  i know its only the second day, but so far i seem to see one standout film and two mediocre films.. lets hope that changes tonight. the problem with last night was that i enjoyed the first film so much that nothing seemed to reach the same level of enjoyment after that.
bright future this film was just great. i enjoyed every minute of it. the story is about 24 yr old nimura, who lacks social skills, and freaks out at situations he can't handle. he befriends 27yr old mamoru, who helps him out, by telling him when to wait, and when to go ahead (in life). mamoru also owns a cool pet jellyfish, which he is trying to climatise to freshwater.&nbsp;mamoru ends up killing their boss, and gives the jellyfish to nimura.
now in jail and facing the death penalty, mamoru mentors nimura from behind bars, as nimura is lost without him. much to his distress, nimura loses the jellyfish in the river. mamrou ends up killing himself, leaving nimura a message to go ahead. nimura then befriends mamoru's father, and they go on a quest for the lost jellyfish. i so want a pet jellyfish after this movie.. it was just so wonderful in every way. i have yet to see the director's other films, tho a friend is going to lend them to me, so i can't wait to see them!
road to koktebel slow, russian film about a father and son who travel on foot from moscow to crimea to his sisters house to start anew. there was nothing terribly wrong with this film, but there was nothing that blew me away either. a lot of the jolty camerawork did annoy me tho, as i found it impossible to focus on anything sometimes. there was some beautiful imagery tho, especially at the end in crimea. gives the impression that russia outside of moscow is a very underdeveloped country, which i'm not suprised about.
azumi once again, another movie i had high hopes for and failed to deliver. the review in the festival guide claimed it has "some of the most impressive swordplay in the history of samurai epics". the swordplay was shit. i could do a better job and i've never held a sword in my life. azumi was far too cutesy a character to be a cool, arse kicking chick.. and the special effects were something out of the 80's. i'm pretty sure it was CG, but it looked like chromakey. it was silly, i'll give it that, and it didn't take itself seriously, which is good, but from what i had heard, i thought it was gonna be a lot better. if you want a cool arse kicking japanese chick film, see the princess blade instead.. the girl is way cooler. 
