.00 and 17.00 at Kriterion, followed by the Oscars night at De Balie from 21.00.
The Imposter
Anticipation: Some stories are so inconceivable they can’t be made up. British documentary maker Bart Layton must have felt the same way when stumbled upon the mind boggling story of Frédéric Bourdin. Layton tells the story of 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay who in 1994 went missing from a small town in rural Texas. Three years and four months later a shady figure hailing from France presents himself as the mysteriously disappeared Barclay. It is here where we are confronted with the insane premise that Bourdin, a 23-year old dark-haired Frenchman with noticeable accent, gets to be accepted by Nicolas’s family as their long-lost son. Meet the Imposter.
Appreciation: The way this documentary unfolds, as Barclay’s relatives are interviewed, is almost like a classic narrative: where a loved child gets snatched from his warm and caring surroundings. However, when Bourdin – now in his late thirties – starts to dominate the screen with his intriguing and disconcerting face: any claim to the truth seem to go out the window. Who is to be trusted in this insane story? Layton is well aware of the extraordinary nature of his tale, and frequently confronts the unreliability of all his characters. In fact, it is this approach that amount to a film that is as inventive and captivating as The Imposter himself. Also taking into account Layton’s stylistic approach normally associated with film noir and gothic like thriller – which perfectly fits the bill here – and we have an amazing documentary that will leave you baffled.
Length: 99 min.
Verdict: 4/5 – Layton’s stylistic and inventive approach to this bizarre story amount to one of best documentaries in recent years.
Where to see: Watch this film in Cineville’s Kriterion and Cinecenter – from Wednesday 27th. Also in Pathe cinemas.
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