ironymaiden | It begins

For Grace
First of the many food docs, about a well-regarded executive chef opening his own restaurant in Chicago.
I'm a fan of these things, and I could have done with a little more food porn and a little less construction porn.
But the middle bit, where they talk to the subject about his life, is very real and affecting. The film was made by journalists, and it's good journalism. Teachers. Mentors. The family nature of intense careers. This is genuinely good and doesn't have distribution yet. Worth seeing here.

Ciudad Delerio
If I described all the elements of this, you would expect a by-the-numbers story, and perhaps ignore it. White dude has his life transformed by earthy ethnics and their powers of dancing. There's a scold wife. There's a sassy gay friend. And there's salsa dancing. Lots and lots of salsa dancing.

It is completely redeemed by its sincerity, and its refusal to succumb to plot inevitability. The music is great, the performances are charming, and my inner soccer geek was delighted that it was set in Cali (origin of two 2009 Sounders, Fredy Montero and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado). I left the theater in a celebratory mood.

Festival!