Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The End
So there we go, 54 movies. Probably my favorite SIFF ever. The Uptown is a terrific venue, and we saw about 90% of our movies there. There is a long list of movies I wish I’d seen. The last movie was 3 days ago, and I am still recovering.
Shorts
We saw three collections of shorts, which I am counting as 3 movies. Most of them were great, vey much worth seeing. Alas, I was the least impressed with the Best of the Shorts collection SIFF put together.
I always wonder, what are shorts for? Other than at Acadamy Award time we never think about them. They do not get shown in commercial theaters. And why not? I know not. Its too bad.
I always wonder, what are shorts for? Other than at Acadamy Award time we never think about them. They do not get shown in commercial theaters. And why not? I know not. Its too bad.
The Most Fun I've Ever Had With My Pants On
USA. Meh
The writer/director/star of the movie is beautiful, and a main theme of the movie is: I am such a babe. The other theme is: even a babe like me has problems. The stupid title of the movie is pretty much a non sequitur, and I strongly suspect it was the product of a youthful vow to make a movie with that name.
The writer/director/star of the movie is beautiful, and a main theme of the movie is: I am such a babe. The other theme is: even a babe like me has problems. The stupid title of the movie is pretty much a non sequitur, and I strongly suspect it was the product of a youthful vow to make a movie with that name.
Wuthering Heights
UK.
I do not think this story can be spoiled at this point. England was a complete bummer in this movie. It is one of those movies that uses viscous film stock, shots with a lot of closeups and sparse story telling to create atmospheric and poetic, aka vague and unpleasant, stroytelling. We left early.
I do not think this story can be spoiled at this point. England was a complete bummer in this movie. It is one of those movies that uses viscous film stock, shots with a lot of closeups and sparse story telling to create atmospheric and poetic, aka vague and unpleasant, stroytelling. We left early.
Easton’s Article
USA. Meh.
Time warp type sci-fi movie. The movie does a decent job of telling the story of a guy having to deal with his shit whether he likes it or not in order to solve the central problem of the movie. So in order to deal with the future, he has to deal with the past. Clever premise, that is never really articulated and in that light it has a perfect ending. But its just an OK movie overall, and also suffers from including a particular cheat that time warp movies sometimes use (Terminator, just for one) that was not at all necessary.
Time warp type sci-fi movie. The movie does a decent job of telling the story of a guy having to deal with his shit whether he likes it or not in order to solve the central problem of the movie. So in order to deal with the future, he has to deal with the past. Clever premise, that is never really articulated and in that light it has a perfect ending. But its just an OK movie overall, and also suffers from including a particular cheat that time warp movies sometimes use (Terminator, just for one) that was not at all necessary.
The Mirror Never Lies
The Mirror Never Lies
Indonesia. Highly recommended..
Set among subsistence fishers who live in houses built on poles in the water on shallow reefs. Indonesia is made out of 17,000 plus islands. Some amazing and beautiful underwater photography. Mostly non-professional actors who actually live in this place. These people live in the water. Little tiny kids running about on 2x8 planks with no rails no sun screen and no helmet, and jumping into boats with no life preservers, and I doubt that they are properly hydrated. So, pretty depraved, but for all of that it looks very cool.
Indonesia. Highly recommended..
Set among subsistence fishers who live in houses built on poles in the water on shallow reefs. Indonesia is made out of 17,000 plus islands. Some amazing and beautiful underwater photography. Mostly non-professional actors who actually live in this place. These people live in the water. Little tiny kids running about on 2x8 planks with no rails no sun screen and no helmet, and jumping into boats with no life preservers, and I doubt that they are properly hydrated. So, pretty depraved, but for all of that it looks very cool.
Nosilatiaj.Beauty
Nosilatiaj.Beauty
Argentina. Worth seeing
Set among what look to me like middle-middle class Europeans and their servants. On several levels it resembles my image of Southern California, only no one is that rich. The message I got from this is that it sucks to be indigenous and poor in Argentina, and indeed the titular Beauty does not appear to be enjoying herself much, mainly because she is treated like a family member it is OK to be crappy to. The story is driven by the preparations for the Quinceañera of the daughter of the household. So everyone is stressed out, displaying their real disposition. The movie is much better than the above probably suggests.
Argentina. Worth seeing
Set among what look to me like middle-middle class Europeans and their servants. On several levels it resembles my image of Southern California, only no one is that rich. The message I got from this is that it sucks to be indigenous and poor in Argentina, and indeed the titular Beauty does not appear to be enjoying herself much, mainly because she is treated like a family member it is OK to be crappy to. The story is driven by the preparations for the Quinceañera of the daughter of the household. So everyone is stressed out, displaying their real disposition. The movie is much better than the above probably suggests.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
419
USA. Recommended\
First off, there is a guy in this movie who looks, sounds and acts, but especially looks, uncannily like my nephew, Steve. I never got used to it. So, O’Briens will have a different experience of this movie.
The MacGuffin of this movie is whether it’s a real documentary or a fiction movie. No position is taken at any point by the film maker. Three manly young white guys (like Steve!) Go on an adventure, despite their girlfriends misgivings, with highly dramatic results. Interviews with the principles, and with expert types is interspersed with the documentary footage, much of it filmed in South Africa. Every one is totally likable (Steve, again) and the story is well told. And the question of whether it is real or not gives it good flavor.
First off, there is a guy in this movie who looks, sounds and acts, but especially looks, uncannily like my nephew, Steve. I never got used to it. So, O’Briens will have a different experience of this movie.
The MacGuffin of this movie is whether it’s a real documentary or a fiction movie. No position is taken at any point by the film maker. Three manly young white guys (like Steve!) Go on an adventure, despite their girlfriends misgivings, with highly dramatic results. Interviews with the principles, and with expert types is interspersed with the documentary footage, much of it filmed in South Africa. Every one is totally likable (Steve, again) and the story is well told. And the question of whether it is real or not gives it good flavor.
Simon and the Oaks
Sweden. Must see.
Beautiful movie, in every sense. Marion’s favorite movie so far. Very high production values. The storytelling is deep and satisfying and there is not a false note to be found. Set during WWII and its aftermath in Sweden. In return for a certain amount of kowtowing to the Germans - in the form of ball bearings, rail lines and such - Sweden wasn’t invaded and their Jews were mostly not murdered. So the people in the movie got through the war as well as anyone in Europe. Of course, no one living in Europe got through the war all that well. The older I get the more cannibalistic it seems to me. How people could have destroyed themselves and their culture so thoroughly is harder and harder to comprehend. There is a lot of high culture in the form of classical music, and university life in the movie. I really do not know if it was the film makers intent is to contrast this with the satanic forces abroad in the world, but that’s what I got from it.
Beautiful movie, in every sense. Marion’s favorite movie so far. Very high production values. The storytelling is deep and satisfying and there is not a false note to be found. Set during WWII and its aftermath in Sweden. In return for a certain amount of kowtowing to the Germans - in the form of ball bearings, rail lines and such - Sweden wasn’t invaded and their Jews were mostly not murdered. So the people in the movie got through the war as well as anyone in Europe. Of course, no one living in Europe got through the war all that well. The older I get the more cannibalistic it seems to me. How people could have destroyed themselves and their culture so thoroughly is harder and harder to comprehend. There is a lot of high culture in the form of classical music, and university life in the movie. I really do not know if it was the film makers intent is to contrast this with the satanic forces abroad in the world, but that’s what I got from it.
Winter Nomads
Switzerland. Highly recommended
This is one of those times I was glad not to know a thing about the movie going in. Marion picked that day. From the title and a glance at the poster, I thought it was going to be one of those great movies about, like, yak herders in Mongolia. (Actually. I’ve seen some pretty good Mongolian movies that feature yaks, but not this year.) Anyway, it turns out to be a documentary is set in modern day Switzerland and documents some shepherds doing what they call a “transhumance” which good old Wikipedia says is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In this case it’s a couple of great looking people who really are real shepherds. They take a flock of 800 sheep around the Swiss countryside to fatten them up on fallow fields. For 4 months during winter, for real. They have great clothes. They have cool dogs. For most of the time, at least when there are no cars around, there is something eternal about this, it has to be something people have been doing for several thousand years, and there are not a lot of new ways to herd sheep. Its in Switzerland, but everyone speaks French. By the way, bell-wether is a sheep herding term. They put a bell on a wether, which is a castrated ram, and teach the to lead the flock, and also can find the flock in the dark or in fog. And the ram gets to live.
This is one of those times I was glad not to know a thing about the movie going in. Marion picked that day. From the title and a glance at the poster, I thought it was going to be one of those great movies about, like, yak herders in Mongolia. (Actually. I’ve seen some pretty good Mongolian movies that feature yaks, but not this year.) Anyway, it turns out to be a documentary is set in modern day Switzerland and documents some shepherds doing what they call a “transhumance” which good old Wikipedia says is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In this case it’s a couple of great looking people who really are real shepherds. They take a flock of 800 sheep around the Swiss countryside to fatten them up on fallow fields. For 4 months during winter, for real. They have great clothes. They have cool dogs. For most of the time, at least when there are no cars around, there is something eternal about this, it has to be something people have been doing for several thousand years, and there are not a lot of new ways to herd sheep. Its in Switzerland, but everyone speaks French. By the way, bell-wether is a sheep herding term. They put a bell on a wether, which is a castrated ram, and teach the to lead the flock, and also can find the flock in the dark or in fog. And the ram gets to live.
Policeman
Israel. Feh
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that a lot of movies give the impression that you have to be a member of that culture to really get what is going on. Sometimes one row in an audience will be convulsed at things everyone else just chuckles at. This might be such a movie, except there are not many chuckles. Its set in Israel among Jewish middle and upper class Israelis, largely SWAT type cops. I suspect there is a bit of caricature going on, these guys are testosterone donor types who mostly hug and grunt at one another, in a brotherly way. This is not played for laughs that I can tell, and this is not a funny movie at all. Theirs is only part of the story, such as it is. The rest has to do with some privileged and messed up kids. The two groups encounter one another in the third act.
Not to be cute but one of the things I like about cop movies is the great gear and cool clothes. Here is a website cops use to order gear. I love this website 511 Tactical, and recommend the Stryke Pant with Flex-tac.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that a lot of movies give the impression that you have to be a member of that culture to really get what is going on. Sometimes one row in an audience will be convulsed at things everyone else just chuckles at. This might be such a movie, except there are not many chuckles. Its set in Israel among Jewish middle and upper class Israelis, largely SWAT type cops. I suspect there is a bit of caricature going on, these guys are testosterone donor types who mostly hug and grunt at one another, in a brotherly way. This is not played for laughs that I can tell, and this is not a funny movie at all. Theirs is only part of the story, such as it is. The rest has to do with some privileged and messed up kids. The two groups encounter one another in the third act.
Not to be cute but one of the things I like about cop movies is the great gear and cool clothes. Here is a website cops use to order gear. I love this website 511 Tactical, and recommend the Stryke Pant with Flex-tac.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
The Monk
French. Recommended
This movie really brought me back to my childhood in the 17th Century. I was raised Catholic in the pre-Vatican II days, and this movie depicts the very religion I grew up with. The candles and the incense and the robes and the crucifixes and confession and strange unexplained rituals and the really weird statutes of saints and the Marianolatry and the demeaning of women. And the harshness. You are either good or horribly, horribly bad, and you are not good. You need to repent of everything you do except for actual praying. Satan really truly exists, is out to get you and God is entirely willing, you know, maybe kinda wants, to have you suffer in the most horrible way imaginable forever. There is a scene that includes a procession of nuns and I promise they were dressed exactly, exactly, like the Dominicans who taught me all the crazy shit they used to teach in those days. The always reliable 17th century stuff. It is Set in Spain, where the Jesuits started, although they are not in the movie. This would be at least 100 years after the Inquisition, so none of that stuff is in the film.
Really brought me back and with no irony I say: in a good way. The movie was so well done. Its about very devout people doing their very devout thing and the titular Monk’s struggles with his demons. The color commentary above is not the real subject of the movie. The movie is about good vs. evil. Also about love. Great ending.
This movie really brought me back to my childhood in the 17th Century. I was raised Catholic in the pre-Vatican II days, and this movie depicts the very religion I grew up with. The candles and the incense and the robes and the crucifixes and confession and strange unexplained rituals and the really weird statutes of saints and the Marianolatry and the demeaning of women. And the harshness. You are either good or horribly, horribly bad, and you are not good. You need to repent of everything you do except for actual praying. Satan really truly exists, is out to get you and God is entirely willing, you know, maybe kinda wants, to have you suffer in the most horrible way imaginable forever. There is a scene that includes a procession of nuns and I promise they were dressed exactly, exactly, like the Dominicans who taught me all the crazy shit they used to teach in those days. The always reliable 17th century stuff. It is Set in Spain, where the Jesuits started, although they are not in the movie. This would be at least 100 years after the Inquisition, so none of that stuff is in the film.
Really brought me back and with no irony I say: in a good way. The movie was so well done. Its about very devout people doing their very devout thing and the titular Monk’s struggles with his demons. The color commentary above is not the real subject of the movie. The movie is about good vs. evil. Also about love. Great ending.
Joan and the Voices
Armenia. SIFF owes me a movie.
I looked it up, and according to Wikipedia, “A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images”. This...thing thus qualifies by a technicality as a movie. It has no story, plot, apparent reason for existing, and conveys no meaning, but it is a series of moving images projected on a screen. There is also sound, although little that conveys information. However, it is the opposite of Hitchcock's definition of a movie, real life without the boring parts. For the life of me, I do not understand why this movie was made, or why it was selected. I sat through the whole thing in part because I had nothing else to do and in part out of incredulity. Toward the end I became worried that they would ruin the perverse anti-perfection of the thing by putting something meaningful on the screen. They came close, there were a number of scenes of regular looking people in real seeming places having heartfelt conversations, but they did not include the dialog, just some discordant music, so crisis averted. It has to be seen to be believed, but then you would have to see it. Most misleading SIFF guide blurb ever.
http://visiblecontents.blogspot.com/
I looked it up, and according to Wikipedia, “A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images”. This...thing thus qualifies by a technicality as a movie. It has no story, plot, apparent reason for existing, and conveys no meaning, but it is a series of moving images projected on a screen. There is also sound, although little that conveys information. However, it is the opposite of Hitchcock's definition of a movie, real life without the boring parts. For the life of me, I do not understand why this movie was made, or why it was selected. I sat through the whole thing in part because I had nothing else to do and in part out of incredulity. Toward the end I became worried that they would ruin the perverse anti-perfection of the thing by putting something meaningful on the screen. They came close, there were a number of scenes of regular looking people in real seeming places having heartfelt conversations, but they did not include the dialog, just some discordant music, so crisis averted. It has to be seen to be believed, but then you would have to see it. Most misleading SIFF guide blurb ever.
http://visiblecontents.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 4, 2012
People Like Us
USA. Highly recommended
The best kind of American movie. Very polished, exceptionally good writing, exceptional performances by major talent, very well crafted story with some great lines and a wow finish. I laughed, I cried I was the perfect cliche of an appreciative audience member.
The director has worked on Big Movies that made a ton of money for the studios, and they rewarded him by funding a Small Movie and letting him do as he pleased It worked out pretty well. More, please. It is hard to imagine this will not get a wide release and do well and win awards. The question is, why are they bothering with the festivals? There was a Hollywood style movie last year with an all star cast giving what I think are their best ever performances, which the audience loved, and I really loved, called Salvation Row. It sank like a rock, never heard of it again. There was another movie that I despised with big stars and a name director called Burke and Hare ( again, I spit on you, John Landis). Everyone but me loved it, looooved it. Never heard from. I have no idea why this happens. Must be awfully frustrating for the people involved.
The best kind of American movie. Very polished, exceptionally good writing, exceptional performances by major talent, very well crafted story with some great lines and a wow finish. I laughed, I cried I was the perfect cliche of an appreciative audience member.
The director has worked on Big Movies that made a ton of money for the studios, and they rewarded him by funding a Small Movie and letting him do as he pleased It worked out pretty well. More, please. It is hard to imagine this will not get a wide release and do well and win awards. The question is, why are they bothering with the festivals? There was a Hollywood style movie last year with an all star cast giving what I think are their best ever performances, which the audience loved, and I really loved, called Salvation Row. It sank like a rock, never heard of it again. There was another movie that I despised with big stars and a name director called Burke and Hare ( again, I spit on you, John Landis). Everyone but me loved it, looooved it. Never heard from. I have no idea why this happens. Must be awfully frustrating for the people involved.
The Last Friday
Jordan.
I have decided that when the SIFF blurbs say a film is a “black comedy” that often means it isn’t very funny. This is a slice of life in a completely different country, and worth seeing for that. We do not get a lot of Jordanian movies, even at SIFF. It is often a little disorienting when there are large veins of un-differentness in different cultures. Everyone has a cell phone, there are vapid rich kids driving Range Rovers, stuff like that. It may well be that when I think a movie is slow moving, it is just at the same pace as that place.
I have decided that when the SIFF blurbs say a film is a “black comedy” that often means it isn’t very funny. This is a slice of life in a completely different country, and worth seeing for that. We do not get a lot of Jordanian movies, even at SIFF. It is often a little disorienting when there are large veins of un-differentness in different cultures. Everyone has a cell phone, there are vapid rich kids driving Range Rovers, stuff like that. It may well be that when I think a movie is slow moving, it is just at the same pace as that place.
The Blindfold
Indonesia.
This is more of a docu-drama or crime re-enactment type movie than a movie type movie. There are more Muslims in Indonesia than in any other country, over 200 million, mostly Sunni. It seems there are extremist cults that do a lot of the things extremist cults of other religious do, and worse. This movie was undoubtedly intended for the youth audience in Indonesia, as a warning not to fall for this stuff, so good for them, really. The subtitles were obviously generated by a non-English speaker. The reason to see this movie is as a cultural artifact.
This is more of a docu-drama or crime re-enactment type movie than a movie type movie. There are more Muslims in Indonesia than in any other country, over 200 million, mostly Sunni. It seems there are extremist cults that do a lot of the things extremist cults of other religious do, and worse. This movie was undoubtedly intended for the youth audience in Indonesia, as a warning not to fall for this stuff, so good for them, really. The subtitles were obviously generated by a non-English speaker. The reason to see this movie is as a cultural artifact.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Silence: All Roads Lead to Music.
Italy. Highly recommended
Lots of very cool music in this movie, which basically follows a guy as he puts together a band and plays a gig. He calls it Mediterranean Music. Tamborine, bagpipes, piano, accordian, Jew’s Harp. Just a little didgeridoo. Now to me, this does not sound that promising, but the music is really very nice. To a non-musician (I have to say that whatever anti-matter is to musicianship, I’m heavily contaminated with it.) Anyway, to a non-musician watching how these guys talk to each other about music as they make it up is pretty great to watch. They do not all speak the same language, so when I say “talk” I do not exactly mean “speak”.
Lots of very cool music in this movie, which basically follows a guy as he puts together a band and plays a gig. He calls it Mediterranean Music. Tamborine, bagpipes, piano, accordian, Jew’s Harp. Just a little didgeridoo. Now to me, this does not sound that promising, but the music is really very nice. To a non-musician (I have to say that whatever anti-matter is to musicianship, I’m heavily contaminated with it.) Anyway, to a non-musician watching how these guys talk to each other about music as they make it up is pretty great to watch. They do not all speak the same language, so when I say “talk” I do not exactly mean “speak”.
Earthbound
Ireland. Recommended
More great sci-fi. This time a straight up romantic comedy with a sci-fi theme. Very polished movie, seems likely to get released. It’s a comedy, so they get to play with sci-fi movie tropes, and slip in a couple of great lines from famous movies. You either really like movies like this (me) or you don’t like them much at all (Marion). The variable seems to be ones appreciation of stupidity in movies, which I quite like up to a point.
This was the second time the movie has ever been shown. Before it started Marion and I had both spotted a woman we were sure is a movie actress in the crown milling at the Uptown. Sure enough, she was in this movie.
More great sci-fi. This time a straight up romantic comedy with a sci-fi theme. Very polished movie, seems likely to get released. It’s a comedy, so they get to play with sci-fi movie tropes, and slip in a couple of great lines from famous movies. You either really like movies like this (me) or you don’t like them much at all (Marion). The variable seems to be ones appreciation of stupidity in movies, which I quite like up to a point.
This was the second time the movie has ever been shown. Before it started Marion and I had both spotted a woman we were sure is a movie actress in the crown milling at the Uptown. Sure enough, she was in this movie.
Italy, Love it or Leave it
Italy. Fabulous.
I love this movie. I love it like I loved David Sedaris until I got tired of him; like I would love Michael Moore if he were not such a blowhard; like I love John Stewart without reservation. Also like a lot of people who aren’t me loved “the Trip” last year at SIFF. Two slim and deeply sweet guys drive around Italy looking for a reason not to move to Berlin. It’s a documentary. They interview people. They show stuff. They recite facts. All in the most endearing way, and in Italian, which is a beautiful language to listen to. They have these great, maybe just a little scripted, conversations. In Italian. They mug for the camera, but in a good way. They inform, they entertain, they give insight. Everything one wants from a movie.
I love this movie. I love it like I loved David Sedaris until I got tired of him; like I would love Michael Moore if he were not such a blowhard; like I love John Stewart without reservation. Also like a lot of people who aren’t me loved “the Trip” last year at SIFF. Two slim and deeply sweet guys drive around Italy looking for a reason not to move to Berlin. It’s a documentary. They interview people. They show stuff. They recite facts. All in the most endearing way, and in Italian, which is a beautiful language to listen to. They have these great, maybe just a little scripted, conversations. In Italian. They mug for the camera, but in a good way. They inform, they entertain, they give insight. Everything one wants from a movie.
Rouge Parole
Tunisia.
A documentary of the period during the departure of the dictator ben Ali and the fall of the corrupt Tunisian government. The beginning of the Arab Spring. Lots of footage of street protests, of both the conventional big city protest and also of the scary and violent kind. Also a lot of guys on street corners and in cafes talking very loudly about the revolution. It is from the point of view of a guy in the middle of it all, and there is little context or explanation. I think the Arab Spring is the most significant world event since the end of the cold war, except maybe Brad and Jen splitting up, so this is must see stuff for me.
A documentary of the period during the departure of the dictator ben Ali and the fall of the corrupt Tunisian government. The beginning of the Arab Spring. Lots of footage of street protests, of both the conventional big city protest and also of the scary and violent kind. Also a lot of guys on street corners and in cafes talking very loudly about the revolution. It is from the point of view of a guy in the middle of it all, and there is little context or explanation. I think the Arab Spring is the most significant world event since the end of the cold war, except maybe Brad and Jen splitting up, so this is must see stuff for me.
Best Intentions
Romania.
This is another movie that could be set anywhere, almost any time. This movie gets at aspects of real life as we live it better than almost any I have seen. Not entirely in a good way. The theme of the movie is that everyone has something to say. A guy’s mother has a problem and is in the hospital. All of the conversations with girlfriends and friends who know doctors, and random strangers on a train and the friends of the other hospital patients and the doctors. Constantly. This is an aspect of real life that makes me crazy, so I am surprised that I tolerated the movie as well as I did.
This is another movie that could be set anywhere, almost any time. This movie gets at aspects of real life as we live it better than almost any I have seen. Not entirely in a good way. The theme of the movie is that everyone has something to say. A guy’s mother has a problem and is in the hospital. All of the conversations with girlfriends and friends who know doctors, and random strangers on a train and the friends of the other hospital patients and the doctors. Constantly. This is an aspect of real life that makes me crazy, so I am surprised that I tolerated the movie as well as I did.
A Cube of Sugar
Iran. Very Highly Recommended
Probably our favorite film so far. Everything I have read and seen about Iranians, and something I’ve seen in print more than once, is this: forget everything you think you know about Iranians. Nicest People In The World. The setting is a big house on the occasion of a big family event with the brothers and the sisters and the in-laws and the cousins and the kids and the food and the rugs and the traditions and the food and the music and the dancing and the food and the crushes and the grown men acting like boys and the kids taking it all in and the food and the woman just breaking each other up all the time, and the great mad swirl and they are all these attractive nice people all sleeping over for a few days. And stuff happens. What there is only a little of: Islam. These people are devout Moslems they way the Italians are devout Catholics. Unquestioning believers, with a lot of traditions and superstitions that go way, way back, so that the formal religion is just a veneer over a folk, and essentially pagan, set of beliefs and practices.
Probably our favorite film so far. Everything I have read and seen about Iranians, and something I’ve seen in print more than once, is this: forget everything you think you know about Iranians. Nicest People In The World. The setting is a big house on the occasion of a big family event with the brothers and the sisters and the in-laws and the cousins and the kids and the food and the rugs and the traditions and the food and the music and the dancing and the food and the crushes and the grown men acting like boys and the kids taking it all in and the food and the woman just breaking each other up all the time, and the great mad swirl and they are all these attractive nice people all sleeping over for a few days. And stuff happens. What there is only a little of: Islam. These people are devout Moslems they way the Italians are devout Catholics. Unquestioning believers, with a lot of traditions and superstitions that go way, way back, so that the formal religion is just a veneer over a folk, and essentially pagan, set of beliefs and practices.
The Glass Man
The Glass Man
United Kingdom
A mainstream thriller. Neve Campbell has a minor role. A nerdy, craven English snob gets pulled into underworld skullduggery in order to protect his nerdy English snob lifestyle. The heavy in the movie is great, and if you’ve seen “Breaking Bad,” looks and acts like the bigger older brother of Mike, the heavy in that series. This is a good thing.
United Kingdom
A mainstream thriller. Neve Campbell has a minor role. A nerdy, craven English snob gets pulled into underworld skullduggery in order to protect his nerdy English snob lifestyle. The heavy in the movie is great, and if you’ve seen “Breaking Bad,” looks and acts like the bigger older brother of Mike, the heavy in that series. This is a good thing.
True Wolf
USA. Must see first hour at least.
Nim for wolves. A couple of well educated Montana hippie types got conned into raising a wolf pup and were then abandoned with it. They had to violate the animal in some way, either by killing it or by trying to tame it and keep it. I guess release to the wild was out of the question. So they tamed it and ended up taking it to schools for show and tell. Sounds creepier than it is, although even the couple aver that it is not a good thing for the wolf. The film is mostly home video they made interspersed with interviews of the couple and some other people. The video of the wolf in the first year is not to be missed by anyone who likes canines. The point made over and over is that a wolf is never tamed and is not at all like a dog in that respect. The owners are pretty polished interviewees, having made a bit of a career out of talking about wolves. The most honest moment in the film is when the guy was explaining that, contrary to common beliefs, one simply does not try to take food away from a wolf. Like, really look at his eyes, don’t try it.
Nim for wolves. A couple of well educated Montana hippie types got conned into raising a wolf pup and were then abandoned with it. They had to violate the animal in some way, either by killing it or by trying to tame it and keep it. I guess release to the wild was out of the question. So they tamed it and ended up taking it to schools for show and tell. Sounds creepier than it is, although even the couple aver that it is not a good thing for the wolf. The film is mostly home video they made interspersed with interviews of the couple and some other people. The video of the wolf in the first year is not to be missed by anyone who likes canines. The point made over and over is that a wolf is never tamed and is not at all like a dog in that respect. The owners are pretty polished interviewees, having made a bit of a career out of talking about wolves. The most honest moment in the film is when the guy was explaining that, contrary to common beliefs, one simply does not try to take food away from a wolf. Like, really look at his eyes, don’t try it.
The House
Slovak Republic. Worth seeing.
Another available only at SIFF slice of the lives of others. Slovakia is one of those Eastern European countries that have a long and terrible history about which we know little. The only reference in the movie to history is when one character says of someone that his grandfather sold my father out and we lost our land to a collective farm. That kind of place. Since the breakup of the Empire, the country is doing pretty well.
I often look at SIFF movies and either recast them in my head or think about how we would do a remake for an English speaking audience. This one would need almost no changes in the plot or story to do well here. Kind of a universal coming of age with a difficult father story. Very well acted.
Another available only at SIFF slice of the lives of others. Slovakia is one of those Eastern European countries that have a long and terrible history about which we know little. The only reference in the movie to history is when one character says of someone that his grandfather sold my father out and we lost our land to a collective farm. That kind of place. Since the breakup of the Empire, the country is doing pretty well.
I often look at SIFF movies and either recast them in my head or think about how we would do a remake for an English speaking audience. This one would need almost no changes in the plot or story to do well here. Kind of a universal coming of age with a difficult father story. Very well acted.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
USA. The emperor has no clothes.
This is a highly acclaimed, in the manner that film festivals give acclaim, movie. Critics love it, Sundance loved it. The theater was packed. We left early. I am the first to acknowledge that mine is the minority opinion and so I am probably wrong in my tastes and opinions. Remember “The Piano”? Holly Hunter playing a mute, the great Harvey Keitel, set in Samoa. Never was a film more highly acclaimed by the art house types, as well as everyone else. The very model of a Great Movie. Took the Golden Palm at Cannes, and 3 Academy Awards. To me, that movie was sandpaper for the eyes. What...a...load...of...crap, says I. So I ought to be ignored.
The first 40 minutes or so was, in my worms eye view, a paean to southern poverty and featured a fair amount of what in any other context would be called child abuse and neglect, for which I have no stomach. It was kind of a magical realist story so I suppose among the uptown swells who judge such things, that makes it OK. There were a lot of very tight shots with a jittery camera that showed various wild and magical realist type activity in a way that I, but only I, consider to be just disorienting lazy film making. Had I stayed I am confident I could go on.
This is a highly acclaimed, in the manner that film festivals give acclaim, movie. Critics love it, Sundance loved it. The theater was packed. We left early. I am the first to acknowledge that mine is the minority opinion and so I am probably wrong in my tastes and opinions. Remember “The Piano”? Holly Hunter playing a mute, the great Harvey Keitel, set in Samoa. Never was a film more highly acclaimed by the art house types, as well as everyone else. The very model of a Great Movie. Took the Golden Palm at Cannes, and 3 Academy Awards. To me, that movie was sandpaper for the eyes. What...a...load...of...crap, says I. So I ought to be ignored.
The first 40 minutes or so was, in my worms eye view, a paean to southern poverty and featured a fair amount of what in any other context would be called child abuse and neglect, for which I have no stomach. It was kind of a magical realist story so I suppose among the uptown swells who judge such things, that makes it OK. There were a lot of very tight shots with a jittery camera that showed various wild and magical realist type activity in a way that I, but only I, consider to be just disorienting lazy film making. Had I stayed I am confident I could go on.
Sharquia
Israel. Highly Recommended.
The movie is centered on a small family of Bedouins living on their ancestral lands in what is not the State of Israel. Something I did not know: Bedouins are not necessarily nomadic, land is just as important to them as it is to everyone else in that land crazed part of the world. In this case the land looks pretty much like just a patch of desert. What they un-ironically call a village is some corrugated metal shacks, a few sheep pens and a generator. So here is another great SIFF movie that drops us into the everyday lives of people who, at best, we only otherwise see in our rear view mirror. These dwellings would not be legal in any normal country and therein lies the main driver of the story. A lot of the movie is of the lets-follow-this-guy-around-for-a-few-days variety which can be completely boring or, as in this case, pretty interesting. It depicts the relationships between the Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens in a way that I suspect is much more like the real thing than we usually see. Even the representatives of the overbearing bureaucracy are portrayed as decent people.
The movie is centered on a small family of Bedouins living on their ancestral lands in what is not the State of Israel. Something I did not know: Bedouins are not necessarily nomadic, land is just as important to them as it is to everyone else in that land crazed part of the world. In this case the land looks pretty much like just a patch of desert. What they un-ironically call a village is some corrugated metal shacks, a few sheep pens and a generator. So here is another great SIFF movie that drops us into the everyday lives of people who, at best, we only otherwise see in our rear view mirror. These dwellings would not be legal in any normal country and therein lies the main driver of the story. A lot of the movie is of the lets-follow-this-guy-around-for-a-few-days variety which can be completely boring or, as in this case, pretty interesting. It depicts the relationships between the Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens in a way that I suspect is much more like the real thing than we usually see. Even the representatives of the overbearing bureaucracy are portrayed as decent people.
How to Steal 2 Million
South Africa.
A by-the-numbers film noir. Recently released convict trying to go straight but tempted by one last score by his former best gangster friend who stole his girlfriend but wants to make it right, assisted by the beautiful con artist he caught picking his pocket in a dive bar. Very familiar stuff. The actors are very attractive, everything is done very well. This movie is a perfect representative of the genre. A little too perfect, we got bored and left early, we may have been surprised by something had we stayed, but were not while we were there.
A by-the-numbers film noir. Recently released convict trying to go straight but tempted by one last score by his former best gangster friend who stole his girlfriend but wants to make it right, assisted by the beautiful con artist he caught picking his pocket in a dive bar. Very familiar stuff. The actors are very attractive, everything is done very well. This movie is a perfect representative of the genre. A little too perfect, we got bored and left early, we may have been surprised by something had we stayed, but were not while we were there.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Can
Turkey.
The title is pronounced “Chan” and is the name of an amazingly cute little boy. He has a lot of scenes in the movie, and is the reason to go to it. Great stuff. I like movies like this that center on everyday life in other places, in this case some non-Istanbul city in Turkey. I cannot say the story is especially uplifting or, for that matter, enjoyable, but it is well told. I think its intent is to focus on an Important Social Issue in present day Turkey more than it is to entertain.
The title is pronounced “Chan” and is the name of an amazingly cute little boy. He has a lot of scenes in the movie, and is the reason to go to it. Great stuff. I like movies like this that center on everyday life in other places, in this case some non-Istanbul city in Turkey. I cannot say the story is especially uplifting or, for that matter, enjoyable, but it is well told. I think its intent is to focus on an Important Social Issue in present day Turkey more than it is to entertain.
Future Lasts Forever
Turkey. Meh.
Although Marion and I mutually agreed to leave early probably a lot of people like this movie. A bit more ethereal staring into space and a lot less actual story than I care for. Turkey does not have a sterling human rights record vis a vis the Kurds, and this was being referenced pretty strongly. A separatist movement prompted the usual dirty war stuff death squads, villages cleared out, wounds that will never heal. The movie depicted none of this, the main characters have an interest in the survivors and their stories. Possibly the Turks themselves get more out of the movie, knowing the references better.
Although Marion and I mutually agreed to leave early probably a lot of people like this movie. A bit more ethereal staring into space and a lot less actual story than I care for. Turkey does not have a sterling human rights record vis a vis the Kurds, and this was being referenced pretty strongly. A separatist movement prompted the usual dirty war stuff death squads, villages cleared out, wounds that will never heal. The movie depicted none of this, the main characters have an interest in the survivors and their stories. Possibly the Turks themselves get more out of the movie, knowing the references better.
Los Acacias
Argentina. Recommended
Another movie that is the reason for SIFF. Set in a place among people we never get to see unless we whiz by them without stopping while traveling. I often like Argentine movies. Pretty much a 2 ½ person cast, shot mostly in the cab of a long haul semi, and there are a number of long almost silent shots. Some movies this would bother me, this one it did not at all. I cannot say why. The action, for want of a better word, was almost internal to the characters, but somehow the viewer gets what is happening. Very effective acting, especially the guy. How they got that baby to do stuff on cue is a mystery to me.
Another movie that is the reason for SIFF. Set in a place among people we never get to see unless we whiz by them without stopping while traveling. I often like Argentine movies. Pretty much a 2 ½ person cast, shot mostly in the cab of a long haul semi, and there are a number of long almost silent shots. Some movies this would bother me, this one it did not at all. I cannot say why. The action, for want of a better word, was almost internal to the characters, but somehow the viewer gets what is happening. Very effective acting, especially the guy. How they got that baby to do stuff on cue is a mystery to me.
Extraterrestrial
Spain. Recommended.
This is another advertisement for the sci-fi genre. You can do anything. The special effects are as minimal as could be, its mainly silly people doing silly things. The director was there, a very funny guy. He could be a successful stand-up comedian. He said he wanted to approach an alien invasion from the point of view of the people holed up in their apartments from the curfew while someone else actually dealt with the menace. “Sci-fi for the 99%” is how he put it. Brilliant. So, all the normal rules are suspended until we find out if everybody dies or what; and people do what they do in such a situation. For laughs.
This is another advertisement for the sci-fi genre. You can do anything. The special effects are as minimal as could be, its mainly silly people doing silly things. The director was there, a very funny guy. He could be a successful stand-up comedian. He said he wanted to approach an alien invasion from the point of view of the people holed up in their apartments from the curfew while someone else actually dealt with the menace. “Sci-fi for the 99%” is how he put it. Brilliant. So, all the normal rules are suspended until we find out if everybody dies or what; and people do what they do in such a situation. For laughs.
Abu Son of Adam
India. Highly Recommended
I was riding to work one day and was wondering if it is possible to make a decent movie without interpersonal conflict and with only nice people and no bad guy in it. Then that evening I saw this film, which is just such a movie. This is the one Marion mentions when asked what good movies she has seen. Set in rural, which is to say impoverished, India. It is in the present day, there are scenes of people on computers and cell phones, but for the most part people’s lives seem to be from early last century. A really sweet devout couple who have little money want to do the Hadj. Complications ensue.
This movie is why to go to the film festival. It drills right into life as it is lived in another culture with no apparent artificiality.
I was riding to work one day and was wondering if it is possible to make a decent movie without interpersonal conflict and with only nice people and no bad guy in it. Then that evening I saw this film, which is just such a movie. This is the one Marion mentions when asked what good movies she has seen. Set in rural, which is to say impoverished, India. It is in the present day, there are scenes of people on computers and cell phones, but for the most part people’s lives seem to be from early last century. A really sweet devout couple who have little money want to do the Hadj. Complications ensue.
This movie is why to go to the film festival. It drills right into life as it is lived in another culture with no apparent artificiality.
5 Broken Cameras
Palestine. Important Movie.
This is the reason to go to SIFF films. A guy has his first kid and so he buys a video camera. Just so happens he lives in the West Bank, in a village that the Government is grabbing up pieces of to build settlements, and there are a lot of street protests. Our guy ends up documenting just how this is done, the small bore daily grind of being occupied, and the protests. The title refers to the number of cameras taken out during protests. He left in a lot of the footage that every proud father in the world makes of their kids. Birthday parties, that sort of thing. Then very polite Israeli Army guys politely ordering people off their land. I have a maxim that injustice makes people crazy. Marion and I agreed to leave early, just because we could see where things were headed and could not bear to watch.
This is the reason to go to SIFF films. A guy has his first kid and so he buys a video camera. Just so happens he lives in the West Bank, in a village that the Government is grabbing up pieces of to build settlements, and there are a lot of street protests. Our guy ends up documenting just how this is done, the small bore daily grind of being occupied, and the protests. The title refers to the number of cameras taken out during protests. He left in a lot of the footage that every proud father in the world makes of their kids. Birthday parties, that sort of thing. Then very polite Israeli Army guys politely ordering people off their land. I have a maxim that injustice makes people crazy. Marion and I agreed to leave early, just because we could see where things were headed and could not bear to watch.
As Luck Would Have It
Spain. Recommended
I found this to be a strange movie. I have to say, Spanish movies, especially comedies, often have this effect on me because they do not seem to follow the rules. They are too funny for a drama and too serious for a comedy. On some level, messing with preconceptions has to be a good thing, and in this case the movie is very well made and very well acted.
This is billed as a satirical black comedy . Black humor, saith Wikipedia, is sub-genre of comedy and satire in which laughter arises from cynicism and skepticism. This movie does not follow that rule. The comedy in it is not subversive or especially satirical in, say, the Daily Show manner of satire. The funny parts are conventionally funny, there is one running gag that straight up slapstick. The funny parts are, indeed, funny and there are many laughs to be had. The dramatic parts are not in the service of any comedic end, they are Drama. The great Selma Hayak has a straight up dramatic role, I do not think she has any funny lines at all, and her character is really the heart of the movie. I freely admit that I cry at movies, pretty much on cue. I cried at this one more than any film so far.
I found this to be a strange movie. I have to say, Spanish movies, especially comedies, often have this effect on me because they do not seem to follow the rules. They are too funny for a drama and too serious for a comedy. On some level, messing with preconceptions has to be a good thing, and in this case the movie is very well made and very well acted.
This is billed as a satirical black comedy . Black humor, saith Wikipedia, is sub-genre of comedy and satire in which laughter arises from cynicism and skepticism. This movie does not follow that rule. The comedy in it is not subversive or especially satirical in, say, the Daily Show manner of satire. The funny parts are conventionally funny, there is one running gag that straight up slapstick. The funny parts are, indeed, funny and there are many laughs to be had. The dramatic parts are not in the service of any comedic end, they are Drama. The great Selma Hayak has a straight up dramatic role, I do not think she has any funny lines at all, and her character is really the heart of the movie. I freely admit that I cry at movies, pretty much on cue. I cried at this one more than any film so far.
Unforgivable.
France. Meh.
I do not know what this movie is for. Really attractive people in a beautiful place with what I think is an incoherent story that takes the audience no place. The audience seemed to love it because, I guess, it is very Francais. To me its even more of a carbon copy of every other French film ever made.
I think this is a good place for me to expound on the general uselessness and specific evils of movie reviews. Lots of people loved the movie I just slammed. Why would you pay any attention at all to whether I liked it? No good reason. I know nothing about what anyone but me likes. Screw what I think! Also screw what Anthony Lane of David Denby or any other reviewer thinks. And most of all, screw Pauline Kael in her grave. Wake her up and let her die again, says I. A review rarely enhances ones appreciation of a movie one has yet to see. They mainly spoil movies, either by giving the viewer this extra 30 pounds of baggage to carry into the film or by dissuading the person from attending in the first place. I actually love reading Denby and Lane, they are very gifted writers. But my rule is that I only read beyond the first paragraph if I have seen the movie or have decided not to see the movie. Most of my best movie experiences has been watching films about which I knew nothing going in.
So this begs the question (as that phrase is used these days) why I am writing all these blurbs. First, because this time of year everyone I know asks me about the movies I’ve seen and I can never think of anything to say. Lets face it, when you are attending 3 or 4 movies a day, its hard to even remember what you have seen. No one I do not know is likely to read this blog, and to know me is to know that I am a blowhard. Cheap copout, I know. Mostly I write this stuff because I think a lot of the movies that can only be seen at festivals are Important and should be widely seen, and if I can influence a few of my friends to go, I have done good.
I do not know what this movie is for. Really attractive people in a beautiful place with what I think is an incoherent story that takes the audience no place. The audience seemed to love it because, I guess, it is very Francais. To me its even more of a carbon copy of every other French film ever made.
I think this is a good place for me to expound on the general uselessness and specific evils of movie reviews. Lots of people loved the movie I just slammed. Why would you pay any attention at all to whether I liked it? No good reason. I know nothing about what anyone but me likes. Screw what I think! Also screw what Anthony Lane of David Denby or any other reviewer thinks. And most of all, screw Pauline Kael in her grave. Wake her up and let her die again, says I. A review rarely enhances ones appreciation of a movie one has yet to see. They mainly spoil movies, either by giving the viewer this extra 30 pounds of baggage to carry into the film or by dissuading the person from attending in the first place. I actually love reading Denby and Lane, they are very gifted writers. But my rule is that I only read beyond the first paragraph if I have seen the movie or have decided not to see the movie. Most of my best movie experiences has been watching films about which I knew nothing going in.
So this begs the question (as that phrase is used these days) why I am writing all these blurbs. First, because this time of year everyone I know asks me about the movies I’ve seen and I can never think of anything to say. Lets face it, when you are attending 3 or 4 movies a day, its hard to even remember what you have seen. No one I do not know is likely to read this blog, and to know me is to know that I am a blowhard. Cheap copout, I know. Mostly I write this stuff because I think a lot of the movies that can only be seen at festivals are Important and should be widely seen, and if I can influence a few of my friends to go, I have done good.
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