Film Festival: day 4

Shuffle
Synopsis: What would you do if each time you woke up you were at a different age in your life? For Lovell Milo this is not a theoretical question, but an every day part of life. Since the age of 26, although he’s never quite sure when that was, his world has been this way, a literal card shuffle, never knowing what he’s going to get dealt. The more his life jumps from year to year, the more restless he becomes, and ultimately he begins searching for clues to find a way out. Finally he notices a pattern to what he is experiencing and discovers there may be a reason for and a solution to this madness. A mesmerizing puzzle of a film, Shuffle is a blackand-white portrait of a disheartened young man’s second chance at life, a chance he may miss out on if he doesn’t play his c ards right.

My thoughts:  This was my favorite film of the festival.  Each day Lovell wakes up at a different time in his life, and struggles to figure out why and how to stop it.  Watch a trailer here.

Starbuck
Synopsis:  David Wozniak, who has worked his way down to being the delivery guy for his family’s butcher business, is 42 with not much going for him. For pocket change, he routinely donates sperm to a Montreal artificial insemination clinic, but a processing error has led to his sperm being used over and over, to successfully father 533 children!  Now, a group of those kids is suing the clinic to learn David’s true identity, as David hides behind his legal rights to anonymity, while a media circus ensues. The media dub the mysterious donor “Starbuck,” in honor of a true-life Holstein bull famed for his stud services.  Never one to accept a responsibility that he couldn’t better shirk, David sneaks through a variety of impersonations to peek into the lives of his young progeny, and discovers a talent for parental nurturing he never knew he had. Ken Scott’s uproarious high-concept comedy was the number one box office hit in Quebec last year, and it’s not just because audiences were in tears with laughter. They were in tears from the wellspring of joy that comes with the rediscovering of unconditional love.

My thoughts:  This was my 2nd favorite film of the festival.  It was very funny, very sweet, and very tender.  Watch a trailer here.