Thoughts on 1st wave of Fantastic Fest 2013 Programming Announcement

Last week the fine folks from FantasticFest announced their first wave of programming for the September 2013 event. That's in addition to an earlier announcement that Robert Rodriguez's new film Machete Kills will open the fest. The Machete sequel is a film that I had moderate interest in, but the thought of seeing it with a packed festival house and at least some of the folks with the film has definitely ratcheted up my excitement several notches. My flight gets in a bit later than I'd like on the first day of the festival. So keeping my fingers crossed I can make it to that opening event. And of course as always doubly crossing fingers and toes that life doesn't get in the way of attending the festival in the first place.

Of the announced films I'm probably most jazzed about Big Bad Wolves which has been garnering lots of positive buzz. The film is from the directing team that brought the wonderful (and first Israeli) slasher film Rabies to the festival several years back. Since then I've been waiting anxiously to see what they come up with next.

The whole list is packed with intriguing bits - I'm not worried about Fantastic Fest 2013 keeping up the tradition of delivering multiple entries to my list of 2013 favorites. Also jumping out at me are Commando - One Man Army, Eega, and definitely the Japanese film Kid's Police. The full list of films announced with descriptions of each from the official press release is below after the jump.

But I don't just have to wildly speculate on all of the films announced. Thankfully via screenings at earlier festivals and the incredibly useful FestivalScope website I've already been lucky enough to screen seven of the announced films. I'll recap which ones and my thoughts after the jump.

Nothing Bad Can Happen

When I'd first read the description of Nothing Bad Can Happen - I must say I wasn't especially interested. But the execution of the film while extremely uncomfortable held my interest both during and after. In the sense that for reasons I cannot entirely explain the experience has stayed with me, my brain periodically and randomly revisiting moments in the film.

The story isn't exactly subtle ... Tore, a lost young man with an angelic face has been found and saved, becoming a fervent member of the "Jesus Freaks" a Christian punk rock collective of believers. The opening moments of the film show Tore's baptism with the group. Like punk itself they've striven to strip things down to the basics - in this case that of their Christian faith. And Tore is a true, true believer in the power of prayer and belief. So much so that when he runs across a family with a broken down car he prays over the hood. Much to the surprise of the family's dad, Benno, the car restarts. Clearly, not believing, Benno is intrigued enough on some level to take up Tore's invitation to learn more. Long story short - Benno comes to meet Tore and ends up taking him home after the boy experiences an epileptic seizure (or as Tore prefers to think of it a visiting by the Holy Spirit).

As the title of the film suggests, all is not well in the Benno household, and the family patriarch soon begins to test Tore's faith in ways that even Job himself might have struggled with. We know it's coming, but the extent of the bullying to abuse (not entire limited to Benno) will still shock even hardened audiences. Tore suffers, but believes that holding to his principles will save those in the family, and saving they are in serious need of, from father to mother to children. Tore's personal and religious transition and that of the families is complex, disturbing, but also rather engaging. Some of it is extremely in your face, but there are also moments of powerful and more subtle change, particularly a late moment in the hospital where Tore admits something being of the mundane rather than supernatural that shows more about where he is than any amount of telling would.

This is not a fun movie to watch, and at times it's hard to believe that someone would subject themselves to the level of misery that Tore does. Likely a credit to actor Julius Feldmeier his performance makes the unbelievable believable enough to roll with the story. Benno (played by Sascha Alexander Gersak) delivers an incredible performance. Managing to be both overstuffed with quiet menace, incredible evil, yet likable to the degree it's understandable as to how those around him could be pulled into his damaging spell. Not all the relationships are horrible, Tore's growing closer to the family's daughter elicits the most touching moment of the film as he struggles to hold true to his vow of celibacy until marriage. And it's for her and the younger brother that he endures (or believes he's enduring) the suffering. None of this is to say that I agree with what might be viewed as the film's message. I venture to say most viewers will be screaming at Tore to take a very different path. But I don't have to necessarily agree with the artistic vision, or even fully like to recommend Nothing Bad Can Happen as a unique picture worth watching.

The film's cinematography is simple, but often beautifully calibrated to the story at hand. The performances, and perhaps the discussions that could erupt later bring me to recommend taking a look. But again, not a nice film about good people. And given one extremely memorable scene of forced feeding I don't expect you'll want to watch it directly before or after dinner. Though I suspect they'll definitely serve chicken during a future screening at the Alamo Drafthouse given their dark sense of humor.

Free Preview Screening: The Spectacular Now

Lot of folks have really been digging The Spectacular Now which made its way through Seattle during SIFF this year. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet then I've got good news for you. Due to the generosity of the folks promoting the film locally I've got a number of opportunities to grab passes to a free preview screening on August 7th at 7pm (at the Harvard Exit).

All you need to do is go on over to Gofobo.com and if prompted use super special code RWTFM2JV. As always you'll need to log into their site, get to the theater early as it's potentially overbooked and be prepared for someone to want to grab your phone. Though for some reason I've had less of those sorts of issues at the Harvard Exit in the past.

The film has a nice throwback vibe to the great teen films of the 80's and overall is a good watch. Though if I'm being honest I wasn't quite as blown away by it as some of it's strongest fans. Maybe it's because the "A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical 'nice girl.'" description made me think it was going to be a bit different than it was. Though I've grown to respect the bite and realism that the film brings to the coming of age seen through a John Hughes/Cameron Crowe-esq lens. Even if I didn't go in expecting to see something about a teenage alcoholic that alternated between sympathetic and one of the douchebags from Project X that I wanted to slug. That said both leads deliver on their roles effectively as they seem to be written.

But no need to trust me or not. Grab some free tix and check it out! And let me know what you think afterward.

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives opens this week in Seattle as well as via home streaming options. Seeing a repeat pairing of Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn one might be expecting a visually stunning film like Drive or a solid straight thriller like the Pusher trilogy. But banish that frame of reference from your thinking - 'cuz that's not what's coming. Instead they've created something more akin to a thriller through the eyes of Jarmusch with a healthy helping of David Lynch homage on the side. Meaning it's slow, indirect, obscure, surreal and with a lot of red tones. Both from the copious blood and the Thai decor. Together it's an interesting fusion of mythological underworld imagery crossed with something from Twin Peaks, where you expect a dancing little person to emerge into each scene. Also have to say it's a clear winner of film most likely not to have have been sponsored by the Bangkok visitors bureau nor their local organization for fair and just policing practices. Bottom line Only God Forgives feels more like a master class on visual symbology than what I wanted to watch on a Friday night.

Let's back up ...

Ryan Gosling is a man assigned to avenge the death of his brother. While reluctantly pursuing his killer an avenging angel (or devil) of a cop appears hot on his trail. Shot in a dreamlike stupor it's never 100% clear which of the brutal and graphic violence is real, a psychological detour, a metaphor for heaven and hell or just weirdness for the sake of weirdness. It's also not transparent for much of the film what specific exploitative business Gosling is in, but given the circumstances of his brother's death he's understandably of mixed mind of how hard to push the revenge thing. Egged on by his lifetime of therapy inducing mother he begins an investigation. One that takes him and his family deep inside the belly of the beast. Leading to less than subtle Shakespearean tragedy (or maybe justice) as scene upon scene of blood being washed off hands is foisted on us. Yep, idle hands are clearly the devil's workshop. Or something similar. At least based on the more than ten scenes in which characters none too subtlety look at or brandish their hands. Not to mention the negative impact on some of these appendages amongst the naughty.

Free Early Preview Screening: You're Next

Crazy drawings on the wall ...one of the many things to miss at the original South Lamar Drafthouse.

I'm not often one for horror. Perhaps it's the mural painted on the side of the former South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse, all the positive buzz I've heard or just a hunch - but I've been wanting to see You're Next for what seems like a considerable time. Having missed the chance at SXSW due to a scheduling conflict I'm excited the film is coming to Seattle soon. And even more excited that readers will be able to check the film out ahead of local audiences .... for free! (Not counting your personal assessment of your time spent waiting in line)

Two screenings are available. Just bounce over to Gofobo with this link and enter the appropriate code below: 

• 8/6: Regal Thorton Place  - code: RWTFJWTW
• 8/21: AMC Pacific Place -  code: RWTFTTND

See one, see both - just follow the links above to register. As always these things are not guaranteed admittance. Showing up a solid hour before typically does the trick though. And recall that the movie meanies may or may not try to hold onto your phone. If you get wiff of that I'd suggest stowing it in your car or another safe spot. No sense waiting on a long line to retrieve it. That's definitely going to kill whatever buzz you got from the film.

Personally ... I'm definitely booking time to go to one of these screenings to see what all the fuss is about.

Free Preview Screening - The Heat

Remember when you used to love those Sandra Bullock Miss Congeniality films? Well it seems like she's starring in something inspired by that, The Heat ... but this time adding Melissa McCarthy. Or perhaps it's a super strained connection that only makes sense inside my warped mind. That's really not the core point. Thing is if you'd like to checkout The Heat and can get to the Alderwood Mall this Tuesday (6/11) then I've got the hook-up for some free tickets. Which is true even if people no longer use the phrase "got the hook-up." If you're interested just follow this link over to Gobobo.com and if there are still some remaining you'll have a shiny new pass to see the film together with a friend. They may ask you for some information if you don't already have an account. But don't worry, I'm sure it's less than the NSA has gathered on you in the last 5 minutes or so.

The Otherside

Hip hop is alive and well in Pacific Northwest. Having undergone a break out childhood and adolescence where it tried on lots of personas the art form has grown up, had kids and is now figuring out what to do with the rest of its life. That's roughly the message that the made in Seattle documentary The Otherside opens with before jumping into a whirlwind tour of the state of the "scene." Clocking in at a brisk 47 minutes director Daniel Torok must have been faced with a variety of choices in the editing room. What makes it onscreen demonstrates the unrealized potential for a fantastic film. What's there as exhibited at SIFF will likely be a hit with fans already deeply enmeshed in the genre. But frankly I'm hoping he'll go back and flesh things out for the rest of us. I'm definitely up for a return viewing under those circumstances. What follows comes from a point of love - I hope it's taken that way.

[ Lots of photos from the Seattle premiere of The Otherside are available here ]

First the good. The filmmaker appears to have fantastic access to some very interesting people working to live their dream, at what appears to be a unique moment of inflection in the music industry. The way things are going it's harder to hit that huge mega stardom and riches from selling your songs. On the other hand the record labels that have historically optimized themselves to separate an artist from their full earnings have been weakened. The Internet has wrought an entirely new way to connect with fans and earn a living. Arguably with less of a tournament winner take all economic model - though perhaps one where a higher number of folks can earn a living through their art due to connecting with fans and market segmentation. Broad access to a local music scene creates opportunities to tell a story that wasn't possible some years ago. And concentrating across a range of acts in a single genre gives one the possibility of skipping many of the almost unavoidable cliches of the backward looking doc of an influential band of yesteryear.

So ... We've got access to a compelling set of characters at an interesting point in time. Those are the keys to a great documentary. Add to that great footage and solid technical execution of The Otherside. What's not to love?

The problem for those unschooled in Seattle hip-hop is pretty basic. Lots of background is left out and one theme is expounded on in a manner that weighs way too heavily on telling rather than showing.

In short the distance between what I watched and possible perfection includes the following tweaks

• Less people saying over and over that the Seattle sound is that we don't have a specific sound. There are lots of quick clips of performances. Letting those play out in a way that audience members can clearly see the differences would be far more convincing. Hip-hop isn't the music genre I know best. So perhaps I need more convincing. I could see strong stylistic differences. But most audiences I'd recon would benefit from more onscreen music that's edited to demonstrate the musical omnivores Seattle audiences are said to be. In case I'm being too subtle let's put this another way. If you made up a drinking game premised on drinking a shot anytime someone said "we have no sound" anyone short of an alcoholic would end the movie in the ER. That said - I am pleasantly impressed no one uttered the rock doc bingo phrase "I'm not into labels." Perhaps I'm just showing my age though.

• More background on the sub-genres being mentioned. Maybe with a bit of history thrown in - the music doc animated history section has become popular for a reason. I'm left guessing what the differences are between the tons of sub-genres briefly mentioned onscreen. Some are pretty obvious (gangster rap) but even someone I know who is a fan of hip-hop wasn't able to illuminate me on "backpack" style.

• Expand the view out to other things that might be unique to the northwest scene. Or at least throw a bit of screentime to the local fans. There's mention in passing how club infrastructure has improved. That might be part of it. But I'm not 100% sure and was itching to learn more.

• Macklemore - more or less, either might work better. He's hard to ignore as the local boy made good. From what I read and what I hinted at it seems there's a lot more to talk about here. An issue with overindulgence is mentioned along with a single comment that suggested he may have taken some time off before hitting it big. In for a penny in for a pound I say. Either cover this in more depth of don't go there. It's almost as if the filmmakers got an extremely great bit of Macklemore being introspective on film. But then didn't support it within their storyline. Not to mention Macklemore's reduced dependence to breakthrough on traditional distribution was untouched even though it's likely instrumental to the hopes and dreams of many profiled. That would've been great to expand on. Especially as the moments when local artists answered questions about how long they could go without being able to financially support their families were some of the most heartfelt.

The good news is that at 47 minutes a bit of reorganization and possibly new footage could turn this into a tight and insightful 80 minutes. I hope that's in the cards for the future. The blood sweat and tears of those documented deserve it if at all possible. In the meantime even if that never happens if you're into the Seattle scene shown I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it nonetheless.



[ The Otherside screened at the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival ]