What a way to end the fest… Wednesday’s screening of “Happy Tears,” an awkward and unfortunate family story starring Demi Morre, Parker Posey and Rip Torn. Mitchell Lichtenstein’s follow-up to “Teeth,” I’m sorry to say, is an uneven mess. A weak script, erratic performances, bad music, strange tone, it just never comes together. Leslie Felperin’s Variety review was a bit more forgiving. It begins, “Like its almost oxymoronic title, indie pic “Happy Tears” is a contradictory creature, both insightful and dumb, sometimes innovative and sometimes just plain inept.” Cinetic is selling the film, and I certainly wish them luck with the film in this tough marketplace, but a number industry insiders I spoke with today were shocked at how bad this film is. One buyer told me via email:
“I thought ‘Happy Tears was an embarrassment. That film is in competition???? I would be more forgiving if it was in comp in sundance but the programming here is seriously bad. I was floored it was premiering here. It’s a market film at best. And people wonder why buyers get so cynical!”
Sorry Berlin, but you reject “Push” and accept this?? Ugh.
Potsdamer Platz.
[photo by eugene hernandez]
Am ending my day in Berlin watching President Obama’s first press conference after starting my day early this morning with Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross’s latest documentary, “The Shock Doctrine.” Tonight, Obama referenced this “winter of our hardship,” referring to a crisis that he said has seen the loss of 3.6 million jobs, half of those in the last 3 months. Winterbottom and Whitecross lay the blame at the feet of Milton Friedman, as I wrote in an indieWIRE dispatch earlier today.
Carefully crafted to support a subjective viewpoint, the doc is an both artful and effective as a call to action. However, when I asked them about the role of non-fiction film in causing change (in contrast to the role of more traditional journalism), the filmmakers begged off, saying that they were ultimately intending to simply tell a story.
I don’t buy it. They clearly have a point of view that is aligned with that of their film’s subject, Naomi Klein, and they are aimed at seeing change happen. But, I understand their not wanting to set the bar too high. The film is still a work in progress, they are getting close to final cut. The version we watched to today seemed to have temp music in spots and lacked end credits. But, its a well-executed survey of three decades of what they called a “disaster capitalism complex” that has crippled the international economy.
Michael Winterbotton (center) and Mat Whitecross (left) at the Berlinale press conference room inside the Grand Hyatt at Potsdamer Platz.
[photo by eugene hernandez]
I was surprised to hear folks booing and whistling at the end of Lucas Moodysson’s latest, “Mammoth.” While I found the film quite disappointing, like others I didn’t find the booing warranted. As I wrote in a dispatch from Berlin today for indieWIRE, Moodysson doesn’t shy away from stirring a debate with his work, yet he also admitted that he’s been surprised by the audience respose to his new movie.
Personally, I was most frustrated by a particularly unfortunate music choice that Moodysson made, employing Cat Power’s “The Greatest” at two points in the film. That song was already used distinctively by Wong Kari Wai in his disappointment, “My Blueberry Nights,” and it re-appeared earlier this week at the climax of Francois Ozon’s “Ricky.” Having the terrific song appear so earnestly in Moodysson’s latest made the movie feel just that much more out of touch.
Remember Kerry Fox? From Jane Campion’s “An Angel At My Table” and Danny Boyle’s “Shallow Grave”?? Back in the early 90s, she cultivated a following among my group of friends and it seemed like she and Campion could do no wrong.
I didn’t realize that Fox had essentially vanished until two nights ago here in Berlin when, at the opening night party, Marcus Hu from Strand whispered loudly to me, “Did you see who that is?” He pointed out Kerry Fox seated near me. I hopped up, he introduced us and I snapped a photo for indieWIRE. In retrospect, I wish I’d found a way to politely ask, “Where have you been all these years?”
That photo sits atop a brief dispatch from Berlin, covering her terrific turn in Hans Christian Schmid’s “Storm,” which debuted today here at the festival. The film is solid and engaging and Fox’s lead role keeps it on track even when it threatens to get a bit too conventional. I expect she’ll get some great notices for the performance. Kudos!
[An image from Jane Campion’s “An Angel At My Table.”]
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