This year the festival may be shorter compared to last year, but it’s tighter, richer and grander.

The fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) drew to a successful close 10 December, wrapping up with a red carpet and awards ceremony, with the US indie flick Give Me Liberty by Kirill Mikhanovsky taking home the Best Film award. I am devastated that I wasn’t able to catch this Sundance and Cannes comedy as the IFFAM showcased a total of 50 films in the span of six days. So it’s a bit tricky to choose which ones to prioritize.

This is my second year covering the IFFAM in the stunning, multicultural city of Macau. This year the festival may be shorter compared to last year, but it’s tighter, richer and grander. And more fun.

The New Chinese Cinema competition section, which was successful in its launch last year, attracted even more filmgoers. Hollywood superstars such as Juliette Binoche and Lily James flew in to give a masterclass and Suho of mega-group EXO was one of the talent ambassadors.

Our very own Bea Alonzo, the sole Filipino actor in the fest, joined the impressive lineup of stars. The 32-year-old actress received international recognition as an “Asian Star: Up Next,” awarded by Variety magazine and IFFAM.

I chased mostly the Hollywood screenings, specifically the Oscar buzz ones, which will most likely be accessed by Filipino viewers. I caught Jojo Rabbit, IFFAM’s opening film, which will be released in the Philippines in January 2020; Dark Waters, which already graced our local theaters; the Judy Garland biopic Judy, starring a spectacular Renee Zellweger, who is being touted as the next Oscar Best Actress; Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, which we probably won’t see here in the country, but it’s a Malick, so it’s a must-see for me as a semi-fan.

Roman Griffin Davis as a fatherless Nazi zealot (middle) and Thomasin McKenzie (left), the Jewish girl hid by Jojo’s mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson).

Also attended the screening of indie dramedy Bellbird, New Zealand’s entry to the main competition, but I found it monotonous and won’t review it as it’s unlikely it will be screened here in Manila.

I saw about an hour of the Lighthouse, with actor Robert Pattinson earning plenty of raves and critics predicting an Oscar nomination for the Twilight actor. Robert Eggers’ black-and-white two-hander arthouse film follows Pattinson and Willem Dafoe’s characters stranded in an isolated island as lighthouse keepers.

Fascinating, mildly humorous and trippy, violent and full of rage (I’ve never seen a seagull being murdered in the most brutal way), it’s initially compelling but it eventually becomes dull. The cinema at the Macao Tower was freezing and I wasn’t getting lost in the surreal film, as both actors, although competent, can be replaced by other Hollywood actors. And so I left. Sorry.

Known as an “anti-hate satire,” Taika Waititi’s comedy-drama follows the World War II adventures of Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (an adorable and unforgettable Roman Griffin Davis), a 10-year-old fatherless Nazi zealot who admires Hitler so much that the Führer has even become the boy’s imaginary friend (played by Waititi himself).

Perhaps the best example of a Holocaust comedy that we all recall is the 1997 Life is Beautiful, which is oftentimes compared to this. But Jojo Rabbit, based on Christine Leunens’s book Caging Skies, is an entirely different experience, with an entirely different brand of comedy — shallow and contrived.

Jojo is a product of a Nazi Youth camp wherein most of the comedy takes place in the form of the boy’s trainers and mentors, which include Rebel Wilson and the great Sam Rockwell. Here, Waititi uses their anti-Semitic sentiments to transmit to the audience how spectacularly idiotic the Nazis are in their perception of the Jews. We get the objective, but the humor is corny, which might challenge you to stay awake.

Jojo soon discovers that his mother (a brilliant Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl, Elsa, (Thomasin McKenzie), in their attic and gradually, we see the boy’s worldview changing as his friendship with the girl develops. This is where the film becomes interesting. Still not funny, but gaining substance and power.

Despite the eye-rolling comedy, the brilliance of the film lies in Waititi’s fresh take on one of the darkest periods in history. Jojo Rabbit may have started weak, but it finishes strong and will leave you in tears by the end. (4 out of 5 stars)

Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, based on the 2016 The New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich, is a riveting, fast-paced, no-frills legal thriller. Think Spotlight — straightforward and relies on the unadulterated truth of the story. The only melodramatic element here is Anne Hathaway as Billot’s wife; the character is generic, depthless and actually annoying.

Mark Ruffalo is corporate defense lawyer Robert Billot who takes on a tedious lawsuit against DuPont, a powerful chemical company that secretly poisons the environment and the people.

If you enjoyed Spotlight, inspiring true stories of conviction and sticking to what is right no matter what, then Dark Waters will immensely satisfy. Bathed in a moody blue palette with an engrossing, tensing score, it’s a riveting modern tale of David and Goliath. (4 out of 5 stars)

MARK Ruffalo as a corporate defense lawyer.

Rupert Goold’s Judy Garland biopic is straightforward but boasts of universal appeal. What makes it a must-see is Renee Zellwegger’s award-winning performance as the troubled Judy.

Set in the late sixties in London, it takes the viewer to Judy’s series of London concerts, battling trauma, insecurities, and personal demons. Goold frequently provides flashbacks of a teenage Judy, in the era of the Wizard of Oz; a young girl controlled and destroyed, then shifts us back to the present to make us understand the adult Judy and the shocking dark side of Hollywood.

Zellweger is unrecognizable and brilliant. Except for her trademark squinting and twitchy lips, there is no trace of the Bridget Jones Diary actress left here. Zellweger showcases the internal Judy Garland and becomes a powerful conduit in essaying the shocking realities of show business.

“JUDY,” a Rupert Goold’s Judy Garland biopic.

Terrence Malick fans will no doubt fawn over the three-hour-long A Hidden Life. If you need your Malick fix, then this will do it. His trademark whispery voice-overs and classical music against stunning nature, where women act like hyper toddlers, frolicking and dancing and rolling in the grass, it’s all here.

Set in World War II and based on a true story, it follows the life of Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer who refuses to fight for the Nazis in the Second World War.

“A Hidden Life” follows the life of Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl), an Austrian farmer who refuses to fight for the Nazis in the Second World War.

Malick’s films, romanticizing and spiritualizing his stories, even the dark ones, can sometimes move you. But it can also be unintentionally comical for its over-poetic style. A Hidden Life, however, cannot sustain one’s attention. It’s inert and it marinates in an endless loop of the same thought, losing the power of Franz’s story.

If you’re not a Malick fan, no sense in watching this. But if you are, go knock yourself out, because this one is as Malick as Malick can be. (2.5 out of 5 stars)