For Those About to Fest... MSPIFF 2014

Navigating over 200 films in just over two weeks is both a dream and a nightmare for any film fan, and often the best (and most adventurous) approach is throwing a dart at the schedule. But if flying into the dark is not your style, the Joyless Creatures are here to lend a hand. We give you our picks for every day of the Festival listed in red—three for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; two for Monday through Thursday—with screening times and links to MSPIFF's website for more information. An imprecise algorithm between the Joyless editors (one of whom is a Festival programmer), these picks are intended to measure interest, variety, quality, and educated guesses of film highlights  that may never return to the Twin Cities. We also have a smattering of reviews for you to dig a little deeper into some of the other titles that have caught our eyes, which will include ongoing coverage as we visit some of these films right alongside you in the theater.

Day 1: Friday, April 4

• Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border (USA)

                                6:45pm

• Breathe In (USA)
• Closed Curtain (Iran)
• Heli (Mexico)
• Manakamana (Nepal)
• Porcelain Horse (Ecuador) ★★★
• Sharon Isbin: Troubadour (USA)

• Four Ways to Die in My Hometown (China)

                                1:40pm

• Intruders (S Korea)
• Jadoo (India)
• Left Foot Right Foot (Switzerland)
• Watermark (Canada) ★★
• Slow Food Story (Italy)
• The Sacrament (USA)

• Stray Dogs (Taiwan)

                              9:00pm

• Longing For the Rain (China/Hong Kong)
• Love and Lemons (Sweden)
• Stay Then Go (MN!)
• The Summer of Flying Fish (Chile)
• Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony (Spain)

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Day 2: Saturday, April 5

• Coherence (USA)

                                7:00pm

• Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (USA)
• Antboy (Denmark)
• Bends (Hong Kong)
• Cannibal (Spain) ★★★½
• Class Enemy (Slovenia)
  
• Club Sandwich (Mexico) ★★★½
• Cyber-Seniors (Canada)
• Exit Marrakech (Germany)
• Food for Love (Greece)
• Ilo Ilo (Singapore)

• Stop the Pounding Heart (USA/Italy)

                                    1:15pm

• The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (USA)
  
• Google and the World Brain (UK)
• Horizon Beautiful (Switzerland)
  
• In Real Life (UK)
• The Jingle Dress (MN!)
• Just A Sigh (France)
  
• The Land of Hope (Japan)

• Ugly (India)

                                    7:35pm

• Nobody's Daughter Haewon (S Korea)
• Of Horses and Men (Iceland)
• The Priest's Children (Croatia)
  
• Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border (USA)
• R100 (Japan)
• Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation (Switzerland)
• Waltz for Monica (Sweden)

---

Day 3: Sunday, April 6

• Brave Miss World (USA)

                                 4:00pm

• Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq (USA)
• The Amazing Catfish (Mexico)
  
• Coherence (USA)
• The Congress (Israel)
  
• Cyber-Seniors (Canada)
• Death to Prom (MN!)
• Faith Connections (India)
• The Forgotten Kingdom (S Africa)

• Despite the Gods (Australia)

                                    7:30pm

• Joe (USA)
• Le Chef (France) ★★★½
• Left Foot Right Foot (Switzerland)
• Marina (Belgium)
• Mercedes Sosa: The Voice of Latin America (Argentina)
• Metro Manila (UK)
• Mussels in Love (Netherlands)

• Gangs of Wasseypur - Parts 1 & 2 (India)

                12:45pm & 3:55pm

• Mystery Road (Australia)

• Sharon Isbin: Troubadour (USA)
• The System (USA)
• Tom at the Farm (Canada)
• Watermark (Canada) ★★
• We Are Mari Pepa (Mexico)
• Windstorm (Germany)
• Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang (Spain)

---

Day 4: Monday, April 7

• Nobody's Daughter Haewon (S Korea)

                                                    9:20pm

• Breathe In (USA)
• Final Recipe (S Korea)
• Harmony Lessons (Kazakhstan)
• Hotell (Sweden)
  
• Jadoo (India)
• Jouir De Le Vie (MN!)

• Of Horses and Men (Iceland)
•                                                 7:15pm
  
• The Organic Life (USA)
• The Rocket (Australia) ★★★★
• Siddharth (Canada)
• Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (USA)
• Stop the Pounding Heart (USA/Italy)
• The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (Belgium)
• The Summer of Flying Fish (Chile)

---

Day 5: Tuesday, April 8

• Concrete Night (Finland)

                                                    9:45pm

• Club Sandwich (Mexico) ★★★½
• Despite the Gods (Australia)
• The Forgotten Kingdom (S Africa)
• The German Doctor (Argentina)
• Make Hummus Not War (Australia)
• Metro Manila (UK)
• My Sweet Pepper Land (France) ★★★★½

• Midsummer Night's Tango (Germany)

                                                        8:00pm

• The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (USA)
• The Priest's Children (Croatia)
• Proxy (USA)
• Ugly (India)
• When Jews Were Funny (Canada)
• Wicker Kittens (MN!)
• Yozgat Blues (Turkey)
  

---

Day 6: Wednesday, April 9

• Flashback Memories 3D (Japan)

                                        6:00pm - Walker Cinema

• Borgman (Netherlands)
• Charlie Victor Romeo (USA)
• Class Enemy (Slovenia)
• The Cleaner (Peru)
• Exit Marrakech (Germany)
• Food For Love (Greece)
• Four Ways to Die in My Hometown (China)
• The Kill Team (USA) ★★★★
• Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy (Thailand)
  

• Me Too (Russia)

                                                    9:40pm

• The Amazing Catfish (Mexico)
• The Soap Myth (USA)
• The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (Belgium)
  
• Waltz for Monica (Sweden)
• Who is Dayani Cristal? (UK)
• Who is Vermin Supreme? An Outsider Odyssey (MN!)
• Wicker Kittens (MN!)
• Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (Hong Kong)
  

---

Day 7: Thursday, April 10

• Harmony Lessons (Kazakhstan)

                                                        4:30pm

• Aftermath (Poland) ★★★½
• Bends (Hong Kong)
• Faith Connections (India)
• Hotell (Sweden)
• Intruders (S Korea)
• Karaoke Girl (Thailand)
• Love and Lemons (Sweden)
• Midsummer Night's Tango (Germany)
  

• We Don't Want to Make You Dance (USA)

                                                        6:45pm

• Mystery Road (Australia)
• Stray Dogs (Taiwan)
• Sugar Kisses (Mexico)
• The Soap Myth (USA)
• The Starfish Throwers (MN!) ★★★★½
• The Trip to Italy (UK)
• Witching and Bitching (Spain)
  
• A Wolf at the Door (Brazil)
  

---

Day 8: Friday, April 11

• The Dog (USA)

                                    9:50pm

• Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clerq (USA)
• The Attorney (S Korea)
• The Cleaner (Peru)
  
• Dom Hemingway (UK)
• Gabrielle (Canada)
• Sugar Kisses (Mexico)
  

• Heli (Mexico)

                                    4:45pm

• Maina (Belgium)
• Monk With a Camera (USA)
• My Sweet Pepper Land (France) ★★★★½
  
• The Overnighters (USA)
• Porcelain Horse (Ecuador) ★★★
• Salma (India)
  

• The Land of Hope (Japan)

                                    4:15pm

• The Grand Seduction (Canada)
• We Are the Best! (Sweden)
• Whitewash (Canada)
• Who is Dayani Cristal? (UK)
• Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Japan)
  

---

Day 9: Saturday, April 12

• Letter to Momo (Japan)

                                    1:00pm

• 3x3D (France)
• All About the Feathers (Costa Rica)
  

• American Arab (USA)
• The Animal Project (Canada)
  
• The Attorney (S Korea)
• The Auction (Canada)
• Beyond the Edge (New Zealand)
• Borgman (Netherlands)
• Burt's Buzz (Canada)

• Norte, the End of History (Philippines)

                                    11:15am

• The Double (UK)
• Final Recipe ( S Korea)
• For No Good Reason (UK)
• Google and the World Brain (UK)
• Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists (USA) ★★★★
• Horizon Beautiful (Switzerland)
• The Life of Riley (MN!)

• Witching and Bitching (Spain)

                                    10:30pm

• The Human Face of Big Data (USA)
• Out of the Fire (USA)
• Paulette (France)
• The Organic Life (USA)
• The Starfish Throwers (USA) ★★★★½
• Trespassing Bergman (Sweden)
• Twin Sisters (Norway)
• We Don't Wanna Make You Dance (USA)
  
• A Wolf at the Door (Brazil)

---

Day 10: Sunday, April 13

• Closed Curtain (Iran)

                                    9:55pm

• American Arab (USA)
• Brave Miss World (USA)
• For a Woman (France)
• The Forest (Spain)
  
• Forward (USA)
• Gabrielle (Canada)
• Giselle (New Zealand)
• The Grand Seduction (Canada)
• The Militant (Uruguay)

• The Last of the Unjust (France)

                                    1:00pm

• Harry Who & the Chicago Imagists (USA) ★★★★
• The Human Face of Big Data (USA)
  
• Longing For the Rain (China/Hong Kong)
• Out of the Fire (USA)
• R100 (Japan)
• Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation (Switzerland)

• The Overnighters (USA)

                                    1:20pm

• Slow Food Story (Italy)
• Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (USA)
• The Trip to Italy (UK)
• Trespassing Bergman (Sweden)
• When Jews Were Funny (Canada)
• Young & Beautiful (France)
• Yozgat Blues (Turkey)
• Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang (Spain)
  

---

Day 11: Monday, April 14

• Manakamana (Nepal)

                                                        4:15pm

• Cannibal (Spain) ★★★½
• Cesar's Grill (Germany)
• Half of a Yellow Sun (Nigeria) ★★½
• The Kill Team (USA) ★★★★
• Living is Easy With Eyes Closed (Spain)
• Longwave (Switzerland)
• Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy (Thailand)

• We Are the Best! (Sweden)

                                                        7:10pm

• Mussels in Love (Netherland)
• Old Man (MN!)
• Paulette (France)
• Proxy (USA)
• The Rocket (Australia) ★★★★
• Salvo (Italy)
  
• The Strange Little Cat (Germany)

---

Day 12: Tuesday, April 15

• Fish & Cat (Iran)

                                                    9:20pm

• The Animal Project (Canada)
• The Auction (Canada)
  
• Before Snowfall (Norway)
• Bicycling with Moliere (France)
• The Dog (USA)
• The Forest (Spain)
  

• Pine Ridge (USA)

                                                        5:15pm

• Le Chef (France) ★★★½
• The Mute (Peru)
  
• OJ: The Musical (USA)
• We Are Mari Pepa (Mexico)
• Workers (Mexico)
  

---

Day 13: Wednesday, April 16

• How to Disappear Completely (Philippines)

                                                        9:45pm

• A Year in Champagne (USA)
• Aftermath (Poland) ★★★½
• App (Netherlands)
• Cesar's Last Fast (USA)
• The Congress (Israel)
• The German Doctor (Argentina)
  
• Locke (USA)
  

• The Strange Little Cat (Germany)

                                                        6:00pm

• The Militant (Uruguay)
• OJ: The Musical (USA)
• Remembering Nokutela (S Africa)
• Salma (India)
• Twin Sisters (Norway
• Web Junkie (China)
• Whitewash (Canada)
  

---

Day 14: Thursday, April 17

• Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (USA) ★★★

                                                    7:15pm

• 1,000 Times Goodnight (Norway)
• Above All Else (USA)
• All About the Feathers (Costa Rica)
• Boyhood (USA)
• Buzzard (USA)
• Cesare's Grill (Germany)
• The Double (UK)
  
• For a Woman (France)
• Giselle (New Zealand)

• Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Japan)

                                                    10:15pm

• Hunting Elephants (Israel)
• I Thought It Was a Party (Argentina)
• Ilo Ilo (Singapore)
• Just a Sigh (France)
• Land of Storms (Hungary)
• Make Hummus Not War (Australia)
• The Mute (Peru)
• Trapped (Iran)

---

Day 15: Friday, April 18

• An Arctic Space Odyssey (Norway)

                                    7:35pm

• Antboy (Denmark)
• Before Snowfall (Norway)
• Blue Ruin (USA)
• Burt's Buzz (Canada)
• Cesare's Last Fast (USA)

• Living is Easy With Eyes Closed (Spain)

                                    5:15pm

• The Last of Robin Hood (USA)
• Concrete Night (Finland)
• Half of a Yellow Sun (Nigeria) ★★½

• Love Battles (France)
• Me Too (Russia)
• Mercedes Sosa: The Voice of Latin America (Argentine)

• Tom at the Farm (Canada)

                                  9:35pm         

• Pine Ridge (USA)
• Salt in the Air (Ukraine)
• Salvo (Italy)
• Violette (France)
• Web Junkie (China)
• What is Left (?) (Italy)
• Workers (Mexico)
  

---

Day 16: Saturday, April 19

• Blue Ruin (USA)

                                    9:45pm

• 1,000 Times Goodnight (Norway)
• An Arctic Space Odyssey (Norway)
• App (Netherlands)
• Bicycling With Moliere (France)
• Buzzard (USA)
• Cavedigger (USA)
• Hunting Elephants (Israel)

• Karaoke Girl (Thailand)

                                    1:15pm

• Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (USA) ★★★
• How to Disappear Completely (Philippines)
• I Thought It Was a Party (Argentina)
• The Last of Robin Hood (USA)
  
• Letter to Momo (Japan)
  

• Land of Storms (Hungary)

                                    11:00am

• Longwave (Switzerland)
• Monk With a Camera (USA)
• Salt in the Air (Ukraine)
• Siddharth (Canada)
• The Skeleton Twins (USA)
• Trapped (Iran)
• What is Left (?) (Italy)
• Windstorm (Germany)
• Words and Pictures (USA)
• Young & Beautiful (France)