Friday, April 29, 2005

48th S.F. Intl. Film Festival - Day 8

[Apr. 30th, 2005|02:49 am]
The SF Film Society sponsors a "Schools at the Festival" program, in which busloads of kids are brought in for the weekday matinees at 10 AM and 1 PM. They are held in 'Theatre 1' at the Kabuki, which is the largest house and includes a balcony, where most of the adults run up to, mostly to keep out of the logistical nightmare of seating a dozen schools on the main floor. Generally, the kids are fairly well behaved, considering there are 600 of them grouped together and outnumber adults to such a hideous advantage that you can FEEL the brink of chaos! For some odd reason, I decided I HAD to see both of today's matinees.

"Small Tails and Tall Tales" (dirs. Various, Various Countries, 2004/2005, 88 mins. total program time) is a program of shorts for the juvenile set. Usually, you can find at least ONE gem in it. However, this year's program was really slim pickings. None of them were 'bad' but none of them were at all grabbing. In fact, I was not even going to bother listing the eight short subjects, but here they are as a matter of record:

"The Tooth" (dir. Nathan Stone, Australia, 2004, 4 mins., Animated)
"The Shadow in Sara" (dir. Karla Nielsen, Denmark, 2004, 8 mins., Animated)
"Rain is Falling" (dir. Holger Ernst, Germany, 2004, 15 mins., Live Action)
"Amal" (dir. Ali Benkirane, France/Morocco, 2004, 17 mins., Live Action)
"The Tale of What I Want and Don't Want" (dir. Ricardo Antonio Barahona, El Salvador, 2004, 4 mins., Animated - and poorly at that)
"A Slippery Tale" (dir. Susanne Seidel, Germany, 2004, 8 mins., Animated) Another Frog Cartoon? Do I detect a trend?
"Codename: Simon" (dir. Graham Tallman, USA, 2004, 10 mins., Live Action)
"Duck for President" (dir. Maciek Albrecht, USA, 2004, 15 mins. Animated, poorly)

Then next 'Schools at the Festival' program was the engaging documentary:

"The Boys of Baraka" (dir. Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, USA, 2005, 83 mins.) A group of African-American inner city boys from Baltimore are sent to the Baraka School in Kenya for a two years to get them to pull their shit together, basically. Some of the kids stories are just sad. And, actually, without giving away a spoiler, the docu as a whole is sort of sad, too. It did bring out a LOT of vocalization from the middle school/high school kids that were at the screening though, so that does say something good about how involving it is. Oh, and so far, you might note that I have NOT fallen asleep, which might be a high recommendation in itself! I did run home afterwards for a nap, though, because of the triple feature to follow, starting with:

"Murderball" (dirs. Dana Adam Shapiro, Henry Alex Rubin, USA, 2004, 86 mins.) This is a documentary about the USA and Canada Paralympic Rugby teams. These guys just smash the hell out of each other playing rugby in wheelchairs like their at some sort of demolition car rally! But that is just the surface of the film. The directors take their time in getting to know a handful of players. They investigate their life stories to give us clues as to how and why they're in such an aggressive sport. Some of those 'clues' are quite touching, some are a little disturbing, too. I found it to be a pretty profound experience by the end and was not that hesitant to join in the standing ovation when the directors and four of the players came out on stage for the Q&A. (Even Judy (who has spent much more time at the PFA this year) stood up!) I violated my personal rule for the year and stayed for the Q&A. Some rules are NOT meant to be broken. There is such a thing as a stupid question, though the guys handled them pretty well. Plus, my next movie was in the same theatre so there was no point in leaving. Even though I should have left to do dinner with Judy as...

"The Riverside" (dir. Alireza Amini, Iran, 2004, 72 mins.) was simply terrible. Ok, let me try to look past the shitty camera work (think "Blair Witch Project" shaking induced nausea), the complete absence of production design, the blatant disregard for any semblence of continuity and some really amateurish performances. Let me try to focus on the bedrock of the piece: the script. Hmmm... No, it was crap, too! The film opens with a bride standing on a landmine on the Iraqi/Iranian border. She is screaming. No. Not screaming. Yelping like an injured puppy. Actually, she sort of sounded like Maxxxxx (my parrot) when he's having a tantrum. She is waiting for her husband to return with help. WHY she is alone in the middle of nowhere? We can only assume she is trying to escape from Iraq, which we learn is under siege by the U.S. Other refugees come across her, but none are able to help her. At the 70 minute mark of the 72 minute film, she sees her husband returning to her and steps off the mine and is apparently killed. This is done off screen as I am sure there was no budget for an actual explosion. Screen to black. Loathed it. But the midnight movie was in that same room, too, so why leave? I needed to wait to meet Jimmy for a bottle of Stella Artois and:

"Phil the Alien" (dir. Rob Stefaniuk, Canada, 2004, 83 mins.) I. Loved. This. It is total Canadian quirkiness (think Kids in the Hall do sci-fi!) as Phil (played by director/writer Rob Stefaniuk) shift shapes into human form, communicates with a beaver as his confidant and proceeds to explore alcohol (he becomes a drunk), religion (he becomes a messiah) and rock and roll (he becomes a... well, no, not quite). There is a some sort of plot involving a secret U.S. agency that is tracking him down, and even that had some fun lines and gags! This was just a FUN night!! It has a commercial release in Canada, and will go direct-to-video here in the US this summer (though with an altered soundtrack due to dvd rights). I plan on getting it!! Oh, and I stayed for HIS Q&A, which he was just as fun as his writing, even in the face of STUPID questions!! ("Are you high or something?")

Finally, though I have not seen Rrrrrrroxanne(!) since last weekend sometime, she did make the SF Chronicle: "Sunday night's screening of Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw's
"Pursuit of Equality" documentary was sold out... In introductory remarks, festival director Roxanne Messina Captor mentioned meeting Callan "and his lovely wife, Kimberly." His lovely wife is actually Hilary Newsom Callan, and the mayor's lovely ex-wife is Kimberly Guilfoyle, and when Captor realized her gaffe, she said she feared she'd be run out of town..."

Tomorrow: Berkeley Day and the last Midnight Movie

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Thursday, April 28, 2005

48th SF International Film Festival - Day 7

Two features and a dozen or so short subjects later... I think I over did it. (Oh!! By the way, there hasn't been a Rrrrrrroxanne(!) sighting since she got her award for liking France last weekend...)

'Revelations' is a program of international narrative short subjects. Yes, again with the sub-sub-genres. In order of preference:

"Frog" (dir. Christopher Conforti, USA, 2004, 4 mins.) A cartoon frog struggles to survive in some really twisted scenarios that the WB would NEVER attempt! I. Loved. It! I must find a copy!

"La Vie d'un Chien" (dir. John Harden, USA/France, 2004, 13 mins.) A drug that temporarily transforms people into dogs becomes the new heroin. Told through animated still photography, the narrative was a hoot! I'd love a copy of this one too!

"Going Postal" (dir. Suzi Ewing, England, 2004, 14 mins.) Creepy little bit about a 10 year old girl left at home alone for a week, with only the local postman as her contact outside of the house. Creepy, but sort of cool. But creepy.

The rest of these were only fair melodramas. None of them were 'bad' but nothing special or spectacular about any of them. I'm just listing them here as a matter of record:

"Afternoon" (dir. Kim Spurlock, US, 2005, 10 mins.)
"Two Cars, One Night" (dir. Taika Waitit, New Zealand, 2004, 11 mins.)
"Everything Goes" (dir. Andrew Kotatko, Australia, 2004, 18 mins.) This did feature Hugo Weaving, which is always a nice surprise!
"Nits" (dir. Harry Wootliff, England, 2004, 10 mins.)
"Little Terrorist" (dir. Ashvin Kumar, India/England, 2004, 15 mins.)

This program was followed by a quick trip to Isobune sushi (yum!!!) and the first feature for me today as well as the director (it is in the Skyy Prize First Feature competition):

"Champions" (dir. Marek Naibrt, Czech Republic, 2004, 83 mins.) Man, this was dreary black and white Eastern European 'comedy'! I think it was meant to be funny. A bunch of drunk, poor, trashy guys spend most of their days in a bar watching the Czech National Hockey team games. There's a bit of plot having to do with one of the guys being able to predict the winner when he gets drunk enough. And there's a girl there, for no apparent reason. At least I didn't see what it was. Of course, in all fairness, I did take one of my lovely naps during this overly quirky piece. In fact, I may have slept through half of it. I didn't mind and don't think I missed a thing.

The next program of shorts was called "Exquisite Luminance" which was sort of a reference to the fact that it was made up entirely of abstract pieces. No plot. Rarely thematic. Sometimes not even sound. Since they were so abstract, I'll forgo synopsis (again) and just list in order of preference:

"Icarus" (dir. Tirtza Even, Spain/USA, 2004, 12 mins.) Reverse pan panoramas of Cartegena. BEAUTIFUL!!! I'd like to find this one!
"Viscera" (dir. Leighton Pierce, USA, 2004, 12 mins.) Another gorgeous, though even MORE abstract piece that would be lovely to project on a wall for a few hours...
"Legal Errorist" (dir. Mara Mattuschka, Chris Haring, Austria, 2005, 15 mins.) Weird performance artist, bordering on cool.
"We Are the Littletons: A True Story" (dir. Penny Lane, USA, 2004, 10 mins.) Almost a narrative about a freaky lodger. Bordering on cool, also.
"Torchlight Tango" (dir. Kerry Laitala, USA, 2005, 21 mins.) An abstract film about making an even MORE abstract film. Sorta cool.

I LOATHED the following three for being self indulgent, political crap:
"PSA Project #1: Color Theory" and "PSA Project #4: Homeland" (dirs. Cynthia Madansky, Elle Flanders, USA, 2005, 3 mins. each) Just the titles make me wretch with affectation!
"The Form of the Good" (dir. James T. Hong, USA, 2004, 4 mins.) Plato and the war on terrorism. Spare me, puhleeeeeze!

"Phantom Foreign Vienna" (dir. Lisl Ponger, Austria, 2004, 27 mins.) This was the last one and I did not stay for it as I HAD to run across the hall for my final feature of the day:

"Princess of Mount Ledang" (dir. Saw Teong Hin, Malaysia, 2004, 142 mins.) Yes, that's right. 142 minutes. At the end of the day and starting at 8:00 pm, a 2 and a half hour Malaysian epic. According to the program notes, this is the most expensive film ever made in Malaysia. And it shows! G O R G E O U S !!! It is sort of funny that after one week of the festival, that to finally see a film with a dolly shot just took my breath away! Widescreen floating about!! LOVE IT!!! The story is set in 15th century Malaysia (when it was a whole bunch of little kingdoms) and involves royal families fighting each other, while an engaged princess falls in love with an opposing courtier. Some of the dialogue was simply gorgeous in translation! It is long. It is sort of involved. But I would see it again, and not after spending 6 previous hours watching other things. This deserved singular attention. I would have LOVED it had I seen it by itself!! Maybe I'll get to sometime....

Tomorrow: FIVE features?!?!! 10 AM to Midnight??!!! What am I thinking???!

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Wednesday, April 27, 2005

SF Intl. Film Fest - Day 6

Oooops!! I almost forgot to post today's little flick!

"Into the Picture Scroll: The Tale of Yamanaka Tokiwa" (dir. Sumiko Haneda, Japan, 2004, 100 mins.) You might think of this as a Japanese Ken Burns flick. Except that it features a set of 400 year old picture scrolls, which are 'animated' and accompanied by "a newly composed joruri score (ballad singing with shamisen accompaniment)." The scrolls are gorgeously detailed and tell the story of Yamanaka Tokiwa, who was a wealthy woman that was murdered and whose ghost wreaks a really bloody revenge, etc. However, I had a difficult time with the score. It plays for nearly the entire 100 minutes and is not very accessible, at least to my ears. I was ok for the first half hour or so, but then it just became a lot of screeching. Even though it is subtitled, I became restless and annoyed. I can appreciate the work, that this is an extraordinary way of preserving a 400 year old piece of art (a mammoth piece of art at that - the story was told with TWELVE scrolls!). However, I just couldn't stick with it.

That was it for today, as my boss took me to dinner tonight!! (Zare!) However, tomorrow is a quadruple feature, 12 hour day.

Rest up.

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SF Intl. Film Fest - Day 6

[Apr. 27th, 2005|10:01 pm]
Oooops!! I almost forgot to post today's little flick!

"Into the Picture Scroll: The Tale of Yamanaka Tokiwa" (dir. Sumiko Haneda, Japan, 2004, 100 mins.) You might think of this as a Japanese Ken Burns flick. Except that it features a set of 400 year old picture scrolls, which are 'animated' and accompanied by "a newly composed joruri score (ballad singing with shamisen accompaniment)." The scrolls are gorgeously detailed and tell the story of Yamanaka Tokiwa, who was a wealthy woman that was murdered and whose ghost wreaks a really bloody revenge, etc. However, I had a difficult time with the score. It plays for nearly the entire 100 minutes and is not very accessible, at least to my ears. I was ok for the first half hour or so, but then it just became a lot of screeching. Even though it is subtitled, I became restless and annoyed. I can appreciate the work, that this is an extraordinary way of preserving a 400 year old piece of art (a mammoth piece of art at that - the story was told with TWELVE scrolls!). However, I just couldn't stick with it.

That was it for today, as my boss took me to dinner tonight!! (Zare!) However, tomorrow is a quadruple feature, 12 hour day.

Rest up.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2005

48th San Francisco Intl. Film Festival - Day 5

[Apr. 27th, 2005|01:16 am]
Not an overly satisfying triple feature today at the Kabuki. I'll put them in order of preference, I guess...

"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (dir. Alex Gibney, USA, 2005, 110 mins.) Well, it's not that this doesn't tell us anything we don't already know. Though apparently this was news to the woman sitting next to me. (She was an ooo'er and ah'er - "oh!" "oh good lord" "no!" etc., as if the screen had ears.) Yes, it implicates Bush Sr. and Jr. and Cheney and Schwarzenegger, but we've seen how all of that has slid off their backs. It implicates the banks and brokerages, too, but it will be YEARS before the class action suit against them will be resolved. Lots of talking heads and some insider video and audio tape. But other than that, it doesn't really get into the complex nitty gritty of how they did what they did. This releases on Friday and is worth the see, if just to show some support to the filmmaker. And it is sort of neat that this will probably be on home video by the time the guys go on trial next January, though.

"Pinboy" (dir. Ana Poliak, Argentina/Belgium, 2004, 93 very long minutes) The best part about this little flick about a pinboy at a really old Buenos Aires bowling alley was that I was able to nap for about 20 good minutes and not miss anything. Sure, when I woke up, I didn't know who that girl was in the scene, but that didn't seem to matter as she only showed up one other time. It's not like she could have broken the utterly dreariness of the piece. Not to mention that so little actually HAPPENS in what I was awake to see, that I'm sure she probably just sat there, so he could stare at her. Dreary + Dull = Naptime. The programmer's introduction informed us that this was created by the team that brought us "Extrano" in 2003. I. Loathed. "Extrano". LOATHED it. I did not loathe this, though, since I decided to 'let it go' and just nap, since I was there.

"Tracing Paths" was the third of five short subject programs. This one was made up of 'avant garde international documentaries,' which is at least one too many sub-genres, if you ask me. In order of preference:

"Night" (dir. Gloriana Severdija, Germany, 2004, 30 mins.) This was a beautifully photographed cine-journal of Berlin after dark. No plot, just images of apartments, offices, bars, discos, worksites, etc. It had a cool score, too.

"The Ecstatic" (dir. Till Passow, Pakistan/Germany, 2004, 30 mins.) A simple, unnarrated film of this BIZARRE (yes, I can be xenophobic) religious gathering in Pakistan, having something to do with a prophet named 'Mast Qalandar'. Without any narration and very few subtitles, I have no idea what was going on or why, which was sort of a neat way to get submerged in the 'festivities.' Freaky, but... sort of cool to watch.

"The Critical Path" (dir. Benita Raphan, USA, 2004, 14 mins.) A visually cool, but all too brief glimpse at the life and work of R. Buckminster Fuller. I wish this had been longer!

I wish these had been shorter:
"Death in the Garden of Paradise" (dir. Nurjahan Akhlag, Canada/Pakistan, 2004, 22 mins.) I don't really know what this was about. I know there was a murder and then for some reason we do an extensive tour of a temple. The religious soundtrack made me very sleepy.

"The Future is Behind You" (dir. Abigail Child, USA, 2004, 22 mins.) was actually the second on the program and put me completely to sleep. So, I have no comment.

"PSA Project #6: Simulation" (dir. Cynthia Madansky, Elle Flanders, USA, 2005, 3 mins.) 3 minutes?! I think that's wrong. It felt like 15 or more. Even though it protests the war in Iraq, it was so visually obnoxious (the colors are over saturated to look like an old Atari video game) that I disliked it intensely. Yes, I got the point, but I just didn't like looking at it, which was the point, but still...

Tomorrow: Just ONE feature and then 'Secretary's Week Dinner' with my boss! I may be LOA, but she still loves me! ;-)

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Monday, April 25, 2005

48th San Francisco Intl. Film Festival - Day 4

[Apr. 26th, 2005|02:13 am]
I had a ticket for the 10 AM feature "Edgar G. Ulmer - The Man Off Screen" but I just couldn't pull myself together to get in there for it. I needed 12 hours AWAY from the Kabuki. So wussed out for 'just' a triple feature (1 at the Kabuki and 2 at the Palace of Fine Arts).

"Ronda Nocturna" (dir. Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentina/France, 2005, 82 mins.) We follow a male prostitute/dealer through a night in Buenos Aires. Yes, I know it sounds DREARY, however, Cozarinsky has cast a beautiful young man (Gonzalo Heredia, who could be Gael Garcia Bernal's twin!) as our awkward hero, Victor. Heredia's screen presence makes it all that much easier to follow him through his journey into the underworld. Cozarinsky has also given it a 'magical' quality so that, as the night wears on, Victor enters sort of a waking dream. It is not unlike Fellini's "La Dolce Vida," though darker and featuring an impoverished demographic. Plus, the soundtrack is composed of tangos, which distracted me from the diseased coughing that was going on two rows behind me! ("Cover your mouth, please!") I really liked this a lot!! Perhaps I shouldn't have, but I did!

What I should have like more was the silent double feature at the Palace, featuring the Alloy Orchestra:
"Blackmail" (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Great Britain, 1929, 75 mins.) and
"The Phantom of the Opera" (dir. Rupert Julian, Great Britain, 1929, 79 mins.)

I enjoyed the film "Blackmail" more than the score. But then, maybe that is why Bernard Herrmann is so associated with Hitchcock's films, because he got it JUST right! The visual style of "Blackmail" is so nuanced that you come to understand that musically one would be forced to make bold choices for Hitchcock: either be subliminal (i.e. "The Birds") or romantically orchestral (i.e. "Vertigo"). The Allow Orchestra (which is a trio of percussionists, who double on a few woodwinds) has the capacity for subliminal and/or pounding accompaniment, but not overly orchestral. They are perfectly suited for the pounding drive of their score for Keaton's "The General" or their brilliant scores for "Man With a Movie Camera" or "Metropolis." Whereas, here in "Blackmail," they were forced to be much more sedate. Mind you, I enjoyed what they did immensely more here than what the American Music Club did on Saturday night to "Street Angel." But this score sort of pales to the magnificent sounds they have created in the past.

As far as "The Phantom of the Opera," I was expecting a booming score, with shades of Andrew Lloyd Weber in the back of my head. Ironically, except for the unmasking and the final chase, this classic screen version really isn't all that exciting. The Alloy's score was more enjoyable than the film, as far as I was concerned. I could feel them chomping at the bit to explode into the screen, which presented its own tension. I just was a bit bored with the film itself. There is nothing extraordinary in its technique, though one could point to the early use of shadows as setting the precedent for Universal Studio's horror-noir that would dominate the 1930's. This print included the restored tinting through out and the two-strip technicolor sequence for the Masked Ball scene. It's always sort of fun to see Lon Chaney chew the scenery, but when he isn't on screen, the film just falls flat for me. And the Alloy Orchestra just couldn't save that, as hard as they tried.

I did pick up a DVD of Eisenstein's "Strike" featuring their score, and a VHS of their collaboration with Jane Gillooly on "Dragonflies, the Baby Cries," which were on sale in the lobby!

Tomorrow: Yes, another triple feature... I can't remember what it's gonna be though...

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Sunday, April 24, 2005

48th San Francisco Intl. Film Fest - Day 3

Today: Double features at the Castro and at the Kabuki, and there's a percussionist in both! It's almost a theme day!

"Innocence" (dir. Lucile Hadzihalilovic, France, 2004, 115 mins.) Well. I just don't know where to start with this one. It is a slowly revealing story set in a girls boarding school. Let's see... How about the opening moment: an 8 year old girl arrives at the school in a coffin. In fact, that appears to be how all of them arrive. The only subjects they study are ballet and biology. There are no males. There is no escape out of the school. In fact, there are only 2 adult teachers and a small number of maids. It's quite deliberately paced. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of "Picnic On Hanging Rock," where there is a lingering sense of menace, but you just don't know why... The film is BEAUTIFULLY photographed, and is worth seeing for that alone. However, you'll either love it for it's quiet and disturbing surrealism or hate it for being slow and not making any sense what so ever. The choices Hadzihalilovic makes here don't allow you to be neutral to it, so that's its best and worst feature. (Sort of like the work her husband, Gasper Noe, creates!) I'd be willing to see this again, just to try and piece it together...

"Touch the Sound" (dir. Thomas Riedelsheimer, USA/Germany, 2004, 99 mins.) I MUST see this again! This is a documentary about percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Along with a great deal of footage of her performances (a lot along with Fred Frith), she speaks a lot about the technical aspects of music, the philosophical aspects of sound and the spiritual aspects of creating it. This is all the more remarkable as she is deaf. Between the heady dialogue and the gorgeous sound, the film was a transcendental experience for me. I. Loved. It. I even joined in a standing ovation when the director (Thomas Riedelsheimer of "Rivers and Tides" fame) was introduced at the end of it. Evelyn Glennie will be performing at Cal Performances in May and I would love to get to hear her! I can't wait to see this again, assuming that it does have distribution (based upon the modest success of "Rivers and Tides") and I'll anxiously await it's release on DVD. You. Must. See. This.

"Count Down: Nine Experimental Shorts" is the second of five short subject compilations I am seeing. This group, as is sort of obvious, is a collection of experimental/avant garde shorts. One always hopes for some beautiful abstractions or some freaky stuff and always expects some 'Emperor's Clothes'... I'm not going to even attempt to synopsis them, but in order of preference:

The Beautiful Abstractions: (I. Must. Get. Copies. Of those first two!)
"Shape Shift" (dir. Scott Stark, USA, 2004, 10 mins.)
"Play" (dirs. Matthias Muller, Christoph Girardet, Germany, 2003, 7 mins.)
"Come to See 'Ya" (dir. Eric Saks, USA, 2004, 16 mins.)
"Let Me Count the Ways: Minus 10, Minus 9, Minus 8" (dir. Leslie Thornton, USA, 2004, 17 mins.)

Freaky Stuff:
"Harmony" (dir. Jim Trainor, USA, 2004, 12 mins.) Though I LOATHED the previous work of his I've seen, "The Fetishist" (1998) and "The Bats" (also, 1998), this one made me chuckle.
"Dos Hermanos" (dir. Juan Manuel Echavarria, Colombia, 2003, 5 mins.)
"Tabula Rasa" (dir. Vincent Grenier, USA, 2004, 8 mins.)

Emperor's Clothes, aka crap:
"Chapel of the Bells Wedding Chapel Exposure: To have and to hold" (dir. Lynn Marie Kirby, USA, 2004, 5 mins.)
"Trace Elements" (dir. Gunvor Grundel Nelson, Sweden, 2003, 9 mins.)

The final film of the night:

"The Overture" (dir. Itthisunthorn Wichailak, Thailand, 2004, 104 mins.) You know, I really TRIED to like this. I did. I tried really hard. However... It's the story of a ranard-ek player (a Thai zylophone by any other name) who revolutionizes Thai music in the 1930's. Yet in the 1960's, he is a staunch traditionalist, protecting Thailand's musical heritage from the dictatorship's attempt to 'modernize' Thailand. The acting isn't very good. The script is completely predictable. The production values are manageable. The music is fabulous! There is a LOT of it, too! That's why I stayed and tried to like it more than it deserves. Great score + Bad film = a bearable couple of hours. I'll probably forgot I saw it when I wake up tomorrow.

Tomorrow: The Alloy Orchestra!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

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SF Intl. Film Festival - Day 2

The 1st of 5 shorts programs; the 1st of 3 silents; the 2nd of 4 midnight horrors and beers...

This afternoon was the first of 5 shorts programs, "Reversing Destiny" which is a collection of international shorts, animated and live action. In preferential order:

"Ryan" (dir. Chris Landreth, Canada, 2004, 14 min.) This is the Oscar winning animated short from the National Film Board of Canada. It is a computer animated interview with Ryan Larkin, who was an animation innovator in the late 1970's. Today, he is homeless. It's touching and disturbing. Sort of a CGI'ed "Crumb." Just excellent!

"Obras" (dir. Hendrick Dussolier, France, 2004, 11 mins.) This computer animated short was a maze of apartment buildings, their destruction, construction and repeating the cycle over and over as we zoom throughout the girders, hallways and windows. Trippy! Loved it!!

"Twilight" (dir. Victoria Gamburg, Russia, 2005, 21 mins.) A live action study of a woman who is unable to grieve for her daughter, who has been missing for over a year. A nifty little character study about the inability to 'let go.'

"Candy Viola" (dir. Fabio Simonelli, Italy, 2004, 13 mins.) A live action story about a plus-size woman and how she takes, er, serves up her revenge against the size 2's of this world! Great to look at and has a fun sense of comedy to it.

"Butler" (dir. Erik Rosenlund, Sweden, 2005, 9 mins.) An animated story about a butler who goes WAY BEYOND the line of duty for the couple who employs him. Animated dildos are funny!

"Desequilibrium" (dir. Francisco Garcia, Brazil, 2004, 21 mins.) A live action 'dream film,' in Portuguese, in B&W, and making no sense whatsoever, which all adds up to: I got to take a little nap! Luckily, it was the LAST of the shorts, so having the houselights come up is a dandy way to wake up.

After a little dinner with Jimmy and delivering some of the tickets that I won at last night's midnight movies, I met up with Judy at the Palace of Fine Arts for the first of three silent movies with live accompaniment.

"Street Angel" (dir. Frank Borzage, USA, 1928, 102 mins., accompaniment by American Music Club) I believe I have seen a performance by the American Music Club once before. I only say that because I vaguely remember being annoyed at another silent screening by a band which was more determined to have you listen to THEM than experience the film. The score that AMC presented tonight really had very little to do with the plot, much less the style of the film they purportedly spent four months working on. However, "Street Angel" just isn't that impressive to begin with. Or at least not to me. In fact, the Festival catalog uses the term 'under appreciated,' which is giving it the benefit of the doubt, in my opinion. Janet Gaynor just isn't a very convincing prostitute. No, she didn't want to be one. She is arrested for 'robbery while soliciting' which she is doing to purchase drugs for her ailing mother. Of course. She escapes the police, joins a circus, falls in love with an artist, and, on the very evening of his marriage proposal, is caught by the police to serve her time of one year of hard labor. I think we were supposed to cry at some point during this. However, the AMC was just too distracting and the film itself was too melodramatic to make me care. Apparently, director Borzage is historically considered a master of combining melodrama in expressionistic settings. I sort of thought this was an example of cheap sentiment on cheap sets. And speaking of low budgets, this leads me to the second of four Midnight Horror flicks and a bottle of Stella Artois back at the Kabuki.

"Zombie Honeymoon" (dir. Dave Gebroe, USA, 2004, 83 mins.) is just about as much of a horror-hoot as the title would suggest! Filmed entirely in New Jersey, Denise (Tracy Coogan) and Danny (Graham Sibley) just got married and have run away to a beach house for a nice little honeymoon. Before you know it, Danny is attacked on the beach by a zombie that just dragged itself out of the sea! What sets this little flick apart from being campy trash is the relationship of the couple. He loves her so much that he is able to resist quenching his flesh quest upon her. She loves him so much that she doesn't exactly assist him, but shares in his anguish as he struggles against his need to cannibalize. The hook to the piece is that his zombie-ness is a lynchpin in their new marriage. Tracy Coogan gives an excellent performance as the wife. The script gave her a wide range to play with: newlywed, frustrated spouse, struggling victim and eventual widow. She delivers an honest and complex center, which makes it a lot more interesting than your run of the mill zombie pic! Plus, the opening credits are a brilliant little gem unto themselves. "munch, munch, munch..."

Tomorrow: a double feature at the Castro and back to the Kabuki for more shorts and, oh, I don't know... I'll just follow my tickets.

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SF Intl. Film Festival - Day 2

[Apr. 24th, 2005|03:54 am]
The 1st of 5 shorts programs; the 1st of 3 silents; the 2nd of 4 midnight horrors and beers...

This afternoon was the first of 5 shorts programs, "Reversing Destiny" which is a collection of international shorts, animated and live action. In preferential order:

"Ryan" (dir. Chris Landreth, Canada, 2004, 14 min.) This is the Oscar winning animated short from the National Film Board of Canada. It is a computer animated interview with Ryan Larkin, who was an animation innovator in the late 1970's. Today, he is homeless. It's touching and disturbing. Sort of a CGI'ed "Crumb." Just excellent!

"Obras" (dir. Hendrick Dussolier, France, 2004, 11 mins.) This computer animated short was a maze of apartment buildings, their destruction, construction and repeating the cycle over and over as we zoom throughout the girders, hallways and windows. Trippy! Loved it!!

"Twilight" (dir. Victoria Gamburg, Russia, 2005, 21 mins.) A live action study of a woman who is unable to grieve for her daughter, who has been missing for over a year. A nifty little character study about the inability to 'let go.'

"Candy Viola" (dir. Fabio Simonelli, Italy, 2004, 13 mins.) A live action story about a plus-size woman and how she takes, er, serves up her revenge against the size 2's of this world! Great to look at and has a fun sense of comedy to it.

"Butler" (dir. Erik Rosenlund, Sweden, 2005, 9 mins.) An animated story about a butler who goes WAY BEYOND the line of duty for the couple who employs him. Animated dildos are funny!

"Desequilibrium" (dir. Francisco Garcia, Brazil, 2004, 21 mins.) A live action 'dream film,' in Portuguese, in B&W, and making no sense whatsoever, which all adds up to: I got to take a little nap! Luckily, it was the LAST of the shorts, so having the houselights come up is a dandy way to wake up.

After a little dinner with Jimmy and delivering some of the tickets that I won at last night's midnight movies, I met up with Judy at the Palace of Fine Arts for the first of three silent movies with live accompaniment.

"Street Angel" (dir. Frank Borzage, USA, 1928, 102 mins., accompaniment by American Music Club) I believe I have seen a performance by the American Music Club once before. I only say that because I vaguely remember being annoyed at another silent screening by a band which was more determined to have you listen to THEM than experience the film. The score that AMC presented tonight really had very little to do with the plot, much less the style of the film they purportedly spent four months working on. However, "Street Angel" just isn't that impressive to begin with. Or at least not to me. In fact, the Festival catalog uses the term 'under appreciated,' which is giving it the benefit of the doubt, in my opinion. Janet Gaynor just isn't a very convincing prostitute. No, she didn't want to be one. She is arrested for 'robbery while soliciting' which she is doing to purchase drugs for her ailing mother. Of course. She escapes the police, joins a circus, falls in love with an artist, and, on the very evening of his marriage proposal, is caught by the police to serve her time of one year of hard labor. I think we were supposed to cry at some point during this. However, the AMC was just too distracting and the film itself was too melodramatic to make me care. Apparently, director Borzage is historically considered a master of combining melodrama in expressionistic settings. I sort of thought this was an example of cheap sentiment on cheap sets. And speaking of low budgets, this leads me to the second of four Midnight Horror flicks and a bottle of Stella Artois back at the Kabuki.

"Zombie Honeymoon" (dir. Dave Gebroe, USA, 2004, 83 mins.) is just about as much of a horror-hoot as the title would suggest! Filmed entirely in New Jersey, Denise (Tracy Coogan) and Danny (Graham Sibley) just got married and have run away to a beach house for a nice little honeymoon. Before you know it, Danny is attacked on the beach by a zombie that just dragged itself out of the sea! What sets this little flick apart from being campy trash is the relationship of the couple. He loves her so much that he is able to resist quenching his flesh quest upon her. She loves him so much that she doesn't exactly assist him, but shares in his anguish as he struggles against his need to cannibalize. The hook to the piece is that his zombie-ness is a lynchpin in their new marriage. Tracy Coogan gives an excellent performance as the wife. The script gave her a wide range to play with: newlywed, frustrated spouse, struggling victim and eventual widow. She delivers an honest and complex center, which makes it a lot more interesting than your run of the mill zombie pic! Plus, the opening credits are a brilliant little gem unto themselves. "munch, munch, munch..."

Tomorrow: a double feature at the Castro and back to the Kabuki for more shorts and, oh, I don't know... I'll just follow my tickets.

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Saturday, April 23, 2005

48th SF International Film Festival - Day One

Oh dear. It's a (double) triple feature Friday, starting with:

"Cine'vardaphoto" (dir. Agnes Varda, France, 2004, 93 minutes) This is a triptych of short subjects by Agnes Varda: "Ydessa, the Bears and Etc..." (2004?), "Ulysse" (2003?) and "Salut les Cubains" (1963). The thread that binds the three shorts is that still photography is the central subject. I LOVED "Ydessa...," which focused on an art curator who has turned exhibition itself into an art form. Her collection of 100's of photos of people holding teddy bears - from the turn of the century through the second world war, is exhibited in a way which BLOWS people's minds!! Even on film! That is all I'll say about that, so as to avoid a spoiler. (This program repeats one or two more times in the Festival and has distribution, so GO SEE IT if you can!) The second was not nearly as fulfilling, though still sort of interesting as Ms. Varda follows up with a pair of models that she worked with 30 years prior. The third short, which is an 'animated' collage of photographs she took in Cuba in 1963 was difficult to follow, as it was in French with terribly grainy subtitles against a lot of white background. So. Well. I dozed off at one point. Which was good, 'cos I needed to prepare for Rrrrrrrroxanne(!)'s award presentation.

It would seem that the French Consulate in San Francisco is just THRILLED with the work that Rrrrrrrroxanne(!) has done these past four years. (Has it really been FOUR YEARS since the Pompous Asshole, er, I mean, Peter Scarlett left the SF Film Society??) Rrrrrrrroxanne(!) was made a 'Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' by the Minister of Culture and Communication of France! This is outrageously ironic since she can not pronounce the title she was just given. Poor Rrrrrroxanne! (She also appeared on stage in Dolce and Gabbana, if I'm not mistaken. I think she should have chosen Chanel or at least YSL.) Anyway, during the Consulate's introduction of Rrrrrrroxanne(!), he mentioned her career on Broadway as having worked with Bob Fosse and Ute Hagen. Judy snarked, "Was she an usher?" which made me snot! Anyway, Rrrrrrroxanne(!) gave a brief and well rehearsed acceptance speech in English and French and got out of the way for the director of:

"Kings and Queen" (dir. Arnaud Desplechin, France, 2005, 155 minutes) Desplechin made a short introduction regarding the screenplay awards that the film won in France this year and that he'd be available for a Q&A afterwards, if we will stick around since it is fairly long. He didn't mention that is fairly DIFFICULT to get through, though. I've got real mixed feelings about this one. There is a central female character and the men in her life: father, son, the son's father (who she never really married), her ex-husband and her present boyfriend. She is pretty, oh, well, crazy. Yep. Crazy. Neurotic just doesn't do her justice. On top of her neurosis is the certifiable craziness of her ex-husband (who spends most of his time in a mental hospital or with his psychoanalyst). We also get to meet the rest of their families: parents, brothers, sisters, etc. The bottom line is: it's a HUGE cast, in completely neurotic situations for two and a half hours. I guess the 'American equivalent' would be "Hannah and Her Sisters." But in French. For two and a half hours. Because of the length, the complexity of the many relationships, oh and the visual jarring of widescreen handheld cinematography, I found it VERY difficult to sit through. I was checking the time around the one hour-fortyfive minute mark and wasn't sure I was going to make it! However, the epilogue was beautifully written and actually brought me 'back down' from the hysteria that the previous couple of hours had placed me in. The point the film makes is really quite lovely and philosophical. I just wish it hadn't taken so LONG to do it! I did not stay for the Q&A (and I am most likely not going to throughout the festival, as they can be tedious affairs at best and embarrassing at their worst). So, I popped upstairs for the Stella Artois reception before the Midnight Movie.

I had a lovely chat with the new Membership Coordinator, Alexandra Ruhlmann! She's my new best friend! (Don't worry Reva and Nicola! You two STILL rule!!) We decided that it was too early in our relationship to start gossiping about her boss, yet! So we just popped back a couple of beers before going back downstairs for:

"3... Extremes" (dirs. Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook, Takashi Miike; Hong Kong, Korea, Japan; 2004, 125 minutes) This is sort of an Asian 'Trilogy of Terror.' Fruit Chan's piece was "Dumplings" which was BEAUTIFULLY photographed by Christopher Doyle ("Hero" "Infernal Affairs" "Rabbit Proof Fence" etc.). Now, I don't want to spoil any of these, but let's just say if I were to pitch this, I'd call it a mix of "Vera Drake" meets "Sweeney Todd"! hee hee hee! TOTALLY creepy ickiness! AWESOME!! The second piece was Park Chan-Wook's "Cut." GORGEOUSLY designed and shot! Hideously sadistic! But really a confusing piece about an extra's revenge upon a director he has worked with and has no idea who he is. The torture and motive are perfectly laid out. It's how and why the director changes that I just didn't understand. Not at all up to the standards of the other two pieces. The final piece was Takashi Miike's "Box." Now, some of you know that I have a love/hate thing going with Miike's work. He cranks out an ENORMOUS amount of work EVERY YEAR. Some of it I LOVE ("Bird People of China"), some of it I can sort of get behind ("Ichi the Killer," "Audition") and some of it is just horrible ("The Happiness of the Katakuris"). "Box" is somewhere on the UPPER end of the scale. Miike's best and worst quality is how excrutiatingly SLOW he can pace his film so that he can achieve the maximum shock effect when necessary. In a piece of this length (appox. 30 minutes) it works perfectly! The creepy quotient was FABULOUS!! The shock quotient had people screaming in fear! However, his pacing also had someone a couple of rows back asleep and snoring. (Well, it was 2:30 AM by the time the program ended!) The ending was sort of out of left field and maybe too bizarre for the sake of just being... bizarre. But the rest of the film was gorgeously creepy and the climax was fittingly fraught with tension! I'd keep an eye out for this, most likely on home video. Watch it. In the darrrrrrrk....

Oh!! And before the Midnight Movie began, they had a short trivia quiz for some passes to the rest of the Midnight Movie series. For some odd reason, I just HAD to answer one of the questions (about Miike, ironically enough) and have ended up with SIX passes (two for Saturday and four for next Friday night)! So if any of you locals are interested or know of someone who is (Jimmy: Saki and Penny?), drop me a note or call my cell. I'll have them on me for the rest of the festival.

Gotta get to SLEEP now!! (4 am!!) Apr. 23rd, 2005|04:19 am

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Thursday, April 21, 2005

48th SF Intl. Film Festival - Opening Night

Firstly, and traditionally, Judy and I entered the Castro Theatre to see what was in this year's Swag Bag! It must have weighed 3 pounds! Mostly magazines, though, including a pair about Oregon. Yes. Oregon is a sponsor this year and would like you to come visit. Stella Artois is a sponsor this year and you like you to take a nifty beer glass with you! Skyy Vodka thinks you should have a shot on the road. Munchies included some madelines, Judy's Breadsticks, Ghiradelli chocolate and some shortbread. Oh! And the Sundance Channel included a nifty '3 pack' of dvds! "Die! Mommie, Die!" "Rick" and "Seeing Other People."

Speaking of 'seeing people' it was like a reunion! Since I've been pretty low key and out of the loop lately, I got stopped in the lobby (and at the party later) to talk about my colon, or lack thereof. Again. But I guess it is 'what's new'! ;-)

Anyway, the lights lowered and this year's Festival Trailer unspooled. It is dull. Oh, but the dullness didn't stop there! Oh, no. It was time for Roxanne Messina-Captor to do her traditional festival welcome speech. Which is neither festive nor welcoming, but basically a reciting of the first three pages of the official program. Rrrrrroxanne(!) never ceases to amaze me in her display of lack of any passion regarding the festival, much less the film society. I mean, these things MUST be an outrageous undertaking requiring enthusiasm and charisma. She displays neither when addressing the public. She was even dressed in a hideously conservative creamy Armani pant suit. NO jewelry was evident from where we were sitting. Last year, she was lent some from Bulgari (a festival sponsor) and made a point of showing it off. But this year? Well, she would be forgettable, except for being so DULL that one feels obligated to remark.

Anyway, she made a point of listing the names of the filmmakers present in the audience tonight, but asked that we wait and hold our applause until she was finished. At the end of her list, she asked them to stand up. As IF we were able to know who was who? Or I guess that wasn't what mattered? I don't know. It was almost like the 'requiem moment' from the Oscars or something. Just odd and uncomfortable. Rrrrrrroxanne(!) then introduced Costa-Gavras, the director of tonight's feature:

"The Axe" (La couperet) (dir. Costa-Gavras, France, 2005, 122 minutes) Costa-Gavras was greeted by a smattering of a standing ovation. I was sort of mixed about that. I mean, he did direct the classic "Z" amongst others, but I just wasn't moved to join in the S.O. Anyway, he didn't really have that much to say to introduce it. He turned it over to his wife and producer, Michele Ray-Gavras, who I couldn't really understand. I digress... "The Axe" is a WHOLE LOT of fun!! A man has been laid off ("downsized") from his job and concocts a bloody path to get a new job. He is played by Jose Garcia ("Talk To Her") with psychopathic glee! And Costa-Gavras has some really nice, nearly Hitchcockian flourishes and twists to keep you involved, in what is a pretty dirty business! (Ha! I just made a funny! Well... You gotta see it to get it, I guess...) Anyway, this is a good evil time, with some real intense socio-economic commentary running throughout. You must see this, if you get a chance! It was a FUN film to open a festival with!

Then, the party. It was held at Ghiradelli Square this year. Those of you out-of-town may not realize that this means it was outdoors. A block off of the Bay. At 10:00 p.m. Oh, my point being that it's a bit chilly to be having a party outside, on the Bay, at night. And risky, too! The restaurant and liquor representation was 'ok' this year. (Where was Vermeer Liqueur?!) I was pretty unfamiliar with the restaurants, though. (Where was Blowfish Sushi?!) Anyway, I was pretty finished with it within an hour. Which is sort of quick for me. harumph.

Overall, a 'good' opening. Usually the party is better than the film, so perhaps it is a GOOD SIGN that the reverse was true this year!!

More tomorrow....Apr. 21st, 2005|11:29 pm

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