It started with a chair.
[Matthew Lillard in Scream voice: "I'll be right baaaaack!"]
(Incidentally, that is my favorite part of Scream. Also it is the only part of the movie I really remember. Also, Matthew Lillard is highly underrated. [Isn't "highly underrated" something of an oxymoron? In spirit, if not in fact? - Ed.] Not that he's made the best career choices by any means; but go watch SLC Punk! and then tell me he's not brilliant.)
Anyway. Concise explanation for my hiatus: New computer, but still no internet at home. Apparently a failure of the router to communicate with the cable box, or something? (My parents' computer develops a similar problem when you try to stream video from the CBS site; their solution is: 1) Unplug power cord from router. 2) Count to 10 or thereabouts. 3) Reattach power cord. 4) Count to 10 or thereabouts. 5) Use internet. So perhaps I shall give that a try.) Also they are cracking down on use of the internet at work, so I can't sneak updates; also also I don't really have time to muck about online at work lately, more's the pity. And also also also I have little energy when I get home and could update on saikou_dani's computer, and have lately preferred to use that energy to obsessively watch DVDs of The Wire or Slings & Arrows.
Despair not, my friends! If you would like to recreate the last two-months-and-change of my life, simply use this handy guide:
All right. Now that that nonsense is taken care of:
Last weekend my parents took me to the Telluride Film Festival.
Telluride is so beautiful. The place makes me want to move there and learn to ski and be all healthy and hike-y and mountain bike-y during the summer, and have a little place with a balcony and a mountain view (which is, basically, ANYWHERE in the town) where I can sit in the morning and drink my coffee in the crisp air. (I must admit that the coffee on the balcony is probably the only part of this fantasy that would actually come true. Heh. Well at least I'm honest with myself.)
TFF is the "democratic" film festival; the jam band to the rest of the festival circuit's highly competitive professional orchestra. Or, some other metaphor that doesn't suck. No prizes; no market, little press; no red carpets. You buy a pass, you wait in line outside for every show you want to see, you cross your fingers and hope you get a seat. (There was some controversy this year over the number of shows that sold out; it was my first year, so I can't make any comparisons, but I heard grumblings from quite a few disgruntled festival-goers about the number of seats held for "special guests". Whatever. We managed to see everything we wanted to see; well, no, that's not accurate, because there are 30+ movies and only four days, but we managed to see everything we tried to see, even if we had to come back for a later showing.)
We saw 14 movies - it woulda been 15 or 16 but we had a nice Thai dinner one evening. Here follows my commentary on each, organized roughly by how much I adored the film:
Juno - This was a sneak preview. I feel a little braggy about being one of the first 500 people to see it, ever. Directed by Jason Reitman (directed Thank You For Smoking), written by Diablo Cody. I am too lazy to link to things, people, so you will just have to do it yourself. They came to the showing and announced they'd finished editing the movie 36 hours previously, watched it once more, and gotten on a plane to Colorado. Y'all, it's a dogfight for the top spot, but I think this one wins by a hair or two. It's about a high school girl who sleeps with her best friend, gets pregnant, and finds a couple to adopt the baby in the ads in the back of the Penny Saver. ("Hijinx ensue," I suppose - but in the most wonderful ways.) And check out the cast: Michael Cera! Jennifer Garner! Jason Bateman! Allison Janney! J.K. Simmons! Cameo by Rainn Wilson! And Ellen Page as the titular star. This movie was just... just lovely, guys. Funny and sweet and witty and heartwrenching and so, so true. Here's a reductive pop-culture-reference equation: Juno = Veronica Mars + Napoleon Dynamite - P.I. + unplanned pregnancy. I kind of hate that Napoleon Dynamite comparison. I mean, they're both that "small town high school with quirks" thing, right? Except ND, in my opinion, emphasized the quirks to the detriment of everything else in the movie, including plot and character development. In Juno the quirks are in the service of the plot and characters.
I can't say enough good things about this movie. Michael Cera was fabulous. Ellen Page deserves to be the next Kristen Bell. Jennifer Garner blew me away. And the script - going where you think it should, but on its own time and by its own route, tilted just a bit off-kilter. And hilarious. IMDB says it'll be out in limited release this December. Go see it. I don't care if you have to fly to New York. You can stay with me. It will totally be worth it.
When Did You Last See Your Father? - Directed by Anand Tucker, and I don't know if I've seen anything else he's done. Anyway, what can I say about this? Note-perfect. It's based on a memoir by Blake Morrison, which I must now read. I'll quote the TFF synopsis now because I can't really say it better: "Blake is a successful, middle-aged writer who's happily married with children. The one thing in his life that he can't get right is his damaged relationship with his father Arthur, a boisterous, devious egotist who sucks up the air in every room he enters." Colin Firth - for once not playing Mr. Darcy, and I bet he's thrilled - is simply brilliant as Blake, and Jim Broadbent is fantastic as his father. (Arthur is a particularly interesting character because he is see, the whole movie, through his son's eyes; he is a charming monster, larger than life, inexorable.) Also I must mention the cinematography, which was so gorgeous I wanted to walk onto the screen and just stay there. This'll be in theatres in the US in February 08, I guess, which is a long time to wait, dammit!
Into the Wild - OK, I admit I have a touch of the fangirl for Emile Hirsch. He was remarkable in Lords of Dogtown - a movie which I originally saw only because Catherine Hardwicke directed it and I [heart] her very much; and I ended up seeing it twice in the theater (I know, I know) and subsequently purchasing the DVD. I have to defend myself and say the repeated viewings and purchase are mostly because of Catherine Hardwicke. But, okay, my heart does beat faster anytime Emile Hirsch is onscreen. Seriously, guys - Lords of Dogtown is not a great movie, I know, but it's a good one, and Emile (we're on a first-name basis, what?) is far and away the best thing about it; he has this magnetic energy that's... well, it's not really puppyish, because it's not quite that benign; I don't think it's feline, that's too slinky; I think the animal metaphors are failing me here. He just - he has this energy that's barely contained by his skin, and you can see it roiling and churning away beneath the surface, and it explodes out of him in these unpredictable, indelible moments.
Oh good Lord, I am so off topic. Enough with the inept paean to Emile Hirsch, yes? Into the Wild (starring Emile and directed by Sean Penn) is the story of Christopher McCandless - wikipedia him, it's fascinating. Into the Wild manages to tell his story without mythologizing or trivializing him. It has the guts to take him seriously. I have to say - without being too grandiose, I hope - this is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Sean Penn strikes a perfect balance between sweeping, epic drama and tiny, intimate moments; the two are woven so neatly together that even the smallest gestures reverberate through the whole film. Also, the movie features some of the most gorgeous photography ever; I heard one woman complain that it could've been edited more, and there were certainly a great number of panoramic Alaskan vistas - but, honestly, they are so breathtaking; why would you cut them out? The acting is top-notch and - if we can circle back to the previous paragraph - Emile Hirsch is revelatory. He has a difficult job, because for a not insignificant portion of the film he's alone onscreen, simply being. He gives a guileless, gorgeous performance. A.O. Scott has dubbed him the Next Sean Penn. You hear that, Emile? No more starring in crap, okay? Anyway, looks like this'll be out in two or three weeks, so mark your calendars now. My final word on this movie: It stuck with me for days. In fact I still can't get it out of my head.
Man, I've gotta move a little more quickly if I want to get through all these; I need to sleep tonight.
The Counterfeiters - An Austrian film about Operation Bernhard, the Nazis' plan to flood the US and Britain with counterfeit currency. A WWII movie filmed to the script of a crime film, sort of. Heartwrenching, of course; how much will you sacrifice to cling to your principles? How much will you compromise to keep yourself comfortable? No idea when/if this'll be released in the US. Cross your fingers. Cross them hard.
The Savages - Another sneak preview! Unfortunately, we didn't make it into the first showing, and had to cram into the VERY. LAST. SHOWING. late on Monday night, and the director had already gone home. Anyway. I have been seeing previews for this for the last several months, and getting increasingly excited to see it. I love Slums of Beverly Hills, Tamara Jenkins' previous directorial effort, and the previews indicate a movie by turns funny-ha-ha, funny-peculiar, and funny-heartbreaking. And... well, it mostly was. This was the last movie we saw, so I was pretty burnt out (and fidgety in my seat, which was extra-narrow!). Don't get me wrong - I loved it; I think my expectations were unreasonably high. Brilliant performances by Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I wanted the movie to affect me more than it did - for whatever reason, it felt like it kept taking a step back. Anyway. Still recommended.
Jar City - Reductive summary: CSI: Reykjavik. Good twisty police thriller that literalizes the corrupting influence of a thirty-year-old crime. ("The sins of the father," etc.) As a twist-ending thriller it wasn't entirely successful; I felt the Answer was telegraphed early in the film, and I had it pretty much figured out long before the Big Reveal. But tonally and visually, Jar City is an absolute dream. The movie is filled with heartstopping Icelandic vistas and an eerie, atmospheric score. I found the small character moments more compelling than the plot, personally; the acting was fantastic all around. This is at the Toronto Film Fest right now, so with a little luck it'll be coming to an indie screen near you.
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers - This is one of those small, silent movies; the director, Wayne Wang, spoke before the screening and joked that he'd been pushing the envelope to see how much "nothing" he could get into the movie. He got a lot of nothing in - there's not much of a plot at all: father comes from China to Spokane to help his daughter get through a divorce. She goes to work; he walks to the park and befriends an Iranian woman, making small talk with pidgin English and a lot of gestures. And... well, that's basically it. But the film manages to explore the gaps between father and daughter, and slowly, quietly, secretly, they are both transformed. I love movies where vital things happen in the space at the edge of the scene. Well, there's plenty of space and edge in this one. It feels a bit like one of those faint stars in Cassiopeia; you see it best if you look just to the side. I don't know if I can adequately describe Thousand Years
My Enemy's Enemy - Kevin Macdonald takes a break from Oscar-winning big-budget Film-with-a-capital-F (he directed Last King of Scotland) and returns to his documentarian roots. (An interesting side note: Kevin Macdonald is the vocal twin of Stephen Merchant. Which made listening to the post-screening Q&A a little difficult, because I kept remembering the moment in Hot Fuzz when he says, "The swan's escaped!" Stephen Merchant says that, I mean, not Kevin Macdonald. This is the way my brain works. Aren't you glad you know this?) My Enemy's Enemy is pure talking-head, here-are-the-facts documentary, with none of this newfangled reenactment the kids are so fond of these days. He traces the history of Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon" ("And the butchers of Lyon are very upset by that," says his daughter, in one of those heartbreaking "he's my father so he can do no wrong" moments) who tortured and murdered dozens or hundreds of French Resistance fighters during WWII, and then became a counter-intelligence agent for the US during the Cold War, and then planned to start a Fourth Reich in Bolivia. (Barbie wasn't the only one; dozens of "former" Nazis convinced the Allies that they were experts on the Soviet Union, despite having LOST THE WAR TO THEM.) This documentary depressed me, guys, because shit like this is still happening (and here I will link!). I shudder to think what'll come to light half a century from now. The TFF synopsis sums it up nicely: "Think le Carre or Graham Greene, except it's all true." Don't know when this'll be out, but it better get a wide release. This is the "important" film that you must see.
Rails and Ties - I was reluctant to see this one, and I'm not sure why; I think because it stars Kevin Bacon and I'd just seen a nauseating preview for Death Sentence and got all transferrence-y. I don't know. Anyway, Kevin Bacon stars as a train engineer, and I think I'll just quote the TFF synopsis because it's quite concise: "[Tom] finds himself at the intersection of two tragedies. His beloved wife Megan (Marcia Gay Harden) is dying of bone cancer. When a despairing young mother commits suicide by parking her car in front of Tom's oncoming train, an unexpected confrontation results. The arrival of the woman's desperate ten-year-old son Davey forces Tom to face all of his unresolved moral and emotional issues." Exceptionally well-acted, but the script was a little soapy for my taste. I think the acting rose far above the material. But - see this for the performances, guys, because both Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden are incredible. (I'm running out of superlatives here. Thesaurus, anyone?)
Millions Like Us - A print from the original 1943 camera negative, which was a big draw for film purists because until now the only print had been a re-edited version from 1947. (I think.) Anyway, this is a British WWII-on-the-homefront production that began as a propaganda documentary and turned into a big studio feature. Clever and with that fabulous crackling 40s dialogue - this was just fun to watch, guys. I have no idea if it's possible to dig up a DVD or VHS or any sort of copy of this anywhere.
I'm Not There - As A.O. Scott describes it: "Todd Haynes's movie about (or not about, or inspired by, or having something to do with) Bob Dylan." If you are a Dylan scholar (which I am not, though I am a mildly rabid fan) you will undoubtedly be able to identify the references, allusions, and quotes packed into every single frame. If you're pretentious-minded, you could interpret it as a meditation on the fracturing nature of fame. My favorite part was the soundtrack. (Also Cate Blanchett, who is eerily good. Took me a couple scenes to place her.) Honestly, I'd love to see this on DVD with, like, four or five separate commentary tracks. I think this is a movie that you have to let happen to you, you know? Rather than trying to participate? Just sit back and let yourself watch.
Jellyfish - Man, I was seduced by the blurb in the TFF guide, and - well, okay, this was the fifth movie we saw in one day, and it started at 11:45, so I was practically hallucinating by the time we sat down in the theater. This was not a bad movie by any means. It's an ensemble piece, more or less, though not contrivedly so (Crash, I am looking at you; wipe that smirk off your face and give your Oscar to someone who deserves it). The TFF guide says, "Each of the three brings us into their own unique world of missed attempts at communication, stifled longing for family and sudden reversals of fortune." I think that's accurate? It didn't hang together quite as well as it could have, I thought. Interesting, with some compelling moments, but I don't know that I'd watch it again.
A Tribute to Daniel Day-Lewis - This wasn't really a movie, obviously; it was an hour-long highlight reel and then an hour-long interview with Daniel Day-Lewis. The reason it's so low on my list is because I was sitting in what must have been a medieval torture rack repurposed (unsuccessfully) as a chair. The Tribute took place in this gorgeous old opera house, and I was squeezed up into the balcony (which was that old-style balcony that's more of a deep walkway along three walls), along audience left, in the tiniest, narrowest, precarious-est flip-down seat you have ever seen. The balcony railing was at shin height, and so close that I had to keep my knees bent at a 30-degree angle to avoid accidentally amputating both my feet. There was a rather large gentleman seated next to me, so I had to twist my legs to the right and my torso to the left to see the screen. (But at least I could see the whole screen - my parents were in the back corner of the balcony and the balcony railing obstructed at least 50% of their view.)
Anyway the program itself was quite good, although Daniel Day-Lewis is remarkably skilled at wiggling away from questions. The clip reel was impressive, and I'm ashamed to admit I've seen very few of the featured movies. Time to rent some DVDs!
The Big Parade - Oh, man, if there's one thing I've learned, it is that I do not have the stomach for melodrama. The Big Parade is a 1925 "epic romance" about doughboys in France. Actually the battle scenes were incredible - the ferocity and pyrotechnics are pretty much a match for anything you'd see done with cgi today. But a) melodrama, DO NOT WANT; and b) the TFF guide calls it "a supreme example of film editing as art," but I wish said art had been put to use a little more on the film. I do not need to see 25 hours of marching soldiers' faces, thank you. 20 hours would suffice.
BUT! - we got to see it with live, improvised accompaniment by Gabriel Thibaudeau, who is one of (I think) 8 silent film accompanists in the entire world. Guys? If you ever have a chance to see a silent film with live accompaniment, do it. A fabulous experience.
[deep breath] That's it! I don't dare list all the films we didn't manage to squeeze into our schedule, for fear of falling into an endless spiral of despair and regret. I desperately want to go back next year.
And for a better TFF recap, try A.O. Scott's in the NYTimes.
P.S. Haircut! While I was secretly enjoying having a fairly good Aeryn-style "battle pony" to toss around, I have renewed my belief that I'm just not a long-hair person. So I have chopped said hair off. It is now short and flippy and completely out of control. Must pull out my "gives fluffy hair weight" shampoo to see if it can make it look less like a... I don't know... flock of seagulls. Both the band and the avians. Remarkable.
(Incidentally, that is my favorite part of Scream. Also it is the only part of the movie I really remember. Also, Matthew Lillard is highly underrated. [Isn't "highly underrated" something of an oxymoron? In spirit, if not in fact? - Ed.] Not that he's made the best career choices by any means; but go watch SLC Punk! and then tell me he's not brilliant.)
Anyway. Concise explanation for my hiatus: New computer, but still no internet at home. Apparently a failure of the router to communicate with the cable box, or something? (My parents' computer develops a similar problem when you try to stream video from the CBS site; their solution is: 1) Unplug power cord from router. 2) Count to 10 or thereabouts. 3) Reattach power cord. 4) Count to 10 or thereabouts. 5) Use internet. So perhaps I shall give that a try.) Also they are cracking down on use of the internet at work, so I can't sneak updates; also also I don't really have time to muck about online at work lately, more's the pity. And also also also I have little energy when I get home and could update on saikou_dani's computer, and have lately preferred to use that energy to obsessively watch DVDs of The Wire or Slings & Arrows.
Despair not, my friends! If you would like to recreate the last two-months-and-change of my life, simply use this handy guide:
All right. Now that that nonsense is taken care of:
Last weekend my parents took me to the Telluride Film Festival.
Telluride is so beautiful. The place makes me want to move there and learn to ski and be all healthy and hike-y and mountain bike-y during the summer, and have a little place with a balcony and a mountain view (which is, basically, ANYWHERE in the town) where I can sit in the morning and drink my coffee in the crisp air. (I must admit that the coffee on the balcony is probably the only part of this fantasy that would actually come true. Heh. Well at least I'm honest with myself.)
TFF is the "democratic" film festival; the jam band to the rest of the festival circuit's highly competitive professional orchestra. Or, some other metaphor that doesn't suck. No prizes; no market, little press; no red carpets. You buy a pass, you wait in line outside for every show you want to see, you cross your fingers and hope you get a seat. (There was some controversy this year over the number of shows that sold out; it was my first year, so I can't make any comparisons, but I heard grumblings from quite a few disgruntled festival-goers about the number of seats held for "special guests". Whatever. We managed to see everything we wanted to see; well, no, that's not accurate, because there are 30+ movies and only four days, but we managed to see everything we tried to see, even if we had to come back for a later showing.)
We saw 14 movies - it woulda been 15 or 16 but we had a nice Thai dinner one evening. Here follows my commentary on each, organized roughly by how much I adored the film:
Juno - This was a sneak preview. I feel a little braggy about being one of the first 500 people to see it, ever. Directed by Jason Reitman (directed Thank You For Smoking), written by Diablo Cody. I am too lazy to link to things, people, so you will just have to do it yourself. They came to the showing and announced they'd finished editing the movie 36 hours previously, watched it once more, and gotten on a plane to Colorado. Y'all, it's a dogfight for the top spot, but I think this one wins by a hair or two. It's about a high school girl who sleeps with her best friend, gets pregnant, and finds a couple to adopt the baby in the ads in the back of the Penny Saver. ("Hijinx ensue," I suppose - but in the most wonderful ways.) And check out the cast: Michael Cera! Jennifer Garner! Jason Bateman! Allison Janney! J.K. Simmons! Cameo by Rainn Wilson! And Ellen Page as the titular star. This movie was just... just lovely, guys. Funny and sweet and witty and heartwrenching and so, so true. Here's a reductive pop-culture-reference equation: Juno = Veronica Mars + Napoleon Dynamite - P.I. + unplanned pregnancy. I kind of hate that Napoleon Dynamite comparison. I mean, they're both that "small town high school with quirks" thing, right? Except ND, in my opinion, emphasized the quirks to the detriment of everything else in the movie, including plot and character development. In Juno the quirks are in the service of the plot and characters.
I can't say enough good things about this movie. Michael Cera was fabulous. Ellen Page deserves to be the next Kristen Bell. Jennifer Garner blew me away. And the script - going where you think it should, but on its own time and by its own route, tilted just a bit off-kilter. And hilarious. IMDB says it'll be out in limited release this December. Go see it. I don't care if you have to fly to New York. You can stay with me. It will totally be worth it.
When Did You Last See Your Father? - Directed by Anand Tucker, and I don't know if I've seen anything else he's done. Anyway, what can I say about this? Note-perfect. It's based on a memoir by Blake Morrison, which I must now read. I'll quote the TFF synopsis now because I can't really say it better: "Blake is a successful, middle-aged writer who's happily married with children. The one thing in his life that he can't get right is his damaged relationship with his father Arthur, a boisterous, devious egotist who sucks up the air in every room he enters." Colin Firth - for once not playing Mr. Darcy, and I bet he's thrilled - is simply brilliant as Blake, and Jim Broadbent is fantastic as his father. (Arthur is a particularly interesting character because he is see, the whole movie, through his son's eyes; he is a charming monster, larger than life, inexorable.) Also I must mention the cinematography, which was so gorgeous I wanted to walk onto the screen and just stay there. This'll be in theatres in the US in February 08, I guess, which is a long time to wait, dammit!
Into the Wild - OK, I admit I have a touch of the fangirl for Emile Hirsch. He was remarkable in Lords of Dogtown - a movie which I originally saw only because Catherine Hardwicke directed it and I [heart] her very much; and I ended up seeing it twice in the theater (I know, I know) and subsequently purchasing the DVD. I have to defend myself and say the repeated viewings and purchase are mostly because of Catherine Hardwicke. But, okay, my heart does beat faster anytime Emile Hirsch is onscreen. Seriously, guys - Lords of Dogtown is not a great movie, I know, but it's a good one, and Emile (we're on a first-name basis, what?) is far and away the best thing about it; he has this magnetic energy that's... well, it's not really puppyish, because it's not quite that benign; I don't think it's feline, that's too slinky; I think the animal metaphors are failing me here. He just - he has this energy that's barely contained by his skin, and you can see it roiling and churning away beneath the surface, and it explodes out of him in these unpredictable, indelible moments.
Oh good Lord, I am so off topic. Enough with the inept paean to Emile Hirsch, yes? Into the Wild (starring Emile and directed by Sean Penn) is the story of Christopher McCandless - wikipedia him, it's fascinating. Into the Wild manages to tell his story without mythologizing or trivializing him. It has the guts to take him seriously. I have to say - without being too grandiose, I hope - this is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Sean Penn strikes a perfect balance between sweeping, epic drama and tiny, intimate moments; the two are woven so neatly together that even the smallest gestures reverberate through the whole film. Also, the movie features some of the most gorgeous photography ever; I heard one woman complain that it could've been edited more, and there were certainly a great number of panoramic Alaskan vistas - but, honestly, they are so breathtaking; why would you cut them out? The acting is top-notch and - if we can circle back to the previous paragraph - Emile Hirsch is revelatory. He has a difficult job, because for a not insignificant portion of the film he's alone onscreen, simply being. He gives a guileless, gorgeous performance. A.O. Scott has dubbed him the Next Sean Penn. You hear that, Emile? No more starring in crap, okay? Anyway, looks like this'll be out in two or three weeks, so mark your calendars now. My final word on this movie: It stuck with me for days. In fact I still can't get it out of my head.
Man, I've gotta move a little more quickly if I want to get through all these; I need to sleep tonight.
The Counterfeiters - An Austrian film about Operation Bernhard, the Nazis' plan to flood the US and Britain with counterfeit currency. A WWII movie filmed to the script of a crime film, sort of. Heartwrenching, of course; how much will you sacrifice to cling to your principles? How much will you compromise to keep yourself comfortable? No idea when/if this'll be released in the US. Cross your fingers. Cross them hard.
The Savages - Another sneak preview! Unfortunately, we didn't make it into the first showing, and had to cram into the VERY. LAST. SHOWING. late on Monday night, and the director had already gone home. Anyway. I have been seeing previews for this for the last several months, and getting increasingly excited to see it. I love Slums of Beverly Hills, Tamara Jenkins' previous directorial effort, and the previews indicate a movie by turns funny-ha-ha, funny-peculiar, and funny-heartbreaking. And... well, it mostly was. This was the last movie we saw, so I was pretty burnt out (and fidgety in my seat, which was extra-narrow!). Don't get me wrong - I loved it; I think my expectations were unreasonably high. Brilliant performances by Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I wanted the movie to affect me more than it did - for whatever reason, it felt like it kept taking a step back. Anyway. Still recommended.
Jar City - Reductive summary: CSI: Reykjavik. Good twisty police thriller that literalizes the corrupting influence of a thirty-year-old crime. ("The sins of the father," etc.) As a twist-ending thriller it wasn't entirely successful; I felt the Answer was telegraphed early in the film, and I had it pretty much figured out long before the Big Reveal. But tonally and visually, Jar City is an absolute dream. The movie is filled with heartstopping Icelandic vistas and an eerie, atmospheric score. I found the small character moments more compelling than the plot, personally; the acting was fantastic all around. This is at the Toronto Film Fest right now, so with a little luck it'll be coming to an indie screen near you.
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers - This is one of those small, silent movies; the director, Wayne Wang, spoke before the screening and joked that he'd been pushing the envelope to see how much "nothing" he could get into the movie. He got a lot of nothing in - there's not much of a plot at all: father comes from China to Spokane to help his daughter get through a divorce. She goes to work; he walks to the park and befriends an Iranian woman, making small talk with pidgin English and a lot of gestures. And... well, that's basically it. But the film manages to explore the gaps between father and daughter, and slowly, quietly, secretly, they are both transformed. I love movies where vital things happen in the space at the edge of the scene. Well, there's plenty of space and edge in this one. It feels a bit like one of those faint stars in Cassiopeia; you see it best if you look just to the side. I don't know if I can adequately describe Thousand Years
My Enemy's Enemy - Kevin Macdonald takes a break from Oscar-winning big-budget Film-with-a-capital-F (he directed Last King of Scotland) and returns to his documentarian roots. (An interesting side note: Kevin Macdonald is the vocal twin of Stephen Merchant. Which made listening to the post-screening Q&A a little difficult, because I kept remembering the moment in Hot Fuzz when he says, "The swan's escaped!" Stephen Merchant says that, I mean, not Kevin Macdonald. This is the way my brain works. Aren't you glad you know this?) My Enemy's Enemy is pure talking-head, here-are-the-facts documentary, with none of this newfangled reenactment the kids are so fond of these days. He traces the history of Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon" ("And the butchers of Lyon are very upset by that," says his daughter, in one of those heartbreaking "he's my father so he can do no wrong" moments) who tortured and murdered dozens or hundreds of French Resistance fighters during WWII, and then became a counter-intelligence agent for the US during the Cold War, and then planned to start a Fourth Reich in Bolivia. (Barbie wasn't the only one; dozens of "former" Nazis convinced the Allies that they were experts on the Soviet Union, despite having LOST THE WAR TO THEM.) This documentary depressed me, guys, because shit like this is still happening (and here I will link!). I shudder to think what'll come to light half a century from now. The TFF synopsis sums it up nicely: "Think le Carre or Graham Greene, except it's all true." Don't know when this'll be out, but it better get a wide release. This is the "important" film that you must see.
Rails and Ties - I was reluctant to see this one, and I'm not sure why; I think because it stars Kevin Bacon and I'd just seen a nauseating preview for Death Sentence and got all transferrence-y. I don't know. Anyway, Kevin Bacon stars as a train engineer, and I think I'll just quote the TFF synopsis because it's quite concise: "[Tom] finds himself at the intersection of two tragedies. His beloved wife Megan (Marcia Gay Harden) is dying of bone cancer. When a despairing young mother commits suicide by parking her car in front of Tom's oncoming train, an unexpected confrontation results. The arrival of the woman's desperate ten-year-old son Davey forces Tom to face all of his unresolved moral and emotional issues." Exceptionally well-acted, but the script was a little soapy for my taste. I think the acting rose far above the material. But - see this for the performances, guys, because both Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden are incredible. (I'm running out of superlatives here. Thesaurus, anyone?)
Millions Like Us - A print from the original 1943 camera negative, which was a big draw for film purists because until now the only print had been a re-edited version from 1947. (I think.) Anyway, this is a British WWII-on-the-homefront production that began as a propaganda documentary and turned into a big studio feature. Clever and with that fabulous crackling 40s dialogue - this was just fun to watch, guys. I have no idea if it's possible to dig up a DVD or VHS or any sort of copy of this anywhere.
I'm Not There - As A.O. Scott describes it: "Todd Haynes's movie about (or not about, or inspired by, or having something to do with) Bob Dylan." If you are a Dylan scholar (which I am not, though I am a mildly rabid fan) you will undoubtedly be able to identify the references, allusions, and quotes packed into every single frame. If you're pretentious-minded, you could interpret it as a meditation on the fracturing nature of fame. My favorite part was the soundtrack. (Also Cate Blanchett, who is eerily good. Took me a couple scenes to place her.) Honestly, I'd love to see this on DVD with, like, four or five separate commentary tracks. I think this is a movie that you have to let happen to you, you know? Rather than trying to participate? Just sit back and let yourself watch.
Jellyfish - Man, I was seduced by the blurb in the TFF guide, and - well, okay, this was the fifth movie we saw in one day, and it started at 11:45, so I was practically hallucinating by the time we sat down in the theater. This was not a bad movie by any means. It's an ensemble piece, more or less, though not contrivedly so (Crash, I am looking at you; wipe that smirk off your face and give your Oscar to someone who deserves it). The TFF guide says, "Each of the three brings us into their own unique world of missed attempts at communication, stifled longing for family and sudden reversals of fortune." I think that's accurate? It didn't hang together quite as well as it could have, I thought. Interesting, with some compelling moments, but I don't know that I'd watch it again.
A Tribute to Daniel Day-Lewis - This wasn't really a movie, obviously; it was an hour-long highlight reel and then an hour-long interview with Daniel Day-Lewis. The reason it's so low on my list is because I was sitting in what must have been a medieval torture rack repurposed (unsuccessfully) as a chair. The Tribute took place in this gorgeous old opera house, and I was squeezed up into the balcony (which was that old-style balcony that's more of a deep walkway along three walls), along audience left, in the tiniest, narrowest, precarious-est flip-down seat you have ever seen. The balcony railing was at shin height, and so close that I had to keep my knees bent at a 30-degree angle to avoid accidentally amputating both my feet. There was a rather large gentleman seated next to me, so I had to twist my legs to the right and my torso to the left to see the screen. (But at least I could see the whole screen - my parents were in the back corner of the balcony and the balcony railing obstructed at least 50% of their view.)
Anyway the program itself was quite good, although Daniel Day-Lewis is remarkably skilled at wiggling away from questions. The clip reel was impressive, and I'm ashamed to admit I've seen very few of the featured movies. Time to rent some DVDs!
The Big Parade - Oh, man, if there's one thing I've learned, it is that I do not have the stomach for melodrama. The Big Parade is a 1925 "epic romance" about doughboys in France. Actually the battle scenes were incredible - the ferocity and pyrotechnics are pretty much a match for anything you'd see done with cgi today. But a) melodrama, DO NOT WANT; and b) the TFF guide calls it "a supreme example of film editing as art," but I wish said art had been put to use a little more on the film. I do not need to see 25 hours of marching soldiers' faces, thank you. 20 hours would suffice.
BUT! - we got to see it with live, improvised accompaniment by Gabriel Thibaudeau, who is one of (I think) 8 silent film accompanists in the entire world. Guys? If you ever have a chance to see a silent film with live accompaniment, do it. A fabulous experience.
[deep breath] That's it! I don't dare list all the films we didn't manage to squeeze into our schedule, for fear of falling into an endless spiral of despair and regret. I desperately want to go back next year.
And for a better TFF recap, try A.O. Scott's in the NYTimes.
P.S. Haircut! While I was secretly enjoying having a fairly good Aeryn-style "battle pony" to toss around, I have renewed my belief that I'm just not a long-hair person. So I have chopped said hair off. It is now short and flippy and completely out of control. Must pull out my "gives fluffy hair weight" shampoo to see if it can make it look less like a... I don't know... flock of seagulls. Both the band and the avians. Remarkable.