Enzian Theater

Once Upon a Time in...Toronto (TIFF '08)

I've been here 3 days so far and have seen so much film I haven't been able to fit in a blog yet. So far I am thoroughly impressed with this city and this festival. I got into Toronto about mid-day on Friday and got in 2 films before the night was over. Kicking off my 5-day film marathon I caught the Brazilian feature ONCE UPON A TIME IN RIO. A unique adaptation on the Romeo and Juliet theme, the film is beautifully set both in the favela slum of Cantagalo and 'glamorous' Ipanema Beach and follows the almost fairy tale love story between a young hot dog vendor and a wealthy daughter of a well-to-do lawyer. Cinematography was magnificent - the cinema scope views of Rio from the perspective of the slums were absolutely stunning. Although the story was a little predictable and a little too drawn out, it was still captivating - I'd give it between 3 and 4 stars. Closed out my first day with a stop animation feature called EDISON & LEO. Although technically impressive, the story went all over the place and got me a little frustrated in the end. I'd give it less than 3 stars. I got in a lot more film in Days #2 and #3. I'll be blogging about that in the morning.
-- CHRIS BLANC (TIFF newbie)

Northern Exposure

Back in Toronto for my annual pilgrimage to international cinema heaven known as the Toronto Film Festival, but getting up here wasn't without incident. Dropping my car off at the Park and Ride by the Orlando airport at 5:30 AM, I accidentally turned on my hazard lights while putting up my sunshades in the windshield. Having never had to use the hazard lights before, of course I had no idea how or where to turn them off (being unable to see the little red triangle on the dashboard didn't help matters). After at least 10 minutes that felt like an eternity, the mechanical genius in me finally found the damn button and I was able to catch my shuttle without fear of returning home to a dead battery.

The passenger next to me on the flight up was an older guy who looked like he was from India or Pakistan but ended up telling me he emigrated from Guyana. At least I think that's what he said, since he talked the whole way up to Canada and his accent was so thick that I literally understood maybe 10% of what he was saying. An actual conversation was difficult and lots of head nodding transpired, but he was a sweet guy on his way to visit his sick older sister in Toronto.

Upon arrival and pick-up of the Press Screening schedule, I instantly noticed two things--the weather was delightful (haven't felt a cool breeze in Orlando for a while) and the pickings were slim for evening screenings. I'm not sure about the reasons for the cutback, but many are grumbling over the paucity of film choices after dinner time if you don't want to deal with the cost and effort of getting into public screenings. It was such a nice development last year for those of us that aren't party animals, that it's a shame it wasn't continued.

The Opening Night Party was gigantic and packed (and fun) as always, but I must admit the food this year was a bit underwhelming. Someone obviously thought that beef stew and mashed potatos, sausage, chicken/seafood/ham and cheese crepes, and other fairly unappetizing grub all went with the war theme of the Opening Night film, Paul Gross' PASSCHENDAELE. At least the desserts were impressive and as always, the alcohol was flowing. And while no one was really talking about the movie, everyone wanted to talk about Sarah Palin and the election as soon as they found out you were American.

And what's the skinny on the films so far? I've yet to see a film from the U.S., but I've been mostly pleased with my choices. Using the 5-star system our Orlando press uses, here's what I've checked out so far:

SAUNA (3-stars) - Tarkovsky meets Blair Witch in this creepy, evocative and well-shot 16th century tale of ghosts, demons, Swedes and Russians setting territory borders in a mysterious forest. As good as the build-up is, the ending is way over the top and ultimately disappointing. This horror entry from Finland is too gory for the art crowd, too poetic and arty for the midnight audience.

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (5-stars) - a stunning and powerful animated documentary from Israel about war, responsibility, and the nature of selective memory. As the filmmaker searches for information related to what really happened at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp massacres in Beirut over 25 years ago, you'll be mesmerized from the opening scene of wild dogs running in the streets. Perhaps not the crowd pleaser that PERSEPOLIS proved to be, but a novel and important work.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (not yet rated) - Only got to see the first half of this wild South Korean take on the spaghetti western by Kim Jee-woon (THE FOUL KING), but I loved it. Incredible action scenes, great characters and funny as hell, in all its cinemascope glory--I can't to see the whole thing soon. When's IFC releasing it?

HEAVEN ON EARTH (3-stars) - The latest from Deepa Mehta (WATER) is sure to stir things up once again with this well-acted drama of an Indian bride who comes to Canada for an arranged marriage, a mother-in-law from hell, and an abusive and controlling husband, not to mention an extended family all living under one (small) roof. Strong material, but the use of grainy B&W and the magical elements didn't work for me.

O'HORTEN (4-stars) - Bent Hamer, director of FACTOTUM and KITCHEN STORIES, returns to his native Norway for this typically dry, Scandinavian-funny look at a retiring train conductor. After 40 years at the helm, 67-year-old Odd Horten's orderly existence gives way to a bunch of quirky encounters and absurd situations. A lovely film that will put a smile on your face--someone in the audience giggled loudly through the whole thing.

EDISON & LEO (2-stars) - Co-written by the screenwriter of Guy Maddin's THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, this is an ambitious, well-crafted but boring and ridiculous stop-motion animated feature about a thieving inventor (loosely based on Thomas Edison) who has a hairdo like Wolverine. Too violent and twisted for kids, most adults won't care less. I kept thinking of DAVEY & GOLIATH for some reason, and that's not a good thing.

--Matthew

14th South Asian Film Fest Ready To Go

The lineup is complete for Beyond Bollywood: The 14th Annual South Asian Film Festival, coming to Enzian September 27 - 29. A joint production of Enzian and the Asian Cultural Association, this year's schedule is a formidable one, with two Southeast premieres, award-winning festival favorites, and appearances by attending filmmakers on Saturday and Sunday. Look for culinary treats and beverages as well (mmmm...ice cold Kingfisher beer).

First (and last) up will be Richie Mehta's AMAL, the touching and humorous tale of a humble New Delhi auto-rickshaw driver whose life may be drastically changed as a result of one of his passengers. Co-starring renowned actors Naseerudin Shah and Roshan Seth, the film recently won Best Narrative Feature at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Next is a powerful drama set in 1950's South Africa, where apartheid is just beginning and two women (Sheetal Sheth and Lisa Ray) form a relationship that will change their lives forever. THE WORLD UNSEEN was an official selection of both the Toronto and London Film Festivals. It will be preceded by a short work that's a reflection on the irony of idol worship, HUNGRY GOD. Orlando-based filmmaker Sukhu Gokhale will be present for Q&A.

Sunday morning brings Chris Smith's Sundance Special Jury Prize winner, THE POOL. Co-starring Indian cinema legend Nana Patekar, this poignant gem of a film focuses on a young man working at one of Goa's budget hotels who dreams of bettering himself while getting involved with a wealthy man and his teenage daughter. And the afternoon will feature THE SKY BELOW, Sarah Singh's beautifully shot and insightful documentary about the 1947 Partition in India and its longterm affects on the people of both India and Pakistan. Sarah will be in attendance for what promises to be quite a provocative Q&A.

Further info on these titles and tickets and passes can be found on the Enzian website at www.enzian.org Be sure to add this very special event to your cultural calendar.

--Matthew

This Just In--Rays Still Good

In fact, they're really good and (I can't believe I'm saying this), maybe the best team in baseball?! Three months ago when people started taking notice, including that terrific Sports Illustrated "Bizarro-world" cover, it was a nice story about a great turnaround of a lame franchise and everyone questioned when the bubble would burst. Yet here they still are, the Tampa Bay Rays on the day after Labor Day, with the best overall record in baseball, the best home record in baseball, the best record in August, and six games up on the Red Sox in the loss column. And this is without two of their best players, Carl Crawford and probable AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria, out for most of last month along with their closer, Troy Percival. Hell, they haven't lost a series since before the All Star break, and no one's even having a career year.

This team has excellent starting pitching, good defense, and clutch hitting. They've gone from worst to first in the toughest division in baseball, and it looks like they're going to ride this wave all the way into the playoffs. Even as my Twins fight down the stretch for their postseason lives, it's hard not to root for such an amazing and unpredictable turn of events. Go Rays! (unless you're playing Minnesota...)

--Matthew

FFF Grand Jury Winners Return

In a curious turn of events or simply wonderful coincidence, it appears that all three of the 2008 Florida Film Festival Grand Jury Award winners in the Shorts categories (Narrative, Documentary, and Animation) will be back on Enzian's screen this Fall, as well as the Best Narrative Feature winner. First up will be Alex Holdridge's lovely and hilarious Best Feature, IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS, tentatively scheduled to open September 19. This smart romantic comedy is the only one of the award winners we actuallly had control of bringing back, since the shorts were at the mercy of the curators of their respective programs.

Next on the horizon is Signe Baumane's "explicitly educational" series, TEAT BEAT OF SEX," winner of Best Animated Short, which will be one of only two American selections in the 11th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival. The festival will be utilizing Episodes #8 - 11, the losing-her-virginity story arc that had its North American Premiere at FFF in early April, and will play Enzian on Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30 PM. More on the just-announced complete lineup later...

And finally, Myna Joseph's powerful and unsettling sister story, MAN, winner of the Best Narrative Short (automatically qualifying it for next year's Oscars in the category of Best Live Action Short), and Daniel Robin's haunting look at his parents' marriage, MY OLYMPIC SUMMER, the Best Documentary Short, will both return in the same program on Wednesday, December 3. These are but two of the amazing films in the Sundance Art House Project Shorts program, a collection of some of the best short films from last year's Sundance that happens to include not only the aforementioned FFF Grand Jury Award winners, but two other outstanding FFF vets as well--the Bill Murray-starring FCU: FACT CHECKERS UNIT and the Australian shocker, SPIDER. More on the complete program of this one later as well...

In the meantime, have a safe and restful Labor Day weekend.

--Matthew

Mets Going Down

After their monumental collapse out of playoff contention the final three weeks of last year, it's hard to fathom that this team could continue bringing the pain. Tuesday night the NY Mets actually blew a 7-0 lead on the road to their biggest rival, Philadelphia, and ended up losing the game in 13 innings. Guess who's no longer in first place? By my count that's over 20 times this season already that the Mets' bullpen has stunk up the joint and blown games that should have been "W"s (costing Johan Santana at least 6 more wins and a shot at another Cy Young). Apparently the aging-but-not-quite-washed up Pedro Martinez, yesterday's starting pitcher/victim, was 47 - 0 lifetime when staked to a 7 run lead--that record is no longer unscathed.

While I root for the Mets in the NL and picked them to win their division in the "World's Greatest Baseball Pool," I am thankful that I don't bleed orange and blue like my sister Jolie, who's a die-hard fan even though she lives in Oregon. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with my beloved Twins' 14-game road trip (their longest in 40 years due to the Republican national convention in Minneapolis--yet another reason to be disgusted) that's off to a disappointing start with four straight losses after winning the first two in LA. It's definitely crunch time, and they simply have to play better on the road or the surging White Sox will make their 3-game series in Minny the final week of the season a moot point.

--Matthew

A Spike Classic at Enzian

Has it really been almost 20 years? Spike Lee's first great film, the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning DO THE RIGHT THING (1989), makes a rare appearance on the big screen in 35mm as part of Enzian's Cult Classics series on Tuesday night at 9:30 PM. Incredibly entertaining and still quite provocative, the film focuses on life in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, where a white-owned pizza parlor flourishes in the predominantly black neighborhood. But on this particular sweltering summer day, circumstances lead to an outbreak of hostilities...

In just his third feature after SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT (1986) and SCHOOL DAZE (1988), Spike's writing and filmmaking reaches a skill level here that established him as a major American filmmaker from that point on. The cast he worked with was sensational, and included both Hollywood veterans and actors ready to hit the bigtime in the indie film world--Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Giancarlo Esposito, John Turturro, Richard Edson, Bill Nunn, John Savage, Rosie Perez, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Lawrence, and of course, Spike himself as Mookie the delivery boy, all lent their talents to this landmark and incendiary film about race relations.

DO THE RIGHT THING was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actor for Aiello and Best (Original) Screenplay for Spike), won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Cinematography award (Ernest Dickerson), and four Los Angeles Film Critics Asociations awards including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, and Music. On the eve of a black man receiving his party's nomination to run for President for the first time in American history, there may never be a more appropriate time to revisit or check out this brilliant and thought-provoking work. I know I'll be there.

--Matthew

FFF 09 Open For Business

From the shameless plug department: the 2009 Florida Film Festival (March 27 - April 5), the 18th annual edition of Central Florida's most celebrated film event held every spring, is now officially taking submissions for both domestic and international features and shorts. Call for Entries forms and information can found on the festival website at www.floridafilmfestival.com/img09/PDF/call_for_entries.pdf or through Withoutabox at www.withoutabox.com/login/1139

We look forward to previewing your work!

-Matthew

Another Enzian Accolade

Enzian Theater, the Orlando area's only full-time, not-for-profit art house since 1985, was recently nominated as one of Central Florida's "Best Places to Work in 2008" presented by the Orlando Business Journal (circ. 100,000). Among the top raves about each of the best-places-to-work nomineess are job flexibility, open lines of communication, family-oriented atmosphere, recognition and encouragement from management, and employee engagement. And as I get ready to begin my 13th year as Programming Director for both Enzian and the Florida Film Festival in the next couple of weeks, I can only add one thing to those comments (and a small tribute to the late Isaac Hayes to boot)--Right On!

--Matthew

Japanese Beatlemania Hits O-town

Friday night at The Social in downtown Orlando I had one of the most fun experiences at a club that I've had in a long time. The Silver Beats are a Beatles cover band from Tokyo, complete with original guitars and outfits, and they put on a fantastic show that exceeded all expectations. Concentrating on mostly earlier material including those great Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins covers from the first LPs and live shows, they took a brief foray into later stuff such as "Come Together," "Don't Let Me Down," a keyboard-less (!) "Let It Be," and "Back in the USSR." But the majority of their 95 minute set was "Rubber Soul" and back, hit after hit, energetically performed often note for note. And you know how many great Beatle songs can be played in an hour and a half?

Apparently the band have 160 tunes in their Fab Four repertoire, hold a steady gig at The Cavern Club (I kid you not) in Tokyo, and just finished a tour as openers for The Killers. When the members were introduced by both their Beatle names and real names, "Paul" introduced "John" as "the # 1 John Lennon in Japan!" When you see and hear this guy, you don't doubt it. Check them out at www.silverbeats.com or the "A Hard Day's Night" promotional video on You Tube. Watch out for cheap imitations though--apparently there's a Silver Beats in Spain as well that can't hold a candle to these talented performers from the Far East. The merch table had cool retro shirts and buttons too, but it's the unbelievable pop genius of song after song and effervescent performances that put a big smile on everyone's faces--hipsters and rednecks, hippies, punks, and middle-agers alike.

I know New York has an acclaimed Beatles cover band of famous session musicians called The Fab Faux, but The Silver Beats have made a believer out of me. You need to see these guys...

--Matthew

We've Got a Winner

Last weekend's gathering of local filmmakers and film fans, including some of the participants of Enzian's Young Filmmaker Summer Camp, made for a unique FilmSlam # 8. A solid crowd of 70 or so viewers took in the 8-film program and voted on their favorites (though MISSION Y (BECAUSE MISSION X FAILED) was not eligible since Enzian was intimately involved with its production). Taking 1st Place and receiving a bye into December's Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase was Bradley Kelly's A LOT, a short about a businessman on his way to reconcile with his estranged wife who must first deal with a parking lot attendant. Congrats as well to 2nd place winner Daniel Robert Scherr for his THE GOOD DOCTOR and 3rd Place winner Joe Malys for his DAY OF THE MUMMY.

And a shout out to FilmSlam programmer and host John Theisen for his latest bit of media coverage on the front page of the August 2 issue of The Forum, a free local paper produced by the Orlando Sentinel. Way to go John!

--Matthew

More Good News for Enzian & FFF

Still playing catch-up after a late July vacation and time away last week for family health issues, but in the interim the Orlando Weekly (Central Florida's cool alternative paper, circ. 75,000) came out with their annual "Best of" issue. And sure 'nuff Enzian was chosen as "Best Theater in Orlando" and the Florida Film Festival was ranked #3 for "Orlando's Best Festivals" category, following the Orlando Fringe Festival and the Florida Music Festival.

Enzian Theater has been the recipient of the readers' poll award eleven out of twelve years since the Weekly began publishing their "Best of Orlando" series in 1996, while this is the Florida Film Festival's first year earning an award for "Orlando's Best Festivals." The Weekly's "Best of Orlando" awards are chosen by the publication's readers and residents of Central Florida, and we're proud and appreciative that they selected us.

--Matthew

Grand Guignol or High Camp?

In retrospect probably both, but who cares? All I know is that a rare 35mm print of Robert Aldrich's WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962), starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Victor Buono, plays Enzian tonight (Tuesday) as part of the increasingly popular, bi-weekly Cult Classics series. This landmark personality-disorder horror film, thriller, black comic Gothic chiller, or whatever you want to label it, could be considered a direct descendant of Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD, and it scared the crap out of me when I was little. But so did William Castle's STRAIGHT-JACKET (also starring Crawford), which upon recent viewing as one of the Midnight Features in this year's Florida Film Festival, now plays as an absolute camp classic that is flat-out hilarious and bizarre.

Sibling rivalry reached a new pinnacle of perversion in this twisted tale of two sisters under one roof, one a former actress now confined to a wheelchair who's dependent on the other, a former child star now both demented and highly resentful. Scary and fun and featuring one of Bette Davis' most memorable and over-the-top performances, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? also proved to be quite influential, triggering a decade-long run of horror films starring older actresses in psychotic roles. Davis herself (along with Olivia de Havilland and Agnes Moorehead) followed it up with HUSH...HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE three years later, and other titles like DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! with Tallulah Bankhead, WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, and WHO SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (Winters again!) tried to cash in on the trend. And of course, I couldn't get enough of them in those pre-teen years--a cheap thrill is a cheap thrill.

--Matthew

KidFest Creation to Rock FilmSlam

This Sunday, August 10, at 1:00 PM marks the occasion of yet another gathering of some of the finest in local filmmaking that the Central Florida area has to offer. FilmSlam # 8 is ready to go and features what appears to be a fascinating and eclectic mix of short films, including a doc about Disney pioneer Ub Iwerks (!), a mummy movie that's got to better than the sequel that's currently at the multiplex, and a doc about a proposed life-size statue of surf champion Kelly Slater in Cocoa Beach. The cherry on the top however, is the inclusion of the mini sci-fi epic produced at the Enzian's KidFest Young Filmmakers Summer Camp just a couple of weeks ago--MISSION Y (BECAUSE MISSION X FAILED). Congratulations to all the 5th - 8th grade campers that made it happen, as well as writers/supervisors Jay Henderson and Jon Jones.

Now come on out and show your support, Orlando!

--Matthew

Favre Crisis Finally Over

America Held Hostage by Brett Favre's "un-retirement" is finally over--thank God! ESPN will have to figure out something else to cover after all these weeks. The Packers did us all a favor by unloading the Green Bay living legend with the rocket arm to the NY Jets for a conditional 4th round draft pick--the better the Jets do and the closer they get to the Super Bowl, the higher the draft pick will be. And the Packers made absolutely sure the Jets could not just turn around and trade him to his team of choice (and mine of course)--the Minnesota Vikings. Apparently there's a clause in the trade contract that says the Jets will owe Green Bay three (!) first round draft picks if they trade him to the Vikes. So that ain't happenin', but at least I won't have to deal with the conflicted emotions of having my football team's most hated rival and arch-nemesis suddenly taking over to try and lead them to a championship. Granted they'd have a better shot at a Super Bowl with Brett than Tarvaris Jackson, but did we really want to go there?

So let's hear it--I.N.T.S, JETS, JETS, JETS! Unless of course he suddenly changes his mind and retires again.

--Matthew