siff day 2

Before the Rains
it's a whitey ruins everything story, produced by Merchant/Ivory.
this film is beautiful, lush and sexy. Kerala never looked better. the director (a cinematographer) often shapes scenes through focus rather than framing. every moment is gorgeous, but nearly every beat is inevitable. the actor in the whitey role was particularly good. so often when whitey ruins everything he is at worst twirling his mustache and at best(?) condescending - this time he was just another human.

Elite Squad
a violent Brazilian cop movie that felt like it was heavily influenced by American cop dramas - City of God meets Training Day. good for its genre and interesting in its use of voiceover narration. it's being distributed by Weinstein company, worth seeing when it gets released if you like the genre.

Chris & Don, A Love Story
sweet portrait of Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, told through home movies, archival footage, Chris' diaries, and Don's recollections. it's the story of a lifelong romance between two talented artists. one of the awesome things is that they were always out as a couple...since the early 1950s. Don was 30 years younger than Chris, so it was always a bit of a scandal. it's great as a love story and tangentially as a slice of queer history. worth seeing - the directors were at the screening tonight and plan to be present tomorrow.

Dust
a rental. then you can skip the repeated silent minutes of watching people clean, and enjoy the manufacturing factoids, and scientists, and the woman who collects dust bunnies. the "good parts" are very good. in the theater it feels two times longer than it actually is. lots of walkouts on this one, and my companion was nodding off.

siff day 2

Before the Rains
it's a whitey ruins everything story, produced by Merchant/Ivory.
this film is beautiful, lush and sexy. Kerala never looked better. the director (a cinematographer) often shapes scenes through focus rather than framing. every moment is gorgeous, but nearly every beat is inevitable. the actor in the whitey role was particularly good. so often when whitey ruins everything he is at worst twirling his mustache and at best(?) condescending - this time he was just another human.

Elite Squad
a violent Brazilian cop movie that felt like it was heavily influenced by American cop dramas - City of God meets Training Day. good for its genre and interesting in its use of voiceover narration. it's being distributed by Weinstein company, worth seeing when it gets released if you like the genre.

Chris & Don, A Love Story
sweet portrait of Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, told through home movies, archival footage, Chris' diaries, and Don's recollections. it's the story of a lifelong romance between two talented artists. one of the awesome things is that they were always out as a couple...since the early 1950s. Don was 30 years younger than Chris, so it was always a bit of a scandal. it's great as a love story and tangentially as a slice of queer history. worth seeing - the directors were at the screening tonight and plan to be present tomorrow.

Dust
a rental. then you can skip the repeated silent minutes of watching people clean, and enjoy the manufacturing factoids, and scientists, and the woman who collects dust bunnies. the "good parts" are very good. in the theater it feels two times longer than it actually is. lots of walkouts on this one, and my companion was nodding off.