The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle is from local Seattle filmmaker David Russo who wrote the story (according to his intro) via some inspiration (loose inspiration I'm assuming) from his 11 years working as a janitor. The film played during SIFF 2009 though technically I caught it after the festival as part of the "Best in Fest" weekend. As I'm in serious catchup mode I'm feeling too lazy to explain by myself what this film is about. So cribbing directly from the SIFF website,

"After Dory is fired from his corporate job, he’s forced to take a “brown-collar” position cleaning office toilets with a pack of janitorial misfits. Accepting of his search for spiritual and human connection, the group quickly becomes his adoptive family. They make the most of their nights by helping themselves to whatever goodies are left behind by the daytime office staff. But when they unwittingly become the subject of a product-testing experiment by one of the companies in the building, they begin to experience some very unusual hallucinations and other side effects."

This part is pretty accurate. The side effect is rather odd and involves a blue sort of creature growing in the digestive tract of men who eat the experimentation products (cookies) left by the evil marketing firm for them to find. "Birth" of these creatures is a bit unpleasant though apparently a non-fatal event. The performances of the cast are pretty good and overall it's an interesting movie. Though I was far from gripped by the storyline. There's a bit of animation mixed in especially around the hallucinations. This doesn't at all detract from the story and are well integrated giving it an unusual look (meant in a positive sense) overall. So it wasn't an unpleasant experience - but at the same time it wasn't exactly transcendent for me. Though reading the next part of the SIFF description apparently it was supposed to be,

"... Little Dizzle is spiritual quest in sheep’s clothing; a complex film of ideas disguised as a shaggy-dog comedy. Beneath its constant visual invention, the film creates a quirky, playful world which questions the lines between trash and treasure, and asks what one should try to hold onto in our increasingly disposable society, and what one should let go."

Perhaps. But sometimes a semi-animate blue creature "born" out of the ass of the members of the janitorial staff is just a semi-animate blue creature and nothing more. Or at most a cautionary tale about eating cookies you find lying around. But I could be wrong.

Not strongly recommending, but wouldn't advise against it if the trailer strikes your fancy.

Looking for help from Palm Springs Shortsfest Attendees

If you're attending Palm Springs ShortsFest this coming week, would love your help with a little programming exercise I've been kicking around. The goal is to use Twitter to enable on the fly film festival ratings. The basic idea is that after a film you tweet your rating. The system picks up these ratings and
- Produces live/public scores for each films
- Gives you a personal report of what you liked after the fest
- Gives you a personal report of other films that you might like that similar attendees gave high scores to

I'm not quite done with the work - but due to the nature of Twitter if you post as you go during Shortsfest the ratings will persist long enough for any iterations of the software to catchup. :-) Meaning that the live ratings website won't be ready in time. But if you participate I'll be sure to send a summary report of your ratings post-festival, and hopefully some personalized recommendations soon after (depending on participation).

How would this work you ask? Just follow the simple steps below
1. Get a Twitter account if you don't already have on.
2. See films at Palm Springs ShortsFest
3. After you see a short film send a tweet from your computer or phone with the following format

@cinema_ratings ___________ #rate5 #psshorts

where _____ is replaced by the name of the short film, and #rate5 is for a top pick (fantastic) and #rate1 is for the opposite (not so fantastic). Of course feel free to also use #rate2, #rate3, #rate4 as the case may be.

So for example if you loved "Careful with that Ax" (and I've heard it's very good) you'd tweet

@cinema_ratings careful with that ax #rate5 #psshorts

4. Repeat from (2)

If you're thinking of giving it a try would love a quick note via email or in the comments. This is a working experiment, so cannot guarantee the results - but thought it'd be an interesting application that might grow into something useful for future festivals.

Away We Go

A pregnant couple unsure about where they stand in life go on a road trip to try and understand what parenthood might mean to them. A little sappy and predictable but I still enjoyed it. The road trip is mostly a tour of less than perfect parenting styles and/or situations. I'm a little late getting to this one - so not sure there's a ton of benefit in elaborating further. I had limited expectations going in which may have helped. Has a deliberate "indy" feel that maybe has it scoring a bit too high on the intentional quirkiness meter. But I sort of liked the low key relationship between the two characters. So pretty decent with no horrible/tragic ending. Sometimes that's all I'm looking for. Just don't expect the meaning of life the universe and everything...

The Other Bank (Georgia)

12 year old Georgian refugee searches for his father. With an occasional life affirming moment thrown in this well directed film was overall still pretty depressing. It's an interesting film with what I believe is a fair amount of symbolism that was too subtle for me unfortunately. Nothing is wrong with either of these things - just wasn't quite what I was looking for on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm feeling particularly lazy - so here's the more involved description from SIFF that lured me in...

Winner Grand Jury Prize - SIFF 2009 New Directors Showcase Competition
Jury Statement: We give our prize to The Other Bank. It is a picaresque narrative with a powerful mise-en-scène and an exceptional skill in addressing a complex post-war situation through a remarkable character incarnated by a 12-year-old nonprofessional.

Torn from his father at the beginning of the Georgian-Abkhazia war, slightly cross-eyed 12-year-old Tedo is tired of living the life of a refugee. He works hard at an auto repair shop, and his young mother, Keto, works as a clerk, but it’s not enough to help them get by, so Keto starts to prostitute herself to help them survive. It’s all too much for Tedo to handle, and he decides to search for his father in war-torn Abkhazia. Warned not to go into this tinderbox, he decides to go anyway. Unable to speak the local language and afraid for his safety, Tedo pretends to be deaf as his odyssey takes him across physical and emotional landscapes and borders where nationalism rules and where the “eye for an eye” mentality dominates. The war-ravaged world he encounters reflects the complex state of affairs wrestling within the boy’s psyche. Director Ovashvili brings together a diverse production team from Russia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Czech Republic, Israel, and South Korea to create a gripping, unsentimental story of a boy with grownup cares who finds his own path to living bravely.

The Hangover

With SIFF finished (mostly - still "Best in Fest" this weekend) the time has come to look what's in the theaters. Friday night in the search for something light I decided to try The Hangover. My summary - "dumb but funny."

Four guys head off to a bachelor party in vegas. The next morning three of them wake up in a completely trashed hotel suite, with the groom missing, and no memory of the night's events. Nothing but hangovers and a pile of clues including a baby, a chicken, and a full grown tiger. Most of the rest of the film involves them retracing their steps as they try to find the groom in time.

It's not done with as much over the top grossness masquerading as humor as expected I from ads. Which for me is a good thing. And every once in a while there'd be a joke I truly wasn't expecting. For example (roughly remembered):

- isn't counting cards illegal?
- Not illegal, more frowned upon, like masturbating on an airplane.
- I think that's illegal too?
- well maybe after 9/11... (mutters something about Bin :aden ruining everything)

Sounds stupid a day later, but last night I laughed. I think I'll stand by my "dumb but mostly funny" review. Glad I went, and easy to see why it seems to be an audience success.

A Few of the Best - Faves of SIFF 2009

When all was said and done it looks like I watched 96 films at SIFF 2009. Having seen 17 before that puts my total viewing of films available at SIFF this year at 113. People keep asking me what my "favorite" was. I just can't really narrow down to one. I set out to filter it down to my top ten most enjoyed films. After some painful effort I got it down to 17 of the ones I liked the best. Some because they were truly great films. Others due to showing me something interesting I hadn't seen before. And a few just because I had such a damn good time watching. Here's the list - not in order of preference.

Most liked (alphabetical)

$9.99
Daytime Drinking
Four Boxes
Hachiko
Hooked
Humpday
Il Divo
In the Loop
Kisses
Laila's Birthday
Rembrandt J'Accuse
Sexykiller
Still Walking
The Hurt Locker
The Maid
The Market - A Tale of Trade
Zift

If you put a gun to my head and asked what my #1 pick was I might say "Still Walking." Though I would then call the police to file charges as soon as I safely was able.

There were a few films that would have made my best list - but perhaps given that it's already so long should be slotted into "guilty pleasures." These additions include

Sounds Like Teen Spirit - A Popumentary
ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction

Well, looks like I'm all caught up with notes on the film, the count, etc. I'd like to do some checking on how many countries were represented by the films I watched - so maybe there's one final pivot table left for SIFF 2009. But otherwise I return you to your regularly scheduled programming. I'll continue to post throughout the year as I head to the movies. You may want to subscribe for email updates as the blog will definitely be updated a bit less frequently. Unless someone out there wants to finance some out of town festival trips... ;-)

BTW - Would love to see some of the reader's absolute faves in the comments.

Involuntary (Sweden)

I'd heard some pretty negative stuff about this film - so it was with some trepidation that I gave it a try. But surprise, surprise I sort of liked it. There are a series of interwoven plot lines - but not in the sense that there's a web of coincidence that truly ties everyone together. Also important to know is that these are scenes - rather than complete stories. I think the dynamics/dialog are the film - not the destination of each plot line. If that sounds horrible this probably isn't the movie for you. I thought it worked and it was one of those films that you could have a conversation about afterward.

I'm feeling slightly lazy - so rather than try to explain the basis of the stories that make up the film here's an excerpt from the festival guide. I think overall it's pretty accurate,

With an offbeat sense of humor and an uncanny talent for observing the curiosities of interpersonal communication, Involuntary interweaves several parallel plotlines linked by the theme of group dynamics and the urge to overstep taboo. Two teenage girls chat, take pictures, and get drunk; a group of young men experiment with sex; a righteous grade school teacher tries to resolve the problem of a student bullied by another teacher; and a bus driver holds a group of passengers prisoner. In instances where characters face moral dilemmas about speaking up or staying silent, the protagonists often behave illogically to keep from losing face and find themselves in even more complicated situations. Their unpredictable behavior is reflected in the unconventional camerawork and points of view. Writer-director Ruben Östlund’s knack for perverse comedy leaves the audience with questions about lessons to learn, lectures to give, and lines not to cross.

OSS 117: Lost in Rio (France) - and closing night notes

Last night was the closing night film gala for SIFF 2009. Normally this means a film that's a little wider in it's appeal (They do want to sell out Cinerama) along with a party to catch up with the folks you spend a solid month each year watching too much film with (but will see sparingly the rest of the time). This year I was really looking forward to the second OSS 117 film. The last one won the golden space needle award at SIFF a few years back. I really enjoyed that one - and still laugh thinking about some of the jokes. So when I saw this year's fest would close with its sequel (and not a story about wine) I was definitely jazzed.

First up for the evening after introductions was a promotional short film about how Seattle would be different if SIFF didn't exist (it's an It's a Wonderful Life spoof). It was fairly amusing - keeping in mind I'd missed it's two other showings at opening night and the centerpiece gala. If I was watching if for a third time I'd probably be less than amused. As it were I could have done without Dale Chihuly and his friend talking over much of it - even if he was featured in the short. ;-)

Next up was the film OSS 117: Lost in Rio. The director was in attendance an his intro was pretty funny. Explaining that if you liked the character previously - you'd probably enjoy him this time. Given that previously he was a misogynist, racist, jerk - who was now also anti-semitic as well. The movie, like a lot of sequels wasn't quite as funny as the first one. But I still laughed often enough to enjoy myself. I included the trailer below - it will give you a sense as to the style of humor. There was perhaps a little too much running around "adventure" type stuff thrown in. The action is better used in smaller doses as the best laughs come when the character is speaking - or especially trying to untangle himself from saying something that's offended those around him. It's showing again this weekend as part of the the "Best of SIFF 2009" weekend at SIFF cinema.

Afterward everyone retreated to the closing night party. Like many parties of this type it was a bit overcrowded, with huge lines for food. Unlike opening night the food didn't quite last well into the night. I eventually grabbed enough that I wasn't hungry and found a quiet spot to talk with friends until around midnight. So overall the night was a lot of fun - and too interesting for me to stop and take any pictures. I'll be closing out SIFF 2009 entries over the next few days. I do post reviews and film related news all year round - so if you've gotten in the habbit of reading I'd encourage you to register for the email version so you'll get updates in your inbox within a day of them being posted.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading in between their SIFF attendance. And thanks to all the festival staff and volunteers who've made this festival (once again) an amazing experience to attend!

Fool Serious 2009 Awards Announced

In addition to the 2009 SIFF audience and juried awards the far more comprehensively sampled Fool Serious awards were also announced. You can take a look at the top ten most liked films here. This is from the unofficial passholders organization that collects film ratings only from full series passholders - who as a group tend to see far more SIFF screenings than casual festival goers. Doesn't make the awards any better or worse than the audience/juries - just different. Last year the audiences and "Fools" agreed on the top choice Cherry Blossom - Hanami. This year there was more of a difference. I'm happy to report that I saw all of the top 5 films on the Fools most liked list and only missed three of their top ten. After I've finished catching up on my SIFF reviews (only 4 left at present) I'll go through the master list and see if I can narrow down to a top ten favorites type of thing. Though usually I have trouble keeping my top ten below fifteen.

In order the top ten "most liked" by Fool Serious voters were

1. Departures
2. North Face
3. Tears of April
4. Séraphine
5. Necessities of Life
6. The Hurt Locker
7. That Evening Sun
8. Troubled Water
9. Moon
10. Kabei - Our Mother

SIFF 2009 Best in Fest Weekend

This coming weekend SIFF cinema will be hosting a "Best of SIFF 2009" program. Of course it's not necessarily the best films as they have to still have the reels around, etc. But it's a pretty strong sampling of films. And for those of you who (like me) may have year round SIFF vouchers expiring in August with the impending short term closure of the venue this will be your last chance to use 'em (someone pointed out that most vouchers aren't good on Friday/Sat - so you may want to plan accordingly).

The offerings include the Golden Space Needle audience award winner Black Dynamite as well as several of the other 2009 award winners. Also if you missed Rembrandt's J'Accuse it's playing again. I'm thinking to maybe catch The Cove which I'd missed and more likely The Other Bank and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle. Or I may just sleep all weekend - we'll see...

Home (Switzerland)

A case study of why you never, ever, ever want to buy a house alongside a major freeway.

Actually.... it's about a family that lives in a house at the end of a never completed highway. They seem incredibly happy and close. All is well. Then the project which has been on hold for 10 years is suddenly completed. Cutting them off from their lifestyle and causing both the family and the individuals to go into a cycle of decline that just gets worse and worse. It's listed as a comedy - but I don't think that's the most accurate description. I thought it was interesting for the first half - but as the problems mounted I started to become a bit less interested. By the end - where everything is pretty much falling I'd realized that I watched a well acted, well put together story that left me a little less than satisfied. It's possible though that any film you see at the end of a 3+ week festival may get held to a much higher bar than when one is fresher. So hard to really say what I'd think under different circumstances. Not bad - just not a standout for me given this year's field. But definitely something different than the norm.

Tears of April (Finland)

Set at the end of Finland's bloody civil war at the film's start we're told that there were 2000 women involved in combat. The victorious Whites are rounding up enemy soldiers at the conclusion of the war and capture the remains of one of these female battalions. Badly mistreated by their captors (to put it mildly) most of the women are summarily executed. One solider shocked by the violations of the "rules" of war insists on taking an accidental survivor personally to what he thinks will be a fair court martial. His journey with her and his personal journey as he begins to understand the reality vs. the idealized views he's had force him to make some stark choices. It's definitely a film that screams for the use of the "epic" term - and I don't think it'd be a stretch to apply it here. I'd seen trailers for it before SIFF, so I'd imagine this will get a somewhat broad release in the US. It's not a fun film - though it's not entirely bleak. It's not falling into my must see category but I did think it was interesting and well acted story.

Sexykiller (Spain)

Did anyone ever stop and ask Jason of the Friday the 13th films WHY he killed? After hitting you in the head with an ax the obvious answer would be "why not?" (Or in this film "porque no?" - who says my HS Spanish was completely useless") So goes the delightfully over the top logic of Sexykiller. This isn't a film where the beautiful weak and dumb topless girls are chased around by some crazed guy. Instead those characters, and everyone else is mercilessly slaughtered by a strong, determined (but equally psychotic) female character. And kill she does. Though (apparently) always in the latest fashions.

Set on a college campus our "hero" is on a rampage to kill anyone who remotely upsets her and find her perfect husband (she's in medical school in search of a plastic surgeon hubby). This is as dumb as it sounds, and the film revels in it. Much of the story is told in flashback and directly to the viewer. One of my favorite lines comes from an interaction she has during class while she's not paying attention and telling us about the latest issue of CosmoKiller. The professor asks her "who are you talking to" - "the cameras" is the reply...

There's something for everyone here including, over the top acting, a fair amount of naked female flesh, a pounding soundtrack, tips of the hat to many other films (including Taxi Driver), blood, lots of camp, and zombies. I wasn't really expecting the last one - but as the saying goes, "what could it hurt?"

It's not high art - but if you're in the right mood it'll scratch an itch. I think this was my most fun at a midnight screening this year (though the line, "never, ever trust a corpse" was a close second). So if you're not going to the closing night and want to close the night with a bang consider making your own party with the Spanish vixens of Sexykiller...

Update: While looking for a subtitled trailer I came across this nice writeup of the film online. Includes one of the better lines I'd forgotten - "You know the trouble with the world of serial killing? -That there is too much male chauvinism!"

A good film, crazy people climbing things, and just crazy people (mid-Sat update)

North Face (Austria) - Germans try to climb never before reached mountain peak around 1936. Either for the spirit of adventure, to be famous, or to glorify Hitler. I think it's better when folks just risk their lives for more traditional reasons, like to get laid. This whole for the glory of the third reich makes me uncomfortable and takes me out of the film. Though it based on a true expedition, so I guess it can't be avoided. Beautiful scenery and a fair amount of interesting stuff to learn about the mechanics of climbing. They do try to cover the "politics" of the time, where the heroes aren't quite comfortable with it - but their need to climb mountains rather than deal with being in the army still is at best distracting. It is probably worth seeing, and doing so on a big screen if you can. As far as climbing movies go it's a good one - especially if like me you have no idea about the expedition's outcome.

tallhotblond (USA) - there are three things it's important to know about the interwebs.
1. It's for porn - citation to Avenue Q for that (and reality),
2. No one knows you're a dog (look for one of the funnier New Yorker cartoons there - though not as funny as "for an extra $50 I'll let you show me your Palm Pilot") and
3. The chick with the "tallhotblond" alias is at best 2 out of 3 and probably not the one in the middle (or so I'd guess).

Sadly the folks in this film clearly were not aware of the second two rules. And this caused them no end of trouble. Especially as one of the folks also wasn't too clear on the whole "though shall not kill" thing.

Anyway - this is basically a tragic love triangle where no one ever meets and one of the people ends up dead. Also - it's a documentary. I wasn't 100% sure if it was for a while - and I mean that in a positive way.

Very sad story - and I thought a solid and engrossing film, at least for the first 60 minutes. The final 30 though got into a bunch of semi-explanations that just didn't have quite the same level of punch. But I still thought it was good overall - for a while though I was thinking the trajectory it was on was going to hit the "awesome" level on the 1-10 scale. Though technically it was awesome in the provoking fear sense.

The after film Q&A was good on the making the film details. Though the sort of blaming the internet stuff grated on me a bit. Personally, I think screwed up people do screwed up things. Everything else is just a tool for the specifics of how it's acted out.

Amreeka (Canada) - Fish out of water story about a mother and son from the west bank who move to Illinois. Yes, it has the actress who's apparently mandated by law to appear in every film in the region (Lemon Tree, Paradise Now, Syrian Bride, etc). But it's a supporting role so some other good actors and actresses do get to work too. ;-) Funny, with a light touch it's an entertaining film that I think will have broad appeal even though it does hold an uncomfortable mirror up at times. Plus the director apparently has a thing for funny signs - which I think is always a plus. So far this is my fave for the day.

The last Friday of SIFF 2009 (sniffle...)

Rain (Bahamas) - When Rain's grandmother dies she's forced to move from an idyllic island to live with her mother in far less beautiful surroundings. The new community struggles with poverty, AIDs and violence. Rain tries to make the best of it turning to her love of running as an escape. At the new school she meets a coach who offers her a potential way out. Yes, it's fairly predictable. But generally it's well done and gives a view into a less seen part of the Bahamas without losing the value of telling a story. I didn't expect to like it - but came out with a pleasant surprise. Nice enough (though nice isn't quite the right word) little film.

The film looks like it may have been shot on digital and there were some visible issues with projection when I saw it. Nothing horrible, but in some ways this might actually look better on home video.

A Pain in the Ass (France) - Great name, less great movie. Slapstick comedy about a hit man whose mission is put at risk by the love sick man attempting to get his wife back after she ran away with her psychiatrist. There's a moment or two that made me chuckle, but few (if any) that really had me laughing seriously. Which surprised me as I generally enjoy even the goofiest of French farce. I got the sense I was in the minority though from audience reaction. Which I'm glad about since it means they were enjoying the film. I preferred this years's "Welcome to the Sticks" (unfortunately not at SIFF) for equally dumb, but funnier French comedy.

Swimsuit Issue (Sweden) - An out of work man and his friends turn their floor hockey group into a male synchronized swim team. I'd heard this film described has a hilarious comedy. After seeing it that (for me at least) comes across as slightly misleading. There are some funny parts (the audience was laughing) but for me not enough to carry it as a straight comedy. But there are other aspects, the relationship with his daughter and the adoption/subversion of sports movie cliches that add additional dimensions. I wouldn't say this is one of the best films I've seen, but it was interesting and generally enjoyable to watch. Though you might not expect it from the write up it does take synchronized swimming somewhat seriously, showing the difficulty and some of the beauty of the sport - some of the maneuvers they do were surprisingly impressive.

Tetro (USA)

Francis Ford Coppola came to Seattle to present his film and follow it with one of the more comprehensive Q&A's I've seen. As a question/answer session it gets top marks. He actually seemed to want to be there, towards the end insisting on taking more questions. I stepped out for a minute to get a drink only to come back to him giving a mini course on how to keep costs down (less extras = less costs for lunch = better food for lunch). So 5/5 for the Q&A.

The movie itself is beautiful to look at in inky black and white (except for flashbacks which were presented in color). The story is about a younger brother who arrives at the doorstep of an older brother in Argentina. The older one left home years ago severing his ties with the family over reasons not initially disclosed. They come from an artistic family, the specific arts and conflicts I won't disclose as it's all slowly revealed over the course of the film. The older brother clearly does not want the younger one there and lots of family drama ensues.

At times the film felt a bit more like a stage play in terms of the acting style. For the first half I struggled a bit to be interested in the characters. By the end I still didn't have a great interest in the characters but enjoyed enough of the surrounding story (particularly the staging of a play within the story - and not a good play) to stay with it. So sort of a mixed experience for me. I do think it's worth seeing for the cinematic experience - and on a large screen for sure.

Don't Let Me Drown (USA)

Mexican American boy in tough Brooklyn neighborhood falls for Dominican girl. Set in the aftermath of 9/11 one has a parent working in the cleanup, the other lost a sister in the attack. Even so this is mostly a straightforward courtship film. It took me a while to get hooked, but by the second half I was definitely enjoying it. Worth catching, or at least adding to your Netflix queue. I don't think it'll lose much on a smaller screen.

Give Me Your Hand (France)

French twins on a road trip to the funeral of the mother they never knew. They discover things about themselves and each other. Have casual sex, work odd jobs, etc. All without saying much to anyone. It touches on a variety of issues - but leaves the interpretation to the viewer. Which I suppose is either good or bad depending on what you're looking for. I wasn't exactly bored, but I wasn't that interested one way or the other either. At least it wasn't particularly long.

My Suicide (USA)

Sort of avant-garde/experimental after school special. Archie announces he's going to make a movie of him killing himself for his video class. Then we get to watch the reaction as he compulsively tapes himself. As expected there's a lot of student interest (most notably from the school's resident hot blond) and some poor psychiatric care and parenting that follows. The film tracks the reaction of the school, the consequences and a variety of hidden motivations. Set to an entertaining indy rock soundtrack and a lot of wacky video editing as well as animation. It's an interesting looking film and I gather it's intended to pull in teens who wouldn't sit through an after school special. Will it change minds - I hope so - but I'm a bit skeptical. It's an interesting piece of filmmaking, though for me more about the technique and a select portion of the writing vs. the message or the pull of the story. Can't say I'd recommend it, but there's enough interesting stuff mixed in that I'm glad I saw it. Admittedly, I may not quite be in the target demographic.

Hachi - A Dog's Tale (USA)

Ok - I'll admit it up front, I haven't teared up this much since I heard they were taking The Wire off the air. This is a full-on Hollywood tearjerker featuring Richard Gere and a super cute dog (actually many dogs to play the role from puppy to old age). It's an American take on the story of Hachiko - the famous Akita from Japan who continued to come to meet his master at the train even 9 years after his death (in the 1920's I believe). There's a statue memorializing the dog in Japan where it's a well known story. The US one is pretty much the same, except this version is less likely to be used as the poster child for blind loyalty to the emperor during a world war. At least now that Cheny's out of office...

Anyway, I knew I was being manipulated, but after about 2 minutes I just didn't care. Putting this under my guilty pleasures category right up there with "Air Bud." Even some hamfisted acting from the supporting cast couldn't make me hate it. Yes, I am a total sap. Please make your future viewing decisions regarding the flick accordingly.

Reincarnation, Secrets, Souls and Child Services (aka everything but Tetro on Wed)

Unmistaken Child (Israel) - the official description teases you with the question, "Ever wonder how reincarnations of deceased Buddhist masters are found and recognized?" I answered, "yes, as a matter of fact I have" and got myself to the press screening. And it basically it delivers following along as a silent observer during a Nepalese monk's search for the reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchog. It's not a super fast moving documentary, but it does give a rather interesting view of the proceedings. It definitely raised some questions for me, which of course will have to wait until I'm past the festival to think more about. :-)

In Your Absence (Spain) - Pablo is a fatherless child wandering the countryside for the day when he meets a stranger whose car has broken down. Colorful back drops frame this rest of the movie as we learn about him, the gossipy small town folk, and various secrets of both. Interesting, but another film shooting for emotional impact that didn't quite have the intended result on me. Even foul play befalling a dog (though admittedly not as cute as the one in Tetro) didn't get a rise out of me. I may just be becoming numb - or could be the film. Beautiful to look at though.

Cold Souls (USA) - is our soul the divine spark that makes life special or something holding us back. Paul Giamatti plays "himself" as a an actor struggling with a role who decides to try a "soul storage service" he reads about in The New Yorker. Part comedy (what self respecting New Yorker would want his soul stored in Jersey, even if there was a tax break), part drama, part Kaufmann-esque wackiness it's aspirations are broad. I don't think it kills in any one category (for example not as though I laughed non-stop) but I enjoyed the mix enough to recommend it. If nothing else the stage performance Giamatti gives of the same role with and without soul are very entertaining. I've heard differing opinions, but I definitely liked it. They even managed to do an entire film about having one's soul removed without throwing in a single lawyer joke. If nothing else you've got to respect the self control.

No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (Taiwan) - yes, the film is from Taiwan even though the title is Spanish. No, I couldn't explain why. This black and white, based on a true story tale is about a poor father raising his daughter alone and then fighting a bureaucracy to keep her (and out of the social services system). It was my fifth film of the day and therefore a little hard to judge fairly (especially as it started late due to run over from Tetro's Q&A). That said, I thought it was interesting and well put together, though it won't be one of the standouts for me this year.

Still thinking about Tetro - notes on that to follow later...

The good, the bad and the one that didn't make the SJFF... (Tues)

North (Norway) - guy recovering from depression/anxiety goes on a road trip. Except without a road - instead using a snowmobile, skies, etc. on trip to meet the son he didn't know he had, meeting quirky characters along the way. Very pleasant to watch, maybe not in my top ten of the festival but a solid film. Just don't leave the main character alone in your domicile with a stove...

500 Days of Summer (USA) - Cute if imperfect romantic comedy. The proper comparison here is probably against Hollywood romantic comedies of the last few years - not the out of nowhere independent romantic comedy that took your breath away at some previous fest. This one has a cute twist in that they tell you right up front that he doesn't get the girl - yet is not a cynical anti-love film. I definitely laughed (it starts particularly strong) so I don't think it'd be a horrible choice when it hits your local megaplex. Just don't expect the world and you'll likely be satisfied. It's growing on me a day later, once I realized that the abysmal chemistry between the leads actually may be intended, given that she doesn't want to be with him.

Defamation (Israel) - Examination of modern antisemitism. Or perhaps more an evaluation by the filmmaker (in a Michael Moore style) as to the cost/benefits of seeing anti-semitism as a force of nature in the universe (though given the horrible news today his premise looks a bit different a day later). Often funny and provocative the film makes you stop and think if nothing else. At least about the clear fact that most groups could use better PR people. Quick tip if you can't afford one. It's almost NEVER a good idea to have your group followed around by a guy with a camera if you want to come out looking good. At least for me some very reasonable observations mixed in with the laughs. I expect this film will be a bit polarizing.

Summer (UK) - Man lives tortured by regrets of a misspent youth. Or something like that. It'd have been quite a depressing film if I'd cared more about the characters. As it were I spent a disproportionate amount of my time trying to figure out which kid corresponded to which adult (story told largely through flashback). 'nuff said.

A Day Without Comedy - or at least only of the black variety (Mon)

The Square (Australia) - This drama screened with a short called "Spider" - which was one of the best I've seen so far this festival. The movie itself I also really liked. Proves the importance of hiring good help. And NOT committing a felony for your girlfriend. You've seen this plot before. Sort of a corollary to the "if you find a bag of money and/or drugs, expect to have someone dangerous want it back, just don't spend it all" is the "just because your girlfriend wants you to steal her husband's cash and burn the place down to cover the crime doesn't mean it's a foolproof plan - regardless as to how good looking she is.". Once the plan is set into motion of course things get more not less complicated. This was probably the most involving film of the day and I enjoyed the dark, dark ride.

Scratch (Poland) - an older man and a woman seem to be living a happy life. At a dinner party she's given a tape of a TV show where her husband is accused of being a secret police officer who married her only to inform on her politically active father. After brushing it aside her doubts begin to grow and her life/marriage starts to unravel. While watching it I was interested. But writing this a day later I think it's not something that's going to stay with me long term. If you want to watch someone mentally unravel in Polish then this is probably your top choice of the festival. I'll try not to judge if that's what you're looking for. ;-)

Troubled Water (Norway) - Man gets out of prison for a heinous crime and tries to reclaim his life as a church organist. Of course the past comes back to force him to confront it and seek redemption (or not, he seem of the opinion that there's nothing he needs forgiveness for). This is definitely a movie take on the material as it's hard to imagine the reality would be sympathetic or filled with as many coincidences/contradictions. Overall though I was sucked into the film which is told from two different but converging points of view. I do recommend it.

As a side note - this is the first time I've seen a hot female priest naked on screen. Those Norwegians are a liberal bunch. I'd think personally it'd help with church attendance, but I could be wrong.

Garbage Dreams (USA)

It seems that up until recently Cairo, Egypt had no centralized municipal garbage service. Instead the work of garage collection was performed by a community of poor residents who made their living picking up and recycling trash. This documentary profiles three young men involved in the trade specifically and the community around them in general. The efforts while low tech are presented as fairly advanced in results - claiming an 80% recycling rate (way above most developed country efforts). With the more recent hiring of foreign garbage collection/processing firms the livelihood of this 60,000 strong group is threatened. The film follows the three boys/men as they take different paths through this set of challenges.

It's an interesting film and I definitely learned about a world I didn't know existed. My only (small) complaint is that I actually would have liked to learn more about how they do what they do in a deeper way. But overall it held my attention and taught me something. So not a runaway fantastic doc but worth adding to your list if the subject interests you.

Hooked (Romania)

My first hooker hit by a car this festival. ;-)

A couple is off to the countryside for a picnic. They hit a prostitute on a small road. They put her into the car to go to the hospital. But the woman panics and insists they dispose of what she thinks is the dead body. Then the woman wakes up and begins to screw with the couple's heads.

Shot mostly from a first person perspective it shifts between the three main participants in a neat bit of technique that subtly shifts with each person's view of the goings on. Does the woman know she was hit or not? Is she just having a nice time or systematically trying to destroy their relationship? Or just playing her own version of catch and release? I'll let you be the judge. I do recommend taking the trip though.

Finding Bliss (US)

Not high art, but enjoyable as a guilty pleasure. Young woman wins prestigious film school award only to discover she can't get a job. Armed with him "perfect" script she scours the industry looking for an opportunity to get it made. Eventually she finds a job as an editor at an "up and coming" company. In one of the most egregious cases of not doing one's homework I've seen onscreen in a while she shows up for the interview to discover it's at a porn company. Extremely put off at first (did I mention she's deeply concerned about both being bad in bed and labeled a slut? - long story involving of all things 'spin the bottle.) she takes the job with the intent of using their studio to shoot her own script at night. Every possible porn industry joke/stereotype/acronym then ensues.

When I read the guide description I was expecting something a bit more serious. This is pretty much a light Hollywood comedy - and taken at that level it sort of works. Not a super deep script nor incredible acting. But the relentless pace of goofy yet uncynical jokes (and the snuck in Buckaroo Banzai reference) eventually pounded me into submission enough to enjoy it.

Was I perhaps overly influenced by the need to see something fun on a Sunday morning? Possible - your mileage may vary.

Sounds Like Teen Spirit - A Popumentary (UK)

Documentary following the junior Eurovision singing competition by way of four competitors. This is centered around a cross Europe TV talent show where each of 17 (I think) countries chooses an under 15 year old act where the participants write the song and music themselves. The countries then compete in an American Idol style situation where each country votes for their favorites (voters cannot choose their own nation's entry). Then in some complex system that seems similar to the US electoral college the participants are ranked - where (at least from what I can tell) coming in the top 5 is a high honor. The film follows closely the competitors from Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus and Belgium. Their acts vary quite a bit but they are all solidly in the "Pop" music camp and sparkly outfits seem to be the norm.

The competitors come from very different socio-economic backgrounds which makes for an interesting mix of motivations/goals. Each is likable in their own way. The filmmakers have put together a fun ride. It's maybe a little bit in the guilty pleasure category, but I really had a lot of fun watching this doc. I don't want to say that much more about who does what, because much of the fun is trying to figure out who'll be successful, and then biting your nails about who will win once you're emotionally invested in the four.

BTW - this would make an interesting double feature with Afghan Star which makes a similar point about it unifying groups within the country (in this film it's cross Europe). Though every one of the competitors in this film (perhaps save Trust) would be marked for death due to their dancing. So there are some small differences in focus between the films...

Be Calm and Count to Seven (Iran)

There's a lot to be said for a film that shows you a place you wouldn't ordinarily get a chance to experience. To that extend this view into boat smuggling of consumer products into Iran through a remote fishing village delivers on that score. A lot of Iranian filmmakers mix metaphor and symbolism into their overall work. Often that part partly largely lost on me, but I can enjoy the film at a more basic level. Unfortunately beyond the basic story line her, which is pretty quiet and slow (stuff gets smuggled, boy's father is missing, mother is pregnant) I have pretty much no idea what was going on. Can't say I didn't like it. Just that I didn't understand it. Which I'm going to assume reflects poorly on me, and not anyone else.

Czech countryside, French action and more shorts (Sat)

The Country Teacher (Czech Republic) - An in the closet gay schoolteacher takes a job in a rural area. Subtle, well acted, not a huge amount going on at the surface type of drama. I thought it was good, but I didn't ever end up caring enough about the characters to really love it.

Futurewave/Superfly Shorts - really two different shorts programs in one. First was the Superfly set. In these a group of kids were given a story to work with (maybe a script, they didn't fully explain it to the audience) 36 hours and presumably some guidance to produce a short film. Of the five films, three were very similar (I'm guessing these followed the script pretty directly). One was a music video feeling thing. The last one proved the axiom that there's almost no work of art that cannot be improved upon the by addition of zombies (see also Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). Not surprisingly that was my favorite. :-)

They also included the Futurewave shorts in this section. Those are short films made by the under 19 set. As you'd expect these were a mixed bag. I ended up leaving a bit early to catch dinner before my next film. Looking closer at the descriptions later I may have missed some of the better ones. One I caught up with later online was "The 'Twilight' Zone" (http://bit.ly/VsKXA) which I thought was a cute take on the sparkley vampire obsessed.

Twilight Zone

Black (France) - it was Interesting to see this unapologetic French blaxplotation flick. Even the visual style which ranged from washed out to overly dark felt like it was from another era. Not bad, but not quite must see either. The title character "Black" robs an armored truck in the opening sequence and then goes to Dakarta for what he hopes is a retirement score. But Africa has a few surprises up her sleeves including sexy Interpol agents, Russian mercenaries (gloriously over acted), and a guy who's turning into a snake man (though not as literally as the mayor on Buffy). The film covers Black's (and his crew's) effort to survive and get rich. There's an interwoven theme about his role in an African prophesy. Like in most such cases prophecy can be a tricky business as everyone interprets it differently. In this case I predict a sequel is in mind if the filmmaker's can turn this into a hit in France. While interesting and well done it didn't grab me enough to recommend - unless you've just been dying to see more work in the blaxplotation genre, and in French.

Modern Noir Thriller, Unlikely Sports Heroes and Interpretive Dance (Friday)

Kimjongilia (France) - Horrifying personal stories from people who've escaped from North Korea. Technically well done documentary that did fill in some gaps in my knowledge about the history of North Korea. And managed to make it sound worse than the news stories about the same facts did. Guaranteed to make you feel worse about the world for letting such a regime exist, and for the fact they've got the bomb. How you'll feel about the use of interpretive dance in the film is harder to predict.

Machan (Sri Lanka) - sort of a Sri Lankan Bad News Bears. Except instead of a lovable bunch of kids as underdogs is a group of men trying to get to the West for better economic opportunities. After more straightforward plans to move to Germany fall through they try to get a visa for a handball competition there. Not knowing how to play they organize Sri Lanka's first team, which they name the "Sri Lanka National Handball Team.". Their plan being to get to Germany and disappear. Will they get there? If they get there will they play? And if they play will pride make them try to win? Based on true events (to some degree) this is a fun film that still addresses some of the more serious issues.

Four Boxes (USA) - This year's out front contender for the "total mindfuck film of the festival" award (not an official category, but maybe it should be). Film noir feeling thriller about three people who move into the house of a recently deceased man to sell his possessions on ebay. Whether the house's anonymous suburban feel or the voyeur webcast they discover bookmarked on his site is creepier is a tossup. The film ramps up into a thriller that really pulled me in. Not a gore/frightfest but a clever script with good performances make this really work well. I don't want to say anything more for fear of dampening the fun. Recommend seeing this one as I suspect it's not going to be easy to find later.

Director and actors were in attendance (sitting right behind me actually) which made for a good Q&A. Loved the director's comment that a segment of the audience for this film will hate it, and be justified in hating it. I can see this could be a little divisive in terms of how you view the end product. Another positive - no one asked them what their budget was... ;-)

Painting, Power to the People, and 14 Year Old "Men" (Thurs)

Séraphine (France) - well done film that I believe won multiple Cesar awards. This is a biopic about self taught artist who worked as a maid in the French countryside and improvised her materials from anything she could find. Not a short film though even with limited dialog it felt like it moved along at a good clip. Just can't say I enjoyed it as I'm especially fond of stories that devolve into mental illness. But that's just me.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (USA) - Engaging documentary on the life and career of William Kunstler. Made by his daughters it charts their interest as to the choices in causes he made throughout his career. Starting with his work in the civil rights movement and continuing through to his death as the type of clients changed dramatically. The film is not one that only looks at the good and their personal interaction with the material late in his career as he took on increasingly unpleasant clients gives the film a strong hook. Left feeling I learned a bit of history and about the choices of one man while being entertained. All in all a good choice of film. Though not one that'll lose something on the smaller screen.

True Adolescents (USA) - 34 year old Seattle alleged indie rocker/slacker who acts like he's 14 takes a couple of actual 14 year olds on a camping trip. Personal growth ensues for all. Nothing too unexpected aside from some cute dialog mixed in. Stars Mark Duplass who's also in Humpday this year. So if you're a huge fan you'll want to catch this performance too. But given a choice I'd point you towards Humpday without hesitation. Melissa Leo's in it too though it's a fairly small part. Not at all bad -having been a 14 year old boy I can vouch for the dialog's authenticity. I did laugh watching it (as did much of the audience). Just doesn't have the depth of the other Duplass film this year so suffers a bit by comparison.

Proving that not only Hollywood can remake films badly... (Wed)

Three Blind Mice (Australia) - three sailors on leave the night before they ship out to Iraq. Will they drink, see fiancées, procure prostitutes, fight, consider not going back? Of course - yes across the board. You may be thinking you've seen this film. And parts of it you likely have, albeit not set in Australia. Not at all bad I just didn't love it. Though there is a standout performance from the cocky yet lovable character that's required in this sort of film.

Kaifeck Murder, (Denmark) - moody, gothic thriller. Photographer arrives in a small hamlet to take shots for a book - young son in tow. Strange things start to happen and the locals aren't forthcoming. No, there's not a surprise birthday party in his future. Visually held my attention. Nothing especially scary or new I felt.

With a Little Help From Myself (France) - matriarch of a family with limited means/prospects tries to hold everyone (and herself) together under the pressures of life. Overall I thought it was pretty good, but will probably fall outside of my top 10 for the fest this year.

Small Crime (Cyprus) - on a small island the young local police officer would do anything to transfer to Athens. With limit respect for his authority and no real crime he's bored and frustrated. This potentially changes when an older man falls to his death. Accident or new world order conspiracy at work? Simple film with a slow pace, potential love and a minimum of crime. Great ad for their local tourism board too. A pleasant diversion - don't expect something transcendent and I think most folks will enjoy.

Final Arrangements (France) - Impossible to ignore the comparison with Departures, this film has a failed musician who takes up the funeral biz. Comedy allegedly follows as well as a new respect for living life while you can. Calling it a remake (as in the title) likely isn't fair as I get the impression the films were made at the same time. Sadly, it doesn't copy Departures in the sense of being a very good film. Even with the handicap I usually give French films I can't recommend this.