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SIFF days three - five
May. 23rd, 2012 11:37 pmHow to Survive a Plague
brilliant, wrenching documentary about ACT UP. it's a combination of amateur and news footage from about 1987-1991 intercut with modern day interviews; where it shines is in taking the camerawork of dozens of videographers and editing it into a coherent narrative that feels like it was done by a single documentary crew. at the time i was well aware of some of the more dramatic protests and the imagery of SILENCE=DEATH, but i never knew just how much work they did to forward the development of AIDS treatment in the US. i had allowed myself to forget the pervasive fear and all those healthy young men dwindling into walking skeletons, and the hate speech that was being spoken by lawmakers. we still have a long way to go, but we as a nation have come so very far in twenty years. recommended.
The Intouchables
a French odd couple buddy movie, a huge hit in France that earned Omar Sy a well-deserved acting award. a petty thief from the projects becomes the caretaker for a rich quadraplegic, because the petty thief needs to apply for jobs to keep getting unemployment and the quadraplegic is bored enough with his life to hire this dude who amuses him. (back in the day this would have been a Richard Pryor film, and i cringe knowing that the US remake rights have been sold. the French have a lighter touch, but there are still plenty of critics calling the film racist. i'd say that it's Not American, and US reviewers are handing the French our baggage.) it has a brilliant opening sequence, great performances by the leads, it is very funny, and doesn't get preachy or maudlin. it's still in theaters in Seattle, worth seeing.
Under African Skies
a doc about the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland album. it was interesting to see this after having recently watched the Classic Albums documentary about Graceland, and seeing Mama Africa (about Miriam Makeba) at a prior SIFF. i enjoyed it quite a bit, but i have no idea if it would be good if you didn't already know Graceland inside-out.
Bel Ami
Robert Pattinson plays a stupid, horrible person in Belle Epoque Paris. the women (Kristin Scott-Thomas, Uma Thurman, and Christina Ricci) are brilliant as are the costumes. if you like terrible people being terrible to each other like in Dangerous Liasons, this might be your cup of tea. i'll be putting it on the Netflix queue for C.
Six Million and One
first and so far only true dud of the festival. should have been a walkout.
i was excited by the premise: the Israeli filmmaker recieves the memoirs of his father, a Holocaust survivor, and takes his siblings on a tour of the places where his father did forced labor. it turns out that the camp has been razed and replaced with a pretty ordinary neighborhood. his Dad dug the tunnels for a giant underground airplane factory, tunnels that are still under this Austrian town. there's mention of conflict in the town about how this history should be handled. he eventually gets permission to visit the tunnels, and in a separate sequence does a poignant interview with US soldiers who liberated his Dad's camp. cool stuff, right?
alas, fully 50% of this stinker is the siblings bitching at each other in Hebrew, and when not bitching at each other they're hating on the Austrians who are showing them around. oh, and there was a lingering shot of someone's German Shepherd dog that i think was supposed to make me upset? this was a movie about them working on their feelings about their Dad and their relationships with each other, not about all the interesting things related to his life experiences that would have made a great documentary. they are sitting, in this restricted access historical site, that the Austrians have let them into in order to have a moment of remembrance, arguing loudly about who Dad loved best. aaaaargh i wanted to punch them all. needs a fastforward button.
Love Free or Die
Bishop. Gene. Robinson. he's one of those guys like Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso or Desmond Tutu that even if you aren't on their religious trip you can see that they are pretty damn awesome people. this doc follows him, and a group of folks working toward getting the Episcopal church to perform gay marriage in states where it is legal. good stuff, and a great followup to the Robinson profile in For the Bible Tells Me So.
Countdown
Korean actioner about a collections agent who needs a new liver, and the lengths he goes to to keep his con-woman donor alive. it's marred by a maudlin Family Is Most Important plot thread, but i still loved the action sequences and the shifting allegiances. good times.
Sacrifice
loyal subject loses everything, raises hidden last scion of murdered royal family to take revenge. mayhem ensues. it was okay.
Tatsumi
an animated film that is a combination documentary biopic and greatest hits of the father of gekiga. i found the stories to be revealing of their culture of origin, but at this remove tired and puerile. the format choice was excellent and i hope that its hybrid nature doesn't lock it out of awards.
i'm busy watching movies. it makes me pretty damn happy.
brilliant, wrenching documentary about ACT UP. it's a combination of amateur and news footage from about 1987-1991 intercut with modern day interviews; where it shines is in taking the camerawork of dozens of videographers and editing it into a coherent narrative that feels like it was done by a single documentary crew. at the time i was well aware of some of the more dramatic protests and the imagery of SILENCE=DEATH, but i never knew just how much work they did to forward the development of AIDS treatment in the US. i had allowed myself to forget the pervasive fear and all those healthy young men dwindling into walking skeletons, and the hate speech that was being spoken by lawmakers. we still have a long way to go, but we as a nation have come so very far in twenty years. recommended.
The Intouchables
a French odd couple buddy movie, a huge hit in France that earned Omar Sy a well-deserved acting award. a petty thief from the projects becomes the caretaker for a rich quadraplegic, because the petty thief needs to apply for jobs to keep getting unemployment and the quadraplegic is bored enough with his life to hire this dude who amuses him. (back in the day this would have been a Richard Pryor film, and i cringe knowing that the US remake rights have been sold. the French have a lighter touch, but there are still plenty of critics calling the film racist. i'd say that it's Not American, and US reviewers are handing the French our baggage.) it has a brilliant opening sequence, great performances by the leads, it is very funny, and doesn't get preachy or maudlin. it's still in theaters in Seattle, worth seeing.
Under African Skies
a doc about the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland album. it was interesting to see this after having recently watched the Classic Albums documentary about Graceland, and seeing Mama Africa (about Miriam Makeba) at a prior SIFF. i enjoyed it quite a bit, but i have no idea if it would be good if you didn't already know Graceland inside-out.
Bel Ami
Robert Pattinson plays a stupid, horrible person in Belle Epoque Paris. the women (Kristin Scott-Thomas, Uma Thurman, and Christina Ricci) are brilliant as are the costumes. if you like terrible people being terrible to each other like in Dangerous Liasons, this might be your cup of tea. i'll be putting it on the Netflix queue for C.
Six Million and One
first and so far only true dud of the festival. should have been a walkout.
i was excited by the premise: the Israeli filmmaker recieves the memoirs of his father, a Holocaust survivor, and takes his siblings on a tour of the places where his father did forced labor. it turns out that the camp has been razed and replaced with a pretty ordinary neighborhood. his Dad dug the tunnels for a giant underground airplane factory, tunnels that are still under this Austrian town. there's mention of conflict in the town about how this history should be handled. he eventually gets permission to visit the tunnels, and in a separate sequence does a poignant interview with US soldiers who liberated his Dad's camp. cool stuff, right?
alas, fully 50% of this stinker is the siblings bitching at each other in Hebrew, and when not bitching at each other they're hating on the Austrians who are showing them around. oh, and there was a lingering shot of someone's German Shepherd dog that i think was supposed to make me upset? this was a movie about them working on their feelings about their Dad and their relationships with each other, not about all the interesting things related to his life experiences that would have made a great documentary. they are sitting, in this restricted access historical site, that the Austrians have let them into in order to have a moment of remembrance, arguing loudly about who Dad loved best. aaaaargh i wanted to punch them all. needs a fastforward button.
Love Free or Die
Bishop. Gene. Robinson. he's one of those guys like Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso or Desmond Tutu that even if you aren't on their religious trip you can see that they are pretty damn awesome people. this doc follows him, and a group of folks working toward getting the Episcopal church to perform gay marriage in states where it is legal. good stuff, and a great followup to the Robinson profile in For the Bible Tells Me So.
Countdown
Korean actioner about a collections agent who needs a new liver, and the lengths he goes to to keep his con-woman donor alive. it's marred by a maudlin Family Is Most Important plot thread, but i still loved the action sequences and the shifting allegiances. good times.
Sacrifice
loyal subject loses everything, raises hidden last scion of murdered royal family to take revenge. mayhem ensues. it was okay.
Tatsumi
an animated film that is a combination documentary biopic and greatest hits of the father of gekiga. i found the stories to be revealing of their culture of origin, but at this remove tired and puerile. the format choice was excellent and i hope that its hybrid nature doesn't lock it out of awards.
i'm busy watching movies. it makes me pretty damn happy.
