Palm Springs Film Festival Trip Review - Part I

As it doesn't get easier the longer I wait suppose I should get started talking about some of the films I watched in Palm Springs. Ended up watching about 20.4 films. I did a quick recap the other day with the list of films by name. Today I'm going to start with some mini reviews. Some may get expanded on - depending on how the spirit moves me. If you're interested in checking out the entirety of my Palm Springs 2012 Festival coverage this link will display it all.

My favorite films of the festival that I watched, either before or during the festival (in no specific order) include:

• Declaration of War (France)
• A Separation (Iran)
• Las Acacias (Argentina)
• Sound of My Voice (USA)
• Headhunters (Norway)
• The Sandman (Switzerland)
• Elite Squad II (Brazil)
• Pariah (USA)
• Bullhead (Belgium)

Some runner's up include:

• Turn Me On, Dammit! (Norway)
• Tatsumi (Singapore)
• Attenberg (Greece)
• Piña (Germany)

Though there are several other films such as Gypsy (Slovakia) and Pig (USA) which were also well worth a watch as well.

And now more detail on some of the films. Given the number of films involved I'm going to break things up into multiple posts. Roughly in the order I viewed them at the festival. If you're looking for details on the films at Palm Springs I screened earlier in the year they're summarized here. I plan to break things up with some longer form reviews of specific films as well.  So let's get on with it...

Gypsy (Slovakia) - a slice of life/coming of age film. Not surprisingly about a gypsy boy and how he deals with the turmoil of his father dying, his uncle marrying his mom, racist run ins with everyone and a girlfriend who might be sold off. With a random appearance by able couple of ostriches as a bonus. Tough to say how realistic the depiction is - but as you can imagine there are definite moments of bleakness in the picture. The performance of the lead is compelling and the look is solid with some interesting presentation quirks that spice things up. Gypsy is Slovakia's submission to this year's foreign language Oscar category. Oh, and upon a friend pointing it out, there's a more than passing resemblance to Hamlet as well I suppose. Generally liked this one.

Back to Your Arms (Lithuania) - a few months before the Berlin wall went up a girl plans to meet her father. Separated years earlier in Lithuania both are desperately excited to be reunited. But everyone around the girl worries she's being used as a cold war pawn - destined to be spirited away behind the iron curtain. The goings on about the East German side of things certainly make it seem they may not be overly paranoid. With a strong visual sense of place and nothing ever directly spelled out for the viewer Lithuania's Oscar submission could have been a real winner for me. But a lack of emotional attachment to either of the characters left me feeling somewhat vacant about the proceedings. Intellectually interested but emotionally uninvolving, at least for me. Not my strongest watch of the festival.

P-047 (Thailand) - Sometimes you've got to take a risk at a festival. While it didn't come in at 100-1 I still believe P-047 paid off in my favor. I sort of dug it, though it's unusual enough I'm reluctant to broadly recommend the film.

Two friends have a hobby. It works for them. Though probably not the for the folks whose lives they "borrow." One is a master locksmith who hasn't seen a door he can't open. The other is a former movie set continuity specialist, skilled in the art of consistency even after a space has been moved through. Together they relish entering stranger's homes, rifling trough their possessions and just hanging out. Theft is not the goal. In fact it's against their rules. For the most part.

Not surprisingly eventually things don't go smoothly all the time. At which point things transition from what seems like a simple and appealing premise to something less linear in time and a bit dreamier. By the time it's done the picture feels like a criminal slacker slice of life drama crossed with Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives. Minus the fish on girl action. I won't say more about the film's title or attempt to explain the recurrent and out of nowhere peacock theme.

There may be three great films stuffed within P-047, all of which on their own I'd like to see. Together they may actually be lesser as a group. While not perfect P-047 was worth the watch. Even if I'm not sure how many folks would agree with me.

Turn Me On Dammit! (Norway) - I thought this coming of age story of a teen dealing with her runaway libido was funny, sweet and well done. Motivating me to write a longer standalone post. I think it's worth checking out when the opportunity presents itself. Enjoyed this film for its frankness, humor and especially due to the strong performance by Helene Bergsholm as Alma. She's both sympathetic and believable in the role portraying the main character as a real, feeling person. An interesting and well integrated soundtrack complements the charming mood. While Bergsholm is a standout by virtue of her need to carry the concept on her shoulders all of the characters deliver. Including Alma's mom whose dealing with her own sexual issues as well as coming to terms with her daughters's. The latter dealing occasionally requiring earplugs. 

Declaration of War (France) - This film was my top fave of things I saw during the festival. It's also France's submission for the academy award in the best foreign language film category. Though personally, for me both this and A Separation ought to be competing in the Oscar's main best picture section. The film deserves a full review, and I'm going to deliver just that. But for now I'll just say it's a wonderful film. A love story of two people who are instantly drawn to each other and create a life together. It's also a story of them starting a family with all the attendant hopes and dreams - only to have them far too soon put in peril by the discovery of their son's brain tumor. They decide to fight, and fight hard. Yes, I know this sounds like the most depressing movie ever, regardless of the outcome. And if I told you there were bright colors and occasional musical interludes you wouldn't be wrong to worry that it could be trivializing something incredible personal and painful. But somehow the film threads the needle perfectly. Producing something that feels realistic, life-affirming, beautifully painful at times, visually creative and joy to watch. A large part of that is likely due to the couple, if one doesn't buy into them no amount of craft would cover that sin. Thankfully it worked - producing what I felt was a film guaranteed to earn a spot on my best of 2012 list.

Omar Killed Me (Morocco) - Based on a true story about a Moroccan immigrant to France who worked as a gardener until he was accused and improbably convicted for a brutal crime. The film demonstrates that the US isn't the only nation with an occasional staggeringly confusing miscarriage of justice. Or at least that's how the film presents the case. I don't really know anything about the details of the true crime and trial. As a film Omar Killed Me produces a sense of tension and drama with solid performances throughout. The title comes from the purported fingering of Omar as the killer by the dying woman, writing the accusation in her own blood. Omar is presented as an honest if naively positive fellow whose proximity to the crime and gambling problem combine with the authority's confidence that he's the guy to send him to prison for quite a while. Sort of the way these stories often play out. It's well directed, well acted and a very solid piece of work both behind and in front of the camera.

Pina (Germany) - I'm not a huge fan of modern dance, my positive review of Step Up 3D notwithstanding. But when other folks kept talking online about how incredible the film Pina was I decided to give it a try. The film is a tribute to the famous choreographer Pina Bausch and it's a  visually stunning piece of work. Shot in 3D (which is how you should see it) the picture consists of largely nonverbal stagings of many of Pina's (I gather) famous works. I suspect many who aren't dance fans will still be blown away. I'm glad I saw it even though I wasn't that into the dancing. Intellectually it's easy to recognize how impressive it is. Emotionally my heart still wasn't really there. But even so I recognize German's entry for the foreign language Oscar this year as a worthy contender. In Seattle the film will open at the Cinerama theater starting February 10th. That is where you want to see it. No joke. Do not cut corners and see it elsewhere. This deserves to be seen on the big screen and with high quality projection. Even if I personally didn't fall in love with it.

Miss Bala (Mexico) - I'd been excited to see Mexico's submission to the Oscars since hearing a piece about it on NPR. Dealing head on with the horrible drug cartel driven violence it has generated some controversy back at home. A tragic drama about a young girl who just wants to compete for the Miss Baja competition but gets sucked deeper and deeper into a world of violence and intrigue. Of which every part of society is shown as complicit. She's quickly made just another pawn of the drug business, forced to herself commit the crimes that continue to destabilize Mexican society. I'll have a longer form review in the not too distant future, along with a portion of the Q&A I shot featuring the director and producer. The filmmakers indicated they set out to make a statement, and the main (albeit small) criticism I have is that focus may have detracted from deeper characters. The main gangster most notably largely comes across as a caricature. Though one of an incredibly masterful multi-tasker. I met a lot of folks who were more negative on the film than I am. The performances were significant enough for me to care about the predicament that Laura (Miss Bala) found herself in. And the action sequences while not intended to be as pulse pounding as something like Elite Squad II still came across as pretty immediate and demanding of attention. The film didn't quite live up to my highest expectations but didn't really disappoint either. Though I do suspect the Oscar selection status has more to do with the subject matter than the overall film's level of awesomeness. Given the value of reminding folks how serious things are in Mexico that would be a really understandable decision.



That's all for now - more Palm Springs reviews coming as quickly as I can handle 'em...