When we think of Melbourne International Film Festival we tend to think of very serious movies and filmmakers who are grappling with the existential terror of life or the suffering of minorities in war zones. So the inclusion of a 12-film retrospective of Jerry Lewis slapstick comedies in MIFF 2016 is a bit of a curve ball. We spoke to artistic director Michelle Carey about some of the filmic gems from the past she's featuring in MIFF 2016.
RELATED: A complete list of Melbourne International Film Festival Highlights.
Michelle, one of the surprises of MIFF this year is the retrospective of Jerry Lewis movies. We’re talking the squealing, goofball star of the ’50s and ’60s, right?
Yes. Bet you never thought you’d see that at a film festival!
Perhaps you could talk me through the unique charms of Jerry Lewis.
I grew up with him as a kid – on midday weekend movies on TV. I've always loved comedy that’s not just about words, that’s very physical... I went to a discussion between him and Martin Scorsese last year [in New York] that really focused on him as a director. I found it electrifying. He wrote this book called The Total Filmmaker [1971] and he’s really serious about filmmaking, and I just thought, well, why doesn’t he deserve some of the same accolades as someone like Scorsese? And he turned 90 this year and I just thought what a wonderful opportunity to return the films to the screen and get some comedy into the film festival, which I’m always trying to do every year.
Any favourites out of the 12 you’ve selected?
I think The Lady’s Man [1961]. That’s an amazing film. There are a couple I haven’t actually seen yet that people tell me are masterpieces such as The Big Mouth [1967]. We’re also doing a panel looking at Jerry Lewis and the influence he’s had on certain comedians like Shaun Micallef and Frank Woodley.
I see you’re doing a retrospective of pioneering women filmmakers in New York.
Yes, it’s called Gaining Ground. I was looking through the 65 years of MIFF and was shocked to see how few women filmmakers there were in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. I was thinking, where was the turning point? It was in the ’70s and early ’80s in particular [in] New York. [Comedian] Elaine May is a fascinating character. Other figures like African American filmmaker Kathleen Collins are not known at all. Lizzie Borden, Sara Driver. We’re showing Smithereens by Susan Seidelman, who went on to do Desperately Seeking Susan. There’s just some really fun stuff.
You’re showing a retrospective of films starring Setsuko Hara I see. Who was she?
She was mainly in Japanese films in the ’40s and ’50s. She died last year aged at 95, but she was kind of a figure that no one really heard from again after the ’60s. She was associated with Ozu and Kurosawa, and she always played an almost virginal character most of the time – she was cast as the ‘dutiful daughter’. I just find her very captivating.
You’re having a focus on the Barcelona School too?
Yeah; I discovered these films this year. It’s a loose grouping of filmmakers from Barcelona that were making these crazy films [from the ’60s on] in response to the dominance of neorealism in the rest of Spanish film at the time.
What are the highlights of that program?
There’s one film called Aoom, which features Lex Barker, who is most well known for playing Tarzan at one point. He plays this ageing actor who decides he’s bored of life and breathes his soul into a little plastic doll and then his actual body dies and then the rest of the film is about his girlfriend trying to find him. It’s so unhinged – I have no idea where a filmmaker would get an idea like that.
For more of Time Out's top picks of MIFF, check out our 21 highlights to book now.
MIFF miff.com.au. Jul 28-Aug 14.