What Mark Saw: August 17, 2026

LA BOLA NEGRA - ★★★☆



Spanish film that cuts across three timelines, with a running theme across all regarding how homosexuality has been treated historically in the country, as well as in modern day. Very nicely shot, well paced, especially for a relatively long film. The quick moral of the story can be best summarised by quoting David Lynch's character

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/18/august-17-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 15, 2026

HOLD ONTO ME - ★★★☆



Greek film about a young girl who similarly to yesterday’s film, Whispers in May, has little parental guidance. In this film, her parents are divorced and she hasn’t seen her dad in years. She spends her time hanging out with a friend, stealing borrowing a boat, and generally fending for herself while her mother and older brother do t

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/16/august-15-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 14, 2026

WHISPERS IN MAY - ★



How to make a 90 minute film about a multi day trek seem like it is a multi-day trek. For years the term "dreamlike" has been warning sign for me, and I missed that in this film's description. Maybe this film was great for some; the premise sounded interesting enough; a young girl around 12, who in the absence of her parents wants t

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/16/august-14-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 13, 2026

ALL THE LOVERS IN THE NIGHT - ★★★★







A long-ish Japanese film about a young woman who acts as a freelance book proofreader and leads a fairly quiet solo existence, bar occasional interactions with her female manager friend. She meets a man in his 50s, and they begin to catch up for a coffee and conversation. As the story unfolds, the darker side of wha

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/14/august-13-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 11, 2026

SILENCED - ★★★★



This excellent documentary had its Victorian premiere last night. Very highly recommended, and important to watch. It covered the tendency of women who suffer from violence, and then the ordeal placed upon them when they are hauled through litigation used as a weapon against them, and how social media plays a part in turning the public’s

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/12/august-11-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 10, 2026

HEN - ★★★★







Pretty incredibly made film about a chicken. The filmmakers have done an excellent job portraying the life and adventures of a chicken born in a factory, but who through a series of events finds itself out in the wider world. There were a few minor flaws, but I was happy to overlook them. Will definitely be looking into how they achieved t

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/11/august-10-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 9, 2026

THE TALE OF SILYAN - ★★★★



A very well-made documentary about an ageing farmer in North Macedonia, showing the joys of everyday life and family, as well as the struggles in a more modern world to make ends meet. It's paralleled with the story of Silyan, a young man who, when cursed by his father for wanting to leave his village, is turned into a stork. Simi

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/10/august-9-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 8, 2026

Summer Tour - ★★☆



It was a day of documentaries, and this was the weakest of the three. A missed opportunity and an interesting enough premise; following around a couple of young deadheads (Grateful Dead fans) as they drove their van around America. I felt like they could have dug a little deeper, spent more time exploring the history of this community, an

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/09/august-8-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 7, 2026

Before getting to today's films, the first session today was at the lovely, lovely Capitol Theatre.







TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS - ★★★



I sometimes go into sessions with absolutely no reference as to what they're about, or where they're from. Sometimes it's due to being rushed, and sometimes it's just to be surprised. Today was a mix of both. It's a J

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/08/august-7-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 6, 2026

WICKER - ★★★☆



MIFF opening night film for 2026. For the third year in a row MIFF did a great job. Great cast line-up including a favourite in our household, Olivia Colman, this is a film based on short story about a woman in a small village who casts aside expectations around marriage, and is treated like an outcast by her community. After having enough, s

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/08/07/august-6-2026/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: MIFF 2026 Film Selections

Melbourne International Film Festival is nearing, and as I've done in several previous years, I've scoured the guide to select which films are either 'Can't Miss', 'Want to See', and 'Might be worthwhile'. I will not make it to most, but hope to see as many as possible. This year, the films are:



Can't Miss:




Blue Heron



Fatherla

https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/07/24/miff-2026-film-selections/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

What Mark Saw: August 22-24, 2025
Must have forgotten to write some scores for film at MIFF in 2025, so posting them now, about 11 months later.



August 24, 2025



BLUE MOON - ★★★☆



August 23, 2025



TRAINS - ★★★☆



August 22, 2025



PRIME MINISTER - ★★★★



SPREADSHEET CHAMPIONS - ★★★
https://whatmarksaw.cola.net/2026/07/24/august-22-24-2025/
#MIFF #MelbourneInternationalFilmFestival

This is my first post with Mastodon Autopost plugin for wordpress - https://wordpress.org/plugins/autopost-to-mastodon/

This is my first post with Mastodon Autopost plugin for wordpress - https://wordpress.org/plugins/autopost-to-mastodon/

First login in a while. How've you been?

A message to young people like myself: look, don't put off getting a colonoscopy. It's easy, not painful or uncomfortable at all - maybe a little embarrassing but think of the fun you'll have telling everybody about it afterwards at the dinner table.

as Dave Barry wrote, there are two possible outcomes: either they find nothing, which is great, or they find something and can do something about it, which is also great.

(Mine went fine, thanks for asking, I'll spare you the details.)

I don’t post on social media much any more. But I still hope the good sides of it remain, and that all the shitty elements are removed or improved.

Been a busy few months. How's things with you?

My team (macOS System Experience) is hiring.

https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200525181/ise-system-experience-software-engineer-macos-system-experience?team=SFTWR

It is a remote friendly role in case anyone is wondering.

In the UK, compact discs continue to be a more popular choice than vinyl, and the decline of CDs has slowed in the past year. I predict the CD revival to occur within five years.

“CD sales dropped 6.9% to 10.8m units (the lowest annual rate of decline since 2015).” - https://superdeluxeedition.com/comment/cds-continue-to-outsell-vinyl-in-the-uk/

#compactdisc #vinyl