SIFF 2016 so far
For those of you who don't know, the Seattle International Film Festival started this past Friday night, at least for those of us who aren't annual passholders. I've seen three films so far.
Kedi
This documentary is a portrait of the cats of Istanbul, which hold a special place in the hearts and culture of that ancient city. It is as much a love letter to Istanbul as it is to the cats we meet and, by extension, all the cats in town. You can see, in the different types of cats, what a crossroads the city is, given their face and body shapes and colors, not to mention the architecture and the stories. It was a delightful way to spend 80 minutes. The film was preceded by a Simon's Cat short called "A Trip to the Vet," the first Simon's Cat cartoon longer than 60-or-so seconds. It's a gentle thing, full of knowledge of, understanding about and affection for living with cats. Very sweet and very funny.
Slash
A sweet coming-of-age story about a 15 year old boy trying to figure out sexuality, life and social interaction through writing slash fiction. He meets an older girl who digs his writing. She introduces him to the world on online slash and introduces him to convention-going. The rest is the story and I won't spoil it. It's a smart film, with a line on that awkward, awakening awareness of self and others, and while the thing that attracted me to it--the portrayal of slash as such a pop cultury, acknowledged phenomenon--was really kind of the macguffin that got the story rolling, the story itself and the strong performances by the two teenage leads, made the film satisfying and well worth seeing.
Weiner
The documentary is a wry, unvarnished look at Democratic rockstar-turned-public-meltdown-master Anthony Weiner and his attempt at rehabilitation through his run for mayor of the city of New York. It is yet another testament to how a brilliant, narcissistic man can completely self-destruct. He is very much the kid who isn't sorry he stole but terribly sorry he got caught. I believed in Weiner when he was making a real difference in the House of Representatives. His downfall was a huge disappointment. Watching this documentary--both fascinating and cringe-worthy--he reminds me very much of my high school and college boyfriend: so full of his own repulsive awesome that he can't see his own monumental arrogance and stupidity. I definitely recommend it.
Kedi
This documentary is a portrait of the cats of Istanbul, which hold a special place in the hearts and culture of that ancient city. It is as much a love letter to Istanbul as it is to the cats we meet and, by extension, all the cats in town. You can see, in the different types of cats, what a crossroads the city is, given their face and body shapes and colors, not to mention the architecture and the stories. It was a delightful way to spend 80 minutes. The film was preceded by a Simon's Cat short called "A Trip to the Vet," the first Simon's Cat cartoon longer than 60-or-so seconds. It's a gentle thing, full of knowledge of, understanding about and affection for living with cats. Very sweet and very funny.
Slash
A sweet coming-of-age story about a 15 year old boy trying to figure out sexuality, life and social interaction through writing slash fiction. He meets an older girl who digs his writing. She introduces him to the world on online slash and introduces him to convention-going. The rest is the story and I won't spoil it. It's a smart film, with a line on that awkward, awakening awareness of self and others, and while the thing that attracted me to it--the portrayal of slash as such a pop cultury, acknowledged phenomenon--was really kind of the macguffin that got the story rolling, the story itself and the strong performances by the two teenage leads, made the film satisfying and well worth seeing.
Weiner
The documentary is a wry, unvarnished look at Democratic rockstar-turned-public-meltdown-master Anthony Weiner and his attempt at rehabilitation through his run for mayor of the city of New York. It is yet another testament to how a brilliant, narcissistic man can completely self-destruct. He is very much the kid who isn't sorry he stole but terribly sorry he got caught. I believed in Weiner when he was making a real difference in the House of Representatives. His downfall was a huge disappointment. Watching this documentary--both fascinating and cringe-worthy--he reminds me very much of my high school and college boyfriend: so full of his own repulsive awesome that he can't see his own monumental arrogance and stupidity. I definitely recommend it.