it's the geographic center of North America

every film shown at SIFF Cinema during the festival begins with a trailer for My Winnipeg, and this damn earworm song about Winnipeg.

“Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Wonderful Winnipeg/It’s no Eden that you would see/But it’s home sweet home to me.”

i often work out earworms by listening to all of the song, but i can't find a source for it online since (surprise) "Wonderful" is used in conjunction with Winnipeg all the time. anyone heard this song elsewhere, or is it something they put together for the film?

siff day 19

slow start. slept in, time slid away, had a lovely dinner with C. he's adorable when he's asleep, but i treasure seeing him when he's awake.

Theater of War
this is a documentary about Bertolt Brecht and war, framed by the 2006 Public Theater production of Mother Courage and Her Children. i loved it, but i suspect that there's not so much for anyone who hasn't studied the play. (i'm also interested in adapter Tony Kushner, and used to run auditions across from the Public, and hey the propmaster is reading and responding to a rehearsal report, and so again i have no idea how it would play to someone who isn't a theatre nerd.) great production values, fun interviews, great work with the photos and audio recordings of Brecht's first production in 1948 in E Berlin - when most of the city was still in ruins. (did i mention that Kevin Kline played the cook in 2006? he is so damn good, and no one is going to really notice until he's dead.) if you're not excited to hear stories from Brecht's assistant director (squee!) it may not be for you.

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
the buzz was very good on this one, but i was skeptical. surely, the story of the the Andes crash had been done to death?
no. the documentary features every one of the survivors, telling their stories to the camera and to their children on a trip to the crash site. the combination of archival footage and lo-fi reenactments that accompany the survivors' voices is excellent. the film is moving, suspenseful, and ultimately hopeful. it was worth making, and well worth seeing. i recommend this to anyone who is into survival stories.

siff day 19

slow start. slept in, time slid away, had a lovely dinner with C. he's adorable when he's asleep, but i treasure seeing him when he's awake.

Theater of War
this is a documentary about Bertolt Brecht and war, framed by the 2006 Public Theater production of Mother Courage and Her Children. i loved it, but i suspect that there's not so much for anyone who hasn't studied the play. (i'm also interested in adapter Tony Kushner, and used to run auditions across from the Public, and hey the propmaster is reading and responding to a rehearsal report, and so again i have no idea how it would play to someone who isn't a theatre nerd.) great production values, fun interviews, great work with the photos and audio recordings of Brecht's first production in 1948 in E Berlin - when most of the city was still in ruins. (did i mention that Kevin Kline played the cook in 2006? he is so damn good, and no one is going to really notice until he's dead.) if you're not excited to hear stories from Brecht's assistant director (squee!) it may not be for you.

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
the buzz was very good on this one, but i was skeptical. surely, the story of the the Andes crash had been done to death?
no. the documentary features every one of the survivors, telling their stories to the camera and to their children on a trip to the crash site. the combination of archival footage and lo-fi reenactments that accompany the survivors' voices is excellent. the film is moving, suspenseful, and ultimately hopeful. it was worth making, and well worth seeing. i recommend this to anyone who is into survival stories.