Sundance USA in Seattle - Miguel Arteta Interview

Billboard of the Egyptian Theater

The world famous Sundance Film Festival tool place in Park City, Utah for the last week. For the second year in a row, the festival had a satellite event where films and directors fanned out to nine US cities to screen their films on Jan 27th. Seattle was slighted/skipped last year, but got the respect we deserve in 2011 with a special screening of Cedar Rapids at the Egyptian theater.

Miguel Arteta pre-screening

I'll be back with a review closer to the film's opening in mid-February, but I had a chance to sit down with the film's director Miguel Arteta ahead of Thursday night's screening.

Arteta kicked off his directing career with Star Maps in 1997, followed by Chuck & Buck in 2000. He's done a diverse number of TV shows and most recently (before Cedar Rapids) directed Youth in Revolt. The following interview does contain some mild spoilers. Miguel arrived in Seattle via Sundance where Cedar Rapids Premiered on Jan 23d. We talked about his Sundance experiences, this film, Jimmy Stewart smoking crack cocaine, and about why everyone should see the new documentary out of Sundance dealing with the wider than you'd expect legacy of Harry Belafonte.

The main interview in it's entirety is readable over at Three Imaginary Girls.

As a "bonus" to my loyal readers, here's a way too dark (but possibly exclusive) video of the intro to the film at it's Jan 27th Egyptian Screening.  Also a bit too shaky - but at least the sound is mostly clear.  Sort of... 

34th Annual Portland International Film Festival

Between February 10th through the 26th Portland will get their own local super sized helping of cinema awesomeness.  I've never had the opportunity to attend but I have noticed they get a great selection of films programmed each year.  Celebrating their 34th year I'm sure they've got their act together by now in terms of running things smoothly as well.  ;-)

Looking through their offerings I located 14 15 films I've seen in the past year.  I strongly recommend checking out Cold Weather, Even the Rain, Rubber and A Somewhat Gentle Man.  All are fantastic in different ways.  Other things I can personally recommend are Budrus and The Double Hour.  There are many other films that based on buzz or my personal interest I would love to come down to see.  So have fun people of Portland, looks like some good times ahead.

Some short notes on each of the films I've seen follow.  Where I wrote a full review I've linked that as well.

Updated with Outrage which I missed on a prior read through...

• Budrus - an inside look into something I think it's easy to wonder about: what would happen if the Palestinians completely adopted non-violent resistance techniques as a way to pressure Israel to grant them sovereignty? We don't 100% get an answer in this story about a border village (Budrus) that gave it a shot - but it's both fascinating to watch them try, and a compelling story in its own right. If you have any interest in this topic I'd really suggest checking out this documentary while it's in town. For the best experience I'd also counsel readers to skip the rest of the review once they've made that decision, as watching things unfold has real world drama to it that's aided by going in fresh.  My full review is published at Three Imaginary Girls.
• Certified Copy (France) - Juliette Binoche and William Shimell recreate the roles of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy - just older, in Italy, and with some sort of joint schizophrenic / break from reality type of disorder.  OK, I'm mostly kidding about that last part.  But the similarity is obvious in that two people very different from each other spend a day before a train leaves walking around and talking.  I was very tired when I saw it - so given that I sort of dug it for a while until I began to struggle with staying awake I think it's probably worth another viewing.  At least for me.  If you hated Richard Linklater's to films about walking around and talking I'm not sure Certified Copy is going to be your cup of tea. 
• Cold Weather (USA) - this is a film that defies easy characterization. Except that it's really, really good.  It's a unique (far as I can tell) mash-up of a slow moving relationship slice of life drama around twenty something characters shot in a natural style (yes, you can read as mumblecore) and a whodunit mystery.  Yet it's not really fully either, and the sum is greater than the individual parts.  Sort of a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys adventure for the mumblecore crowd. Especially worth a theater viewing as on top of everything else the cinematography deserves to be seen on a large screen - particularly one breathtaking shot at an Oregon waterfall (you can see this shot briefly in the trailer below in my full review).  Just go - really...
• The Double Hour (Italy) -Twisty noir-ish Italian thriller that will keep you guessing.  At least for a while.  A couple meet at a speed dating event, then things go wrong, then right, then very wrong.  Who's who and what's what are the questions of the day.  The end may be guessable but the ride is interesting enough to recommend.
• Even the Rain (Spain) - A group of Spanish filmmakers produce an updated Christopher Columbus tale intended to be sensitive to imperialistic exploitation of less fortunate peoples.  So of course they travel to Bolivia to get the best bargain they can on local labor.  Which they do coincidentally during the water crisis there where the government sells off the right to all water (even the rain) to private concerns who plan to charge more than the poor can pay.  That based on actual events twist takes things up a notch. But also makes for a catalog description that I thought could signal a horrible film.  Either too earnest, too trivial - a lot of ways for it to go wrong.  Instead we get a finely calibrated piece that works as a movie about filmmaking, relationships, and the exploitation issues of water and labor - threading the needle along the "just right" path.  
• The Housemaid (South Korea) - a visually gorgeous remake of a classic South Korean film I haven't seen.  Not a new story, young woman takes job as a nanny in an upper-upper class household.  Mom of the house is pregnant, Dad's appetites extend to include the nanny.  Then revenge, recriminations ensue.  With some very stylized scenes of sex (which the occasional laugh thrown in) this is positioned to be one of those psycho-sexual thriller deals.  Shame it's sort of boring after a point with an out of left field ending.  I can see why one could really get into it.  I just never did - pretty people though.  With perhaps a standout role for the husband's mom who is new levels of crazy mean (even accounting for the one in Animal Kingdom).  Oh, and great performance by the older maid of the house who is perhaps the one actor given a truly multi-dimensional role.
• Human Resources Manager (Israel) - Israel's submission to this year's foreign language Oscar competition.  Follows the reluctant manager of human resources in a bread factory who has to deal with the political fallout when a foreign temp worker dies in a terrorist attack and the company doesn't notice.  There are reasons, but the bread factory is under a wave of negative publicity so he's sent to investigate - and eventually to take her remains for burial in her native land.  A low key road movie - I know there are themes aplenty flowing through it.  None of them really got me super interested to the extent I felt too invested in the outcome.
• If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Romania) - If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle is this year's Romania's official entry for the best foreign language Oscar race this year.  While I thought it was somewhat interesting to watch I'm fairly certain you'll be wasting your money if you bet on it to win this year's award. Contrary to the compulsion people seem to be having to compare every film set within a mile of a prison to last year's masterpiece A Prophet this is an entirely different sort of film, and on a much smaller scale.  Though to be fair - it does take place in a prison.  I didn't come away feeling this was a film that would stick with me long term - and the most interesting part for me was a sense of the setup of a Romanian medium security incarceration facility.  Slowly paced I suspect some would describe it as boring.  For me it's a decent film, well acted by the lead but not interesting enough to put in a "must see" category.
• Kawasaki's Rose (Czech Republic) - directed by Jan Hrebejk who is one of those directors where I'll see anything new they do at a festival.  I didn't love his last film Shameless - didn't dislike it, just wasn't blown away.  But as Beauty in Trouble was one of those festival gems that took me by surprise I'm more than willing to go back and try his new stuff at least a few more times.  With Kawasaki's Rose he's definitely back in my view.  The story involves a family and what transpired in the past.  Eschewing telling the story in flashback the complex reality of a woman's parents life under the prior oppressive regime and the true story of a variety of relationships come to light.  It's best to see this one as fresh as possible and just to give yourself to the film's storytelling.  So I won't elaborate on the story anymore.  I still prefer some of Hrebejk's earlier work but this is a solid film worth seeing.
• Of Love and Other Demons (Costa Rica) - A beautifully shot film following a very gorgeous girl in a story that gives you new and exciting reasons to be pissed off at the Catholic church.  I'd say that had I been more fully dosed with caffeine, sugar and perhaps some crystal meth for good measure I probably would have enjoyed the film considerably more.  As it stands I loved the look of it - but the pacing left me literally fighting the urge to nod off.  Beautifully shot as a piece of visual art - but the story didn't really break any new or particularly interesting ground for me. The visuals made it worth seeing for me, but remember I see a lot of films so if you're only going to see a few at the Portland festival might not want to put this towards the top of your list.
• Outrage (Japan) - The latest from director Takeshi Kitano takes a look at the complex machinations within a branch of the Yakuza.  Following many of the themes you'll see in other gangster films (not a honorable as they pretend to be, the sell the drugs/don't sell the drugs factions) part of it will be less than new to most viewers.  But you may be drawn into the intricate and bloody chess game taking place within the clan.  Unfortunately everyone is dressed in dark suits with sunglasses and the motives/sleights are quite subtle.  So it's likely you'll feel you're playing catchup most of the film.  With some satisfying moments I'd put this squarely in the just "OK" category.  Though I did learn two important things (a) when a Yakuza chairman says he will make a pact with you be sure you wait to engage in what is requested until he does make the pact with you - there is a world of difference, and (b) it is not helpful to argue with a Yakuza member that your tongue isn't of the forked variety.  As he may correct that in a very literal way. 
• The Robber (Austria/Germany) - Based on a true story of a bank robber who was also a world class marathoner it was effectively done if perhaps more boring than I would have guessed.  The description when I saw it at SIFF had me thinking I was going to see something along the lines of Run Lola Run.  If you go with that expectation you're bound to be disappointed.  Given the material it's well made, just not a standout for me.
• Rubber - On one hand Rubber is an entirely familiar exercise.  A stalker/killer road movie genre film spanning a desert road trip filled with classic elements right down to the girl watched by the villain in shower during a motel stop.  Though it stretches the conventions of the form somewhat by casting the killer as a discarded tire who becomes sentient with the psycho-kinetic powers to make people's head explode.  Yes, a tire - as in the thing on your car.  And that's not the most unusual part of the film.  Pretty awesome - in all uses of the word.
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) - I think this is one where I'm going to steal/repeat the description of the film used in the prior festival catalogs (VIFF) - "Newly released from prison, Ulrik is beset by sexually under-serviced women, plagued by his former partners in crime, and about to become a grandfather. Stellan Skarsgård’s lovely, rumpled performance as an ex-con trying to rebuild his life and relationships beautifully anchors Hans Petter Moland’s good-natured comedy." - yep that's mostly accurate indeed. I don't really know that I would call it a "good-natured comedy" as from what I can recall it does bend towards the black end of the spectrum. But it's definitely worth seeing if the description sounds like the sort of thing you enjoy.
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand) - Some people love, love, love this film - or hate it.  Me, I thought it was interesting.  Confusing as heck, sure.  But I expect that's to be said for any other film in which a woman has sex with a catfish.  There are some very funny moments, and more than a few slow, dark and moments skating back and forth across the line of surreal.  If you want everything explained clearly, or even knowable post film discussion - then this is likely not the movie for you. 

Seattle Childrens Film Festival at Northwest Film Forum

Got kids? Have the emotional level of a young child? In either case, the Northwest Film Forum has got you covered starting this weekend.  If you've ever wished you could expose the short young people in your life to something a bit different than the latest commercial vehicle from Hollywood (and the merchandise associated with it), the festival has a wealth of opportunities to see works from around the world in a community atmosphere.
Along with current films there are archival screenings, hands-on workshops, a musical pajama party featuring something called Casper Babypants and a pancake breakfast.  And seriously, why would you deny your spawn a pancake breakfast?

It's a 10 day blow-out that I can't do it justice in a single post. I haven't seen all the materials being presented, but from those I have, this looks like one top notch operation. More info can be found at the Northwest Film Forum website. They're doing a truly good thing for the community here, and I hope folks will check out the opportunities taking place between 1/28 and 2/6.

I've reviewed a few of the offerings over at Three Imaginary Girls.  Everything I watched was pretty good so well worth checking out.

Crocodiles Strike Back Trailer from jcecconi on Vimeo.

What is It?

Crispin Glover talking after the film. 

A fever dream intended to address the taboo-phobia of corporate cinema sponsors everywhere What is It? is certainly not a mainstream film.  Whether it's a particularly good art film I'm not really in a position to say.  I finally saw the film that you cannot see alone, or at least without Crispin Glover on Monday evening.  I had built it up to be such a likely mishmash that I would find nothing of value from.  As it turns out in the case of such expectation setting that wasn't quite what resulted.  Though not miles away from expectation either I suppose.

When people described the film to me they inevitably mentioned the snails.  And the watermelons not to mention occasionally a bigger than expected seashell.  So you can sort of see why I wasn't expecting an abundance of traditional story and/or sense-making.  To that extent the film didn't disappoint but by the end I was appreciative in some small ways.  In part because it certainly engaged my attention more than the pre-film book reading - which was somewhat but not totally different than the one Glover did on Friday night.

I'm not even going to attempt to explain the film.  I don't really get it - beyond that it's an attempt to throw a large number of disturbing topics and/or images at the viewer in a neutral manner.  Presumably to show what a film that addresses "taboo" topics neutrally will make you feel like.  I use the term "taboo" literally because Glover tends to use it in describing the film.  And given how clearly this is his vehicle I feel it's only fair to speak when reasonable in the terminology he uses to describe his intent.

After It is Fine! Everything is Fine there was some discussion by Mr. Glover that he didn't really personally get why some people were upset with the murder of women in that film.  In this case though he pre-emptively admitted to understanding why most people are uncomfortable with the number of snails harmed in the making of the film (salt is the preferred method of dispatch with the occasional razor blade thrown in to keep it interesting).  He made a very good point (though not directly - there aren't a lot of direct to the issue points made in his Q&A's - but that's another story) that the snails in What is It? are the one set of characters that people are able to connect with.  And given the choices that's certainly true.  Because the full set of options of things to connect with include

• a group of undeveloped characters played by actors with Down's Syndrome.  Who with the exception of one brief moment of kissing each other tend to hit each other over the head, chase things around and/or abuse snails.  
• The writer/lead of It is Fine! Everything is Fine who for most of the film lies naked in a giant clamshell while nude greasy women with animal masks vigorously masturbate him.  Which for the majority of viewers is even less fun to watch than it sounds.
• Glover himself playing some underworld being with a penchant for swastika laden art and incredibly racist rockabilly music
• The snails - who I must say are beautifully photographed.  With a care, deliberation and emotionally resonance not afforded to anyone/anything else in the film.

Perhaps the most impressive in terms of taboo was the artistic rendering of Shirley Temple that Glover's character is fond of.  It's hard to imagine more inappropriate images being worked into a single canvas.  Ms. Temple rendered brightly with her trademark innocent smile, dressed on a size appropriate outfit reminiscent of an Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS wherein her trademark whip's handle appears to be violating the holder.  If your goal is to be wrong six ways from Sunday then all I can say is - RESPECT...

It's not really a fun film to watch - perhaps more entertaining to debrief about it afterward.  This sort of experimental thing isn't really my scene.  I don't really know if Glover made the point he was trying to make.  At first I didn't really think any point was made - but somehow my view started to shift ever so slightly once he made the point about everyone felt empathy for the snails, and little else onscreen.  So, an experience I suppose - and one I'm pretty sure I'll be OK not having again.  Because at the end of the day I don't really know where things were intended to go - and I'm man enough to admit my mind may be small enough never to fully grok it.  Or it could just be silly - that opinion is definitely out there as well.

Post film there was again an extensive Q&A.  I was getting sleepy as it was a work night and did excuse myself before the end of it.  Running into friends outside we ended up speaking for another 30 minutes - during which the theater remained full.  So best I can tell Mr. Glover was again free and generous with his time - and a throughout was a passionate speaker on his work.  The aforementioned friend who made me later to bed remarked how incredible the Q&A would have been had it utilized a skilled interviewer who could help move Crispin from topic to topic in an expeditious manner.  I can't help but agree that would truly have been fascinating.  Sadly the tour seems very much a one person act but perhaps someday.... it really would likely greatly improve the experience.

Thoughts on It is Fine! Everything is Fine and accompanying Q&A with Crispin Glover

This set of notes may contain spoilers about the Crispin Glover film It is Fine! Everything is Fine. Ok probably does...

But nothing I think is really going to hurt your enjoyment of the film if you're planning to go

First the film:
I've got to say I did find It is Fine! Everything is Fine interesting. Considerably more so than I expected.  It's a piece of violent sexual fantasy shot in a style of exploitation cinema crossed with movie of the week stylings. If the movie of the week had been orchestrated by David Lynch.

The story presents as a sexual revenge fantasy of a sixty-something man with cerebral palsy. The writer and male lead is Steven C. Stewart who suffered with the condition - leading on to guess the rage expressed is at least partially auto-biographical.  And understandable to a degree if one stop to think about it.  He loves long hair on his women and in this fantasy gets all the beautiful long haired women he wants (and sometimes their daughters). Even though in the picture he still has cerebral palsy, and the related physical constraints he's written the character to be a super chick magnet. Though none of his physical ailments are presented as an impediment to mating success.  For example all the ladies he meets can immediately understand him though it's in reality almost impossible to understand his speech. Meaning we're generally only able to follow half the dialog.  The decision there to not subtitle the film is one I heartily agree with.

He beds the women. Kills the women - in increasingly ludicrous ways. Ostensibly because they threaten to cut their hair. I know we've a been there. Seriously.

It's certainly going to leave many viewers with a lot of things to talk about.  One of the more obvious points is that in most films people with handicaps are almost always portrayed as good nice people. This one is a murderous misogynist bastard. So progress I guess - and from Glover's comments partly the intent of Stewart.  There are also of course a series of increasingly vivid sexual conquests (of which at least one does not appear simulated) forcing viewers to question their perceptions of sexuality and the handicapped.

The production values clearly show some of the resource limitations of the production, and there are times it's shot in a style that perhaps is trying very hard, maybe too hard to be strange.  To me not the masterpiece some folks feel it is. But especially with Glover in attendance to discuss the work's background and his relationship with the writer star of the film Steven C. Stewart (who died shortly after shooting completed) it's a worthwhile experience.  Though not an altogether pleasant one.  Monday I'm hoping to see the first film of the trilogy What is It? which seems altogether more challenging.  Hopefully back to report on that experience in a couple of days.

Almost forgot - there's a slideshow of Glover's books, which are marked up and richly illustrated older (presumably copyright expired) tomes.  I'm not going to claim to be a perfect audience for avant-garde art.  But to me it was not the best part of the evening.


The roadshow business model:
A few days ago I was lucky enough to interview Mr. Glover via email.  Much of the content of his written answers made their way into his post show Q&A.  If you haven't attended it's probably worth reading the interview through, though it is fairly long.  I want to say up front that Glover is impressively willing to engage with fans in terms of time.  He was very gracious and responsive in answering questions before coming to Seattle and held one of the most extensive Q&A's I've ever seen.  The only thing coming close was when they practically had to drag Francis Ford Coppola off stage at SIFF.  Which was another awesome story in and of itself.  So I really respect Mr. Glover for trying to find a business model that works for him - even if I have some disagreement with some of his points.   

The conversation I had with him got me thinking ahead of seeing the film about the business model he's pursuing to distribute this and the related self-funded film What is it?  In part to think things through a bit more I'm indulging myself the remainder of the post to riff on them out-loud.

One one hand it seems Glover organically arrived at a great strategy to sell one scarce resource associated with the film - time with Crispin Glover and signed copies of his illustrated books. But on the other hand I wonder if his concerns about "piracy" might actually be constraining his success.  Or at least the rate he could charge for the scare resources associated with the films. While putting the movies out on DVD would likely create some unauthorized copies it would bring at least some incremental income and increase the fan base for the live events he's already doing. Perhaps all the fans he'll get already are aware of him. But that seems unlikely. And something tells me that people who would be fans of this sort of unusual work would want the opportunity to watch Glover live and own an authorized/signed copy - perhaps packaged with one of his books.
If nothing else that might keep him from worrying about the chain of custody of his film materials and not getting screwed on the gate...(as described in the interview)

Corrosive corporate influences on film
As mentioned above I am looking forward now to seeing the next film (technically the first in the trilogy). A script about I'm unsure what.  Glover describes one of his principal intents of What is it? to be a statement against limiting influence brought by corporate money in filmmaking.  In this case it's also specifically a backlash against unstated corporate interests didn't want to invest in the script that originally formed the basis for What is it?  In his words at least in part upon his assistance that all the characters be played by actors with Down's Syndrome.  That may be because corporations shy away from all taboo (as he put it).  But it seems equally like the chance of people every getting their money back seemed to be pretty sketchy with his plan.

I'm definitely fan of the visual arts. And of unusual films. I just don't think it's entirely fair to blame people investing in films to be unwilling to take a chance on a project described like that. Especially in an era many years ago where Glover's track record was thinner. Given that Glover continues to tour with the films in a controlled way in part to pay back the expensive (but perhaps not expensive enough) production that makes it seems these investors may have been right. Again - that's not at all saying that such films shouldn't be made. It's just that to me making a film like Who is it? seems more a philanthropic effort than a commercial one. There's a place for that too IMHO.  Just unsure anyone has a right for investment of other people's money to cover it.

Thankfully it seems to me that if you want to make experimental extremely non-mainstream / non-commercial films the falling costs of compute power, cameras, and Internet distribution are reducing the barrier to creating such art and reaching an audience.  I agree with Glover's comment that it's unclear how digital distribution will fall out in terms of traditional pay to watch business models.  But I can't imagine that that dropping gates to entry and reduction of the need to "ask permission" if you're not rich enough to buy film stock for your production will likely lead to more people creating and coming up with unique business models.  Particularly ones that figure out on how to capitalize on scarce resources around a film. 

And if you don't believe me - did I really donate $100 towards post production on Emily Hagins' new film My Sucky Teen Romance on indiegogo.com a few weeks ago because I thought it was vital to the universe the film get out there?  Or because I wanted the t-shirt?  Something tells me Emily is less concerned with the answer than she is happy her fundraising goals to finish her film were hit.  So I do have some hope for the future of indy film.  Experimental and teen vampire related both...

Orgasm Diaries (aka Brilliant Love)

Orgasm Diaries was interesting. It's a 90 minute beautifully shot example of why to ensure your face isn't in your naked/sex photos. Amateur mistake ;-)

Given the subject matter I'd suggest young people - and perhaps my parents not read the rest of this review.  For young people because there's much more titillating stuff out there.  That's what google was built for I believe.  For my parents - well the rest of this post is just embarrassing...

Oh - and the remainder may contain spoilers. Depending on how you view these things.

Somewhere

Sofia Coppola has made some beautiful and complex films. With Somewhere she makes a film in which nothing much happens, the camera is fixed in position and the main cast is one man. Yet somehow it caught me from the opening scene.  It starts with that man driving literally in circles for minutes at a time yet kept me intrigued and engaged. Maybe there's some kind of evil hypnotism at work. But if there is I wish Coppola would teach more filmmakers the secret.

It turns out the man driving his Ferrari in circles is Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff). A famous actor adrift in hotel rooms and in life. Starting to age past that prime star point, his hairline is receding checked only by luck and a family size package of Propecia. He mainly seems bored and numb. Not in the drug addict way - more in the nothing has meaning way. Sure there are women, lots of women. These range from twins that appear to be conducting a masters class in pole dancing in his hotel to random women who show up in his bedroom, hallway, car fir sex.  The film is so well done that somehow we're made to feel as though this "problem" could become draining after a while.

In the mix is his seemingly well adjusted if massively privileged eleven year old daughter who mostly lives with the mother. When mom needs a break of indefinite duration daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) ends up spending more time than usual with dad. Their relationship, and its tensions is rendered brilliantly. In fact I would say the whole film is wonderfully structured to tell a story of emotions with the sparsest of dialog. I read someone joke that "Somewhere is pretty good for a silent film". It's true that dialog isn't on constant display. But storytelling is - and it totally worked for me.

What dialog there is feels natural and unforced. Dorff owns his role and Fanning and he have solid chemistry and father and daughter.  One of my favorite moments is a piece of conversation we eavesdrop on as father and daughter walk through the hotel and Johnny tries to grasp the dynamics of the Twilight novels. The quiet look and feel of Somewhere has the personal interactions of the better personal/small films I've seen in the last year like COLD WEATHER. Combined with the rich visual palette that Coppola tends to deliver. Overall one of the more engaging film experiences I've had in a while.

Now, I'm sure some people would ask why they're supposed to care about a rich movie star who has mildly fucked up his life? It's a fair question. One I can't quite answer. All I can say is while I was watching I did.

The Crispin Glover Interview

Crispin Glover is an actor with a flair for creating memorable characters. From Back to the Future to last year's Hot Tub Time Machine, he can make even a small role stand out. This weekend he'll be front and center at the Northwest Film Forum to screen the first two films in his "It" trilogy, What is it? and It is Fine! Everything is Fine. These are by every account unusual films representing a personal vision uncompromised by having to rely on the time and money of others.  I can't provide a personal opinion of the films though as I haven't seen them - something I plan to correct over this weekend.

Speaking with friends who have seen the two films, I've gleaned the following; What is It? is the solidly more "experimental" of the two, nonlinear, cast largely with actors who have Down Syndrome, and described famously by Glover as "It's about the adventures of a young man whose principal interest are snails, salt, a pipe and how to get home. He's tormented by a hubristic, racist inner psyche."

I've been told that the second in the series: It is Fine! Everything Is Fine - while not Hollywood fare, has something more along the lines of a linear/traditional story. Well…perhaps traditional isn't quite the right term. The screenwriter, Steven C. Stewart, doubles as the film's star as the picture delves (perhaps) autobiographically into his psycho-sexual fantasies. Stewart, having suffered from cerebral palsy, may have not in reality been the (murderous) ladies man portrayed. Though one can easily imagine how a lifetime of frustrations could make their way into his screenplay.  Definitely sounds a bit more unsettling and/or compelling than this weekend's release of No Strings Attached…

I've heard both strongly positive and negative feedback on the films. Suffice it to say, it doesn't appear to be a presentation that results in a lot of mild opinions one way or the other. I was lucky enough to have chance to virtually sit down and chat with Crispin Glover ahead of his arrival. I steered clear of anything too specific about the films, both from my own ignorance of them, and a desire to see them unimpeded by too much information. Instead, I tried to cover some background on his intent and his future plans.
Info about the screenings and ticket purchase can be found via the Northwest Film Forum Website. Further descriptions of the shows, along with his tour's trajectory, may be found at CrispinGlover.com.

The full interview can be read at Three Imaginary Girls.

Palm Springs 2011- My favorites seen at the fest

For today's post I'll start with a brief synopsis of the films I liked the best among the nineteen I saw in Palm Springs.  This doesn't include the things I recommended earlier from amongst things screening in Palm Springs I caught last year at other locations.

Later posts will cover everything else.  The following films aren't really in any particular order of favoriteness.  Each was a very good experience for me in a different way.

Even the Rain (Spain) - A group of Spanish filmmakers produce an updated Christopher Columbus tale intended to be sensitive to imperialistic exploitation of less fortunate peoples.  So of course they travel to Bolivia to get the best bargain they can on local labor.  Which they do coincidentally during the water crisis there where the government sells off the right to all water (even the rain) to private concerns who plan to charge more than the poor can pay.  That based on actual events twist takes things up a notch. But also makes for a catalog description that I thought could signal a horrible film.  Either too earnest, too trivial - a lot of ways for it to go wrong.  Instead we get a finely calibrated piece that works as a movie about filmmaking, relationships, and the exploitation issues of water and labor - threading the needle along the "just right" path.  With beautiful scenery and strong performances I think this has a real chance to win the Best Foreign Language Oscar (it's Spain's submission).  Even if it doesn't make the short list or win though it's still one of the things I liked best from the nineteen films I saw in Palm Springs.  Playing at this coming Monday's "Best in Fest" in Palm Springs I strongly recommend it.

Dog Sweat (Iran) - With a feel that reminded me of No One Knows About Persian Cats this film from Iran really worked for me.  Following a loosely interwoven set of young people just trying to do what young people do.  Make music, date, love the gender of their choice, smooch, drink and play with their friend's dog.  None of which is really on the agenda for good kids in Iran.  No artistic, interpret it yourself, lone child wandering through a village without shoes Iranian filmmaking here.  With the look of a US indy shot in Tehran it's easy to like the characters and feel their pain as they chafe  against societal restrictions.  Hard to see how that's going to hold up there long term - but in the meantime the filmmaker took a lot of risks to make this strong film.  The opening scene showing three male friends joke around and argue about the different categories of Johnnie Walker was just great.

Confessions (Japan) - beautiful, dark and suspenseful.  I wrote a bunch about it while trying to avoid all the plot points I could.  Just see it when you get a chance if horror/suspense doesn't turn you off too much.
 

Simple Simon (Sweden) - Simon, a teen with Asperger's lives with his beloved older brother.  When his older brother's girlfriend leaves him, in part due to the rigors of living with Simon a solution needs to be found.  Simon takes it upon himself to find his brother a new girlfriend.  Which is complicated by his lack of understand of girls, and his difficulty reading people's emotions.  Though is made entertaining by the "scientific" scorecard he develops to find the perfect woman.  What follows is somewhat predictable, but still rather entertaining.  It could be (and was) called "fluff" by a less charitable soul - but I think if it is then it's well made (entertaining) fluff.  With a bright colorful look it's the lightest and most "fun" film I saw in Palm Springs this year.  This is Sweden's selection as their submission to the foreign language Oscar.  With it's crowd pleasing feel it seems like a reasonable contender if the Academy feels like going with something light.
 

A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway) - I've written a few times in the last year recommending this film.  In Palm Springs I decided to take my own advice and see it a second time.  I heartily recommend this Norwegian black comedy.  Unless you're taking a date and hoping to get lucky post film.  This isn't likely a film to get your partner in the mood.  Just saying...
 

Womb (Germany) - Unusual to find a sci-fi film in Palm Springs.  Let alone a solid one.  Womb was really well done, solid execution of marvelously fucked up premise.  A girl meets a boy by the shore - they hang out and grow close until the girl has to move away with her Mom to Tokyo.  Years later she comes back and the soulmates pickup - this time with a physical relationship.  Then he dies.  So she clones him - giving birth to her former lover herself.  Yep, as you would imagine everything goes totally fine.  No, not exactly... Set in the near future where this sort of thing goes on, with dramatic seaside backdrops and limited dialog this film pulled me into its world.  Most positive additional thing I can think to add is that this is a model of showing vs. telling - no musical cues, no big exposition.  The film just ensures you know what's going on when you need to without smashing your face into things.

Dossier K (Belgium) - This incredibly derivative cop film has a piece of probably every police procedural short of Beverly Hills Cop 3 made in the last 40 years.  Heck - one of the partners even has the Riggs (Mel Gibson) hairstyle.  But for whatever reason this tale of a cop up against the Albanian mob and his own department's misguided screw-ups kept me interested all the way through.  Not life changing - but I've got to give a nod of respect to these folks who made a very entertaining genre piece.

The Space Between - Director Q&A

One of the films I caught in Palm Springs was The Space Between written and directed by Travis Fine and starring Melissa Leo.  Leo plays a flight attendant with issues who ends up chaperoning a young Muslim boy back to NYC when he's grounded with her on September 11th 2001.  It sounded a bit iffy from the description, but with Leo in the lead I decided to give it a shot.  Unfortunately it wasn't quite my cup of tea, a little too predictable and preachy and just nothing drew me to the characters as written.  Thankfully it seemed a lot of others in the audience appreciated it more than I.  I did stay after the film for a Q&A session with director Travis Fine.  An audio recording of that follows:

Confessions (Japan)

I will try really, really, really hard to avoid saying anything of substance related to the plot of this film.  It's painful - because it's a very interesting picture with a lot that's tempting to talk about in detail.  But I won't because this is one of those times you're really going to want to take the plunge in cold for the full effect Confessions is capable of delivering.  When I saw it in Palm Springs I knew two, and only two things about it

1. The film was Japan's submission for the foreign language Oscar.
2. There was a photo of a class of Japanese students in the program guide.  The age range of the students wasn't even that clear in the photo - just a group of people in uniform.

After leaving the theater I did chuckle to myself that it seems as though Japan having recently won the foreign language Oscar with Departures decided to try and win with the exact opposite film.  Departures was an uplifting film about a man who learns to appreciate life while dealing with death.  Confessions is a wonderfully twisted psychological and physical horror movie that also involves death.  And madness, and revenge.  And sumptuously beautiful cinematography.  Did I mention twisted?  For those more culturally astute I suspect it also is a fascinating commentary on Japanese education and group think dynamics.  That part is something worth seeing too - but it's the "do you like the thought of the screwing with the heads of junior high school kids who range from innocent victims to evil incarnate?" question that probably should determine if you want to see this film.  Personally I thought it well worthy of the Oscar nomination - and viewing.  And not just because it put my own miserable Junior High School experience in perspective.  I assure you, after seeing Confessions you are bound to acknowledge that your own time in Junior High could have been much, much worse.

The first scene of the film is pretty much perfect.  We're thrust into a classroom, and a pretty rowdy one at that.  A young female teacher begins speaking to her class.  At first no one is really listening to her, far more content to torture their classmates and text message each other.  But as she speaks it turns into a confession - a long slow sad reveal that frames the rest of the film.  Part way through the class cannot help but listen in rapt attention, both in fascination and horror.  As do we in part due to the the eye candy photography (slowed down evil Wes Anderson style in parts) viewed through a Viagra side effect like blue tinged lens sucking you into the screen.

Her monologue is about 20 minutes long and it's damn near perfect.  The rest of the film is good as well, as the implications of the teacher's revelation and it's impact on the entire student body reverberate and builds across the rest of the film (structured into other participant's "confessions").  But the beginning is so beautifully darkly shot and staged that nothing else that happens after really rises to the same incredible level.  Not a slight on the remainder of the movie, just a recognition of the achievement achieved at its start.  I still was quite rapt throughout waiting to see where things went.

This is a disturbing film and not for all audiences.  A great revenge film needs to make you feel that no matter how atrocious the payback is that the aggrieved party had good cause for their extremes.  Even though the villains of Confessions are quite different than any other revenge genre film you'll likely see the director so captures the horror of what they did that it's possible to go along with the rest of the ride - with only occasional questioning as to how far things have gone.  And that self questioning is part of the complexity of Confessions that makes it work.

If you're sitting here wondering if this really is a bridge too far for your taste and don't mind losing some of the surprise I'll give a mild spoiler after the jump that may assist.  But if you like horror or dark suspense just go when this film hits a theater near you.  Just don't bet on this winning the Oscar this year for Japan - I'm pretty confident that would be a seriously bad wager to make.  Nice to see though that the Palm Springs Film Festival hasn't completely lost its edge

The trailer that follows has some spoilers as well - and seriously gave me chills even after having seen the whole film.  and I don't mean due to some of the cheesy promotional subtitling.

Get a full Palm Springs Catalog online for free

One of the standard souvenirs one takes away from a film festival these days is a big glossy book listing all the films that played there.  In the past they typically were very useful during the festival because they had the screening times of each films coupled with a longer description than what appeared in smaller guides.  Last few festivals I've been to they've sacrificed printing the screenings times presumably in the interest of being able to print way ahead of the fest opening.  But they're still fun to have and well worth the $5-$10 charge.  Though at Palm Springs they're included with a pass which is very nice.

I just noticed that they've published the entire catalog in all of its full color glory online as a PDF.  I don't think it's really a substitute to a physical copy - but if you don't have one, or didn't attend Palm Springs it's nice to have access to a free copy.

And Everything is Going Fine

his week brings And Everything is Going Fine to SIFF Cinema after 2010 appearances at the SXSW, Slamdance, and Hot Docs festivals. It's a biographical documentary about Spalding Gray - or perhaps an autobiographical documentary about Gray by director Steven Soderbergh. That last part might be a bit confusing...
What I mean is that it's a portrait of the man, in his own words. Those words are pulled together and arranged by Soderbergh from video archives of Gray's prior appearances and home movies.
Watching the film, I learned that Spalding Gray was a well-known writer of monologues of an inward looking sort, in addition to other succesful writing and acting pursuits. I disclose upfront the fact that I wasn't super familiar with his legacy, as your familiarity with the subject will likely impact how you feel about the film (that, and my ceaseless need to point out my own cultural inadequacies). If you're a fan of Spalding Gray's then this is definitely a documentary worth heading over to Seattle Center for.

It's only 89 minutes - so if you're a fan, or curious about the man, this film is well worth a shot.  If you've never heard of him you might first start with one of his theatrically released monologues instead. And if you do go and leave slightly depressed about the arc this talent took, SIFF Cinema stocks Theo's Chocolate in their concession. I always find that helps.

Full review is at Three Imaginary Girls.  Though the above really is pretty much the gist of it. :-)

What it's like to ride the Palm Springs Film Festival Shuttle

What's it like to ride the festival shuttle? About as exciting as you can imagine.  I think it's usually more fun just to walk between the venues - given the weather.  But it's nice that Palm Springs has a shuttle that runs the entire run of the fest every 15 minutes - circling between venues.  Just because I had nothing else to do at the time I took a few seconds of iPhone video out the window during the trip between the Palm Canyon Theater and the Camelot.  Mainly interesting (if that) if you've never been to the area.  Perhaps scenic as the lower quality video out of the Telluride gondolas I shot at the 2009 festival there.  Though I will say the iPhone 4's video quality is a lot better than the blackberry I was using at the time.

At the end of my last day in Palm Springs made a short detour into the art museum that the Annenberg theater is located within.  Wish I'd done that sooner (mean to every year), and next time I'm in Palm Springs I definitely want to spend more time checking out the exhibits.  From what I can tell there were definitely some interesting things there.  Three photos somewhat randomly selected from the quick run-through I did are below.  Admission is free to festival attendees - so certainly a nice perk between screenings.

What is either a very clear optical illusion exhibit - or the entrance by which the underground mole-people will use to storm the Annenberg theater

No, not the garbage section of Palm Springs - good luck finding strewn about garbage bags. This is clearly ART

The gigantic dog in the lobby sets quite a tone as you enter the museum.  Personally I really dug this piece, though possibly because I think it'd make a passable Clifford if you can smuggle in enough red spray paint.

This weekend I'm going to try to get back to actually writing about the films I did see - quite a backlog of reviews built up at this point. But I usually manage to catch up within a week or so...

9:06 (Slovenia) Q&A

Director Igor Sterk

Earlier in the week I saw 9:06 a film from Slovenia that starts out feeling like a police procedural but becomes something a bit broader than that as the inspector involved in a possible suicide begins to perhaps over empathize with the deceased - putting his own life on perhaps a different trajectory than he started on.  Or maybe the result was inevitable but the path malleable. I wasn't really hugely into the film - but I stuck around afterward to capture some of the resultant post-film discussion on video.  If you are planning to watch 9:06 at some point you may want to hold off on the video below as it does address some key plot points.  It's not a full capture of the Q&A session, but it should give a decent flavor of things.

9:06 is the Slovenia submission to this year's foreign language Oscar category.

More random photos - from Palm Springs

Gonna test that picture is worth a thousand words with a few pictures from my last days in Palm Springs before heading back to Seattle

On my last day in Palm Springs for this year's festival I finally succumbed to the lure of Sherman's pastrami sandwich. It was good, but one for the trip was plenty.

I include this photo because each year I mention that Sherman's includes a pastrami "sandwich" on to latkes instead of rye bread.  Here's the proof.  I particularly love the "you haven't lived until..." description.  Of course it says nothing about how long you'll live if you do try it.

That's one big roll of film parked outside the Camelot Theatre the last day I was there for a film.

A few days ago I took some shots of the Camelot theater while waiting for my film outside.  Wanted to post some of them for folks who haven't been to the festival.  Camelot is one of the multi-screen venues used.  Older than the high end Regal used but with a nifty snack area with non-popcorn options and a full bar upstairs it definitely has its charms.

A look at the "big board" outside the Camelot Theater showing the film schedule and what's on "rush" (basically sold out unless some folks don't show up).  This was taken a ways back from the boards, but if you click through you can almost read the film titles.

One last shot of the Camelot marque with the blue, blue Palm Springs sky as a backdrop.

Palm Springs - The quick list of films I saw

Just got back to Seattle from 5+ days in Palm Springs.  Managed to catch 19 films, not counting the bit of Thunderball I watched in the hotel room. Over the next few days I'll be trying to post at least quick thoughts on each.  I believe I'd seen around 18 film prior to arriving in Palm Springs - so my count for the festival stands at (roughly) around 38.  With only one US film and only three in English of the 19 I watched this week I'm pretty pleased with the diversity.  Standouts for me included Even the Rain, Confessions, A Somewhat Gentle Man and Simple Simon - with of course more I'd written about previously.  For now here's the list and I'll be back soon with at least a mini review of each soon.

• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand)
• Dog Sweat (Iran)
• Biutiful (Mexico)
• Even the Rain (Spain)
• Paper Birds (Spain)
• Confessions (Japan)
• A Somewhat Gentle Man (Norway)
• Easy Money (Sweden)
• The Space Between (USA)
• Eighteen Years Later (Italy)
• Womb (Germany)
• Outrage (Japan)
• Simple Simon (Sweden)
• The Housemaid (South Korea)
• 9:06 (Slovenia)
• Dossier K (Belgium)
• The Human Resources Manager (Israel)
• As If I Am Not There (Ireland)
• Feathered Cocaine (Iceland)

For folks attending Palm Springs Would love your thoughts in the comments section with films you especially enjoyed...

Simple Simon Q&A

Monday was overall a pretty decent day of film. I saw Womb, Outrage, Simple Simon and 9:06.  Simple Simon and Womb were the standouts.  Outrage and 9:06 had at least some positive aspects but weren't in the same category.  Further details on each film will eventually follow.  But for now I'll leave you with the Q&A from the Simple Simon screening.  Or at least part of it.  I've also got part of the 9:06 Q&A session to post at a later date.  Interestingly enough the lead in Simple Simon (Bill Skarsgård) is I believe the son of the lead of the fab Somewhat Gentle Man.  Which is also in Palm Springs this year.

Javier Bardem Q&A Session

The second day of films (Saturday) at Palm Springs was very good with three out of four of the films I saw being very good (or amazing).  One wasn't my cup of tea - but that's still a great ratio.  I'll be back with reviews later on at some point.  But for now here's a taste of the post film Q&A with Javier Bardem after the festival screened Biutiful.  Which is also a very good film.  More on that later.  For now you can enjoy some of Javier's answers - including a brief Woody Allen impersonation.  Apologies for the shake and low contrast.  I shot this from the fourth to the last row at the Annenberg theater. The sound seems OK which is the main point I guess. Thanks to YouTube restrictions I had to split the 17 minutes I had into two segments. The overall Q&A was around 20-25 minutes. So this is most of it.

More random photos from Palm Springs

Today (Friday) was a very solid first day of films in Palm Springs.  I saw three things Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand), Dog Sweat (Iran), and Biutiful (Spain) which also featured an extended Q&A with Javier Bardem.  All proved worth seeing.  I liked Dog Sweat and Biutiful quite a lot.  Uncle Boonmee was interesting, though I need to let it settle before I decide how much I liked it.  Slow, spiritual and strange - with some very funny moments and the only time I expect I'll see a woman having carnal relations with a catfish.  Though technically maybe it's the fish getting it on with the woman if one's being picky.

Fuller reviews will have to wait a bit longer.  Though I'd definitely take a look at Dog Sweat at an upcoming screening in Palm Springs if you get a chance.  In the meantime here are a random collection of photos I snapped throughout the day.  I do have some video footage that's hopefully usable from the Javier Bardem Q&A session.  Fingers crossed the moment where he does a brief Woody Allen impression got recorded legibly.  But I'm too tired to wait for the video processing to finish right now.  Need to try and get a few hours sleep before jumping back into the fray in the morning.

Taken outside the Palm Canyon Theater while waiting for the shuttle over to the Camelot

Some of the great scenery visible on the way over to my first show this morning

If one frames the picture right even downtown is quite picturesque (yogurt shop #3 carefully omitted)

The iPhone version of the view outside the Palm Canyon Theater

Can't say I minded the walk this morning over to Uncle Boonmee

After a brief scare turns out the free shuttle between theaters does run every 15 minutes. Got me to where I needed to be right quick this AM

I haven't quite figured out this sculpture, which seems to re-appear around town. Though they may be unrelated squiggly line sculptures.

I probably won't decide to pickup this bitchin' Camaro by trips end.  I really am trying to avoid the temptation. Long drive back to Seattle for one thing...

A bit of a teaser of upcoming video from the Q&A. Sort of which they hadn't had a black backdrop, and that I was shooting from closer than the back of the theater.  But at least I got to see it clearly live ;-)

Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench

I temporarily interrupt this string of Palm Springs Film Festival stories to draw your attention to Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench.  Which just opened at the Northwest Film Forum on Friday.

Watching Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench taught me three things:

1. Contrary to all prior evidence there is a limit to how big of a hopeless romantic I am - meaning you can execute a well made clever take on the genre and I won't always bite.
2. A well placed, out-of-the-blue tap dance scene in a diner can still work in today's era of Transformers 3 boom and gloom movie mayhem.
3. Wanting to like a movie too much can end in heartbreak.

Which is my long winded way of saying that I went prepared, wanting, and needing to love this film - but instead exited feeling it was a well put together exercise that only engaged me for moments vs. taking me along for a deeply enjoyable ride. That said, I think there's something to recommend the film to certain folks, I'm just not quite one of them (though I sort of want to be one of those people).


The remainder of my review can be found at Three Imaginary Girls.

Palm Springs - A Day Without Film

Thursday late afternoon I got into Palm Springs. Unable to secure tickets to the opening night film I thought about seeing Yogi Bear. But perhaps luckily for me that poor instinct was thwarted as the Palm Springs Regal closed early to prepare for the festival tomorrow. Instead I took a walk through the Thursday night market that runs quite a distance along one of the main streets. I didn't get anything save some special licorice for the week's screenings. Still trying to figure out what to see tomorrow, but there's still a bit of time left I suppose.

Quite a change of pace as I got off the plan at the Palm Springs airport

With no movie to see I decided to try out the very busy Thursday night farmer's / crafts like market that Palm Springs holds on their main drag.  Though most markets I've been to don't have a "Ask the Rabbi Booth"

I was tempted to ask about his opinion of the Jews for Jesus booth down the street

My one interesting find of the night - specialty flavor (and pretty tasty) licorice.  Watermelon and green apple in this case.

The Bittersweet Best of 2010 List

Au Revoir Tapei - one of my favorite films of 2010 that I will continue to flog hoping it becomes available soon in the US. If you're thinking to start a chain of dumpling shops this is a cross-promotional match made in heaven. Just saying...

As I've been doing more and more film writing for Three Imaginary Girls they asked if I'd like to do a "best of" list for 2010.  Rather than reprint my pretty eclectic favorites of the year post verbatim I decided to go a slightly different way.  And one that avoided the whole "did it play in Seattle so can I include it" game most folks use to keep their lists "fair."

To mostly quote myself here's what I decided ...

Each year end I realize that sadly many of the films that make my favorites list aren't things that are easy to catch in a theater. Many will eventually make their way to Netflix or other watch at home outlets (if we're lucky) within a year of being on the festival circuit. So in the imaginary spirit, here are nine great films of 2010 that never got a theatrical release in Seattle but screened at at least one US festival in 2010. 

If you want to read the whole list you can zip over to the post.  But if you read this blog with any regularity you're covered as all these films were in my prior best of the year writing.  So if you're not my parents or a close personal friend here's that link again ;-)

The King's Speech

Colin Firth delivers a pretty incredible performance in probably the most exciting movie you're ever going to see about stammering.  Though sadly very few people under the age of 17 are going to see it as Mr. Firth delivers enough F-bombs to ensure the film received an R rating.  Though judging by the average age of the audience when I saw it (think Palm Springs Film Festival local resident demographic) and the subject matter I'm not sure that's going to truly limit its box office.  Though I'd think a fair number of younger folks would enjoy it as well.  Maybe next time instead of cursing Firth should graphically murder a bunch of people, the ratings board generally seems fine with that sort of thing.

The film follows the based on true story of the man who would become King George VI of England on the eve of the second world war.  Though given all the privileges of his position he was severely handicapped in the emerging age of radio due to a serious speech impediment.  Having tried many, many, many things his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) eventually enlists the unorthodox (at least for the time) services of Geoffrey Rush. After which the story follows the pretty familiar path of overcoming great obstacles inspirational type stories.  The two meet, don't get along, Rush offers some brilliance which eventually brings the Firth back.  His unconventional less than stuck up methods eventually drive Firth away again, until he overcomes his fear/pride/whatever and returns.  With a few hiccups along the way the effort pays off, a friendship between different classes formed, and the kingdom saved.  I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  Unless you're unclear who prevailed in WW-II, in which case you really shouldn't be complaining about such a spoiler.

Since you already know the outcome the larger question concerns if the ride will be interesting. I think it's safe to say for most viewers the answer is yes.  Firth (as he did memorably in A Single Man) truly becomes the person he's playing and made this viewer feel as though he was watching an actual historical person in pain, trying to do the right thing while managing his fear.  Lots of other solid British actors on display in what they may have thought was a casting call for the last Harry Potter film.  All in all seems like a sure thing (and way deserved) Oscar nomination for Firth and an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.