running up the "score" - almost 20 SIFF films
Today was a big day for watching SIFF films. "J" and I watched four selections, which amounted to almost twenty films because two selections were short film series.
Before the films, my father dropped by. It was nice to see him, even if he wasn't around all that long.
The first selection was Ancestors, a six-film short series. Although I generally watch a lot of shorts when they don't clash with other films (not an issue in the on-line festival), I don't think I would have chosen this one first. But there's a lot of good stuff here. I give J full credit for a good selection.
Our second selection, the ten-film short series Animation for Adults, on both our lists for today. It was another winner, and I'm glad we chose it.
Our first feature of the day, Under the Open Sky (Subarashiki Sekai すばらしき世界), is something we found while looking for Asian action movies, which are typically abundant and good at SIFF. But although there are some action scenes, Under the Open Sky is primarily a personal drama. A yakuza who has spent most of his adult life in prison has been released, and he resolves to stay clean this time. And he has a personal quest: to find his long-lost mother. J and I are both glad we selected it; it's excellent, and a strong candidate for best film in the festival.
Our final selection was a feature preceded by a short. The feature was Strawberry Mansion. It's a weird science-fantasy comedy-drama with an element of romance. It's reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or perhaps Cold Souls, but it's not as polished or coherent. Instead, it revels in its weirdness. Still, I rate it good.
The short before Strawberry Mansion, "The Other Morgan", was not nearly as ambitious, but it achieved its goals more completely; I rate it very good.
It's not often that we see 19 films in one day, even counting shorts.
Quarantine report: one outside visitor (masked and fully vaccinated).