Chlotrudis Mewsings

Check out the trailer for the U.S. release of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

2008-10-02T07:04:00.003-04:00

The best film I saw at the Provincetown International Film Festival was definitely the chilling yet sweet Swedish film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Magnet Films, which is releasing the film domestically, captures the feel of the film wonderfully, although it does show quite a bit, so if you want to be completely surprised, you may want to skip it. I can't wait to see it again.

Bo Smith Chosen as New Executive Director for the Denver Film Society!

2008-09-21T12:10:00.009-04:00

Ty Burr posted on Movie Nation about the Museum of Fine Art's Bo Smith taking the position of the Denver Film Society's new Executive Director. This news is Chlotrudis-related for many reasons, not the least of which is the loss at the MFA of over 20 years of film curatorial experience in the form of Bo Smith. Ignoring its awkward and confusing way of scheduling films, the MFA is one of the few places where you can see international films that just wouldn't get any play in Boston otherwise. Certainly I have Bo to thank for my exposure to the amazing Tsai Ming-Liang, a director for which Chlotrudis and Smith share a deep appreciation. It was during a retrospective of that director's work that I saw WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? a film that has had a profound impact on the way I view international film.

While Bo never attended a Chlotrudis Award Ceremony, he was a supporter of our organization. One of our earliest and most successful collaborations with theatres featured a special sneak preview screening of ATANARJUAT (THE FAST RUNNER) with director Zacharias Kunuk and producer Norman Cohn present. After the screening at the MFA, we teamed with the Canadian Consulate for a lovely reception. It was a special event that we could never have done without Bo's help.

In addition to this type of formal collaboration, the Museum of Fine Arts is home to many film festivals that we have collaborated with. In addition to the Boston Jewish Film Festival, Chlotrudis has collaborated with the Boston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Boston French Film Festival, all of which are held partially or entirely at the MFA.

So the Denver Film Society is sure to be in capable hands, which is certainly a comfort to me personally. Why is that, you may ask? Well I happen to know that one of the people in the running for this job was my friend and fellow-Chlotrudis member, Denverite Shannon Daut. While I was very excited about the possibility that Shannon might be the Executive Director of the Denver Film Society , and the possibilities that would have allowed regarding potential Chlotrudis collaboration, I am happy to be able to let Shannon know that her city's Film Society is in good hands.

Amanda and Gil - Back from TIFF '08

2008-09-14T17:08:00.015-04:00

After six days and twelve screenings, we're back in town and ready to report to everyone about the films that we saw.

The Best

Slumdog Millionaire (UK, Danny Boyle)

Winner of the Cadillac People’s Choice Award! A young Indian man, who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, becomes a finalist on the TV show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Due to his background and upbringing, the authorities question the young man as they assume he has been cheating. During their interrogation, we learn about the boy’s life and how he came to learn the answers to the questions. Brilliant direction and screenplay by director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). Q&A with director Boyle, actors Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, and screenwriter Beaufoy. 5 cats.

The Wrestler (USA, Darren Aronofsky)

Comeback of the year! Mickey Rourke is Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a washed-up professional wrestler whose glory days are long-gone. Instead of playing to sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, Robinson must now settle for wrestling in front of a few hundred bloodthirsty diehards in school gymnasiums. While hard to watch at times (especially the barbed wire match), Aronofsky brings a complete character study of a man who doesn’t know how to function out of the limelight. Introduction by Darren Aronofsky, no Q&A. 4.5 cats

Sill Walking (Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda)

A quiet, slow-paced drama that perfectly captures the dynamics of a family reunion as the Yokoyama family gathers to commemorate the 15th anniversary of eldest son Junpei’s accidental death. There was a nice introduction by Kore-eda. 4.5 cats

Horn of Plenty / El Cuerno de la abondancia (Cuba, Juan Carlos Tabío, co-director of Strawberry and Chocolate)

A comedy about the upheaval that occurs in the small town of Yamaguey when the extended Castiñeiras family learns of a large inheritance that may be coming to them. Excellent acting, especially Jorge Perugorría in the lead role of Bernardito. A story of family relationships and the quest for material gain, set against the backdrop of the poverty, isolation, and class differences of modern-day Cuba. Q&A with Perugorría. 4.5 cats

Something Different

$9.99 (Israel/Australia, Tatia Rosenthal)

A stop-motion animated film for grown-ups, based on short stories by Israeli writer Etgar Keret. The film tells the intertwining stories of a group of neighbors, including a widower, a little boy, a homeless man who may be an angel, and a young man named Dave, who discovers a book that will tell him the meaning of life for only $9.99. The biggest surprise of the night was the unexpected attendance of Geoffry Rush (the voice of the angel) who did the Q&A with director Rosenthal. 4 cats

24 City (China, Jia Zhang-Ke)

Part documentary, part narrative, this film documents the demise of a giant Chengdu factory complex, which is being dismantled to make way for a new high-end housing development called ’24 City.’ Interviews with three generations of factory workers and their family members are interspersed with monologues by Chinese actresses Lv Liping, Joan Chen, and Zhao Tao, who are themselves representative of the three generations. We’re not sure if we liked the idea of blending the real and made-up narratives, but it worked, and the film provided a fascinating glimpse into the fast pace of social and economic change in recent Chinese history. No Q&A. 4 cats

Detroit Metal City (Japan, Toshio Lee)

Based on the popular anime story, this bizarre film tells the story of a young man who dreams of playing “trendy” pop songs. Somewhere along the way, his life takes a wrong turn and he finds himself the lead singer of D.M.C. (Detroit Metal City), Japan’s answer to KISS. Part of the Midnight Madness selection, Detroit Metal City is a future cult classic that will surely find an audience that is looking for something fun and different. Director Lee introduced the film and stayed for Q&A, but we did not, as we were running late for another film. 4 cats.

Religulous (USA, Larry Charles)

Bill Maher looks into the beliefs and practices of a number of different organized religions. Shot in a comedic style that is similar to the Morgan Spurlock and Michael Moore, this documentary is entertaining yet seems overambitious and may have benefited from narrowing its focus. Q&A with Larry Charles. 3.5 cats.

More World Cinema

Linha de Passe (Brazil, Walter Salles, director of the Motorcycle Diaries and Central Station, and Daniela Thomas)

A portrait of four brothers and their pregnant mother struggling to get by in São Paolo, Brazil. The mother works as a maid and cheers on the local soccer team. Denis, the oldest, works as a motorcycle courier and has a child of his own. Dario, 18, wants to be a professional soccer player. Dinho works at a gas station and spends much of his time in an evangelical church. Reginaldo, the youngest, spends much of his time riding the city bus, looking for his father. No Q&A – the film opened in Brazil the same night we saw it. 3.5 cats

Country Wedding (Iceland, Valdís Óskarsdóttir)

Having never seen an Icelandic film, we were excited to see one of two Icelandic wedding films that screened at the festival (the other one was White Night Wedding). Largely improvised, this “road” comedy follows the wedding party and close family – who each have a secret – as they travel across the countryside in rented buses looking for the chapel where the wedding will be held. Good performances, but a bit too much bickering. Q&A with one of the actors. 3.5 cats

Un été sans point ni coup sûr / A No-Hit No-Run Summer (Canada, Francis Leclerc)

A light-hearted family comedy set in Montreal during the summer of 1969, the Expos’ first season. Twelve-year-old Martin dreams of playing on the local little-league baseball team. But, when he doesn’t make the cut, his father forms a “B” team with all of the kids who didn’t make the team. The film was a bit too sentimental for our taste, especially Martin’s imaginary conversations with one of the Expos’ players. But the film should appeal to baseball fans, especially those who grew up during the late 60s/early 70s. Q&A with the director, producer, screenwriter, and one of the actors. 3 cats.

A Film with Me in It (Ireland, Ian FitzGibbon)

We wanted to see this black comedy about two slackers (one writer and one actor) because we’re fans of Irish comedian Dylan Moran, from the British TV series Black Books. Despite an excellent performance by Moran, the film was disappointing as it didn’t come together as well as it could have. No Q&A. 2.5 cats

Ten Fall Indies

2008-09-13T12:45:00.002-04:00

With the prestigious fall movie season almost underway, here are but ten (and in a few cases, relatively) independent films I’m looking forward to. Release dates are New York ones (so we might not see a few of the December releases in Boston until Jan. or beyond) and as always, subject to change.

BALLAST
Since I’ve missed it at two local film festivals, will some daring programmer in Boston please book a run of Lance Hammer’s acclaimed, purportedly visually stunning, self-distributed debut feature? If not, I’ll attempt to make a one-off screening with the director in person on September 29 at the Harvard Film Archive. (Oct. 1)

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
The plot sounds like a retread of last year’s MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, but great reviews from Toronto say otherwise—a long awaited return-to-form (and return to relatively low-budget filmmaking) from Jonathan Demme? A great role for Anne Hathaway? The triumphant return of Debra Winger? (Oct. 3)

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Mike Leigh’s last two features haven’t exactly been a barrel of laughs, so I anticipate his upbeat tale of a relentlessly optimistic London schoolteacher (Sally Hawkins), and also approach it with a little caution, for Leigh’s sharpest work has only the faintest rays of hope struggling through all the gloom and dysfunction. (Oct. 10)

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
I missed this supposedly sweet, Swedish, coming-of-age vampire film when it played Provincetown this year, and I don’t intend to do so if it plays here again—after all the lurid, sexed-up stuff we’ve seen on the subject, this alternative take sounds refreshing. (Oct. 24)

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
In his directorial debut (and first film since ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND), Charlie Kaufman gives us Philip Seymour Hoffman as a theatre director building a life-sized replica of New York City inside a warehouse. Sounds like it’ll be either mind-blowing or completely inscrutable, but not boring. (Oct. 24)

A CHRISTMAS TALE
Arnaud Despelchin follows KINGS AND QUEEN with this holiday-set ensemble piece that received more than a few raves when it premiered in Cannes last May. Promisingly, the cast reprises a few faces from the earlier film, including Mathieu Almaric, Emmanuelle Devos and Catherine Deneuve. (Nov. 14)

MILK
High expectations for this biopic to be the next BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN—it just might work if Sean Penn (as slain gay elected official Harvey Milk) proves his mettle while not overacting, and if director Gus Van Sant transforms the instinctual feel of his last few films into a more approachable (but not too conventional) narrative. (Nov. 26)

WENDY AND LUCY
Kelly Reichardt’s OLD JOY suggested a lot of potential I hope her new film fulfills. It sounds like another deceptively simple but carefully constructed story, involving a woman (Michelle Williams), her dog and an impoverished economic milieu most American movies overlook or ignore. (Dec. 10)

THE CLASS
Winning the top prize at Cannes doesn’t necessarily equate a great film. Laurent Cantet’s (HEADING SOUTH) French classroom drama will hopefully be a worthy successor to last year’s winner. (Dec. 12)

WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Unusual, innovative animated features that manage to find an audience always intrigue me. This Israeli film, which straddles the line between fiction and documentary and looks like a cross between WAKING LIFE and PERSEPOLIS, may be the next. (Dec. 26)

TIFF Day 5 (posted on Day 9)

2008-09-12T08:36:00.002-04:00

Every Little Step 4 cats The director of this documentary got incredible access to every aspect of the audition process for the revival of A Chorus Line – he combines this with audio and interview footage from the 70’s during the original musical’s inception, and present day interviews with people who were part of both productions.

Ashes of Time Redux 4 cats Wong Kar Wai in the house! Biggest rockstar reception I saw anywhere, including the Canadian galas – the Ryerson went nuts when the TIFF speaker introduced him. I haven’t seen the original version of the film, so can’t say how well the Redux part of the film was, but good god is it a beautiful film. It’s his only martial arts film, and tells the story of great fighters, each told in its own seasonal vignette. The fight scenes are shot like paintings, broad strokes of movement and shifting light, and the score accentuates the big mood with sweeping orchestral pieces, featuring Yo Yo Ma. This is the film that inspired Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon – it’s 15 years old, but you can’t tell that at all on the screen.

Adoration 3.5 cats Another big Canadian premiere at the Elgin – this one wasn’t as crazy as Blindness, but it was still madness. Speaking of mad, Arsinee Khahjian is off her rocker in this film about the line between truth and fiction in a day of viral communication. A student is encouraged by his French teacher (Khahjian) to write a piece in POV style, so that his classmates will believe it’s his own story. The ruse is far more effective and its impact wider than either expect – in part because of the way in which elements of the lie dovetail with the student and teacher’s personal histories. Truth and fiction seem to have the most effect, though, on the boy’s uncle (Scott Speedman) who has raised him since the death of the boy’s parents years ago. The leads give strong performances, but the usual Egoyanian timeshifting gets confusing this time around, I think because the story is about a story that itself plays with time – it’s like there’s one layer too many. Egoyan uses the internet to be something of a postmodern Greek chorus, and while I don’t know that internet oriented stories are ever going to be all that interesting to film, he does as good a job as possible to prevent the computer usage scenes from killing the film’s tempo. Sadly, though, the score really really bugged me – while it was gorgeous music, the whole time I felt like it was pushing on me and on the movie to have a tone and mood that wasn’t on the screen. (So if you like the music, then I think you might give it 4 cats)

This is it for me while in Toronto – the rest of my films will get posted from home. Now I’m off to checkout, and catch my last two films of the fest. Ciao for now!

TIFF Day 4 reviews (posted on Day 7)

2008-09-11T00:24:00.001-04:00

Dean Spanley 4 cats
This charmer of a film showcases the sublime skills of Jeremy Northam, Peter O’Toole and Sam Neill. Set in 1900s England, a man (Northam) decides to liven up his regular Thursday visits to his eccentric set in stone father (O’Toole) with a trip to a lecture on the transmigration of souls. There they meet Dean Spanley (Neill), another odd sort of fellow with a taste for Tokay. Later the man meets the Dean again, and realizes that when in his cups, Dean Spanley gets rather – doggish. Intrigued beyond his better judgment, the man invites the Dean over for dinner, and Thursdays will never be the same again. This was an unexpected treat to start the day, the script just sparkles with fantastic lines - the Edwardian farce is going along at a splendid clip, and then all of the sudden, it turns on a dime and good lord I was caught out Kleenex-less, no fair! Peter O’Toole is simply fantastic.

Krabat 3.5 cats
Based on a beloved story/myth/folktale (couldn’t quite get a bead on which) - in 15th century Germany in the midst of plague and the 30 Years War, Krabat is a homeless boy who heeds a mysterious call to become the 12th apprentice at a strange mill overseen by the Master. He is shown the ropes by the head apprentice (Daniel Bruhl), who seems to have some secrets of his own in this dark, odd place which dabbles in sorcery and black arts. Is it Krabat’s destiny to become the inheritor of the Master’s work, or his destroyer? What can I say, I’m a sucker for folktale and mythology. The casting is excellent, with a very appealing lead as Krabat, and the scenery and CGI well done. Yes yes yes the story is beyond hokey and nothing in the plot is terribly surprising – that’s kind of the point of folktales – but there is a flair in the particulars here, and okay I confess I love Daniel Bruhl. Let’s face it, I was gonna like the movie the second he and the director sat behind me and I could hear them laughing and whispering in German. I’m an odd sort of fangirl, so sue me.

La Silence de Lorna 3 cats
Directed by the Dardennes brothers, we follow Lorna, a naturalized Albanian using her Belgian status in a scheme that marries her to others immigrating from Eastern Europe. Imagine if 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days had followed the annoying pregnant girl throughout the film instead of the intrepid friend. Lorna, unfortunately, was very much like that friend – I found her to be completely unsympathetic, so her passivity or ‘silence’ bored me. This was too bad, because the rest of the cast was good - I particularly liked her junkie ‘husband’ – and the story was an interesting one. Everything else about it was good, if it had had a different lead, this could have been a truly great film, I think.

Of Time and the City 4.5 cats
This was Terence Davies’ commission for the Liverpool Cultural Group, and it’s a wonderful homage to his hometown city – in a sense it’s his MY WINNIPEG, the story of a city via the life of one of its premiere artists, with the artist as narrator. It is extraordinary, the extent of the archival footage that Davies had access to - the 20th century came late to the poor sections of Liverpool, and when it arrived, it came with a neighborhood-changing crash. Davies is unflinching, using music (mostly well) as wry counterpoint to the images viewed – Peggy Lee singing as the slums are cleared and highrise estates are built to replace them – and his words and voice to rail against the institutions that he feels failed him and his Liverpool, the Catholic Church and the monarchy. He holds nothing back, love and hate, nostalgia and days of remembrance past regret - every major city should have a film like this made, forget about these omnibus thingies that are all the rage now!

TIFF - Day 3 reviews (posted on Day 7)

2008-09-10T11:15:00.002-04:00

Los Paranoicos 4 cats
About a sadsack of an Argentinian writer with writer’s block who finds out that, thanks to a longtime ‘friend’, he is famous in Spain as the quirky leading character in a hit TV show called The Paranoids…a character that shares his exact name. The friend comes back to get an Argentine version of the show undeway, girlfriend in tow, and our writer has a chance to put his foot down. Question is, does he take it? The director’s real life was the inspiration for the film – the director’s best friend really did base a TV show’s leading character on him. No wonder Daniel Handler, in the lead role, did such a great job in being so specific in his portrayal! The film is funny and appealing and heartfelt, and as an added bonus the soundtrack is fantastic.

Blind Sunflowers 4 cats
Maribel Verdu (Y Tu Mama Tambien and Pan’s Labyrinth) is a tour de force in this drama set in Spain during the 40’s, a few years after the end of the Civil War. Her husband, a republican, has been in hiding in a secret room for 4 years and her daughter is pregnant and determined to escape with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, at her young son’s Catholic school, she draws the attention of a young candidate-priest, newly returned from service in the army and now her son’s teacher. The priest’s obsession grows, and in turn so does the woman’s attempts to keep her family’s secret.

Flame & Citron 3.5 cats
Set in Denmark during its WWII occupation, the film tells the story of two famous Danish resistance fighters, Flame and Citron, and tells it with eyes open and no holds barred, which has made it quite a controversial film at home, according to the director. The two leads, Thure Lindhardt and Mads Mikkelsen are compelling, and the film conveys well the mood of paranoia, conspiracy and hidden brotherhood in a city and country that both protected and threatened these men. Unfortunately, the plot itself was more labyrinthine than it needed to be, and as the end neared, the good job of character buildup that had been done was itself betrayed by obvious twists and inexplicable choices, particularly by Flame. I wasn’t able to stay for the Q&A to find out how much of the film was based on true events – however I imagine that doing a first biopic about two legendary war heroes would make it difficult to change those ‘stranger than fiction’ events.

Blindness 3.5 cats
Okay, I first must talk about the spectacle first – the film’s premiere was at the Elgin, and it was beyond zooey. Seating took forever, and it was unbelievable how large the reserved section was. While looking for a friend, I was almost tripped by Geoffrey Rush, & nearly got bumrushed by Adrien Brody as he was being whooshed to his seat. Then the intro was a long one – I think about 12 or 13 cast members were up there, along with the director, writer and producer. A packed house, all around. As for the film – in an unknown city, a man driving down the street is suddenly stricken blind, from a mysterious disease that quickly spreads. We follow the plight of a blinded eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife (Julianne Moore), who is feigning sickness, as they are quarantined with other sufferers in a military hospital, and basically left to fend for themselves. The cast is uniformly good (Maury Chaykin is intensely creepy) and the visuals are arresting. The director, Fernando Mereilles, does an effective job using washed out images and dislocating jump cuts to help the audience experience something of the disorientation and alienation felt by the characters. There is one section that is clunky and overstuffed – it almost breaks the overall tone of the film, but I mostly forgave it because it provided wider information critical to the rest of the film. My bigger issue was with elements of the plot, and the characterization of the wife. I couldn’t buy why she made many of the choices she did, and this kept me from caring that much for her, or for the people she felt responsible for. It’s not like I needed to cry tears of empathy, but I don’t think the intent was to feel as emotionless as I did at film’s end. I haven't read the book, and have a feeling I would have the same quibbles with it as I do the film - particularly since Saramago is so famously protective of his story, I doubt the filmmakers could have changed too much story-wise.

TIFF - Day 4

2008-09-08T00:32:00.003-04:00

Well, I can't sleep, so I may as well blog - fortunately tomorrow I don't have to get up early, I have all the day's tickets already in hand!

As you no doubt have gleaned from my last post, I tend to go on a bit, and I find I either have very little or quite a lot to say about what films I've seen. I also find it really hard to rank or rate them; nevertheless, this year I decided to give it a whirl. One note - I use .5s more as extra credit than a further ranking delination; it's a way to note somethin a bit more that stood out. My parameters are: 0 = horrible; 1 = not good; 2 = too many flaws outweigh total good; 3 = good; 4 = great; 5 = fantastic

Day 1 - Passchendaele 2.5 cats
Paul Gross wrote, directed, co-produced and co-starred in a movie inspired by stories told to him by his grandfather about serving in the Canadian army during WWI and experiencing the horrors of trench warfare and the battle at Passchendaele, part of what Americans might know better as the battle for Ypres. It's a story of a German-Canadian brother and sister in Calgary suffering for the actions of their now dead father and the shellshocked soldier (Gross) who has returned to a Canada that no longer feels like home, until he meets these two young people. I heard someone say that this was Canada's Saving Private Ryan, and while that's partly true I think it's also trying to be Canada's Mrs. Miniver. Unfortunately I think whatever larger meaning or significance the film was meant to have is never realized because of the lack of attention to the specific story being told. Which is a shame, because the casting was overall quite good, Calgary looked gorgeous and the warfront/battle scenes were brutal and unforgettable.

Day 2 – The Sky Crawlers 3 cats
Japanese anime, based on a novel about a war that's been wholly privatized by two companies who are at endless war, and the Kildren, genetically mutated humans who cannot age. Yuichi is a new pilot at one of the Rostock bases and quickly becomes an ace, all the while feeling like he's met his fellow pilots and base leader before. the aerial animation was pretty amazing, and the implications of the plot as it unfolded was thought provoking and well developed - but it went on a good 20 minutes too long, and the use of repetition as both a theme and technique was overused and hamhanded. Definitely the first time I've seen a Japanese animated film where I felt the editing was lax.

Day 2 - 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould n/a
This was the Open Vault reissue, and I went because I'd never seen this film all the way through, and thought I should take the chance to do so on the wide screen with a big sound system to get the full effect of the music. The director (Francois Girard), the co-writer (Don McKellar) and the producer (Niv Fichman) were there, and it was pretty incredible to think about how far the three have come since that film was first released 15 years ago - they're now all giants of Canadian cinema.

Day 2 - 35 Rhums 5 cats
Michael will be very happy. So far (end of Day 4) this is my favorite film of the festival. It's a character study, a few days or so in the lives of a father and adult daughter as they go about their daily lives in Paris. He is a subway driver, she is a student - he has raised her as a single parent, with the help of neighbor friends in their building. I can't say enough about the two leads, Alex Descas and Mati Diop, whose dynamic together was astonishingly palpable - at times it felt like the camera truly was just spying on a real single-parent/only child relationship.The supporting cast is uniformly fabulous, of course it's Denis so the visuals are evocative and striking - nut that I am I adored the wonderful shots she got of the Paris rail system. During the Q&A she mentioned that this was kind of her homage to Ozu - which made me appreciate even more the framing and cinematography of her interior scenes. Images are still staying with me, 2 days after seeing this - it's definitely a must-see if you get the chance.

More tomorrow, I hope!

Bruce's First Report from Toronto!

2008-09-07T19:05:00.002-04:00

Just spent my first full day in Toronto after arriving in time to see only one film last night. Tickets seem harder to get this year and we REALLY miss Michael and Scot's morning trek to the box office which made things ever so easy for the rest of us. A computer glitch caused many people to get tickets for overlapping times and I talked to many who were frantically trying to reschedule their films in wholesale fashion. Sadly the Cumberland is gone. Work was supposed to have begun turning the wonderful art house into luxury condos but I hear some glitch has stopped all that, alas too late to save the cinema. The Varsity is almost exclusively used now for press/industry screenings. This year there is a new venue - AMC - at Dundas and Yonge, diagonally across from the northern most part of the Eaton Centre. The College Park Box Office has been moved there. All lines for the Festival Box Office and films are formed outside which is messy and uncomfortable considering AMC is on the third floor and the Box Office is on the second.

Thursday night I began with a less than so-so Italian film THE REST OF THE NIGHT (2.5 cats) which belongs on TV, not in a major film festival. The acting was decent but the film was decidedly uncinematic. Furthermore it was filmed in winter giving it a bleak feeling that I suspect was unintentional. Friday started off with a bang. Brent Hamer's O'HORTEN (5 cats) was over-the-top fabulous. It is a bittersweet tale of a man coming to grips with his retirement and his past concurrently. O'HORTEN is a wonderful companion piece to his earlier KITCHEN STORIES. Hamer is definitely maturing as an artist. Later today I saw PANDORA'S BOX (4 cats) a Turkish film about three adult children who are forced to face their personal demons when their aged mother disappears, a victim of Alzheimer's. The mother is played beautifully by French actress Tsilla Chelton who some may remember in the delicious title role of TATIE DANIELLE. Finally I saw FEAR ME NOT a film from Danish director Kristian Levring. FEAR ME NOT (3.5 cats) is a pharmaceutical horror story inspired by none other than the venerable Jean Renoir's version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Ulrich Thomsen (FESTEN, ADAM'S APPLES) is a knock-out as the average man who innocently signs up for testing a new drug. The strong supporting cast includes the wonderful duo of Paprika Steen and Lars Brygmann. So far on Saturday I have seen SERBIS (4.5 cats) from the Philippine director Brillante Mendoza and a documentary on Senegalese Grammy-winning musician Youssou Ndour, YOUSSOU NDOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE (4.5 Cats).

Bruce Kingsley (posted by M Colford)

Most Anticipated from TIFF #1

2008-09-06T13:49:00.002-04:00

As we all know, I wasn't able to go to the Toronto International Film Festival this year. It was difficult for me, but I will survive. Thanks to Wiebke, Alberta and Tracy for sharing in my pain. I would loved to have seen them on this trip.

Fortunately, as you've seen, Beth is doing a great job providing coverage for Chlotrudis, and there are a lot of online film outfits covering the festival from top to bottom, so I almost feel like I'm there. Today I read the first piece that made me really excited.

Obviously I'm excited about the upcoming releases, BLINDNESS, written by Don McKellar, and ADORATION, the latest film from Atom Egoyan, but I have no doubt I will be seeing both of these films soon after the festival when they are released Stateside. I think I am most excited, however about the new film by French director Claire Denis called 35 RHUMS. I'm hoping someone from Chlotrudis caught it (I'm sure I can count on Ivy) but indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez reports on it in his blog. Here's an excerpt:

...its a wonderful movie that I've had a hard time shaking. 35 RHUMS offers quiet moments with its characters -- each striving for someone, or something, else. Agnes Godard's photography and Tindersticks' music, in particular, are striking and beautiful.

Eugene refers to a review in indieWIRE by Shane Danielsen who also had a great quote:

I was looking forward to a number of films here, but none more than the latest from Claire Denis. Such anticipation usually ends in disappointment, but 35 RHUMS only confirmed her mastery. Her finest piece of work since 1999's superb BEAU TRAVAIL, it seemed like nothing so much as her version of a late Ozu, a latter-day response to EQUINOX FLOWER and LATE SPRING -- and like those films, it's about the bonds of family, and people being kind and desiring the best, for themselves and for each other. Yet it's no mere homage; rather, it's imbued with Denis' own, unmistakeable sensibility, the patient and watchful eye that disinguished earlier Paris-set masterpieces like I CAN'T SLEEP and FRIDAY NIGHT.

Now I just have to hope that I won't be waiting too long before we get to see it in the States.

TIFF - Day 1

2008-09-05T09:57:00.002-04:00

Hello from Hogtown - Thursday I got into town around 1pm, stowed my bags at the front desk (too early for check-in) and made my first dumb decision. I went to the new box office at Toronto Life Centre, rather than Manulife. I suspect Manulife would have had a less confusing and shorter line - but at least now I know to avoid the new box office like the plague. Others coming in after me, please avoid the plague that is the Toronto Life Centre box office. I did it so you don't have to, inadvertent martyr that I am convincing myself I am.

So, I didn't get back to the hotel until 4 (I did grab lunch beforehand, so those 3 hours weren't entirely on the line, although most were). Then it was check in, unpack, change (I thought I was leaving hot humidity behind me - nope!), and pretty much I was off again, this time to try to meet up with some friends from the internet on the Elgin line for the Opening film. Okay, so when you're meeting people you've never seen before, from among a crowd of, oh, 600 -it's really important to be insanely specific. It helps if one of you has seen a photo of the other. Also helpful are both of you having cellphones. Second dumb thing I did - I got so carried away in my planning for the trip, I forgot to make sure I was prepared for the 'how to meet internet friends in RL' bit. Do I need to tell you how this story ends? Yeah, never met up.

But wait! There's a surprise ending to the evening. As I was standing in the side street that the Elgin dumps its audiences out into, going for a last ditch effort to spot or be spotted by the internet folks, who do I see but Chlotrudis friend Kish, all decked out in a perfectly tailored suit. He was with Jen, a coworker at what has to be the most gracious and friendly talent agency ever - because everybody we've met there is so wonderful and generous. We did a slow version of the Aaron Sorkin 'walk and talk' as we strolled west, taking us past the City Hall. They would eventually head to the Opening Night party at the Drake - Kish, sweetheart that he is, started to invite me, but 1) that's too TIFFy for my blood and 2) I was in my beat up canvas sneakers. Besides which, as he realized as he spoke, that's not a 'she's with me' kind of party. Does the CEO of the Lead Sponsor want to talk with me? Yeah, not so much. So I ended my night with the words 'thanks I'd love to go but I have to ~~wash my sweaters~~ get up early in the morning', a surreal coda to the evening, but there you are. Oh, I did get introduced to (and shook hands with) friends of Kish who I found out after the fact were one of Atom Egoyan's producers and, uh, Brian DePalma. So I have that going for me...

No I won't just be babbling in my entries and yes I will be reviewing films - but speaking of films I've got to dash off for my day's allotment. It's an earlyish night, though, so upon my return I will be bringing Cat Judgment down on Day 1 and Day 2's films.

indieWIRE Examines the State of the Indie Distribution Business

2008-09-03T21:37:00.002-04:00

There's a great article on indieWIRE that takes a look at the state of the the indie film business on the eve of Toronto. What do you think? How will we be seeing new independent and international movies in the coming years?

Better a Year-and-a-Half Late than Never?

2008-09-01T12:00:00.004-04:00

Okay, so it's taken a year-and-a-half, but the photos from 2007's 13th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony featuring Don McKellar and Tracy Wright are finally up on the website. Perhaps we'll even get the pictures from this year's 14th Annual Ceremony up before the calendar year ends! Take a look at the 13th Annual Ceremony here.

Telluride Panel Tackles Independent Film Distribution and Criticism

2008-08-31T20:17:00.003-04:00

Over on the Spout Blog, Karina Longworth covers Snip Snip: Are Cutbacks in Film Distribution and Criticism Affecting Quality Filmmaking?, a panel at the Telluride Film Festival featuring Annette Insdorf (Columbia University), Michael Barker (Sony Classics), Danny Boyle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE), Scott Foundas (LA Weekly), Jonathan Sehring (IFC Films), Paul Schrader (ADAM RESURRECTED) and Anne Thompson (Variety). What do you think?

Independent Distribution Loses Another Outlet.

2008-07-23T21:18:00.002-04:00

Red Envelope Entertainment, the acquisition and and distribution wing of Netflix has closed its doors. As blockbusters make more money and indies get more and more marginalized, going direct to DVD or to Cable TV, we hate to see indie distributors disappear, thus making our cinematic choices that much more limited.

Red Envelope Entertainment had released some pretty significant Chlotrudis films in its short life, including Chlotrudis Best Documentary winners from the past two years PROTAGONIST and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED. Just recently Red Envelope provided U.S. distribution for two Chlotrudis co-presentations, LOVE SONGS and WATER LILIES. Hopefully another company will turn up to take its place.

While discussing the difficulties of indie and foreign-language film distribution, a film that is sure to be of interest to Chlotrudis members has just been released directly to DVD in the States. HELP ME EROS the Taiwanese film directed by and starring Lee Kang-Sheng, muse and lead actor for beloved Chlotrudis director Tsai Ming-Liang, was released this week on DVD without receiving an official theatrical release. While most Chlotrudis members would probably prefer to see HELP ME EROS on the big screen, better on DVD than not at all!

A Couple of Tidbits

2008-07-21T20:31:00.003-04:00

A couple of little news stories came out recently. Earlier this year Jessica Yu won Best Documentary for her film PROTAGONIST, which was also nominated in the Best Movie category, but she already has another film in the can, this one a narrative comedy called PING PONG PLAYA. Some of us caught this one in Toronto last year, while still more of us hopefully got a peek at the IFFB this spring. Now the rest of you can enjoy this because IFC has bought the U.S. rights and plan to give the film a limited release this fall.

Outfest 2008 announced its award winners last night, and XXY, their international winner is a must see according to Bruce. The best documentary award goes to SEX POSITIVE, which Jason gave a good review to when it played the IFFB. The oustanding U.S. dramatic feature went to Tom Gustafson's WERE THE WORLD MINE, recounting an all-boys production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Scot enjoyed WERE THE WORLD MINE, but I found it to be pretty disappointing, with a pretty bland and uninteresting protagonist. Just goes to show, your mileage may vary!

Canadian Films and more announced for Toronto!

2008-07-18T06:47:00.002-04:00

While I'm very disappointed to report that I will not be making the trek to Toronto for TIFF in September (a trip to London and the weak American dollar have conspired against me) I am excited to report that there have been a whole bunch of new announcements about films appearing at the festival. An area of particular interest to me and others in Chlotrudis are the Canadian films that will be screening. Twitch announced the Canadian titles earlier this week:

Gala Presentations

One Week directed by Michael McGowan

Fifty Dead Men Walking directed by Karl Skogland

Special Presentations

Heaven on Earth directed by Deepa Mehta

Blindness directed by Fernando Mereilles

C’est Pas Moi, Je le Jure! (It’s Not Me, I Swear!) directed by Phillippe Faladeau

Contemporary World Cinema

Lost Song directed by Rodrigue Jean

Maman est Chez le Coiffeur directed by Léa Pool

Mothers & Daughters directed by Carl Bessai

Un Été Sans Point Ni Coup Sûr directed by Francis Leclerc

Toronto Stories directed by ook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver and Aaron Woodley

Real to Reel

Under Rich Earth directed by Malcolm Rogge

Examined Life directed by Astra Taylor

La Mémoire des Anges directed by Luc Bourdon

Vanguard Presentations

Pontypool directed by Bruce McDonald

Derrière Moi directed by Rafaël Ouellet

This year TIFF will also premiere nine films for the fifth edition of Canada First! focusing on works from first-time Canadian directors as well as those presenting a feature film at the Festival for the first time. Here are the films included in this year's line-up.

Canada First!

Edison and Leo (British Columbia) directed by Neil Burns - World Premiere

Before Tomorrow (Quebec/Nunavut) directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu - World Premiere

Control Alt Delete (British Columbia) directed by Cameron Labine - World Premiere

Cooper's Camera (Ontario) directed by Warren P. Sonoda - World Premiere

Down to the Dirt (Newfounland) directed by Justin Simms - World Premiere

Nurse, Fighter, Boy (Ontario) directed by Charles Officer - World Premiere

Only (Ontario) directed by Ingrid Veninger and Simon Reynolds - World Premiere

Real Time (Ontario) directed by Randall Cole - Canadian Premiere

When Life Was Good (British Columbia) directed by Terry Miles - World Premiere

In addition, TIFF announced a handful of Galas and Special Presentations this week to add to the list of previously announced films.

Gala Presentations

Rachel Getting Married (USA) directed by Jonathan Demme - North American Premiere

The Other Man (USA/UK) directed by Richard Eyre - World Premiere

Special Presentations

Appaloosa (USA) directed by Ed Harris - World Premiere

La Fille de Monaco (France) directed by Anne Fontaine - North American Premiere

I’ve Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t’aime) (France) directed by Phillippe Claudel (North American Premiere

The Top 10's are starting already!

2008-07-13T11:06:00.007-04:00

Over at eugonline, indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez has posted his Top 10 of 2008 so far. Since we are over halfway through the year, and in a few short months, Chlotrudis members will be pondering nominations, Top 10 lists and what not, I thought I'd follow suit and share my own Top 10 of 2008 so far. Of course, given the nature of Chlotrudis, this is never a simple operation, so I'm going to post two Top 10 lists. The first will be my ten best movies that I've seen in 2008 so far, the other will be my ten best Chlotrudis-eligible films of 2008 so far. What are you favorites of the year so far?

My 10 Best Movies seen in 2008 so far! (in alphabetical order)

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC
THE BAND'S VISIT
BLIND
CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY
THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (pictured right)
POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD
THEATER OF WAR
WATER LILIES

My 10 Best Chlotrudis-eligible Movies for 2008 so far! (in alphabetical order)

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE AXE IN THE ATTIC
BLIND
CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY
JELLYFISH (pictured right)
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
MONKEY WARFARE
MY WINNIPEG
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
THE VISITOR

Boston French Film Festival kicks into high gear!

2008-07-12T09:45:00.003-04:00

Here's a message from our wacky Chlotrudis buddy, Eric Jausseran from the French Consulate about the Boston French Film Festival, which opened the other night.

Bonjour,

After Thursday night's opening, The Boston French Film Festival is off to a great start and 20 more films illustrating the richness and diversity of French cinema will be screened until July 26th.

Join us at the Museum of Fine Arts for a fantastic selection of movies: http://www.consulfrance-boston.org/article.php3?id_article=1256.

Also, for your information also, please read Wesley Morris' review of the
Festival in Friday's Boston Globe. And TELL NO ONE directed by Guillaume Canet (screens on Sunday at 3pm- one of the many highlights of the Festival), a review by Stephen Holden in the NYT last week.

Wishing you a happy Bastille Day weekendl!
Eric J.

Chlotrudis member Bruce Kingsley also reccommends SHALL WE KISS, which opened the festival this past Thursday, and plays again on Sunday, July 19 and Sunday, July 27.

Twitch announces another 21 new titles for TIFF!

2008-07-12T07:47:00.002-04:00

Proving once again that they're the best source for news and updates about the Toronto International Film Festival, Twitch has announced another 21 films for the line-up. In addition, one previously announced film, WALTZ WITH BASHIR has been moved over to the Special Presentations. Ticket packages for TIFF are on-sale now to Visa cardholders. Things are really heating up! Check out the annotated list here.

Gala Presentations

SECRET LIFE OF BEES (USA) directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, World Premiere

THE DUCHESS (UK) directed by Saul Dibb, International Premiere

Special Presentations

EVERY LITTLE STEP (USA) directed by James Stern and Adam Del Deo, World Premiere

GHOST TOWN (USA) directed by David Koepp, World Premiere

RELIGIOUS(USA) directed by Larry Charles, World Premiere

ASHES OF TIME REDUX (Hong Kong/China) directed by Wong Kar-wai, North American Premiere

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (UK) directed by Mike Leigh, North American Premiere

ROCKNROLLA (UK) directed by Guy Ritchie, North American Premiere

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel/France/Germany ) directed by Ari Folman, North American Premiere

Masters

EVERLASTING MOMENTS (Denmark/Sweden) directed by Jan Troell, World Premiere

TOKYO SONATA (Japan/The Netherlands/Hong Kong) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, North American Premiere

Contemporary World Cinema

FEAR ME NOT (Denmark) directed by Kristian Levring, World Premiere

EL GRECO (Greece/Spain/Hungary) directed by Iannis Smaragdis, World Premiere

THE NARROWS (USA) directed by François A. Velle, World Premiere

PANDORA'S BOX (Turkey/France/Belgium/Germany) directed by Yesim Ustaoglu, World Premiere

MY MOTHER, MY BRIDE, AND I (Germany) directed by Hans Steinbichler, International Premiere

WHITE NIGHT WEDDING (Iceland) directed by Baltasar Kormakur, International Premiere

33 SCENES FROM LIFE (Germany/Poland) directed by Malgosia Szumowska, North American Premiere

THE COUNTRY TEACHER (Czech Republic/Germany/France) directed by Bohdan Sláma, North American Premiere

DELTA (Hungary/Germany) directed by Kornél Mundruczó, North American Premiere

KNITTING (China) directed by Yin Lichuan, North American Premiere

TEZA (Germany/Ethiopia/France) directed by Haile Gerim, North American Premiere

Toronto International Film Festival Starts Announcing Films!

2008-07-05T11:24:00.003-04:00

Every year it takes me by surprise as films start being announced for the 33rd Annual Toronto Interational Film Festival running September 4 - 13, 2008. This year the announcements began in earnest in late June, and I've got to hand it to Twitch, they seem to be the place to get your information about TIFF! You can also check out the official TIFF08 website, which went live last week. Coming up on Monday, July 7, VISA cardholders can start purchasing ticket packages.

Oh, another great thing about Twitch? They collect (almost) all of the trailers for the films coming to Toronto in one place so if you want, you can get a glimpse at the films you want to see before you see them! Go visit the Twitch TIFF 2008 Trailer Park!

Here's a list of the 30+ films announced recently organized by series. To read the synopses, go here and here.

Gala Presentations

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (South Korea) directed by Kim Jee-woon, North American premiere

Special Presentations

ADORATION (Canada) directed by Atom Egoyan, North American Premiere

UN CONTE DE NOËL (France) directed by Arnaud Desplechin, North American Premiere

DISGRACE (Australia/South Africa) directed by Steve Jacobs, World Premiere

IL DIVO

ENTRE LES MURS (France) directed by Laurent Cantet, North American Premiere

GOMORROAH (Italy) directed by Matteo Garrone, North American Premiere

GOOD (United Kingdom/Germany) directed by Vicente Amorim, World Premiere

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA (USA) directed by Spike Lee, World Premiere

NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (USA) directed by Peter Sollett, World Premiere

THE HURT LOCKER

Masters

24 CITY

FOUR NIGHTS WITH ANNA (Poland/France) directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, North American Premiere

OF TIME AND THE CITY (UK) directed by Terence Davies, North American Premiere

LE SILENCE DE LORNA (Belgium/France/Italy) directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, North American Premiere

THREE MONKEYS (Turkey/France/Italy) directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, North American Premiere

Real to Reel

BLIND LOVES (Slovakia) directed by Juraj Lehotský, North American Premiere

Visions

LIVERPOOL (Argentina/France/Netherlands/Spain/Germany) directed by Lisandro Alonso, North American premiere

SERVICE (Philippines/France) directed by Brillante Mendoza, North American premiere

Vanguard

WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Israel/France/Germany) directed by Ari Folman, North American premiere

Discovery

HUNGER (UK) directed by Steve McQueen, North American Premiere

MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY (USA) directed by Barry Jenkins, Canadian Premiere

THE PARANOIDS (Argentina) directed by Gabriel Medina,International Premiere

SALAMANDRA (Argentina/France/Germany) directed by Pablo Agüero, North American Premiere

THREE BLIND MICE (Australia) directed by Matthew Newton, International Premiere

TONY MANERO (Chile/Brazil) directed by Pablo Larraín, North American Premiere

TULPAN (Germany/Switzerland/Kazakstan/Russia/Poland) directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy, North American Premiere

Contemporary World Cinema

ACNE (Uruguay/Argentina/Spain/Mexico) directed by Federico Feiroj, North American Premere

LINHA DE PASSE (Brazil) directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, North American Premiere

O'HORTEN (Norway/Germany/France) directed by Brent Hamer, North American Premiere

LION'S DEN (Argentina/South Korea/Brazil) directed by Pablo Trapero, North American Premiere

RESTLESS (Israel/Germany/Canada/France/Belgium) directed by Amos Kollek, North American Premiere

REVANCHE (Austria) directed by Götz Spielmann, North American Premiere

PIFF - Day Three

2008-06-30T21:39:00.002-04:00

Despite the late nights, I got up early on Friday morning in order to make it to my first (and ultimately only) "Breakfast with..." PIFF has this great series of breakfasts which feature different categories of filmmakers discussing their craft over a fine meal in a local restaurant. Friday morning's breakfast featured documentary filmmakers and a lovely breakfast as Bayside Betsy's. On the panel were Randy Barbato, director of THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE and INSIDE DEEP THROAT who was attending the festival with WHEN I KNEW; Lucia Small, director of MY FATHER, THE GENIUS, who was screening THE AXE IN THE ATTIC this year, and John Walter, director of HOW TO DRAW A BUNNY, this year attending with his film THEATER OF WAR. Moderating the panel was Boston Phoenix film critic Gerry Peary. The panelists talked about their very different documentary styles, the profitability of the documentary today, and how their careers evolved. (at right: Peary, Small, Barbato, Walker).

The Substitute (Denmark; 93 min.)
director: Ole Bornedal
cast: Paprika Steen; Ulrich Thomsen; Jonas Wandschneider; Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok

This Danish science fiction/comedy/suspense film hits all the right notes, especially with the casting of the divine Paprika Steen in the title role. What's a willful and rowdy class of students to do when they discover that the substitute teacher is an alien from outer space? They try to do the right thing and go to their parents, but Ulla is no dummy and she's already spoken to them about their kids' overactive imaginations.

The success or failure of THE SUBSTITUTE relies completely on Steen's performance, and the actress/director's outstanding performance doesn't miss a note. She alternates between cruetly and kindness with her students, she is sweet then monstrous wihotut missing a beat. She is all kinds of fun, and this performance, added to her many others has catapulted her into the upper echelon of my favorite actresses. I wonder if I can get her to come to Chlotrudis next year? This one's tons of fun, and I hope you get a chance to see it. 4 cats.

Were the World Mine (USA; 95 min.)
director: Thomas Gustafson
cast: Tanner Cohen; Wendy Robie; Judy McLane; Nathaniel David Becker

Based on the short film FAIRIES (which was entered into the Chlotrudis Short Film Festival a few years ago) WERE THE WORLD MINE focuses on Timothy a young gay high school student who, after winning the role of Puck in the drama classes' production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," develops a potion to make people fall in love with the first person they see. It sure sounds fun and also like a dream come true for this put upon student in an all-boys' private school. Not only must he endure the taunts and jeers of his classmates and phys. ed. teacher, the conservative little town he lives in is pretty darn homophobic as well, as his single-mother knows and endures herself.

I'm getting tired of films where the protagonist continues to make bad choices that hurt others until they finally learn the lesson of the film. I'm also really tired of seeing films with endless beautiful people. Ironically I was chatting with a young film student at the festival, and he only likes films with beautiful people in it (we were talking about AMERICAN TEEN) so perhas it's a generational thing... and WERE THE WORLD MINE is about high school kids, so maybe that audience needs everyone to be beautiful. Wendy Robie (one-eyed Nadine from David Lynch's "Twin Peaks") is pretty awesome as the Titania-like drama teacher, Ms. Tebbt, and the young men are good singers for the most part... oh did I mention that it's a musical? I usually love a good musical, and the actors are certainly talented, but unfortunately this one just didn't work for me. 2 cats

After the day's films we headed over to the Schoolhouse for the Filmmaker reception. This is one of our favorite parties and I did have the honor of being rubbed against by Gael Garcia Bernal as he left with his fiancee while we arrived. Also saw the ubiquitous John Waters (and got to thank him for his help with the Q&A at last year's AMERICAN CRIME screening) Gregg Araki, Tom Kalin and Christine Vachon. We also hung out with WERE THE WORLD MINE director Tom Gustafson and co-screenwriter Cory James Krueckeberg. Very nice guys and fun to hang out with at a party. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy their movie more.

PIFF - Day Two

2008-06-27T07:32:00.005-04:00

With a few exceptions, PIFF does a superb job selecting documentaries. In fact, looking back, I would say that overall, the docs I saw were for the most part outstanding, and the narratives, generally uneven. Day Two at PIFF was documentary day, with three docs being the order of the day.

Chris & Don: A Love Story (USA; 90 min.)
directors: Tina Mascara and Guido Santi
documentary

This was the film that Chlotrudis co-presented at Ptown, and I was very pleased by the nearly packed house at the Crown & Anchor. CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY beautifully tells the story of the thirty-year relationship of author/poet Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy who was thirty years Isherwood's junior. With Bachardy still living, the film tends to focus more on him, but Isherwood certainly gets his share of attention. All of the issues you might imagine in a relationship with such disparate ages are present, and because Isherwood was a diarist, the access to his most personal thoughts and even video footage is well utilized here. Just thinking about the fact that these two men first met when Don was 16 (they became a couple when he was 18) you can't help but ponder his entire adult identity being shaped by Isherwood. The main point of struggle was certainly Don's search for an identity when partnered with such a talented and well-known figure. I'm sure that if Bachardy had not found his creative talent as an artist, their relationship would never have survived.

Mascara and Santi blend live interview with Don and others who knew the couple, with Isherwood's video footage and readings from his diaries, as well as recreations of some key points in their lives. They shape out of this unconventional, decidedly non-traditional relationship a romance for the ages, with grace, style, and a passionate heart. 5 cats

American Teen (USA; 95 min.)
director: Nanette Burstein
documentary

I was intrigued to see this documentary focusing on the lives of teens today that has been the subject of much praise and controversy on the festival circuit. Burstein spent a year immersed in an Indiana community, seeking out and spending time with a group of teenagers that embody the well-known archetypes (or perhaps that should read stereotypes) made popular by the film THE BREAKFAST CLUB. Unfortunately, AMERICAN TEEN just didn't work for me, and the more people I talk to, I've been finding that it either clicks with people, or it doesn't, but even the people who love it can see the artifice and manipulation that turned me off of the film.

I'm not against staged scenes, recreations, or scripted sequences in documentaries. They can certainly enhance a non-fiction film and make it more entertaining. The problem with AMERICAN TEEN is that the film isn't really honest with its audiences. As thing progress, it becomes increasingly obvious that some of the scenes are staged, and eventually you begin to believe that the teens being depicted in the film might actually be characters, or 'actors' representing archetypes, rather than kids being represented in a documentary. Burstein has sought out (or created) such blatant stereotypes in order to fulfill a publicity department's dream and tapping into the early-80's John Hughes zeitgeist that I was instantly reminded of James Frey and his fictionalized memoir. To further this feeling the storylines in AMERICAN TEEN follow such startlingly scripted paths that you'd think a team of Hollywood screenwriters were coaching the action.

Those people who I've spoken two who enjoyed the film totally bought into the PRETTY IN PINK/THE BREAKFAST CLUB vibe that TEEN apes even while acknowledging the manipulation. While I was at first perplexed and disappointed as I watched AMERICAN TEEN, as time has passed I'm still perplexed but now somewhat annoyed. The film's marketing is trying to further underscore the character-like nature of the subjects, and the inauthenticity of the film has begun to grate on my nerves even more. 2 cats

The Axe in the Attic (USA; 110 min.)
directors: Ed Pincus and Lucia Small
documentary

I have been waiting for Lucia Small, director of MY FATHER, THE GENIUS, to make another film; curious to see what direction she would take after the intensely personal examination of her father's life and its affect on his family. I was not expecting THE AXE IN THE ATTIC, a road-trip across America with co-director Ed Pincus, in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the resulting diaspora that occurred, displacing scores of people whose homes were destroyed in the storm. What makes ATTIC different from other films or reports on Katrina's aftermath is the way the filmmakers insert themselves into the film, constantly questioning their roles and responsibilities while shooting the film; asking questions of themselves that viewers of documentary films often ask of the filmmakers without being able to get an answer.

Pincus and Small focus on approximately 50 people in the film, pared down from the hundreds they interviewed on their road trip. These stories, powerful and moving all, are intercut with images of the devastation, and scenes where the filmmakers debate the social responsibilities of the country and the individual, and how this disaster affected them each personally. ATTIC is an elegant work, and one that I would encourage everyone to see. It's wonderful to see Small continue her fine filmmaking career, and again, makes me eager to see what she will do next. 4 1/2 cats.

After the film, a group of us headed to Level at the Commons for a filmmaker reception. We were late arriving, and much of the crowd had thinned out, but a batch of Chlotrudis members, myself, Scot, Beth Curran, Beth Caldwell, Dan McCallum and his partner Jon, spent the next couple of hours with director Lucia Small and her associate producer Emma, Boston Phoenix film critic and Chlotrudis-pal Gerry Peary, and Central Productions CEO Mike Bowes. We even got a few clues as to what Lucia might be working on next!

A disappointment for Ellen Page fans in Chlotrudis

2008-06-27T06:36:00.002-04:00

It's looking like JACK AND DIANE, the lesbian, werewolf flick we were all on pins and needles about has lost Ellen Page. Recently Cinematical reported that the film has abruptly disappeared from Ellen's imdb page, and the film's website is no longer active.

JACK AND DIANE was to have starred Page and her JUNO co-star Olivia Thirlby, as teenage lesbians who meet in New York City and spend the night "kissing ferociously." Trouble is, one of them discovers that her newly awaken sexual desires turn her into a werewolf. Page and Thirlby were terrific as best buds in JUNO, and this was certainly a film with an audience just waiting for it to be made. Well, last September in Toronto, Ellen and Olivia talked with First Showing about the difficulty the film has had in obtaining financing, and my suspicion is that even with Page's star having risen, the filmmakers were unable to get the necessary investors to begin filming, and Page's increasingly busy schedule just got in the way.

Here's hoping that the film gets its financing in order and that Ellen's schedule opens up again... or something. What a joy it would be to watch Ellen and Olivia spending the night snogging as it were, then sprouting fur and a wolf's snout and running around howling!

We interrupt the woefully late PIFF reports for this rather amazing article...

2008-06-21T10:52:00.002-04:00

Over at Cinematical, Erik Davis has a terrific article about the Chlotrudis neck-of-the-woods, Gloucester, MA: School Blames JUNO for Rise in Teen Pregnancies. Yep, it's true. Read it; it's fun.