The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival

The butt-numbing marathon that is the Melbourne International Film Festival has once again come to a end, but we're not quite ready to stop talking about the movies. For 18 days straight our critics devoured all the festival program had to offer, uncovering hidden gems and suffering through the worst of the worst so that you, dear reader, won't have to. 

From 3D sex epics to psychological thrillers and an early look at one of the mostly hotly anticipated Shakespeare adaptations ever made, here are our picks of the best, the worst and the most utterly bizarre films of MIFF 2015. 

THE BEST FILMS

MACBETH

On paper, the latest film adaptation of Macbeth has all the makings of a winner. William Shakespeare's tragedy of power and ambition has regaled audiences for four centuries; Aussie director Justin Kurzel showed he knows a thing or two about making moody, brooding movies with serial killer chiller Snowtown; and stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are among the finest actors of their generation. On screen, this bubbling potential isn't just realised — it is exceeded in brutal, blistering fashion. Nary a piece of cinema this year will gift audiences with such a sensory yet stark audio-visual showcase while uttering such iconic monologues; however it is the tackling of the original play's sound and fury with raw energy and a western-like savagery and sorrow that truly lingers. Fassbender and Cotillard are breathtaking, as are supporting players Sean Harris, Paddy Considine and Jack Reynor. A finer film in 2015, we may not see — all hail Macbeth, indeed.

-Sarah Ward

TEHRAN TAXI

Of the three films veteran director Jafar Panahi has made since the Iranian government sentenced him to a 20-year ban on filmmaking in 2010, Tehran Taxi is by far his best. Gone is the (justifiable) atmosphere of frustration and impotence that coursed through This Is Not a Film and Closed Curtain, replaced instead by a renewed sense of purpose and political resolve. Shot almost entirely within the confines of a taxi that Panahi himself is driving, this surprisingly light-hearted film takes us around the streets of the Iranian capital and introduces us to various colourful characters, including an illegal DVD salesman, a pair of superstitious old women and even the directors own quick witted niece. Thing is, not all of whom seem to realise they're in a film. By blurring the line between documentary and fiction in such a playful manner, Panahi is able to deliver an impassioned cry for social change. Rarely is a film so clearly important while also being so much fun.

-Tom Clift

THE LOBSTER

After wowing arthouse viewers with the Oscar-nominated Dogtooth and the Sydney Film Festival-winning Alps, Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos makes his English-language debut with something that both is and isn't a little bit different. Here, he enlists a recognisable cast, including Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Wishaw, John C. Reilly, Olivia Colman and Léa Seydoux, to enact a situation that skewers society's penchant for pairing off; in other words, his players might have changed, but his fascination with slyly cynical exaggerations of societal norms remains. That The Lobster's story revolves around single folks trying to meet their match to avoid being turned into animals demonstrates the humour on display, but the film's beauty must be experienced to be believed. That the end product is as satirical as it is movingly sweet and wryly amusing isn't just emblematic of its shifting tone — it's a stroke of cinematic genius.

-SW

THE GUEST

As late night genre films go, they don't get much better than The Guest. A follow-up their 2013 home invasion horror movie You're Next, director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett pay homage to the crazed war vet films of the post-Vietnam era with this intense, clever, hugely entertaining action thriller. Downton Abbey star Dan Stephens is simply brilliant as David Collins, a mysterious soldier who arrives on the small town doorstep of the Peterson family with a message from their eldest son Caleb, who was recently killed in action. But it soon becomes clear that there's more to David than he's letting on. Funny one moment, frightening the next, with a couple of fantastic action scenes thrown in, The Guest is the kind of movie that knows exactly what it wants to be, and nails it every step of the way. It hits DVD and VOD next month, so make sure to track it down.

-TC

THE BOLDEST EXPERIMENTS

LOVE 3D

Hands down the most divisive film of MIFF 2015, Love is the latest picture from provocateur Gaspar Noe, who previously shocked audiences with his gruesome rape-revenge thriller Irreversible before taking them on a drug-fuelled afterlife trip through neon-lit Tokyo in his follow up Enter the Void. Both those films are tough acts to follow, but this two hour 3D sex epic certainly delivers. Plenty of people hated this movie – and yes, some of the dialogue is unforgivably clunky, and the protagonist is one of the most unlikeable leads we've been burdened with in quite some time. And yet even its detractor's would be hard pressed to deny the film's visual panache, including what is for our money the most artful use of 3D since Avatar reinvigorated the format (and no, we're not talking about the 3D cumshot, although that's definitely memorable.) Whether it'll ever get another theatrical screening in this country isn't really clear, but if it does then you should jump at the chance to check it out – even if it's just to say you did. Just maybe leave the kiddies at home.

-TC

QUEEN OF EARTH

After tackling sibling and romantic bonds in The Color Wheel and Listen Up Philip, respectively, writer/director Alex Ross Perry turns his attention to another kind of connection in his latest feature. In Queen of Earth, long-term female friendship is in the spotlight, with Catherine (Elisabeth Moss) and Virginia (Katherine Waterston) seemingly in the final throes of their bond. Over the course of a week spent at a remote cabin, their differences are heightened — as is Catherine's already-fragile emotional and mental state. The story might sound straightforward, as the BFFs fight and recall better times; however the ever-versatile Perry — his handling of internal battles as much as external conflicts, and his crafting of a claustrophobic character thriller — is anything but ordinary. Comes complete with textured 16mm cinematography, a haunting score, and equally demanding and devastating lead performances.

-SW

MOST WTF MOMENTS

SPRING

When is a body horror movie not a body horror movie? When it's actually a deeply touching love story. Written and directed by relative newcomers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, Spring is a weird beast indeed. The film contains all the trappings of a gruesome creature feature, and yet it never quite goes in that direction. Instead, we're treated to a surprisingly affecting tale about a young American backpacker who falls head over heels for a pretty Italian girl, only to discover that she's harbouring a fairly significant secret. This low-budget production benefits from great central performances and some pretty elaborate makeup effects, but its biggest strength is that it consistently refuses to follow the expected path. A thoroughly strange but extremely gratifying flick that has us excited to see what the filmmakers tackle next.

-TC

RYUZO AND HIS SEVEN HENCHMEN

In Ryuzo and His Seven Henchmen, legendary Japanese actor and director Takeshi Kitano ponders three questions. First, he wonders what a yakuza gets up to when his action-packed days are long behind him. Next, he applies the same query to filmmakers known for making yazuka movies. Finally, he explores what happens when both get back into the crime and violence game. The amusing, crowd-pleasing offering that results careens between kinetic laughs and outlandish action — as such a film should — as it attempts to answer all three concerns. Expect antics and insights to combine, even if the momentum of the first third can't quite be maintained. An effort that's perhaps less "what the fuck" than "why the fuck not."

-SW

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

THE NIGHTMARE

Back in 2012, Rodney Ascher made the conspiracy movie to end all conspiracy movies, with Room 237 delving into theories surrounding Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. What it lacked in polish it made up for in the affection it showed in indulging its subjects, and in celebrating its inspiration. Sadly, his latest effort — the part-documentary, part-thriller offering The Nightmare — is all pandering and no purpose, apart than repetitively rambling about and reenacting what sufferers of sleep paralysis experience. The concept is fascinating, but Ascher seems more concerned with scaring the audience — and referencing A Nightmare on Elm Street and Insidious — than actually exploring the topic. His purpose might be to make you not want to go to sleep, but his outcome achieves exactly the opposite.

-SW

THE ASSASSIN

Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien took home the Best Director Award at the most recent Cannes Film Festival for his slow-moving martial arts drama The Assassin – and far be it from us to question the decision of the esteemed Cannes jury. Actually, scratch that. Sure the film may look pretty (although it's got nothing on last year's The Grandmaster), but that's little consolation when you're struggling to stay awake. The narrative, about a young female assassin in ninth-century China, is totally inscrutable, which wouldn't be as much as an issue if the characters weren't likewise. It's very difficult to care about anything happening on screen when you don't care about the people it involves. The film does contain a few impressive fight sequences, shot from a distance in a manner that emphasises the balletic qualities of martial arts. Ultimately however, it's nowhere near enough.

-TC