(no subject)
Another of my very sporadic posts, but I thou7ght some folks woudl enjoy hearing about the Cleveland International Film Festival.
C found out about this and we decided to go when I was up there last weekend. We didn't reckon on it snowin a foot and a half (ive or take) but what the heck. She's got four-wheel-drive and experienc driving in snow, so we went anyway. We didn't go all-out like some pople -- they stayed in hotels at the mall where the theater was located, and appaentlyu wached at least five movis a day.
But we did hit three shows.
Part the first: Independent Shorts #2
This was a collection of about 10 shorts between and 15 minutes. The quality overall was remarkably good, though there were a couple of clunkers.
Catching Rats: Very grim and powerful, if a little bit obvious. Not helped by the woman behind me repeatedly telling her companion that she was closing her eyes if she saw any rats. Lady, it's an independent film about child soldiers in South America -- the rats are going to be metaphorical!
Fool Me Once: Sharon Lawrence in a great role as a cheating housewife who concocts a sham based on a pawn claim ticket to get a gift from her lover past her husband. The final reveal is priceless. Supposedly based on a Roald Dahl story, but I haven't figured out which one yet.
Gift: A rather simple-minded fable about illegal immigration.
I Met the Walrus: Pretty hand-drawn animation, but it didn't seem to have any real point. (Maybe that was the point?)
Killer: Nicely done story of an unpleasant man coming to town in search of a "friend." The twist ending wasn't exactly a surprise, but it was well-done anyway.
Milan: A sad story set during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia over Kosovo. Has some interesting elements, but basically average.
Oh La La: Directly by Isabella Rossellini, this is basically two minutes of harmonized sex noises set against film ofempty streets and building exteriors. Much better, and funnier, than it sounds.
Salim Baba: Documentary of an Indian man who makes his living witha portable movie theater. Very self-referential, I guess. Interesting that he doen't bother shopwing whole movies, or anything close. Rather he hand-0edits radically cut-down versions (five minutes of dialog, five minutes of fighting, five minutes fo a song-and-dnace number, etc.)
Soft: Inspired in part by Clockwork Orange, and I can see why. A bit of a reflection on modern British yobb culture, and very grim. I did find myself wondering why they didn't call the police, but I guess we accept that for story-telling reasons. So-so overall.
Stars: German SS medic/deserter meets severely wounded Jewish-American soldier and they become friends -- sort of. Best joke line in the collection -- "Where do I send the bill?" Very moving, and less cliche than I expected.
Part the Second: Bluff
A French-Canadian light comedy/crime story that intertwines several stories set in the same apartment over the years. Really fun and, again, a nicely done surprise ending. The subtitles were a bit wonky occasionally (How hard is it to find an English native speaker to read them after they are translated, really?)
This one I may be getting on DVD, as a gift for C's mother, who has lots of French-Canadian connections.
Part the Third: World's Best Commercials
Winners of the Cannes Lions awards for international advertising. Some very funny commercials here. I'd already seen a surprising number of them. Maybe Americn advertising isn't quite that bad after all. It was a bit confusing when they showed some commercials several times -- it took a bit to realize that these were movies that had won in multiple categories.
C found out about this and we decided to go when I was up there last weekend. We didn't reckon on it snowin a foot and a half (ive or take) but what the heck. She's got four-wheel-drive and experienc driving in snow, so we went anyway. We didn't go all-out like some pople -- they stayed in hotels at the mall where the theater was located, and appaentlyu wached at least five movis a day.
But we did hit three shows.
Part the first: Independent Shorts #2
This was a collection of about 10 shorts between and 15 minutes. The quality overall was remarkably good, though there were a couple of clunkers.
Catching Rats: Very grim and powerful, if a little bit obvious. Not helped by the woman behind me repeatedly telling her companion that she was closing her eyes if she saw any rats. Lady, it's an independent film about child soldiers in South America -- the rats are going to be metaphorical!
Fool Me Once: Sharon Lawrence in a great role as a cheating housewife who concocts a sham based on a pawn claim ticket to get a gift from her lover past her husband. The final reveal is priceless. Supposedly based on a Roald Dahl story, but I haven't figured out which one yet.
Gift: A rather simple-minded fable about illegal immigration.
I Met the Walrus: Pretty hand-drawn animation, but it didn't seem to have any real point. (Maybe that was the point?)
Killer: Nicely done story of an unpleasant man coming to town in search of a "friend." The twist ending wasn't exactly a surprise, but it was well-done anyway.
Milan: A sad story set during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia over Kosovo. Has some interesting elements, but basically average.
Oh La La: Directly by Isabella Rossellini, this is basically two minutes of harmonized sex noises set against film ofempty streets and building exteriors. Much better, and funnier, than it sounds.
Salim Baba: Documentary of an Indian man who makes his living witha portable movie theater. Very self-referential, I guess. Interesting that he doen't bother shopwing whole movies, or anything close. Rather he hand-0edits radically cut-down versions (five minutes of dialog, five minutes of fighting, five minutes fo a song-and-dnace number, etc.)
Soft: Inspired in part by Clockwork Orange, and I can see why. A bit of a reflection on modern British yobb culture, and very grim. I did find myself wondering why they didn't call the police, but I guess we accept that for story-telling reasons. So-so overall.
Stars: German SS medic/deserter meets severely wounded Jewish-American soldier and they become friends -- sort of. Best joke line in the collection -- "Where do I send the bill?" Very moving, and less cliche than I expected.
Part the Second: Bluff
A French-Canadian light comedy/crime story that intertwines several stories set in the same apartment over the years. Really fun and, again, a nicely done surprise ending. The subtitles were a bit wonky occasionally (How hard is it to find an English native speaker to read them after they are translated, really?)
This one I may be getting on DVD, as a gift for C's mother, who has lots of French-Canadian connections.
Part the Third: World's Best Commercials
Winners of the Cannes Lions awards for international advertising. Some very funny commercials here. I'd already seen a surprising number of them. Maybe Americn advertising isn't quite that bad after all. It was a bit confusing when they showed some commercials several times -- it took a bit to realize that these were movies that had won in multiple categories.