Monday, a holiday, found me taking mass transit to a whole different county for film festival screenings. I would have loved to take the Sounder train, but alas it does not run on holidays, and instead took a bus. It is actually a coach, and it only took 45 minutes from downtown Seattle. (I may one day write about my experience getting to downtown Seattle that morning, as that was an adventure all to itself.)
The first film (of three) was A Cat in Paris (Une vie de chat). The biggest disappointment of this film is that it was not in French. They’re in Paris, no? However, it seems that it is deemed a children’s film, and obviously children cannot read subtitles. The English dubbing wouldn’t be so bad if they hadn’t used such ridiculous accents. Each character was from somewhere else. I heard a few American accents, German, English, possibly Russian, etc. Why couldn’t they speak English with French accents? The animation is nice – no Pixar smoothness here. I dig the fluidity of the cat burglar’s movements as he makes impossible leaps and dodges in the night. There’s a nifty scene in the dark, rendered as white on black line drawings. The story resolved itself a bit too quickly for my taste, and some of the dialogue felt a wee bit contrived (perhaps the fault of the English translation). I really think you should see this in French, but if you just can’t wait (or don’t care) A Cat in Paris is playing again in Kirkland on 5 June and at the Egyptian on 11 June.
The second film was Page One: Inside the New York Times. Documentarian Andrew Rossi filmed a year inside the offices of the Times and gave us a glimpse of life on a newspaper. Interspersed between snippets of men at work (and it was mostly men) are interviews of members of other media outlets with their take on the State of Things at the paper and in media in general. It showed some interesting perspectives from inside the industry and gives the audience some things to chew on, should they choose to do so. In fact, one aspect of the commentary is that the American audience really doesn’t want to chew on things anymore. I hope this film can get people to stop and think about the future of journalism and what our relationship as a society will be, and what we want it to be. A lot of times we, collectively, don’t consider the ramifications of our actions or inaction, and then lament later the loss of things we had the power to retain. Times reporter Brian Stelter was on hand for a healthy Q&A following the screening. Page One is scheduled to be released in late June.
The third film was Simple Simon (I Rymden Finns Inga Känslor) from Sweden, a tale of a young man with Asperger’s syndrome figuring out love in the process of finding a new girlfriend for his brother. The Swedish title I believe means “in space there are no feelings” or something to that effect. It is a sentiment the title character expresses in the film, which is why he can often be found in a metal drum which he pretends is a spacecraft orbiting Earth. He doesn’t like change, so when his brother’s girlfriend leaves, he needs to find a new one to maintain the status quo. This proves to be quite awkward for all involved, with sometimes hilarious results. I actually chuckled out loud a couple times, this movie was that funny (I maintain virtual silence during almost all films in theatres). Simple Simon plays again at SIFF Cinema on 1 June.
Category Archives: cinema
SIFF 2011 Day 03: Death Becomes Her
I saw two films on the third day of my film odyssey, both involving a death in some way, as well as new love.
The first film was Über uns das All (Above Us Only Sky). Schoolteacher Martha is ready to leave Köln for Marseilles to begin a new life in the sunshine. Her plans get derailed when she discovers her husband has been living a secret life. (Funnily enough, I came home last night and watched an episode of Waking the Dead with a similar situation, but with very different results.) The remainder of the film is Martha dealing with the repercussions in the best way she knows how, which is, of course, not necessarily how most people would. Luckily, she stumbles upon someone who is in the right place at the right time, and they are able to work through it together. He just doesn’t know it right away. I wouldn’t say it is a love story so much as a portrait of acceptance and choice, and beautifully done. There are no more screenings this festival, but look out for the film later this year.
The second film was Late Autumn, a South Korean film made mostly in Seattle and entirely in the Pacific Northwest. It is a story of a young Chinese woman returning home for her mother’s funeral, yet feeling unwelcome and apart from her family and her past. At the same, she is courted by a carefree Korean man who has troubles of his own. She reluctantly accepts his attentions, which eventually allow her to process some of the baggage she’s been holding onto. Hyun Bin is delightful as the incorrigible escort, and Wei Tang has her moments, too. A mixed bag for Seattlites, I think, for there are improbable leaps in locale (maybe that’s just me being too literal), but also nice views of the actual city. Hey folks, this is not Vancouver playing the part of Seattle! Great timing of shooting in the last days of the Fun Forest rides, the setting very much adds to the overall melancholy. Late Autumn plays again at the Egyptian on May 31.
SIFF 2011 Day 02: Curry With a Twist
I discovered late last night that I titled yesterday’s entry as SIFF 2012, and I got a little freaked out looking through my archives thinking that I totally forgot to write about last year’s festival only to realize a moment later that it is NOT 2012. I’ve corrected that now. It’s one of the pitfalls of working in the apparel industry, where you are always working in the future.
My second film was the documentary film The Bengali Detective. It follows a few months in the life of Rajesh, a private detective in Kolkata. He and his team of investigators track down shopkeepers selling counterfeit hair oils, run surveillance on cheating husbands, and, in this film, take on their first murder case. The workload is exhausting, so to unwind the detectives dance. Boss man Rajesh even goes so far as to enter them to audition for a dance contest show, with hilarious results. There are poignant moments as well, as we get to know the woman with the cheating husband, the fate of the shopkeeper, and as we watch the decline of Rajesh’s ill wife. The Bengali Detective plays again in Everett on May 28, and in Kirkland on June 3. See it! I think it will make you chuckle, which is a good thing.
SIFF 2011 Day 01: French Fried
The Seattle International Film Festival started last week, but I was not able to begin my film odyssey until now (oh, woe is me, I had to spend a long weekend in NYC). I began my adventure with Homme Au Bain (Man At Bath), a film about two lovers spending a week away from each other after a fight. The film’s star, adult film actor François Sagat was on hand for some Q&A following the screening. He mentioned that it initially was supposed to be a short film, and he was right. The filmmakers would have done well to stick with the original plan, as there was quite a bit of extraneous footage. This was mostly what was shot in New York with a small non-pro camera, ostensibly by the second lead. There is a lot of male nudity, which I’m all for, but it is short on plot and much too long. Homme Au Bain plays again May 26 at 4:30 at the Egyptian.
Another Movie House Bites the Dust
Not so long I go, I mentioned here that the Uptown Theatre had closed its doors. This week marks the official closing of the Neptune as a movie theatre. Those two venues were very likely my most frequented during the Film Festivals, and now, no more. I don’t see any info yet on this year’s venues, but I have a feeling I’ll be on Capitol Hill more often than usual (Egyptian and Harvard Exit).
1 Thought
Another Revolution
A little bit older, not really any wiser.This year my birthday cheeseburger came from Uneeda Burger, a new gourmet burger joint in Fremont. I had the Philly style burger, with Gruyère, peppers, and onions. It was delicious. Not quite as gargantuan as some of my past cheeseburgers, but their rendition on poutine helped fill the void. They also have Thomas Kemper root beer on tap, which is kinda awesome.Before I had my celebratory vittles, I saw The Fighter, an incredible film that will probably win more than one Oscar. I watched it in Ballard at the Majestic Bay Theatres, a venue worthy of your patronage. Once I was done eating, I found my way to the Mecca Cafe, as is my custom. Lots of wonderful people joined in the fun, and the whole day was a blast.
A Cinematic Plea, in Two Parts
Part the First
I beg of you, my fellow wage earners, please spend more of your money seeing films in theatres. The more we go to the actual theatres, the less they’ll need to charge us to remain open. Sweet little Uptown Theatre has already closed its doors this year, and more closures could be coming to Seattle. I went to see Red at the Admiral Twin yesterday, a so-called “dollar theatre” for 2nd run movies, and the ticket price was $5.50! The movie was pretty fun, incidentally, though I spilled half of my small popcorn on the floor before it even started. Which reminds me, the film at the Admiral was preceded by about 10 commercials (including two for Bod Men and two for Chevy trucks) and NO MOVIE TRAILERS. It’s a sad state of affairs.
Part the Second
I beg of you, Hollywood and indie filmmakers alike, don’t make so many movies! I suppose this plea is especially toward Hollywood corporate film studios. I know the point is the bottom line, but I’d kind of like to see the collapse of at least a couple of you giants. It’s called market saturation. People don’t appreciate movies anymore because there are so many of them. If they don’t have appreciation, they won’t go to the theatre to see them. What’s the point? If they miss it, they can see it on video. If they miss it, there will be another similar film being released months, weeks, days later. Instead of remaking a film, why not have a second theatrical release years later? Cheaper to make and easy revenue. Instead of remaking a foreign film for the (apparently stupid and/or blind) American audience, spend a fraction of that money heavily promoting the original foreign version.
P.S. Give the comic book adaptations a rest for a few years, please. Let people read for a while.
