three SIFF press screenings, returning to Scarecrow, miserable traffic
Today "J" and I went to SIFF press screenings. There were three of them today, all open to pass-holders, not restricted to press. That meant that I couldn't have used street parking - but I drove past the spot where I parked quite a few times and the places were full anyway. So it was back to the usual $15 lot.
The 10 am film, Warrior Women, was a documentary about Native American women who led a series of indigenous rights movement, from the American Indian Movement to the recent pipeline protests. As a profile of the women, it was very good; as a story about the movements they led it wasn't as strong.
The noon movie, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, was an adaptation of a novel about a girl sent to a "pray away the gay" camp in the 1990s. Although the camp wasn't nearly as horrible as the accounts I've read of such things, I understand the storytelling reason for toning it down: the film would have been hard to endure if it had been unrelentingly abusive. I thought it was good, and Chloë Grace Moretz was excellent in the lead.
Also, J observed that Moretz had a strong resemblance to Catherine Deneuve when Deneuve was young. And this evening when I looked up face pictures, a found that I agree with her; the resemblance is striking.
The 2 pm film, Skate Kitchen, was a surprise. It was the story of a bunch of young women who love skateboarding, and their personal issues, which I wouldn't expect to like much. But I enjoyed it quite a bit.
After the films, we tried to run a few errands, and traffic was miserable. Even the simple errand of returning yesterday's DVD rental to Scarecrow took an hour. By the time we got home we were too worn out to do anything too interesting.