Denver Film Festival Must-See Picks for November 3-5: Concrete Utopia and More

Again this year, Denver Film Festival artistic director Matt Campbell is offering his must-see picks for each day of the event — including many flicks that movie lovers might otherwise miss amid the flood of silver-screen goodies. Today he spotlights selections for November 3-5: Concrete Utopia, Riddle of Fire and The Shadowless Tower.

Concrete Utopia
Directed by Um Tae-hwa
6 p.m. Friday, November 3, Sie FilmCenter
6:30 p.m. Sunday, November 5, AMC House 4

South Korea's submission for the best international feature Oscar, Concrete Utopia "is not necessarily post-apocalyptic or dystopian," says Denver Film Festival artistic director Matt Campbell. "It's contemporary — but it has that vibe and feeling."

At the outset of the film, "a massive earthquake strikes Seoul and levels pretty much the entire city except for one apartment building," he reveals. Shortly thereafter, "the survivors who lived other places start clamoring to get into this building, and the building's residents almost have to make a new society, where they must decide whether to be open and welcoming to outsiders or preserve their precious resources and habitat now that everyone is in survival mode."

This scenario suggests a nuclear variation on Attack the Block, the brain-bending 2011 film in which teen gang members square off against alien invaders inside an apartment complex. But Concrete Utopia "isn't an action-y martial arts or science-fiction film," Campbell stresses. "It's more about rising suspense. It's a really satisfying thriller and very allegorical. It's more based in reality, and that's one of the reasons it's so effective.
Riddle of Fire
Directed by Weston Razooli
8:45 p.m. Friday, November 3, AMC House 4
7 p.m. Saturday, November 4, AMC House 4
Riddle of Fire is "an American independent film that's part of our late-night section," Campbell says. "But it's not really a horror film; it isn't scary or graphic. Actually, it's more along the lines of The Goonies," a 1985 crowd-pleaser. "It follows these kids on an adventure, which might sound kind of silly and trite. But it has a quirky tone to it that's very creative and artistic, and divorced from the real world in a very stylized way."

Campbell's plot description underscores this last point: "The mom of two of the kids is sick, and to make her feel better, they want to make her a blueberry pie. But it's a special recipe where only a speckled egg will do — and their search for this egg leads them down this crazy, winding path. And they get mixed up with bad characters that have to do with the occult."

The film has what Campbell characterizes as "a really cool Western look. It was shot on 16 millimeter in Wyoming." As a bonus, director Weston Razooli is expected to appear at the fest alongside two members of the young cast, Rachel Browne and Andrea Browne. According to Campbell, "They're twins and they live in Denver — and their parts are more involved with the cultists."
The Shadowless Tower
Directed by Zhang Lu
3:30 p.m. Sunday, November 5, AMC House 9
4:30 p.m. Friday, November 10, AMC House 9
In competition for the DFF's Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for best feature film, The Shadowless Tower "is a Chinese film that premiered in Berlin," Campbell says. "That's where I saw it, and it kind of fits in with a lot of Chinese films on the international circuit, being epic in scope but really personalized at the same time."

The film's main character "is kind of a loner," he says. "He's a food critic and he has a daughter, but they're kind of estranged, and because he's separated from his wife, he doesn't get to spend a lot of time with her. And he also has moments with this young photographer." As for the picture's title, "it's named for this massive tower in the city where the food critic lives," according to Campbell. "It's a physical object that serves as the center-point for this long, multi-year journey with these characters, and it becomes a calling card to the more philosophical questioning about human nature and the human condition that the film is asking the audience to consider."

The pace of the narrative is "methodical," Campbell says, "but the film is very rewarding. It's one of those movies that you just have to let wash over you."
Tickets for the 46th Denver Film Festival are available here.