Halfway through the festival, more or less. There’s still almost two weeks left, but I only have 8 out of 20 more movies to see. My Day Seven was also Memorial Day, but it didn’t really feel like it. It was kinda rainy and gray and not warm – just like I like it. Still, it was a little disorienting. I also found myself at the only Harvard Exit screening of my festival. I drove, of course, (for those of you who don’t know, Seattle bus service totally sucks after 9pm, especially on Sundays/holidays) and ended up parking in an area of Capitol Hill I’ve never been. Huge houses, gated communities – it was a bit spectacular. When I think of the Hill, I often think of squatter punks projectile vomiting into the street (that’s an actual occurrence), but this area was the complete opposite. Still no parking, so whatever. The film I saw was Life During Wartime, a sequel to 1998’s Happiness, with all the roles played by a new set of actors. I don’t really have too much to say about it. If you liked Happiness or like Todd Solondz, I’d recommend it. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the earlier film, but I think this new one is not as dark, but it still deals with the same uncomfortable subjects in a kind of lighthearted manner. I enjoyed seeing Michael K. Williams in a totally different role than he played in “The Wire”, and the other actors were great in their parts – Allison Janney, Shirley Henderson, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Reubens, Michael Lerner, et al.

Mediterranean Diet (or Food, depending on your translation) is one of several ménage à trois movies at this year’s festival. This one is set in a seaside village near Barcelona so it is always sunny, everyone is glistening with a sexy sheen, and people have no tanlines. All the action revolves around food, and yet I felt like the filmmakers really didn’t know much about food. The depictions of the dishes were not anywhere near a sensuous as I would expect from a threesome movie. Besides that, no one ever ate anything. Even when Sofía auditions for a cook position at a resort hotel, her evaluator merely looks at the dishes she’s prepared and she’s hired. Aside from what could be a huge deficit, Mediterranean Food is a pleasant romp with three beautiful people. Not a bad start to a Sunday. [Mediterranean Food plays again 1 June at 9:15pm at Everett Performing Arts Center.]

The only Croatian entry into the festival, Donkey (Kenjac)  is about family bonds and issue resolution. Summer break brings family together in the Croatian countryside, along with a donkey, a symbol of each one’s stubbornness. Secrets are revealed, confrontations are made, and in the end . . . well, why ruin it for you, right? Nothing earth-shattering, but a nice little film. [Donkey plays again at Pacific Place on 5 June at 9:30pm.]

Although I thought I would enjoy the Bulgarian film Crayfish (Raci) more than Donkey, I was, in fact, wrong. The story itself was a good one, but it took 110 minutes to tell what could have been told in 30. There were many long, drawn-out scenes of nothingness. They were visions which probably pleased the director quite a bit, but did nothing to hold the audience’s interest and keep pace. Several people left before the ending, and while it’s not my policy to give up on a movie, I don’t blame them. (Someone on IMDb gave Crayfish 8 out of 10 stars and had this to say: “At least, this movie will remind you of your mother.” What?) I would like to see this screenplay remade by any other director. [Crayfish plays again at Uptown on 2 June at 9:30pm.]

I chose Skateland because it is a story set in early 80s Texas, and I always like to see if I can relate to others’ interpretations of “my” childhood. Granted, I was in elementary school at the time, and Skateland is mainly about kids in their late teens, but I had older siblings and cousins, so why not? Set in East Texas, it was a little leafier than I remember (joke – I’m from the south central part), but the filmmakers got a very authentic look, all the way down to the Lone Star longnecks. The mood-setting dialogue of the first third, however, was stilted and corny. Once they got into the actual story it got better, more natural. The writer/director was on hand for Q&A afterward, and he explained that from writing to wrapping, the film was made from April to December 2008. Maybe that was why the script was a little weak. SPOILER ALERT: On my way to the theatre I was musing to myself on the recent ubiquity of sudden death following acknowledgment of contentment/achievement of happiness. Then in Skateland, one of the main characters tells his best friend that he is completely OK with how his life has turned out. Five minutes later—smack! He’s dead.   [Skateland plays again 6 June at 8pm at Kirkland Performance Center, and in theatres this fall.]

Later that day I found myself at the Neptune yet again for a fantastic Japanese treat going by the name K-20: The Fiend with 20 Faces (Kaijin nijû mensô den). It was at times ridiculous, but at all times entertaining. Part Indiana Jones, part Batman, the film was set in a fictional 1949 Japan where World War II ended with a treaty on December 8. The class system is strictly adhered to, and K20 makes his reputation by stealing valuable objects from the upper class. Through a curious string of events, it’s up to circus acrobat Heikichi to foil the fiend.

One of the things I found interesting was how all the non-Japanese writing was German. For instance, the police helicopters were marked “polizei,” and the dials and knobs on the gadgets were labeled in German. An interesting choice, considering the premise that Japan signed a treaty with the US and UK to prevent world war. [K-20 plays again 4 June at 9:30pm at Kirkland Performance Center.]

After a quick trip to the southeast quandrant of the US, I was back in line for another festival film.  Kanikôsen was a novel that was adapted to a graphic novel which is now adapted to a movie (actually, there was another film adaptation in 1953). The title refers to the crab-canning boat in which the story takes place. The setting: early 20th century, summer, in the waters between Japan and Russia. The Japanese boats are in a competition for “national pride” to can more crab than their fellow boats. This one we’re on is losing the competition and the boss is not happy. He and his second beat the workers, demanding harder work, more efficiency, greater output. An idealistic worker, Shinjo, tries to lure his brothers into a better life through mass suicide. After that fails, he leaves the boat on a dinghy (I’m a little hazy on the details of this as it was past my bedtime and I might have nodded off) and is subsequently rescued by a Russian boat, where he sees how happy the workers are in their current lives. Shinjo returns to his cannery boat and rallies his fellow workers. There is humor, there is tragedy, there is drama. [Kanikôsen screens again 31 May, 8:30pm at the Egyptian.]

My motivation for seeing Nowhere Boy was that young John Lennon was played by Kick-Ass Aaron Johnson. The late Beatle, even as an awkward teen, was a far cry from the shy, dweebish wannabe action hero, and I thought it would be interesting to see the one so soon after the other. Even knowing going in that the story was about John Lennon, at times I would forget and think I was watching Paul McCartney’s story (confusing!). I’m not sure why – maybe I haven’t watched A Hard Day’s Night enough times (just the once), or maybe I can blame it on Mr. Johnson or the screenwriter for not making a caricature of Lennon’s younger self (joke!). It was a tragic story, and the guy sitting in the next seat assured me it was accurate, since Britain’s Channel Four was involved. I see that the story is taken from Lennon’s sister’s memoir, so I’m satisfied. Great performances all around, and a pretty good story even if you forget John, Paul, and George grow up to be famous. [Nowhere Boy plays again at the Admiral on 27 May at 7pm]

Afterward, I headed down to Dragonfish for some happy hour vittles, which was kind of a strange experience in which I forgot to get my sake card punched. Karen joined me, and then we headed to Pacific Place for Farsan. Funny and sweet, this is Swedish film about a Lebanese immigrant looking for love. The main character, Aziz (played by the writer/director’s real-life father) is a widower who is requested by his son to find a new wife as a distraction. The son cannot have children of his own, so he’s hoping to sneak an adoption by ol’ Pops. While the humor is generally not slapstick, there is one very hilarious kitchen scene involving Aziz’s milquetoast boss and his wife. [Farsan plays again at Harvard Exit on 29 May at 9:15pm.]

In which I see the second of two short film collections. This one is entitled Pandemonium Boulevard. How it’s described in the catalog: “And then, quite suddenly, all hell broke loose.” It’s a fantastic description, but the films didn’t all live up to the hype. “How I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse” was corny and predictable, and felt too much like a rip-off of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. “In The Dark”, starring my main man Wil Wheaton, was a funny little tale of a man planning his first murder, but it wasn’t scary. Some nice creepiness came from “Culebra” and “Off Season”. The former showing a supernatural consequence of illegal immigration (my fear of tunnels is magnified when the tunnel in question is a sewage pipe). The latter starred Bill Sage and a dog and had a real good isolation vibe. I was happy to see Mr. Sage again; he’s a regular in Hal Hartley films – one of my favorite directors. The Hungarian “Epilogue” was a visually interesting and enjoyable take on guilt, but, again, not scary.