Though the last two nights have been bitterly cold, some fine movies and my favorite film of the festival thus far—the excellent WORDPLAY—have helped keep the soul warm and toasty. This incredibly entertaining, cleverly constructed look at the institution known as The New York Times crossword puzzle, has just enough of everything you’d want in a doc of this nature—historical perspective, star editor Will Shortz, the “constructors” of the puzzles, a National Championship tournament with a great assortment of characters, wonderful music, and commentary by fans such as Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, Ken Burns, NY Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, and The Indigo Girls. The first film worthy of an unequivocal “5!”
THE PROPOSITION is a terrific and brutal western from Australia, written by musician Nick Cave and starring Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, and Emily Watson. Set in the savage1880’s bush frontier, the story combines British soldiers, an Irish gang of criminals, and native aborigines into a violent and haunting story of family bonds, racism, and colonization.
PUCCINI FOR BEGINNERS , the first feature in a decade from Maria Maggenti (“The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love”), is a sweet, funny romantic comedy that pays homage to the screwball comedies of the past. Perhaps turning on one too any coincidences to keep the story percolating, the attractive cast of Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Kirk, and Gretchen Mol make this triangle-with-a-twist and its “Sex in the City” caliber dialogue a probable crowd pleaser.
13 TZAMETI is the unusual title of one of the most gripping films I’ve seen in years. Filmed in B&W widescreen (yea!), this is a thriller unlike anything you’ve seen before. A young Frenchman unwittingly gets involved in an underground gambling ring where the contestants engage in group Russian Roulette—intense, economic, and highly original, this ain’t no cockfighting flick.
Running into legendary folk singer Judy Collins (“Both Sides Now”) at the way-fun Full Sail party last night, condo mate and Metro Orlando Film Commission’s Suzy Allen swore to me that the famous musician was Joan “Dynasty” Collins’ sister. Though I explained to her that “Alexis Carrington’s” sister was a bestselling trash novelist (and not mentioning that the Collins sisters are British), Suzy wanted to bet me on the accuracy of her pop culture knowledge. I am way too nice to take advantage, but we did have a good laugh at her expense.
Sunday I slept in a little bit since our Exhibitors brunch got moved to Monday. Suzy ducked out for a screening while Jesse and I waited for Matthew to finish his thesis paper on the films he saw the day before…I will now try to keep my blogs somewhat short in preparation for his novellas.
Jesse and I met his friend Susan at the Morning Ray Café for a wonderful brunch, then met up with Suzy for the Chrysler reception. They are doing a cool new version of the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Fest that involves a video game called The Movies. I also chatted with Matt from SXSW, everywhereman as I call him. Here is Suzy and Jesse with Dave Franco and the gang from Full Sail out on the balcony.
Next we were off to the indieWIRE party and Suzy and Jesse were gracious enough not to get mad at me after I took them on a wild goose chase around Main Street. The food was great and Suzy was able to get her one meal of the day in before we left for our 6:00 screening of THE ILLUSIONIST, an intriguing period piece set in Vienna and shot in Prague starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel. Good stuff.
Suzy headed back to the condo to meet Jesse for dinner and I went to see THIN, a doc about an eating disorder treatment center in Boca. Very powerful, the film gives a variety of perspectives on the disease from patients, their families, staff, doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists.
I hung out in the lobby close to David Fenkel from ThinkFILM so I didn’t have to go back out in the cold before getting into the midnight screening of AWESOME; I FUCKIN’ SHOT THAT, the Beasies concert doc shot in Madison Square Garden by 50 of their fans who were given Hi8 cameras. Awesome indeed! Adam and Mix Master Mike did a Q&A after the film that was hilarious. Sweet Matthew was waiting for me when I got out to walk home in the five degree bitter cold. On the way, I called Orlando’s number one Beastie fan, Drew Garabo at 4:30 AM Orlando time and filled him in on the movie. Thanks for the plugs Drew! Sweet sleep here I come…
SL
Day #2 took a darker turn subject-wise, bookended by powerful, honest tales (both fiction and non-fiction) of drug addiction. But first a couple of comments about DESTRICTED, the supposedly 80 minute collection of porn shorts that was scheduled to begin at 11:30 PM—NOT!! This two hour mixed bag got rolling around midnight, and by the time the credits rolled on the interminable Gaspar Noe piece that brought the program to a grinding thud, a good portion of the audience had already fled. The Matthew Barney film, HOIST, brings new meaning to the term “man vs. machine” with typically some of the most unusual and twisted images and execution of a concept one could ever imagine. SYNC, by Marco Brambilla, effectively sets incredibly quick edits from scores of porn movies to a drumbeat track, while BALKAN EROTIC EPIC had some amusing renderings of scenes from Balkan folklore, where male and female genitalia seem to have mystical powers. But the provocative and highly entertaining Larry Clark film, IMPALED, was clearly the best of this bunch. Young men are first interviewed by the filmmaker about porn and their own sexual experiences, eventually asked to strip while competing to star in their own mini-porn film and the right to pick their professional co-star. The “winner” then interviews a series of porn actresses, has them get naked, and makes his selection. The film of their sexual liaison follows, not without a mishap or two. This part of the compilation is worthy of further exposure—no pun intended.
SHERRYBABY features an excellent ensemble cast and a great lead performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal as an ex-junkie, released from prison after serving three years. Out on parole, she tries to stay clean, find a job she won’t despise, and connect with her young daughter that her brother and sister-in-law have been raising. This is a remarkably tough, honest, and sexually charged performance for a film that packs such an emotional wallop that the first question asked during the post-film Q & A was by a woman bawling while singing the film’s praises to the director, Laurie Collyer (who made the unusual leap of a doc feature in competition five years ago, NUYORICAN DREAM, to such an accomplished narrative feature).
Turns out the right side of the Racquet Club venue is a little less noisy from the metal steps , something to remember for the rest of the festival.
Heading over for a bite at The Broken Thumb in between films, I run into the A HAWK IS DYING team, including director and FFF veteran and Ft. Myers native Julian Goldberger (TRANS), producer Jeff Levy-Hinte (WENDIGO, LAUREL CANYON), and star Paul Giamatti. With so many Florida connections (director, source material of a Harry Crews novel, the Gainesville setting, Kim and Mark Mullen’s casting help), this is top prospect for this year’s Florida Film Festival, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with distribution plans post-Sundance. The film itself is a unique story of a man obsessed. Giamatti plays the owner of an auto upholstery business in Gainesville, FL, who lives with his sister and her emotionally handicapped teenage son. Everything in his life however, seems to revolve around training hawks, and a tragedy sets him off on a downward spiral of exhaustion and delirium. This is challenging and deliberately paced material, much of it filmed at night or in darkness, and the cast, including Michelle Williams, Michael Pitt, and many authentic lesser-knowns, does a fine job with it.
ONE LAST DANCE is the new film from Max Makowski, creator of the extraordinary THE PIGEON EGG STRATEGY, which I saw at Sundance 7 or 8 years ago. This comedic gangster thriller from Singapore revolves around “T”, a classy and intelligent hitman tracking down some kidnappers for “the boss.” Constructed like an intricate cinematic puzzle, this visually stylish action film is punctuated by odd bits of wacky humor and digitally created gore effects. Unfortunately, I had to leave with about 5-10 minutes left to head to another screening because the film started 15 minutes late, a common occurrence two days in.
Yesterday was the “Techno Bus”, today it’s “Mr. Paranoia.” My bus trip from Main St. to The Yarrow for my final screening of the day featured an old driver who had his doom and gloom schpiel about driving in Park City during the festival down pat. He also refused to let a group of kids on the bus since they were eating ice cream cones, and according to a fellow passenger, had earlier refused to let someone bring a cup of coffee on the bus since the hot liquid was a “health hazard.” OK…
My final film of the day and first doc of the festival was the much anticipated TV JUNKIE. Skillfully compiled from more than 3000 hours of home video tapes, the film tells the dark and often disturbing tale of Rick Kirkham and his struggle to control his demons. A one-time national correspondent for TV’s “Inside Edition,” with a pretty wife and two small kids, his compulsion for video diaries provided a treasure trove of material to create a fascinating and sometimes harrowing narrative of what addiction can do to a picture-perfect life. A crying child has never been so ominous…
MC
At the end of the first night, Suzy, Jesse and I went to dinner at Oishi for some amazing sushi. Aaron Eckhart came in completely alone and ate at the bar and quietly enjoyed a dinner to himself. Huge brownie points in my book. The temptation to talk to him was there, but ultimately respecting his privacy was much more satisfying. Jesse saw him on day two, blessed him when he sneezed and chatted with him for a few. He was checking his email, no entourage in sight. Refreshing.
After dinner we did the Main Street lap, up the hill one side and down the other. It was cold, but watching people clamoring to get into parties is almost as much fun as getting into parties…by the way, did you know your ass can actually get frostbitten? It’s true.
Jesse and I left the condo at the crack of dawn on Saturday for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, one of the biggest belly laugh movies I’ve seen in a long time. Alan Arkin is priceless. Suzy loved it the night before so I didn’t mind the hike up to the library. Jesse was left out in the cold again, but caught a shorts program in the afternoon and hooked up with his old AFI buddies. The traffic from the weekend warrior snow skiers was already piling up. The fresh powder on the mountains, that continued to fall through the day, had the slopes packed.
At noon Suzy and I went to A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS at Eccles. A bit long and not completely focused, the powerful film was held firm by the incredible performances of Chazz Palminteri and Shia La Boeuf. Produced by Sting and Trudy Styler, she was in attendance up on stage for the Q&A. As the cast was leaving the stage, Robert Downey, Jr. said the magic word, “Sting!” he called. We (and about 500 others) turned to see the slender rock star climbing over seats to get to Trudy. There is no solace at Sundance…maybe he should talk to Aaron Eckhart to find out what his secret is?
A brief stop at Starbucks so I could blog, then a quick stop back at the condo to drop my computer off, Suzy and I headed to Main Street for a late lunch at Main St. Pizza and Noodle. We met lots of nice folks along the way. Waiting brings people together. After we ate I had to rush back to the Eccles for THE NIGHT LISTENER. Intense and tricky, I’m not sure the seven year old behind me picked up on all of the intricacies…what a child was doing in an adult thriller, I’m not exactly sure. A first for me at this Festival.
I went back up to Main for a little necessity shopping (OK, so I didn’t have a pair of gloves, I’m from Florida, sue me). I met Jesse who had eaten a second dinner at Oishi with his old pals and we headed back to the condo for some much needed rest before our crazy day Sunday. TTFN…
A 4:00 AM alarm in January can only mean one thing—it’s time once again to pick up Shannon before the crack of dawn and head to Sundance. With our traveling buddies in tow, I try to supplement my meager three hours of sleep last night by catching some z’s on the plane. No such luck, but I at least get a promising Florida Film Festival entry from Mexico watched on Shan’s laptop during the rest of the flight. Between the excitement over the microwave breakfast platter from a vending machine (classic!) and Lucy Liu (sans “Angels”) being nice and friendly to one of our men in uniform, baggage claim at Salt Lake City was not entirely lacking in entertainment value.
After a picturesque shuttle ride to our usual condo at the Three Kings (the snow covered mountains never fail to impress), we get registered with a little fuss but no real mess that’s ultimately taken care of in a caring and professional manner by the office staff and Cooper himself.
The first shuttle ride to a flick finds me in familiar company—FFF jury veteran Stephen Garrett, covering the festival for indieWIRE, Time Out, and Esquire, and IFP New York head Michelle Byrd, who got to hear about some of the projects I discovered at the IFP Market this year that will be appearing in the upcoming Florida Film Festival this March.
My movie watching kicks off at the new and improved (?) Raquet Club with SOMEBODIES, a funny and authentic African-American comedy set in Georgia that overflows with lots of local flavor and focuses on “Scottie” (well-played by writer-director Hadjii), a college student dealing with friends, family, religion, women, and life in general. Overall quite the crowd pleaser and an impressive debut. Regarding the new seating arrangement at the Racquet Club, the risers are a great idea for sightlines but the metal steps going up to the rear of the theater are awfully noisy. And the fact that the film started over 20 minutes late and some idiot’s cell phone rang about 8 times behind me didn’t help matters.
Shuttle buses are already taking forever to get from place to place, but at least I got on “the Techno Bus” to my next screening. Instrumental electronica played through the whole trip, and it didn’t sound like the format was changing anytime soon but I wasn’t complaining. SPECIAL was my next film, and Michael Rapaport is excellent in this unusually thoughtful and often humorous tale of a lonely, comic-book reading parking enforcement officer who believes the clinical drug trial he’s participating in has given him super powers. And the bad guys in suits are trying to stop him from fulfilling his destiny and doing good. Comic book fans should really dig this! I’d also like to congratulate Justin Hayward for DIVORCE LEMONADE, the terrific and visually striking comedic short that preceded SPECIAL. Well done—I just wish it had been submitted for this year’s FFF.
Closing out Day #1, it’s time to put on a few more layers and head out to a late show of DESTRICTED, the arty porn omnibus featuring short films from the likes of Matthew Barney, Gaspar Noe, and Larry Clark. More on this later…
Running into legendary folk singer Judy Collins (“Both Sides Now”) at the way-fun Full Sail party last night, condo mate and Metro Orlando Film Commission’s Suzy Allen swore to me that the famous musician was Joan “Dynasty” Collins’ sister. Though I explained to her that “Alexis Carrington’s” sister was a bestselling trash novelist (and not mentioning that the Collins sisters are British), Suzy wanted to bet me on the accuracy of her pop culture knowledge. I am way too nice to take advantage, but we did have a good laugh at her expense.
Jesse and I met his friend Susan at the Morning Ray Café for a wonderful brunch, then met up with Suzy for the Chrysler reception. They are doing a cool new version of the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Fest that involves a video game called The Movies. I also chatted with Matt from SXSW, everywhereman as I call him. Here is Suzy and Jesse with Dave Franco and the gang from Full Sail out on the balcony.
I hung out in the lobby close to David Fenkel from ThinkFILM so I didn’t have to go back out in the cold before getting into the midnight screening of AWESOME; I FUCKIN’ SHOT THAT, the Beasies concert doc shot in Madison Square Garden by 50 of their fans who were given Hi8 cameras. Awesome indeed! Adam and Mix Master Mike did a Q&A after the film that was hilarious. Sweet Matthew was waiting for me when I got out to walk home in the five degree bitter cold. On the way, I called Orlando’s number one Beastie fan, Drew Garabo at 4:30 AM Orlando time and filled him in on the movie. Thanks for the plugs Drew! Sweet sleep here I come…
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