An anticipated highlight of the festival was Frank, starring Michael Fassbender in the title role.  I was not disappointed. This is a story of a group of avant garde musicians led by Frank, a man who wears a full-head helmet at all times. It is endearing without being sickly sweet, off the wall without being out of touch. I don’t really want to say too much about it, except go see it!

This screening was in the old Egyptian theatre which is being appropriated by SIFF later this year after a bit of fundraising. Is SIFF getting too big for its britches? How much “success” should a non-profit experience? I’m not sure, but I ponder these questions at times.

Today’s film was Unforgiven, a Japanese revamp of the Clint Eastwood classic western. It is very true to the original, with some politics and racial conflict thrown in. In case you’re not familiar with the story, a former samurai has given up killing to be a farmer/widow/dad. An old friend stops by to invite him to earn a bounty on some dudes who cut up a prostitute’s face. The big questions of who is good, who is bad, and what is the correct punishment for said badness are asked. At times I felt it was a bit slow and brooding. Although I wouldn’t call it a samurai film or any kind of “fighting movie”, the director did give us a few gruesome shots we would expect from such films. I had a fantastic time studying the costumes – lots and lots of indigo!

Due to some unforeseen circumstance, I will miss out on my Day Four, Burt’s Buzz. Perhaps I’ll be able to post some words from my film proxy later this week.

Just FYI – This is the fortieth year of SIFF.

This year, when choosing the films I would see, I tried to keep it somewhat light for the most part. I succeeded half-way in my first night of the festival.

I started with Attila Marcel, the live-action feature debut of Sylvain Chomet (Triplets of Belleville). With plenty of whimsy, it tells the story of a man, mute since witnessing the deaths of his parents at age two, living with his overbearing aunts, and his eventual escape from his existential prison. The means of which is an eccentric neighbor who sells him special tea. It is a musical and colorful journey of discovery and change. I was quite entertained by this film and don’t have too much complaint about it. However, the sub plot and inevitable exit of Madame Proust felt somewhat lacking to me, as it was merely a device in the drama and not so well though out as the memory dreams of main character Paul. Still, a fun bit of cinema.

The second half of the night took a darker turn with The Double, Richard Ayoade’s follow-up to Submarine. Jesse Eisenberg takes the dual roles of Simon and James, two very different, but very much the same, people, vying for the attentions of the boss and the pretty girl across the street (Mia Wasikowska). There is humor, as one might expect from Ayoade, but ultimately the film is a dark character story, a sort of exploration of the nice and not-so-nice in all of us. The settings were a timeless generic blended with a futuristic dystopia. There is no clear locality nor era beyond just “modern times”.  Much like Attila Marcel, it was an aesthetic delight.