NFFTY 2010

Quite a while ago ago some friends from SIFF recommended checking out NFFTY - The National Film Festival for Talented Youth.  Based on this recommendation I'd purchased a very affordable pass covering all 4 days several months back.  Things kicked off Thursday night with an opening session at Cinerama followed by a large party at EMP.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it out on Thursday but I got a chance to start catching up tonight.  There is no minimum age for participation in NFFTY, though the upper age is capped at 22.  I went to two sessions after work - would have loved to have stayed for all four - but just too tired to hang in there.

The first section I attended was entitled Happy Hour Shorts and was largely made up of shorter, comedic shorts.  Included with the price of admission was beer for those over 21, which was a much larger swath of the audience than you might expect.  I was very impressed with the program overall.  Even though the age of the filmmakers (pictured to the left at the post film Q&A) was modest the quality was very high.  In terms of enjoyable shorts per program this was the equal of what I've seen in dedicated shorts programs such as Palm Springs Shortsfest.  Every one wasn't perfect but most were very enjoyable. They ranged the gambit from goofy comedy to nerdcore music video - some examples worth checking out are below.







The second section Friday Night Shorts had less films included as most were longer and tended to lean more towards dramatic content. I liked these as well, especially enjoying the musical story Another Way (below).



So all in all the quality is high, the audience is enthusiastic so give it a try if you're looking for something to do this weekend.  If you go and don't like it you can always try the Seattle Erotic Art Festival which appears to be next door. ;-)

SIFF 2010 - The Big List of Films (preliminary version)

Yesterday I mentioned I'd put together a preliminary list of all the SIFF films through a bit of cutting and pasting directories on their website.  I was hoping to dig up a list with the country information on each one - but haven't had much luck yet.  So in the interest of Seattle movie geeks everywhere I decided to publish the preliminary list below.  I may accidentally have some film programs/events listed as films given the source material I used.  But if you're dying to know if the film you've been stalking out all year will come through Seattle this at least may answer that question for you.  If there's any interest I'll probably come back with a list of shorts when I can.

• 20000 Leagues Under The Sea
• 3Some
• 8 The Mormon Proposition
• A Little Help
• A Rational Solution
• A Spray Of Plum Blossoms
• Ahlaam
• Amer
• Amplified Seattle
• Angel At Sea
• Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
• Cane Toads The Conquest
• Carlitos And The Chance Of A Lifetime
• The Actresses
• Agora
• Ahead Of Time
• Air Doll
• Alamar
• All That I Love
• Altiplano
• American The Bill Hicks Story
• American Faust
• An Ordinary Execution
• Army Of Crime
• At The End Of Daybreak
• The Athlete
• Au Revoir Tapei
• Backyard
• Bakal Boys
• Bass Ackwards
• Beautiful Darling
• Between Two Worlds
• Beyond Ipanema
• The Big Dream
• Bilal's Stand
• Blessed
• Blood Relation
• Bodyguards And Assassins
• Born To Suffer
• Bran Nue Dae
• Bride Flight
• Brotherhood
• Brownstones To Red Dirt
• Bus Palladium
• Cairo Time
• Cargo
• Castaway On The Moon
• Cell 211
• Centurion
• The Chef Of South Polar
• Cherry
• Chihuly Fire & Light
• The Children Of Diyarbakir
• City Of Life And Death
• Come Undone
• The Concert
• Countdown To Zero
• Crab Trap
• Crayfish
• Crossing Hennessy
• Cyrus
• The Damned
• The Dancer And The Thief
• Dear Lemon Lima
• Devil's Town
• Diamond 13
• Disco And Atomic War
• Donkey
• Double Take
• Down Terrace
• Dream Home
• Drifting
• Drifting
• Drums Along The Mohawk
• The Eagle Hunters Son
• Eastern Plays
• Eleanor's Secret
• Every Day
• Every Day Is A Holiday
• Excited
• The Extra Man
• Farewell
• Farsan
• Father And Guns
• Father Of My Children
• Father's Acre
• Fire Of Conscience
• First Of All, Felicia
• For The Good Of Others
• Foxes
• The French Kissers
• From Beginning To End
• From Time To Time
• Garbo The Spy
• General Orders No. 9
• Genius Within The Inner Life Of Glenn Gould
• George A. Romero's Survival Of The Dead
• Gerrymandering
• Get Low
• Going South
• Gordos
• Gravity
• Grease Singalong
• Head On
• The Hedgehog
• Henri-Georges Clouzots Inferno
• Henry Of Navarre
• Hidden Diary
• Hideaway (Le Refuge)
• Hipsters
• Holy Rollers
• Howl
• Huacho
• Hugh Hefner Playboy Activist And Rebel
• I Am
• I Am Love
• I Killed My Mother
• I Kissed A Vampire
• I Miss You
• Imani
• Jean-Michel Basquiat The Radiant Child
• Joan Rivers A Piece Of Work
• K-20 The Fiend With 20 Faces
• Kanikosen
• Karate Kid
• Katalin Varga
• Kevin The Superhero
• Khargosh
• Land Of The Deaf
• Last Train Home
• Leaves Of Grass
• Leaving
• Leo's Room
• Letters To Father Jacob
• Life During Wartime
• Like You Know It All
• Little Big Soldier
• Loose Cannons
• Love In A Puff
• Mao's Last Dancer
• Marwencol
• Me Too
• Mediterranean Diet
• Meet Monica Velour
• Micmacs
• The Milk Of Sorrow
• Miss Nobody
• Monogamy
• Morning
• Mother Joan Of Angels
• Mount St. Elias
• Mugabe And The White African
• Mundane History
• Music On Hold
• My Year Without Sex
• Night Catches Us
• Night Train
• Northless
• Nowhere Boy
• On The Town
• On The Waterfront
• Ondine
• Paris Return
• Patagonia
• Peepli Live
• Perfect 10
• Perrier's Bounty
• Petya On The Way To Heaven
• Please, Please Me!
• Plug & Pray
• Prince Of Tears
• Princess Lillifee
• Protektor
• Queen Of The Sun
• Rapt
• Regeneration
• Rejoice And Shout
• Restrepo
• Reykjavik-Rotterdam
• Ride, Rise, Roar
• Riders Of The Purple Sage
• The River
• The Robber
• Robogeisha
• Rocksteady The Roots Of Reggae
• Room In Rome
• Rouge Ciel
• Run If You Can
• Samson & Delilah
• Secrets Of The Tribe
• Senior Prom
• Senso
• Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
• Sex At The Cutting Edge
• Shadows
• Skateland
• Skeletons
• Some Days Are Better Than Others
• Son Of Babylon
• Soul Kitchen
• Southern District
• Splice
• Stigmata
• Stolen
• Strange Powers
• The String
• Tehroun
• The Dry Land
• The Family Tree
• The Freebie
• The Last Campaign Of Governor Booth Gardner
• The Oath
• The Over The Hill Band
• The Owls
• The Penitent Man
• The Reverse
• The Sentimental Engine Slayer
• The Tillman Story
• The Topp Twins
• The Triplets Of Belleville
• The Two Horses Of Genghis Khan
• The Untitled Ginny Ruffner Documentary
• The Wild Hunt
• The Wildest Dream
• This Way Of Life
• Three Days With The Family
• Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives
• The Trotsky
• Tsar
• Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
• Turistas
• Turn It Loose
• Turtle The Incredible Journey
• Twisted Roots
• Under The Mountain
• Undertow
• Upperdog
• Utopia In Four Movements
• V.O.S.
• Violet Tendencies
• Visionaries
• Vortex
• Waiting For Superman
• Waste Land
• The Wedding Cake
• West Side Story
• Wheedle's Groove
• When We Leave
• White Lion
• White Wedding
• William S Burroughs A Man Within
• Winter's Bone
• Woman Without Piano

SIFF 2010 - My first set of recommendations...

Today was the SIFF 2010 Press Launch event which means that the films screening this year at SIFF are starting to be announced.  There's a lot of info to pick through, and I'm not 100% sure I'm looking at the complete list yet. I'll be back with the entire list of films I've unearthed so far once I have the country designations (which I haven't yet found) so I can include them in my annual tradition post including the films plus histogram (I do love the charts and graphs).  Unless that takes too long of course and I get impatient... ;-)

So far though I've spotted 16 films I've seen already at some earlier time.  Highly recommend adding Castaway on the Moon, The Topp Twins, and The Freebie to your list once the official schedule is out next week.  More details on what I've seen are below.  Seattle Magazine has a nice summary as well - though not a complete list yet.

Update 4/30 - Thanks to Film Threat I just realized that Get Low is the closing night film.  Marking the 1st time I'd seen the closing night film before SIFF started. :-)  Wondering if Bill Murray will come to the closing night party which could make it the best close EVER.

• A Rational Solution - OK, but for me less than outstanding story of the logic vs. emotion approach to love and infidelity.  Not quite the black comedy I was hoping for.  Solidly acted and well done, just not the sort of film I love/need to see. 
• Air Doll - From the director of the masterpiece Still Walking this Japanese film tells the story of a sex doll come to life.  Not a comedy, not super fun - but interesting.  Didn't love it.  But almost want to tell everyone to go see it out of respect for his earlier film.  Thought provoking view about Japanese cultural issues that may be somewhat harder to pick up on fully as an outsider.
• American: The Bill Hicks Story - When I saw this documentary about Bill Hicks at SXSW I didn't really know much about the comedian.  Afterwards I felt I'd learned something about his life - but more importantly got to learn about his take on world.  Plus he was very funny.
• Castaway on the Moon - Strongly recommend.  A Korean man is having a very bad day/life. Jumps off a bridge intending to end it all. Instead ends up stranded on a small island that's on the Han river. As he struggles to remake his life through self sufficiency he's observed by a young woman who's a shut in, living with her parents but not setting foot outside for three years. Together they overcome their fears together while only loosely connected across a distance (or at least a body of water). The view from a distance theme reminded me of Gigante (another a must see film) but it's a completely different film. Well shot, sweet, interesting and quirky - but in a good way.
• Cherry - Cherry seems to have been created in part to prove that one can make a film about a guy in college determined to shed his virginity without the need to include a scene with the same guy fucking a pie (metaphorically speaking of course).  By that measure they've definitely succeeded.  Overall I found the film relatively enjoyable, but at the same time felt something pulling it all together was missing.  Not bad, not great.
• Leaves of Grass - Edward Norton twin movie.  Fun, light, and he's probably going to attend.  So just do it.
• Father and Guns - French Canadian father/son cop dramedy.  Found it, as the kids say, meh.
• Get Low - What seems like it could be comedic tale about a reclusive hermit (Robert Duvall) feared by the townsfolk for unspecified misdeeds who decides to throw himself a funeral while he's still alive turns out to be a serious drama.  Though one that includes a very entertaining Bill Murray.  Wasn't my favorite film of SXSW and it wasn't what I was in the mood for the night I saw it - which may explain why I felt a bit bored.  Believe lots of other folks really liked it though.
• I Killed My Mother - Canadian film about a son's turbulent relationship with his Mom.  Yes - likely worse than yours.  But the violence is emotional, not physical.  Interesting if not entirely my cup of tea.
• Life During Wartime - Unless this is a big change up the film has nothing to do with the Talking Heads.  Though I sort of wish it did having seen it in Telluride.  Directed by Todd Solondz (written too I suppose) as a sequel to Happiness. Not a huge fan of his work - though don't hate it either. Some entertaining performances, but occasionally (ok often) trying a bit too hard for my taste. But the film will remind you that your family is way less fucked up than they could be.
• Like you Know it All - Korean movie about a film director who has a preternatural ability to upset those around him without intending to. Self absorbed, he's a hard guy to like as he wanders from situation to situation. Whether it's upsetting the director of a film festival he's attending by promising to drink with some volunteers without any real intent, sleeping with his friends wife when they briefly think he's dead (I'm not joking), or sleeping with a faculty member's wife when he knows the guy is very much alive - problems seem to follow him around. As in some other recent films from Korea there's a lot of scenes of folks drinking too much while sitting around and talking. None as interesting as those from the film entirely about that aptly named Daytime Drinking.  The entire time I was watching this film I kept thinking it seemed very familiar. Afterwards I realized it's from the same director as Woman on the Beach. There are some structural similarities (both follow jerky directors who stir up problems without fully intending) and definite similar style and pacing. Though I believe I liked the earlier film better. This one felt a bit long, and while funny at parts didn't leave a very strong positive impression.
• Samson & Delilah - interesting near silent film from Australia following the (mostly) horrific trials of a teen aboriginal couple. Liked it - though often painful to watch.
• The Freebie - I highly recommend adding The Freebie to your list of to-do's at SIFF. Not so much for any revelation within the story but for the on screen chemistry of the main couple and the overall production.  At the film's start we're introduced to a couple in their (I'm guessing) later twenties who've been married a few years. They're downright adorable right down to their crossword puzzle races in bed. Having been together a bit they've noticed that hanging out has begun to trump sex.  After a night hanging out with their friends their pillow talk turns to the idea of each of them being with another person for one night (aka the "freebie" of the title). From this point on the film's arc is fairly predictable - at least to anyone who has seen a movie on the problem of separating rationale planning (this sounds like a good idea and we can handle it) to the emotional response (which just is).  It also seems equally predictable to everyone in the film short of the couple involved.  Interestingly enough seeing that this could not quite work out as planned seems to be an issue that crosses national and age boundaries.  Good companion film to see with A Rational Solution - with roughly similar results.  Though Rational Solution wasn't nearly as enjoyable as a film - at least for me.
• The Reverse - Truly a dark/black comedy. I didn't know that going in, which introduced a strange queasiness as I laughed at horrible events and began to question my moral compass (at least more than usual). Set in post WW-II Poland a woman, her mother and her grandmother do what they need to survive under tough but arbitrary Communist rule. I didn't completely love it, but I was interested in the characters AND laughed. The music over the end is just a brilliant touch. Be warned, if you cannot picture any circumstance in which a bathtub filled with sulfuric acid (or equally caustic agent) can be a source of humor, stay away
• The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls  - Very near the start of this documentary a man relates an experience at a party at a comedy festival. Learning from he hailed from New Zealand the producer asked him to give him a sense as to the state of comedy was there, for example who's the biggest act there? When he responded it was the Topp Twins, yodeling lesbian twins, the fellow coughed and suddenly recognized someone else he needed to talk with. That anecdote is a perfect start to this film which gives outsiders a quick but effective crash course in the twin's career. The movie is both interesting AND entertaining.  See it.  It sounds weird but you'll like it - trust me...
• The Trotsky - Is available last I checked on Amazon's Unbox service for rental through an arrangement with the Tribeca Film Festival.  Watched it a few nights ago.  Pleasant enough tale of a student who believe's he's the literal of Leon Trotsky and while modeling his life after the great man decides to organize a union at his public school.  Nice enough and Jay Baruchel from She's Out of My League is pleasant enough.  But you'll probably be perfectly happy seeing it on video/cable someday too.  Not a reason to miss something great for.

The list of things I spotted that I know I want to see (but haven't include):

• Bass Ackwards - Sundance selection with a local connection I believe.  Yep, I know local connection can be risky - but in this case I'm willing to take the risk.
• Disco and Atomic War - heard amazing things about this from Telluride.  The one film I'd sent over to SIFF programmer's asking them to keep an eye out for after I came back from there.
• Hipsters - Russian musical fun - at least from what I'd heard.
• Howl - Sundance selection - mainly curious
• I Kissed a Vampire- I'll admit, just like the name.  But now that I read the description from IMDB ("A musical look at the torment of falling in love when you're in the middle of becoming a vampire") I'm totally sold.
• Marewencol - good buzz from SXSW.
• Micmacs - good buzz from SXSW - believe it's the director of Amelie.
• My Year without Sex - Can't recall all the things I'd heard (believe it was a little mixed), but missed at VIFF and would like to catch it.
• Reykjavik-Rotterdam - believe I'd hard good buzz from folks I trust in Palm Springs.
• Robogeisha - just the name.  Gotta give me this one too, sorry.
• Skateland - Was curious to see at SXSW but couldn't get to it.
• Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - From the Fantastic Fest sub-series within SXSW.  Sounded interesting.  Plus, they're apparently competing against ALL OF EVIL - so you gotta love their odds...
• Winter's Bone - heard great things from folks who went to Sundance and a really interesting random guy I spoke to on line at SXSW. :-)

Get Low

Towards the start it seemed like this was going to be a comedic tale about a reclusive hermit (Robert Duvall) feared by the townsfolk for unspecified misdeeds who decides to throw himself a funeral while he's still alive.  One clue in that direction is the presence of Bill Murray as the funeral director eager to take Duvall's money - especially given the unexplained downturn in business (which occasions one of the funnier discussions in the film). However, by the end (or the middle more accurately) of the movie it becomes clear that the comedy is only there to make more palatable the deeper dramatic turns ahead of us.  I won't talk to any of the "mystery" around the characters' motivations or Duvall's relationship with the other famous actor in the mix, Sissy Spacek.  As befitting the cast it's a well acted piece with an authentic period feel.  Though for some reason beyond Murray's performance (which was a delight) I had a hard time mustering up enough interest to really care about the outcome. It's possible that my building exhaustion of SXSW screenings had something to do with my tepid response.  So you might be better off taking my reaction with a grain of salt if the material looks appealing to you. Just do be aware this is a serious film that's not intended to be "fun" overall.

Screening notes: I was lucky enough to see this at its SXSW premiere.  I was actually almost knocked down by security on the way to the restroom because Duvall and Spacek were coming through.  Everyone involved with the film seemed to be in attendance.  I'm pleased to say Bill Murray is as entertaining in a Q&A as he tends to be onscreen. I tried to take some pictures but sadly my phone wasn't up to the task. One of the main reasons I'm seeking out upgraded equipment for my next fest.  Some of the intro and Q&A made it's way onto youtube - so I've included those clips below as well

Trailer:



Intro of film:



Q&A (partial)

The Losers

An elite commando unit asked to do something immoral.  They refuse and become assassination targets themselves. Believed dead by the US government they lick their wounds until a mysterious woman gives them a chance to get even with the bastard that screwed them over.

That's the setup of The Losers with much of the back story dispensed with in the first slam-bang 15 minutes of the film. The style is hardcore comic bookish (which makes sense as it's based on one) - right down to the occasional live action frame of the characters/scene being replaced by a drawn representation. The look of the film is great, and I generally enjoyed the interactions within the team. Always nice to see Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) in action, even when he's playing someone else. Though the scene stealer of the group is Chris Evans as the communications / tech guy not afraid to wear the pink/purple jersey of his niece's soccer team to dangerous meets (where everyone else is of course in shades of black). He's a goofus but very entertaining to watch on screen.

I wasn't expecting that much from The Losers and given that I wasn't disappointed. There are really only two significant action set pieces that demonstrate the sort of clever movie world military capers that I tend to enjoy. With enough smaller fighting and/or gun play sequences to keep things from being boring. Everything is technically well done even though little of it got my blood truly pumping.

The villains of the piece are (I presume purposefully) over the top caricatures of bad government folks as they go in search of snukes (yes, I spelled that right) the perfect weapon of mass destruction for eco-concerned terrorists.

All in all, I feel I can definitely recommend as a rental on a rainy afternoon for the mix of slick production, decent action and superficially enjoyable characters/dialog. Not to mention plenty of gratuitous ogling of Ms. Saldana from every angle (the most impressive is the shot of her posterior tracking on a shard of broken mirror falling from the ceiling).  Whether it's worth $10 in a theater I'll leave to you. Suppose it depends on how badly you're looking forward to The A-Team. :-)

Get him to the Greek

Jonah Hill plays a music company employee in it for the love of the music who's not completely satisfied in life, mainly it seems because his girlfriend in medical school is too tired to spend time / have sex with him. When his slightly psycho boss (P Diddy / Puff Daddy / Sean Combs) needs a money making idea Jonah has one - get rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to do a ten year anniversary concert prompting back catalog sales. Getting Brand to do the concert though may be a bit of a problem as he's on an extended bender after the amusingly disastrous failure of his last album. So Hill (who of course is a huge fan of the musician's earlier work) is dispatched to London to babysit him on this way to the concert at the Greek theater in LA via The Today Show in NYC. Along the way Hill gets to experience drug fueled rock and roll debauchery first hand while trying to get Brand to the chapel on time. Not surprisingly it may turn out the sobriety and long term relationships are good and drugs and random hookups are bad. Yep, it's that kind of super edgy film. ;-)

Obviously we all know how this ends. Meaning the important question is the ride any fun? Things start out promising enough, Brand's album that nosedives his career is hilariously, even preternaturally bad. As he shoots the video for 'African Child' it's pretty clear things won't be working out. You just don't quite expect the record to be listed as the worst thing that'd happened to Africa since widespread famine (ok, I can't quite remember what they said was #1 - but you get the idea). The crazy antics of Brand in his rock star persona along with wacky sharing too much wife Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) is also funny at first. Hill is entertaining in his befuddlement with the universe as always. There's a decent soundtrack featuring The Clash, Sex Pistols, and The Ramones to name a few. The problem is that maybe a third of the way in things fell completely flat for me. In the sense that I didn't laugh more than a few times past the midpoint of the film. Since it's not really a set of characters I wanted to know more about the injected pseudo-drama didn't pick up that comedic slack. Overall I'd call this maybe a rental - unless the thought of suggested and unwanted intrusions of objects into Mr. Hill's derriere seems so funny it'll wipe out any negatives for you.

Oh, apparently Brand is reprising his character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall - if that's important to you.

Leaves of Grass

Yep, this is an Edward Norton twin movie. Now, if you're like me you may think that you've seen Mr. Norton playing twins before. But upon reflection I realized that he may not have - just several roles with two personalities in the same body. Regardless, if you want a movie with twins this is a much better one than something starring, say Danny DeVito.

Norton's characters are twin brothers raised under modest circumstances. One has gone on to use his intelligence to become a successful professor of anthropology. The other has used his intellect to become the most skilled marijuana grower in his part of Oklahoma. When trouble occurs for the one living the thug life (OK, not really) he tricks the estranged professor back home to help out. During his homecoming he of course grows as a person and begins to understand what he's left behind in the manner of such movie stories. While you think you can see everything about where the film is going there is enough randomness to keep it interesting and enough good acting and humor for its charms to grow on me for at least several days after seeing it. Just take a look at the trailer - if it looks reasonable to you I'd suggest checking it out. I certainly enjoyed it.  Nicely understated most of the way through and still able to surprise.

I wish I'd had a chance to speak with the director after the screening. He and Norton mentioned that they shot with a rather modest budget. Given that the twin shots are particularly impressive. Most films of this sort tend to only show one person clearly at a time. But in this case there's at least one shot where both brothers are clearly in on shot - and moving rapidly together. It was (at least to me) a very seamless effect that made me forget at times there was only one actor involved.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop was pretty awesome. Not sure any of it is true, but still worth seeking out. In all seriousness don't even bother to read this review.  The less you know before you go the better.  Knowing about the content probably won't really hurt (I had read some before going) but I think seeing it cold is the best way to proceed.

Still with me?  Yep - figured as much.  Anyway - here's the official high level of the description via the Landmark (who needs a modern bathroom?) Theater website;

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop is the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. Billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie," the film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.

The film is both laugh out loud funny and does raise a reasonable number of questions for discussion about the contemporary art scene.  Though not necessarily especially deep ones.  As I've only seen a few art related films recently it's hard to think of anything but (Untitled) and Rembrandt's J'Accuse to compare it with.  It covers some of the same ground of (untitled) hitting similar points about the often ridiculous seeming valuations and what is or isn't art.

The thing is though that I have no idea if the whole thing is indeed made up regardless of the film maker's protests to the contrary.  At present I'm leaning towards it being an elaborate multi-year con. Though who knows - sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.  A bit of actual description of the film sseems to be in order.  As mentioned above it's presented as a documentary.  At the start we meet Banksy who's shot wearing a dark hoody, in shadows with his voice partially distorted to hide his identity.  He explains (or maybe the narrator Rhys Ifans sets some of this up, can't 100% recall) that Thierry Guetta a French born vintage clothing shopkeeper got into the habit of filming everything all around him for years in a compulsive way.  Through his cousin the famous French street artist Space Invader Thierry begins to document this underworld of hit and run "art."  I'm going to ignore the question about the lines between art, graffiti, and general public defacement - only to say that the work of Invader, Banksy and some of their colleagues really is visually often very cool and/or clever at times.  As Thierry became accepted in the secret loving community he eventually was trusted enough to meet the mystery man Banksy.  All these street art folks thought Thierry was a documentary filmmaker and appreciated having him around to document their by definition ephemeral creations.  Unfortunately, when Banksy finally saw a rough cut of the film (shown in the movie for a painful few minutes) he realized that Thierry was not a true film maker but instead realized “he was maybe just somebody with mental problems who happened to have a camera.”

At which point Banksy takes possession of the thousands of tapes that had been shot (and not cataloged in any way) and sends Thiery, who by the way looks suspiciously like the Deuce Bigalow dude, back to LA to produce his own art.  Inspired by the great man himself Thierry remakes himself as a street artist named Mister Brainwash, hires a bunch of actual artists to execute his ideas and has a huge and successful show in LA. Even though as one of the other artists points out "his art looks a lot like everyone else's."  The show itself is assisted in the publicity department via endorsement quotes from famous artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey (recently well known from his Obama depiction).

The film interested me both because of the inside the game depiction of the work of these artists, and the inherent humor of watching the art world decide that because he says he's a great artist the Mister Brainwash must be one - even if all of his creations appear to be generated by someone else.  Whether the person who defines an idea should be credited while those who execute it should be forgotten seems an interesting and fair question for debate.  Probably not just in the art world at that - the same question is one of the reasons I think I was so annoyed by We Live in Public now that I think about it.  Towards the end of the film it seems clear that the artists that encouraged Thierry have more than a few reservations.  Banksy summarizes it nicely as "I used to tell everyone I met that they should make art, I don't do that quite so much anymore."

Now - as to whether the thing is true or not.  At the end of the day I'm not sure it really matters that much, the moral of the story may well be the same. But I have been mulling it over since seeing the film - and I really do suspect it's an elaborate put on. First off the thing seems so crazy I just hope it's a put on.  Second, there appear to be shots in which Thierry is not holding the camera though we've been led to believe he was always shooting on his own - yet he's framed in his own shot.  Third, the most involved reason. Banksy has been extremely successful in keeping his identity a secret. Say what you want about the guy overall, my understanding is that a fair number of folks would love to publish his identity (if there even is a single person). So in the film we're led to believe Terry spent a ton of time with him, and filmed thousands of video tapes worth of footage. Meaning to me I'd imagine that Thierry is the single biggest security loophole around visually identifying Banky - and the location of his work spaces in the UK.  I'd think the joy of putting out such an entertaining film would be somewhat overshadowed by the chance that basically calling Thierry an idiot in the piece (one of the people working on the show literally refers to him as "retarded" and not without cause) would risk him being pissed enough to out Banksy. Of course, Thierry as portrayed may be immune to being called an idiot - but still...

If you want to read more here's an interview with Thierry from New York magazine and an investigation from the NY Times.  But basically - just go check it out in a theater near you - if nothing else it's a lot of fun.

Trailer for the film:


First five minutes of the film:

SIFF 2010 - The Venues

With the Seattle International Film Festival nearing the SIFF website has the official list of screening venues on display.  As was the case last year SIFF is branching out beyond the official limits of "Seattle."  In addition to the West Seattle and Kirkland venues 2010 sees the addition of a site in Everett.  Appears that the Cinerama is off the list, which is sort of a bummer.  During closing weekend things are going to double up at the AMC Pacific Place venue with two screens dedicated to SIFF.  Which should make for convenience in staying in one spot - though murder on downtown parking fees.  The University District regains the Neptune venue for almost the entire run of the festival.  The most unusual thing I'm noticing is that the Pacific Science Center IMAX is being pressed into service for two days, I'm guessing not for a low budget mumblecore outing.

This year's opening night film gala takes place at Benaroya Hall.  The opening night film looks like it could be fun, and with the party planned for indoors at least we don't have to worry about it being chilly that night (though personally I thought it was pretty nice being outside at the Paramount in 2009).

Last mystery for me regarding venues is where closing night is going to be held.  Though truth be told I didn't really look that hard for an answer.

I've heard that SIFF members will learn more next week about parking pass options at least down across from SIFF Cinema.  I've taken advantage of that each year it's been offered it's been money well spent every time. 

Below are the venue details direct from the SIFF site.

Downtown Seattle
Pacific Place (May 21-June 13, showing on two screens June 11-13)

Capitol Hill
Egyptian (May 21-June 13)
Harvard Exit (May 21-June 13)

Everett
Everett Performing Arts Center (May 27-June 3)

Kirkland
Kirkland Performance Center (June 3-13)
Juanita Beach Park (May 29 - outdoor screening)

Queen Anne
SIFF Cinema (May 21-June 13)
Uptown (May 21-June 13)
IMAX at Pacific Science Center (June 11-12)

University District
Neptune (May 21-June 10)

West Seattle
Admiral (May 21-May 27)

Next milestone I'm looking forward to of course is seeing the actual list of films.  Hopefully I'll have seen a good number from earlier outings and will be able to make some solid recommendations.  And I'm sure there will be a ton of great stuff I haven't seen yet.  For those following along at home, all my past and future SIFF 2010 coverage will be grouped - here.

Higanjima (Japan)

Higanjima is a Japanese vampire film - I'll admit that's about as far into the description as I read before adding this to my SXSW schedule. If you like your vamps a bit more raw and bloody, your slayers a bit less Buffy and go in for the kitchen sink approach to genre film making then Higanjima may be for you. My personal take was that it was a nice diversion during a fest full of talky indies but maybe isn't something I'd be dying to see on a normal night out. Though it'd probably be fun with the right friends late at night even without the festival trappings.

At the start things seem promising as we meet the folks who will be fighting the vampires. The collection of high school students seem at once a bit nerdy and also in possession of skills we expect to see come in handy later (particularly the girl of the group as she practices archery). There's some fun interactions within the social group as they initially face bullies and then an early encounter with the undead.  Right before the vamp attack a mysterious woman tells one of the group that his long missing brother is really still alive and fighting for his life against vampire villagers on a remote island. Long story short - all the kids pack up and head to the fog covered isle. Once there things are complicated by general misrepresentation of the issues involved, limited skills in fighting the fanged, and the super shiny head vampire.  Come to think of it, maybe the whole film is an allegory target to represent the US invasion of Iraq?  Anyway... the fighting goes on and one and on. At one point I'm pretty sure they released the Kraken.  Depending on your mindset you'll be thinking the film could use a trim here and there or be happy you got your money's worth on a per minute basis.  I'm somewhat in the former camp.

Being this was a Midnight movie, plenty popcorn with real butter, and great festival friends (both old ones and ones made while waiting for the film to start) made this a fun experience.  Probably wouldn't have been the same heading out alone at a normal theater on a sunny afternoon.  I'm not sure the story makes that much sense - but a very forgivable sin in this type of outing. What could have made this great was if the writing and social dynamics from the first fifth of the film made its way all the way through. Then you'd have sort of a bloody, campy vampire film crossed with Linda Linda Linda - which would have been awesome.  You now have all the info on Higanjima I can think to impart - please act accordingly.

The Joneses

At times entertaining if a bit flawed film about a corporate unit posing as a family involved in a particularly insidious example of stealth marketing. Which in this context means they more into a neighborhood disguised as a family but are actually 4 people working together as salesmen to get everyone to love them and hence love the stuff they're hawking.  The premise sounds a bit ridiculous but the actors make it work well enough that I accepted the premise as reasonable after a bit.  The "mom" is Demi Moore a hardened member of the organization but of course this being a movie is at least in part the cliched damaged character who has gotten ahead by by sacrificing family and real relationships. There's a teen son and daughter who are older than their official ages, which allows for the the daughter to have a bit of a darkly comic daddy complex, among other family secrets.  And of course we also have our  our hero David Duchovny, car salesman turned somewhat reluctant marketer.

The Joneses seems like a great idea on its surface (though it's reminding me vaguely of something else I can't put my finger on).  But overall the film left me feeling unsatisfied.  Maybe because it doesn't go deeply enough along any one dimension, or tries for the nice ending - or both.  It could have been a darkly comic story of America's consumer obsessions, an equally dark look at "family", a relationship drama, etc. But I felt it never really went all in on any of these themes.  The result was that I laughed at times, felt sympathetic at others but wasn't really sure what the film was trying to accomplish which kept me from being fully hooked.  In the last reel I briefly thought they'd found their footing and were going to go seriously dark.  But then things swooped back onto the relationship angle, which for me was the least interesting way it could go.

Another issue for the film is that much of the first 20 minutes attempts to play on the belief that you're watching a real family.  One that seems unusually calm when the teenage daughter slips naked into bed with dad only to be caught by "mom." Yet all the marketing of the film clearly points out what the Joneses aredoing in town, so there's not really a surprise to be had.

The story's overall arc is pretty guessable given the trailer. The Joneses move in and quickly insinuate themselves as the cool people in town who need to be copied.  Each appears to have some different stresses arising form the job. Duchovny is initially less than sold on duping the populace but he eventually gets on board after a talking to by Demi Moore.  Duchovny is clearly interested in Moore romantically and the potential for their relationship and having a "real life" together.  Will they, or won't they?  In a better film this would be a real question - or better yet clear it would never happen due to at least Moore's character being unrepentant.  But basically rather than go for broke and risk offending I feel The Joneses takes the bigger risk of playing things safe - which for me meant it's a film that's got enjoyable performances and moments but lacks overall oomph.

Oh - and it's not lost on me, or perhaps anyone that it's openly ironic that a film about stealth marketing has dozens if not hundreds of product placements mixed in.  Is it worth a bit shy of 2 hours of your time to be marketed to? I think it depends mainly on how my you like watching David Duchovny. Without him I think
this wouldn't have been nearly as interesting. His charm made it watcheable to me - but it still felt more like a rental. Which reminds me, I need to go check if Californication's third season is available on DVD yet...

No One Knows About Persian Cats (Iran)

No One Knows About Persian Cats was my last film of SXSW before catching a flight home. Thankfully it was a very good choice, combining an entertaining concert film featuring many talented bands across the musical spectrum and a pointed political commentary on the suppression of free speech in Iran.  Of course the fact that people's rights in Iran are severely curtailed isn't news. Notwithstanding the constraints Iranian film makers still turn out a significant number of strong film, often painting the picture more subtly of a people denied many basic freedoms.  No One Knows About Persian Cats addresses the issue more directly and paints a picture of Iran through it's (largely banned) music that I'd never seen before. While managing in many ways to keep an aspect of the subtlety that marks many other Iranian films.

The story is fairly simple.  At the start we meet a woman and her band mate who has just gotten out of prison. His crime apparently was being in an indy rock band.  They're a talented bunch but they can't legally play in their homeland so they're seeking papers to leave the country.  While trying to figure out how to leave, which seems like an increasingly unlikely to be successful quest they also investigate the possibility of doing one last concert.  Hopefully with a legal permit.  Along their journey they check in with many other bands under similar legal constraints whose musical styles range from hip-hop to metal. All though are banned from playing gigs, or even practicing together.  From what I can tell all the bands involved are real groups who I suspect are largely unknown outside the country. Which is a shame because many were obviously very talented.  This isn't a masterpiece of dramatic film making, and in many ways it shares the mash-up feel of another SXSW film This Movie is Broken combining music and low key acting.  But I do recommend seeing it for a peek behind a curtain few get to look inside, the music, and the bravery of those who put it all together.

From what I read online post SXSW many of the people in the film (and those involved with it) left Iran before its unveiling at Cannes without plans to return due to the unsanctioned nature of the movie.   Others appear to be in jail today.  Even without that extra background No One Knows About Persian Cats is a powerful piece of political film making combined with a toe tapping beat and inherently likable characters. Highly recommend seeing it when it makes it's way through your town.

The Loved Ones (Australia)

Australian horror (and very dark comedy) from the Fantastic Fest track at SXSW.  Boy gets asked out to school dance by less than popular girl. He declines, which seems reasonable as he's already in a relationship and planning to go with his girlfriend.  Rather than sulk she has her Dad kidnap the boy to torture during a home school version of the festivities.  Meanwhile we also get to follow along with one of the boy's friends and his awkward and potentially equally horrific in it's own special way (albeit far more consensual) evening out at the dance.

There's plenty of blood, gore, and a progression of alarming events to keep you on the edge of your seat. Meaning that fans of true horror flicks that I met all seemed to really get off on The Loved Ones - so if that describes you I'd suggest giving it a try.  Personally, I'm not a big fan of anything approaching torture porn.  But the addition of the other couple as a parallel storyline living a more traditional horror night at the dance was dsyfunctionally sweet enough to hold my attention so I could enjoy the thriller parts more than I would if it was 100% shock and awe.  It's not a movie I feel you need to see if horror isn't your bag but there's enough dark humor and overall quality to mildly recommend even if this isn't your thing.  Just be aware - this isn't some PG horror light version which was sort of how I'd read the initial description.

The visual finish of the film is appealing and while there's not a ton of character development they at least form distinct personalities with a bit of backstory that let you care about the outcome. Robin McLeavy as Lola, the out of control unpopular girl steals her screen time - unless Dad (John Brumpton) is involved.  He could easily take the award for most disturbing movie father ... ever.  So remember kids, sometimes the creepy unpopular girl is unpopular for a reason.  And however bad your High School experience was one either side of the aisel it probably wasn't as bad as this one.

SXSW 2010 - Midnight Shorts

In addition to a wide range of full length narrative and documentary films SXSW also features a fairly extensive shorts program.  I went to see four such sessions, two narrative, one documentary, and one entitled "midnight shorts." In future posts I'll cover the others but today I'm going to focus in on the midnight series. Shorts sessions are almost always a mixed bag - and if I love a few, and mostly like the rest I call it a big success. By that standard the SXSW sessions were very good indeed.  I try to catch a few shorts sets at each festival I attend and in 2009 even made a trip to Palms Springs for Shortsfest.  The quality at SXSW was consistently high, probably hitting as many memorable ones in the four sessions I attended as in 3 full days at Shortsfest.

Midnight Shorts, which didn't always screen at 12 AM, was SXSW's collection of edgy, sexual, genre, weird or otherwise "extreme" content shorts. A quick rundown of each follow below along with either a link to the full video or a trailer for most of them.

Expiration - Just how risky is it to drink milk past its expiration date?  I'd already learned the answer at Palm Springs Shortsfest where I'd seen it previously.  But I enjoyed it the second time - perhaps a bit more than the first in fact.

Can We Talk? - Seemingly douchebag of a guy breaks up with his girlfriend.  But sometimes things don't turn out quite how one expects. 


Fix My Dick - music video which is bound to produce bipolar opinions. On one hand it's very clever and catchy. On the other it's unpleasant to look at.  Though for some reason it's hard to turn away.


Not Interested - A knife salesman comes to the door of a large suburban home.  Ostensibly there at the request of the man of the house.  However, his wife is adamant that her husband never requested the visit and re-iterates repeatedly that she is not interested - without much effect at first.  All is not as it appears (which seems to be a common Midnight shorts theme) and this clever little bit of film making takes us along for what may be the most unusual day for this door to door cutlery salesman.  Or maybe this sort of thing happens every day in his line of work...

The Babysitter - expands on the clear advice it's not a good idea to have sex with the babysitter.  Just isn't regardless of the ideas you may get from Penthouse Letters.  This film adds a supernatural angle to the proceedings to reinforce the point.  If you're in the mood for a mild creep and scare this may fit the bill.  Interestingly ...while looking for the trailer noticed this actually screened at SIFF in 2009.

Cocoa Loco - - an estranged father makes a trip to visit his son's family after an unexpected contact from them.  But something bad is afoot - possibly involvling voodoo/witchcraft.  Not my cup of tea though technically well done.


5-Second Films-  collection of mostly fun, weird, and offbeat films lasting, yep 5 seconds. Rather than trying to explain here's their website. Worth checking out.

The Alleyway - It's hard to describe how good this short is with words alone.  An unseen but clearly elderly narrator explains the dark, dark, evil that lurks in the alley next to his house.  As allegedly the only one who dares enter it he has a unique insight.  Original and very entertaining.  You will never see the alleys in your suburban neighborhood the same (possibly) naïve way again.

Delmer Builds A Machine - Cute kid builds fantastical machine that purposefully or not knocks a man who looks suspiciously biblically based out of the sky. Though you'd think he'd have seen that coming. 

Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses - this is one of the top "midnight" shorts, so ridiculous yet well executed it just kept me staring and saying "huh?" most of the way through.  All I'll say is it involves a guy telling his girlfriend about an epic battle between humans and evil eagles who turn their enemies into horses and his role in the battle. Truth?, or equally epic scheme to break up with his girlfriends without directly addressing the relationship? Almost equally twisted regardless. Don't miss the opportunity to see this if you can.

Dwight David Honeycutt for Conway School Board - Shot as a mock political ad for Mr. Honeycutt's bid for the local schoolboard - it's amusing at times, and pathetic (in an intended way) at others. Perhaps a bit longer than it needed to be - but otherwise feels like what a Saturday Night Live bumper add would be if the show was ever funny.

TUB - Man masturbates in tub which later gives birth to their love child. Are there no limits to the need to practice safe sex? This cautionary tale has shades of The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle in it's look though is in reality completely unrelated in story.  I was more drawn to the idea than the execution but overall it does deliver on what it promises.  I shudder to think about the inevitable sequel - "TISSUE".

Date Night

A married couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) who are getting a bit overly used to each other decided to break their weekly "date night" routine by going into Manhattan vs. staying in New Jersey for dinner. Through a series of misunderstandings arising from stealing another couples dinner reservation they end up targeted for death by some very bad people (which sounds redundant as being targeted for death by the Care Bears usually doesn't happen). As the evening progresses they're drawn closer together while the audience hopefully gets a few yucks out of the bargain.  Most of the usual cliched Hollywood lessons about marriage are learned, along with the less expected one that only dirty, evil people steal another couple's reservation.

I was fairly skeptical of this effort but decided to give it a try mainly for lack of other choices. While falling short of greatness it's a pleasant enough even though it sometimes seems more a linked set of skits than a full fledged motion picture. The main couple is sweet and one positive for the film is that they're portrayed as being very close and good for each other from the start - so the increased closeness that transpires from danger seems like a valid remembering of why they're together and doesn't come across as unrealistic. Several of the supporting roles of other couples they meet in their travels through NYC at night are fun, especially their run in with James Franco and Mila Kunis (and not just because Franco's character quote Heat).  Not to mention their time onscreen with Mark Wahlberg who as Carell points out really does need to put on a shirt.  Perhaps most surprisingly the last strong point of the film worth pointing out it is a car chase through Manhattan that's both funny and more exciting than I'd expect from a film like this. Well, maybe not so much exciting as surprisingly original.

I laughed some, groaned some, at least enough of the former to not try to talk you out of seeing "Date Night." I'd say that if you enjoy the trailer the film is a safe bet. Hopefully 2010 will see better efforts but I'm sure it'll see many worse.

Lebanon, PA

The description of this film sounded as though it could be interesting. Ad executive from the big city (Philadelphia) goes back home to Lebanon, PA to put affairs in order after the death of his estranged father.  Befriends his cousin's 17 year old and pregnant daughter.  Clashes with smaller town religious values.  Violates some of those values by having an affair with a married woman. But as it turns out it didn't interest me at all.  A lot of it seemed one dimensional, as if they'd penned a story that's more forest than trees. For a film like this to work I've got to care about the characters, feel their pain, or be intrigued by their choices. Can't say they really hit on any of the dimensions. Could just be a personal taste thing at work - but I can't recommend moving this to your must see list.  At times things are a little ham-fisted.  For example in an early scene the waiting to notify main character of his father passing away is holding a note saying "Dad is dead."  Thought that pales in comparison to the use of the phrase "you're shivering" in the lead up to sex between the main character and his lady interest.  It worked in Say Anything, but after that cold wet and shivering - maybe, but actually using the observation that the other one is shivering?  Please don't do that.

Best part of the screening was the hour long conversation I had on line with an actress from The Myth of the American Sleepover and her father at SXSW before the film.  So for that I'm glad I went.  Beyond that sort of meh.

Kick Ass

Why doesn't anyone try to be a superhero? That's the question asked by the hero of this film as things kick off. And with just the right mix of optimism and naivete he endeavors to find out. He purchases a wet suit online, straps a couple of batons on the back and heads out to do good. Unfortunately on his first outing he's badly injured causing his body to be riddled with metal pins and his sensitivity to pain to be greatly diminished. Broken but unbowed yet oddly improved for crime fighting our hero in his "Kick Ass" persona returns to the streets. In a battle with a group of gang members he somewhat prevails, but more importantly becomes an Internet sensation. This poses some challenges for him as he's really not that effective as a superhero and at the end of the day he'd rather spend his time trying to lose his one true superpower - "being invisible to girls"

His success spawns a new generation of people becoming costumed heroes.  And as the poster says "They can't read your mind, but they can kick your ass." Ironically, Kick Ass's ability to kick your ass is fairly marginal.  However, other superheroes of his world surely can. Most specifically that of Big Daddy (played perfectly by Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) his eleven year old daughter. Motivated by revenge this pair have honed their skills to a razor's edge becoming whirlwind killing machines. The story plays on the confusion generated when the gangsters Big Daddy and Hit Girl are taking down believe their mayhem is actually caused by Kick Ass and begin to target him instead. I won't go any more into the story - it makes as much sense, perhaps more than that of most comic books.

The film is frequently very funny in the way over the top way I think Kill Bill attempted to be. But I found this far more effective. If you missed the point of the Kill Bill reference let me spell things out more clearly - DO NOT TAKE YOUNGSTERS TO SEE THIS FILM. The violence is cartoonish, but it's the sort of cartoon where gangster microwave people alive in industrial machines and eleven year old hit girl dismembers folks with wanton abandon. But almost always to a snappy beat. Amusingly I noticed that the best part of "The Runaways" and "Kick Ass" share the same song.

The violence is slick and well choreographed. Yet, not so gross that it'll have you truly turning away. The film largely follows the conventions of the standard comic book film, both in story construction and in affecting the look of a comic at times. But it's pretty gleeful in it's subversion of the more common mass entertainment fair. For what I understand to be a film shot truly independently it looks terrific. Shots almost glisten, and things only look cheap where they're supposed to (for example Kick Ass's costume).

Overall I had a very fun time. That almost surprised me given the level of expectations the buzz on this film has created. I figured it would fall seriously short, but that didn't happen - it was as enjoyable as I'd hoped.  This isn't something like 'A Prophet' in my book but it's a fantastic example of how great popcorn entertainment doesn't have to be totally dumb, crappy, and targeted only to 13 year olds.  So get out and see it - I wouldn't be surprised if you queue up to see it again. I know I'm thinking about it. I'll be rooting for this as a dark horse to at least make the ten nominees for best film come Oscar time. If only because I want to see the interpretive dance with the onscreen caption "Kick Ass." 'nuff said

Normally, I'd embed a trailer here - but I was having a hard time finding one that worked well. If you really want to you can head over to the official Kick Ass website and watch to your heart's content.  Personally I'd say it's better just to go in cold - but what do I know?