World Cup, Season 5, Match 1B: Japan vs Azerbaijan vs Switzerland vs Cyprus vs Netherlands (Feb 5th)

[Armoreska]

Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 7
O teleftaios gyrismos 5+
Bir Canub 5
Dorp aan de rivier 5 this seems like a "conservative values" movie to me
Grauzone 4

[Smoover]

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 7.5
2. Grauzone 6.5
3. Dorp aan de rivier 6.5
4. O teleftaios gyrismos 6
5. Bir Canub 5.5

[hurluberlu]

1. Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees / Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 8
2. Village by the River / Dorp aan de rivier 7+
3. The Last Homecoming / O teleftaios gyrismos 6+
4. Zones / Grauzone 6
5. In a Southern Town / Bir cənub şəhərində 5+

[zhangalan]

1. O teleftaios gyrismos
2. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita
3. Dorp aan de rivier
4. Bir Janub Shaharinda
5. Grauzone

[joachimt]

[Mario Gaborović]

Two weeks left. Standings after ten votes:

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 31-9
2. Dorp aan de rivier 24-16
3. Grauzone 18-22
4. O teleftaios gyrismos 16-24
5. Bir cənub şəhərində 11-29

[Fergenaprido]

1. 7.6 - Azerbaijan - Bir cənub şəhərində [In a Southern Town / In One of the Southern Cities] (1969)
2. 6.6 - Switzerland - Grauzone [Zones] (1979)
3. 6.2 - Cyprus - O teleftaios gyrismos [The Last Homecoming] (2008)
4. 5.8 - Netherlands - Dorp aan de rivier [Village by the River] (1958)
5. 3.8 - Japan - Sakura no mori no mankai no shita [Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees] (1975)

My ranking almost ended up a complete reverse of the current graph, but the final film kept getting worse and worse, so it dropped down a spot. I feel like I watched completely different movies based on my reaction and the general consensus (except maybe the Cypriot one).

This was a rather disappointing round for me, unfortunately. Putting my thoughts in a spoiler tag so as not to bring about too much negativity.

Actual spoilers in spoilers

The Dutch film was the biggest disappointment, as it was the only film I'd been aware of previously and had been looking forward to seeing. The blatant misogynistic and racist scenes at the beginning of the film really put me off of it.

Spoiler

The female characters were all disposable and one-sided, the episode with the Gypsy woman was jaw-dropping in it's absolutely ridiculously racist portrayal, the syphilitic woman could have been more substantial, and as soon as the plot was finished with the doctor's wife it promptly kills her off with some unspecified malady that hadn't been mentioned at all before. wtf?

The episodic nature of the film also didn't make it interesting, though of few of the episodes were good, like the crossing of the river in winter one or the one with the eldest son. Aside from that, it's a well-made film, but it was just hollow. Also, I'm curious if there are some Dutch stereotypes of Frisians that I wasn't able to pick up on; I searched for some afterward but nothing came up.

The Azerbaijani film was a pleasant surprise, and I would love to see this get a proper restoration. I'm very grateful to the YT user who uploaded it with serviceable English subtitles (though I suspect some nuance was lost in translation). The only downside for me was trying to figure out all of the characters, as the poor quality print made it harder to distinguish some of them; by the end, though, I think I had put it all together. I thought it was an interesting piece on small town life and the problems that arise from living in a close-knit traditional community in a wider society that is rapidly modernizing. The only head-scratching part for me that didn't make sense with the characters motivations was:

Spoiler

the one guy marrying the Russian woman he meets in Moscow; that came out of nowhere and I didn't understand why he did it.

Overall, though, it was a good film and it makes me more interested in exploring Azeri cinema, which I had previously been rather cold to.

The Swiss film was well-shot, yes, but rather soulless. I think it's only saving grace (and why it managed to come in second here thanks to weak competition) was that it's a satire of the sociopolitical climate of Switzerland in the 1970s... something of which I know absolutely nothing about. If I did, perhaps I would have connected with the story more. I also did not understand at all what happened at the end with the main character at his job.

Spoiler

Is he the one who created the fake news about the mystery disease? That whole scene of him exposing his boss to the rest of his employees made no sense to me.

I don't really see it as a pandemic film either, rather it comes across more as a character study of two people who may or may not be in love any more. I also feel like some of the minor plot points were set up without any payoff, like the events of his commute to work at the start of the film (though it might have been alluded to later on, unless that was just me grasping at straws trying to make it all make sense and be worth it).

The Japanese film was absolutely revolting. I have no interest in watching despicable people do despicable things, so this was an unpleasant and boring film with no redeeming qualities (not even it's "pretty" cinematography). It's funny that this is tagged as "fantasy" "history" "horror" on imdb, and yet this film is none of those things. I wonder if the book it's based on is any better, because the characters do so many irrational things and I don't get how the two leads end up trapped together unable (or unwilling) to break free from each other. Also, apparently every person in this film aside from the two protagonists (antagonists?) are weak-willed cowards who tremble at the first sight of violence and are unable to defend themselves or properly run away. wtf?

The Cypriot film started off okay, and almost looked like it had been made in the '70s or '80s when it was set instead of 2008. But as it went on it just became a mess, with poor acting, inexplicable character motivations, and a complete lack of any sort of resolution. And the poor subtitles didn't help (especially the first 15-20 minutes where they're incomplete, unintelligible, or cut off), though thankfully those improved in inverse correlation with the film itself. At least it got me a bit more interested in the 1974 coup and the events surrounding that. Also, why was the narrator the Turkish girl and why did she narrate in Greek even though she spoke Turkish at home with her father?

Anyway, sorry I didn't like most of your films, but thank you for sharing them.

[filmbantha]

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 7
I first encountered my pick last year and was transfixed within the first 15 minutes. I've thought about it a lot since watching it, particularly the film's arresting conclusion and I'm fairly confident that it will go up to an 8 on a rewatch. I knew that it would not be a film for everyone when I picked it but I am pleased to see a mostly positive reception to it.

Apologies for making you sit through something that you found so off putting Ferg. I have a penchant for dark and disturbing cinema as you know and I can totally understand why you felt so strongly about my choice. I think I have a good understanding of your taste after our combined efforts as iCMFF programmers and it is not a film I would have ever dreamed of recommending to you were it not for this tournament! I just hope my pick for France fares a little better with you

2. Bir cənub şəhərində 6
This was a nice discovery from a country I would love to see more from. The cinematography was on point with a number of interesting camera angles throughout. I found the story engaging from the offset though the film definitely started stronger than it ended.

3. Grauzone 6
Another neat discovery and a film with an impressive and intriguing opening. Grauzone benefits from striking black and white cinematography and builds a nice sense of paranoia, though the story became less interesting the more we found out about what was happening.

4. Dorp aan de rivier 6
A pleasant film with a great setting, I just wished it had focused more on the the narrator and his life on a houseboat. The dual focus between the two main characters felt at odds in parts, and although the doctor and narrator were supposed to be good friends they hardly seemed to share any screentime together. There was a surprising amount of tension here; the night time river crossing was a highlight for me.

5. O teleftaios gyrismos 5
There was a powerful story to be told here, however, the story was split between far too many characters and told in such a short time, that we never really got to develop an emotional connection with any of the characters. I certainly learned a lot more about the situation in Cyprus, so this was still a good film for me to experience.

Thanks to all of the managers for their picks!

[Fergenaprido]

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 7
I first encountered my pick last year and was transfixed within the first 15 minutes. I've thought about it a lot since watching it, particularly the film's arresting conclusion and I'm fairly confident that it will go up to an 8 on a rewatch. I knew that it would not be a film for everyone when I picked it but I am pleased to see a mostly positive reception to it.

Apologies for making you sit through something that you found so off putting Ferg. I have a penchant for dark and disturbing cinema as you know and I can totally understand why you felt so strongly about my choice. I think I have a good understanding of your taste after our combined efforts as iCMFF programmers and it is not a film I would have ever dreamed of recommending to you were it not for this tournament! I just hope my pick for France fares a little better with you

No apology necessary bantha. You're not responsible for how people respond to your pick. I could just have easily turned it off after 15 minutes and ignored the rest of the film, so please don't feel like you've forced me (or anyone else) to sit through this; it's a voluntary game, anyway.

Bad picture quality and subs also lower the joy people have in watching a movie. Managers all hope that the participants enjoy the movie, right? Picking something with lower quality is something that, how do you say in English...... there's a Dutch saying for that: "Je staat al 1-0 achter voordat je begonnen bent."

I don't think all managers are picking films with enjoyment in mind; some just want to promote their films so that people actually see them and perhaps they'll do better in other film projects like DTC & Hidden Gems down the line. But yeah, I don't get how picking something of lower quality will achieve that goal either.

And I google translated the saying and it makes sense, but I can't think of the English equivalent right now. The closest I can come up with is "to start at a disadvantage" but I'm sure there's something more colourful, something along the lines of losing before you started. A similar one, for when you're almost certain to win but then you do something stupid, is "to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory", a play on the more famous saying about an underdog's victory.

[zuma]

01 - Sakura no mori no mankai no shita

02 - Grauzone

03 - Dorp aan de rivier

04 - O teleftaios gyrismos

05 - Bir Canub

[Mario Gaborović]

Less than a week left.

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 39-13
2. Dorp aan de rivier 28-24
3. Grauzone 26-26
4. O teleftaios gyrismos 19-33
5. Bir cənub şəhərində 18-34

[jvv]

Dorp aan de rivier 5 this seems like a "conservative values" movie to me

What gave you that impression? If anything it seemed like an anti-establishment movie to me.

[jvv]

1. O teleftaios gyrismos 7/10
2. Dorp aan de rivier 7/10
3. Bir cənub şəhərində 6/10
4. Grauzone 6/10
5. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 5/10

[72aicm]

1. Grauzone (1979)
2. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita (1975)
3. Dorp aan de rivier (1958)
4. O teleftaios gyrismos (2008)
5. Bir Cänub Shähärindä (1969)

[joachimt]

Second place is getting really close......

[zzzorf]

1. O teleftaios gyrismos
2. Dorp aan de rivier
3. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita
4. Grauzone
5. Bir cənub şəhərində

[joachimt]

1. Dorp aan de rivier 7+
2. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 7
3. O teleftaios gyrismos 6
4. Bir Cänub Shähärindä 6-
5. Grauzone 5

[Armoreska]

Dorp aan de rivier 5 this seems like a "conservative values" movie to me

What gave you that impression? If anything it seemed like an anti-establishment movie to me.

but anti-E from the right

Bad guys were socialists, good guy was a Great Person.
Fergenaprido already drew up some points.

However it's not as bad as Flucht nach Berlin

[jvv]

Dorp aan de rivier 5 this seems like a "conservative values" movie to me

What gave you that impression? If anything it seemed like an anti-establishment movie to me.

but anti-E from the right

Bad guys were socialists, good guy was a Great Person.
Fergenaprido already drew up some points.

However it's not as bad as Flucht nach Berlin

Really? For me the bad guys were clearly the mayor and his crony, who were definitely not socialists.
I'll give you that the good guy, the doctor, is establishment, but he seemed to side with the poor people most of the time.
Funny, how differently people can see the same movie.

I do agree with Fergenaprido's points. I don't think they gave much thought to those in the 50s in the Netherlands though.

[jvv]

Actual spoilers in spoilers

Also, I'm curious if there are some Dutch stereotypes of Frisians that I wasn't able to pick up on; I searched for some afterward but nothing came up.

I guess the most common stereotype about Frisians is that they're stubborn, which does apply to the doctor I think.

[Fergenaprido]

Actual spoilers in spoilers

Also, I'm curious if there are some Dutch stereotypes of Frisians that I wasn't able to pick up on; I searched for some afterward but nothing came up.

I guess the most common stereotype about Frisians is that they're stubborn, which does apply to the doctor I think.

Thanks jvv.

And yeah, I thought the mayor and his ilk were just corrupt politicians and businessmen, didn't think of them as socialists. But yeah, my other points of issue with the film are definitely conservative ones.

[shugs]

1. The Last Homecoming
2. Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees
3. Zones
4. Village by the River
5. In a Southern Town

[joachimt]

One day left

[Mario Gaborović]

One day left

Weren't two days instead? Right now it's day and a half.

[lineuphere]

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita
2. Bir cənub şəhərində
3. Dorp aan de rivier
4. Grauzone
5. O teleftaios gyrismos

[Mario Gaborović]

Last call. Less than a day left.

[Nopros]

1. Dorp aan de rivier - 8
2. O teleftaios gyrismos - 7
3. Grauzone - 7
4. Bir Janub Shaharinda - 6
5. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita - 6

[joachimt]

One day left

Weren't two days instead? Right now it's day and a half.

When I posted, I thought it was Sunday, but it was actually Saturday. This morning when I woke up at 6:40, I was startled because I thought I missed the alarm clock and would be late. Then I realized it was Sunday ...... again.

[Angel Glez]

1.O teleftaios gyrismos
2.Bir Janub Shaharinda
3.Grauzone
4.Dorp aan de rivier
5.Sakura no mori no mankai no shita

Not my favorite group, but kudos to the managers for their brave choices.

[avb]

1. Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (Sakura no mori no mankai no shita)
2. Village by the River (Dorp aan de rivier)
3. In a Southern Town (Bir cənub şəhərində)
4. Zones (Grauzone)
5. The Last Homecoming (O teleftaios gyrismos)

It was a challenge to decide on 2nd place because it was a tight race between Village and Southern Town. Ultimately it came down to clarity of subtitles and how much of the films I was able to absorb as a result. I hate that had to be the deciding factor, but it was the last comparison I had left as they stacked up pretty equally until that point. I particularly loved the score of Southern Town though. Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees had moments where it reminded me a bit of The Decameron in tone.

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita - 9/10
2. Grauzone - 9/10
3. Bir cənub şəhərində - 8.5/10
4. Dorp aan de rivier - 8/10
5. O teleftaios gyrismos - 6.5 or 7/10

Very strong round!

[sacmersault]

I've barely managed to finish them all:

1. In a Southern Town (Bir cənub şəhərində) (I really liked the music on this film)
2. The Last Homecoming (O teleftaios gyrismos)
3. Village by the River (Dorp aan de rivier)
4. Zones (Grauzone)
5. Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees (Sakura no mori no mankai no shita)

[Mario Gaborović]

The match is over. Japan and Netherlands (for the 1st time) advance to the second round.

1. Sakura no mori no mankai no shita 62-34
2. Dorp aan de rivier 54-42
3. Grauzone 44-52
4. O teleftaios gyrismos 44-52
5. Bir cənub şəhərində 36-60

Head-to-head for 3rd place.
Switzerland - Cyprus 13-11

Congratulations to filmbantha and pitchorneirda. Also thanks to beavis, RogerTheMovieManiac88 and myself for our picks and the 24 people who voted this match.

Masahiro Shinoda tied the record of 5 wins in World Cups by one director, previously held by J. Lee Thompson. Pale Flower won one knock-out match in Season 3's quarterfinals.

[joachimt]

Double check. I got the same numbers.

[Mario Gaborović]

mistake.