One movie last week Wednesday, and it was a second chance at the opening night film, LETTERS FOR JENNY. But first we got a second helping of SECOND GUESSING GRANDMA, because it's a pretty awesome short.
LETTERS FOR JENNY, a Spanish language film from Argentina, opens with the titular Jenny at her Bat Mitzvah, praising her father and brother for always being there for her, and tearfully missing her mother who passed away. What she doesn't know is her mother wrote letters for her to help her at important times in her life--her Bat Mitzvah, marriage, first child, etc. And it turns out she needs them, as she gets engaged to a singer who stands her up with an unwanted pregnancy. If that sounds melodramatic, that's because it is. It's basically a South American soap opera, and too emotionally overwrought. I understand Jenny misses her mother, but perhaps she could make it through one letter without crying? Anyway, things pick up quite a bit when (on her mother's written advice), she takes a trip to Israel. A new perspective, a new life, perhaps a new love? And definitely some beautiful scenery. I guess I liked the cinematography the best.
Whew! And now I'm finally caught up with all the movies I've seen. Tonight I'm catching MENACHEM AND FRED at the Camera 7.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Jason goes to Jewfest South--Sunday, Nov. 1
I've been far too busy to blog, and I've been missing more of the Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival than I wanted to. Sometimes it's hard to be as awesomely popular as I am.
Anyway, I did attend and saw two programs just over a week ago. It started with the short DOUBLE GUESSING GRANDMA, a funny story of a young Jewish man who comes out of the closet to his grandmother. And on Hanukkah, when the guilt lasts for 8 days, no less.
That led into the feature, FOR MY FATHER, which I had previously seen at Cinequest (where it won the audience award). That means I don't have to write a new review, just look back at what I wrote before:
And then I stuck around for the second feature, GRUBER'S JOURNEY. Based on a true story, it really should be called Malaparte's Journey. Curzio Malaparte was an Italian journalist sent to Romania to cover World War II there. Along the way, he is inflicted with a terrible respiratory allergy, to the point where he is nearly unable to breathe. Fortunately his doctor refers him to an excellent specialist in town--Dr. Gruber. Unfortunately, Dr. Gruber is not in his office. More unfortunately, Dr. Gruber is a Jew and was apparently rounded up by the local officials in a German-ordered purge. So Malaparte, a stranger to the ways of Romania, has to navigate the local authorities--police, military, diplomats, etc,--and the lack of accurate, collated records to try to find Dr. Gruber before something terrible happens. Without giving anything away, let me just reiterate that it is based on a true story and Malaparte wrote a book after the war documenting the horrors of the Holocaust in Romania. But as for the movie, it's an odd little film about the people who live in the privileged positions in wartime. At a time when millions are being murdered simply based on their race, it's a little unsettling to watch a story of a man trying to find an allergy treatment. Strange, but that contrast between true horror and a simple allergy is pretty effective.
Anyway, I did attend and saw two programs just over a week ago. It started with the short DOUBLE GUESSING GRANDMA, a funny story of a young Jewish man who comes out of the closet to his grandmother. And on Hanukkah, when the guilt lasts for 8 days, no less.
That led into the feature, FOR MY FATHER, which I had previously seen at Cinequest (where it won the audience award). That means I don't have to write a new review, just look back at what I wrote before:
Tarek is a suicide bomber, preparing for his mission in Tel Aviv. He's doing it for his father's honor. His explosive vest is strapped on, and if he doesn't go through with it there's a cell phone trigger so his handlers can "activate" him remotely. In fact, that trigger is wired through his belt buckle so that if he tries to take off the vest, it'll go off. There's really no turning back. So at 8 am on a Friday he gets himself in position in the middle of a crowded marketplace, pushes the button, and...nothing happens. The switch is defective. He hurries out of the market, finds an electrical repair shop, removes the switch, and asks the repairman if he can fix it (without telling him what it's for). He can't, but he can replace it, but he has no replacement in stock. Tomorrow is the Sabbath, so he won't get a replacement until Sunday morning. Tarek convinces his handlers (over the phone) to not activate him, give him until Sunday morning when the market will be crowded again. And so it looks like he's spending the weekend there in Tel Aviv. With nothing but time on his hands, he helps the electrical repairman fix his roof, and talks with the girl who owns the kiosk across the street. Keren is a bit of a punk with dyed-red hair, but she comes from an orthodox family. Her father refuses to talk to her (you can guess from the title there are a lot of daddy issues in this movie), but her "friends" from the community aren't afraid to come by and harass her, trying to get her to renounce her ways and return home. She and Tarek start a bit of a friendship, and when he defends her it becomes a bit more. It never gets sexual (obviously, he can't take of his jacket and reveal his suicide vest), but it is romantic. Over the course of a Sabbath (which just happens to be her birthday) all the reasons he has for his mission melt away. But he's still trapped. This movie handles a very difficult subject with a surprisingly light and deft sense of humor and romance. One of my favorites of the festival.Yeah, I'll pretty much stand by that. An interesting thing about this movie. The easiest, pithiest way to describe it is "A Suicide Bomber Romantic Comedy" (or a "SuBoRomCom"). And that's how I described it at Cinequest--to the puzzled, disgusted looks of many--until I was sick of hearing it and doubting my judgement (or sanity) for liking it so much. Well, now that I've seen it again, I can say it's still a SuBoRomCom, and it's still a great movie.
And then I stuck around for the second feature, GRUBER'S JOURNEY. Based on a true story, it really should be called Malaparte's Journey. Curzio Malaparte was an Italian journalist sent to Romania to cover World War II there. Along the way, he is inflicted with a terrible respiratory allergy, to the point where he is nearly unable to breathe. Fortunately his doctor refers him to an excellent specialist in town--Dr. Gruber. Unfortunately, Dr. Gruber is not in his office. More unfortunately, Dr. Gruber is a Jew and was apparently rounded up by the local officials in a German-ordered purge. So Malaparte, a stranger to the ways of Romania, has to navigate the local authorities--police, military, diplomats, etc,--and the lack of accurate, collated records to try to find Dr. Gruber before something terrible happens. Without giving anything away, let me just reiterate that it is based on a true story and Malaparte wrote a book after the war documenting the horrors of the Holocaust in Romania. But as for the movie, it's an odd little film about the people who live in the privileged positions in wartime. At a time when millions are being murdered simply based on their race, it's a little unsettling to watch a story of a man trying to find an allergy treatment. Strange, but that contrast between true horror and a simple allergy is pretty effective.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Jason goes to Docfest--Closing Night
Well, it took me to the penultimate film in the festival, but I finally found one I really didn't like, SPEAKING IN CODE. And I refuse to concede that the problem is I don't like techno music. It's because it lacks focus and is all over the map (literally, jumping from Boston to Europe and back with very little narrative). Director Amy Grill and her husband David are huge techno fans. In fact, they met and fell in love because of the music. And with that solid foundation, you know they're built to last.... Anyway, they're obsessed with techno, but there's really no scene in Boston, where they live. So they travel to Europe--especially Germany, to attend raves and interview their favorite DJ's. Modeselektor is becoming huge, while Wighnomy Brothers (who are already huge) might be breaking up over one members aversion to travel. Meanwhile David is busily working trying to create a techno scene in Boston, even getting some of his favorite bands (like Modeselektor) to play there. And as they're both more involved with their own projects--Amy with her documentary and David with setting up techno gigs--they start to drift apart. Soon the only time they talk is when Amy is interviewing David for the movie. And the conversations become more and more uncomfortable. When the subject of babies (and that David would rather make techno big in Boston than be a father) comes up, I couldn't help but whisper to my friend "this is not the conversation to have on camera." And as I alluded to, it jumps from Boston to various places in Europe so quickly I couldn't follow any sort of narrative. This film desperately needed some judicious editing. It could have gone all out and been the story of their dissolving marriage (the sort of brutally honest glimpses of true life that I love). Or it could have continued focusing on the music and it could have been the type of solid music documentary that Docfest usually specializes in and was sorely missing this year (the one exception in TRIMPIN, which is just as much about the art as the music). By not knowing which way to go--or by trying to have it both ways--it ends up failing on both sides.
By the way, I didn't see THE EARTH IS YOUNG, but I've been told by someone I trust that if I had, that would've been the stinker of the festival. As it is, for me, SPEAKING IN CODE was.
But no matter, the final film, CROPSEY was a perfect pre-Halloween ending. I didn't grow up on the east coast, or apparently I would've heard legends of Cropsey--a boogeyman character who kidnapped and murdered children. An escaped mental patient who had a hook hand or carried an axe (depending on the local version of the legend). Filmmaking couple Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman had both grown up with their own Cropsey legend, one specifically centered around the abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution on Staten Island. And then in 1987 the legend became true when Jennifer Schweiger went missing. She was thirteen years old, had Down Syndrome, and her body was eventually discovered. Eventually Andre Rand, a former Willowbrook orderly, was found, arrested, and convicted of the crime. And then the story gets really weird. See, it's not such an open and shut case, there are holes in it. Maybe a scared town just needed to find and punish its Cropsey. Maybe he did it and is a monster. Maybe he had accomplices who escaped. Or maybe he is innocent and is just placed in jail as a sacrifice to the fear gods. Oh yeah, and he's still there, he's still alive. The filmmakers try desperately to get an interview, but while waiting for that they interview locals and people involved with the case. And in doing so they weave a mystery that's scarier at each twist. Soon their Cropsey is being accused for all the missing children on the island, whether it makes sense or not. Whether or not he did it, the quickness of people to jump on him and blame him for everything is chilling.
You know, this movie had elements for which I've criticized other Docfest films. The filmmakers put themselves directly in the movie (SPEAKING IN CODE, AMERICAN ARTIFACT). They refuse to come to a firm conclusion one way or the other (WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS). But here it works. I don't know how to explain it other than it was shot and edited in a way that it didn't go off the rails as a result.
And that is the end of Docfest '09 (with a one week delay in finishing these reviews).
By the way, I didn't see THE EARTH IS YOUNG, but I've been told by someone I trust that if I had, that would've been the stinker of the festival. As it is, for me, SPEAKING IN CODE was.
But no matter, the final film, CROPSEY was a perfect pre-Halloween ending. I didn't grow up on the east coast, or apparently I would've heard legends of Cropsey--a boogeyman character who kidnapped and murdered children. An escaped mental patient who had a hook hand or carried an axe (depending on the local version of the legend). Filmmaking couple Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman had both grown up with their own Cropsey legend, one specifically centered around the abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution on Staten Island. And then in 1987 the legend became true when Jennifer Schweiger went missing. She was thirteen years old, had Down Syndrome, and her body was eventually discovered. Eventually Andre Rand, a former Willowbrook orderly, was found, arrested, and convicted of the crime. And then the story gets really weird. See, it's not such an open and shut case, there are holes in it. Maybe a scared town just needed to find and punish its Cropsey. Maybe he did it and is a monster. Maybe he had accomplices who escaped. Or maybe he is innocent and is just placed in jail as a sacrifice to the fear gods. Oh yeah, and he's still there, he's still alive. The filmmakers try desperately to get an interview, but while waiting for that they interview locals and people involved with the case. And in doing so they weave a mystery that's scarier at each twist. Soon their Cropsey is being accused for all the missing children on the island, whether it makes sense or not. Whether or not he did it, the quickness of people to jump on him and blame him for everything is chilling.
You know, this movie had elements for which I've criticized other Docfest films. The filmmakers put themselves directly in the movie (SPEAKING IN CODE, AMERICAN ARTIFACT). They refuse to come to a firm conclusion one way or the other (WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS). But here it works. I don't know how to explain it other than it was shot and edited in a way that it didn't go off the rails as a result.
And that is the end of Docfest '09 (with a one week delay in finishing these reviews).
Jason goes to Docfest--Day...?
Um. The second to last one. I've lost count.
I once again skipped Tuesday (and you'll never know why!), but I was back in action on Wednesday.
First up, THE GREAT CONTEMPORARY ART BUBBLE, probably the funniest movie in all of Docfest. Director Ben Lewis is an art critic who likes contemporary art (defined as post-WWII) but hates what has become of the business. Wealthy collectors bid outrageous amounts for works that will sit in a warehouse rather than be shown. They're treated as investments more than art. Worse yet, art dealers intentionally bid up works to protect the price point of their featured artists. Lewis tackles this world with anger but humor, starting off getting an artist friend of his to modify his car into a rolling work of art. He travels around the world, observing art auctions, pointing out the absurdity of many pieces of modern art--not just the subjects but how so much of it is mass produced by assistants rather than the big name artists themselves. And he compares the world of real estate, finance, and modern art, arguing that they all had the same flaws and are due to the same fate--art is just delayed. The movie does stall a little bit when he tries to make the connection of how a crash in the art market affects ordinary people. Yes, we don't get ridiculous art in our public museums, and yes, the whole of the economy is interconnected so there are ripple effects. But mostly I care completely out of a sense of schadenfreude. I like watching the ridiculous billionaires lose money buying ridiculous and ridiculously overpriced art. And you know what, I still enjoyed it. You don't have to care two bits about contemporary art to really enjoy this movie.
The next program started with the short, THE PHYSICS TEACHER, which I happen to know won the audience award. And this profile of Sohail Khan deserves it just from the charisma of its character. Originally from Pakistan, he now teaches high school physics in Texas, and is a gruff, sarcastic guy who would come off as a total jerk if it wasn't so clear how much he cares about the students and how much they know it.
And that led into the feature, THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS. Director Patrick Shen travels to the greatest institutions in the world--Princeton, Cornell, Duke, even my alma mater Caltech--to discuss the wisdom of real life rather than the esoteric principles studied there. He meets an immigrant from Haiti working to send money back to his family, and an artist pursuing his dream. A man who lost and arm and suffered brain trauma but was back to work within 10 months. A man who miraculously learned to walk again after injuries suffered in Vietnam and his longtime friend and colleague. A woman whose mother died from a hospital accident (double dose of drugs). A mentor in the Duke chapel, a Berkeley man who puts family above everything (after a history of not doing that). Oh yeah, and all these people are custodians, not professors. The film is an epic poem to the dignity of good honest work, the importance of every person, and the idea that prestige is meaningless and no one can take away your dignity but you.
I once again skipped Tuesday (and you'll never know why!), but I was back in action on Wednesday.
First up, THE GREAT CONTEMPORARY ART BUBBLE, probably the funniest movie in all of Docfest. Director Ben Lewis is an art critic who likes contemporary art (defined as post-WWII) but hates what has become of the business. Wealthy collectors bid outrageous amounts for works that will sit in a warehouse rather than be shown. They're treated as investments more than art. Worse yet, art dealers intentionally bid up works to protect the price point of their featured artists. Lewis tackles this world with anger but humor, starting off getting an artist friend of his to modify his car into a rolling work of art. He travels around the world, observing art auctions, pointing out the absurdity of many pieces of modern art--not just the subjects but how so much of it is mass produced by assistants rather than the big name artists themselves. And he compares the world of real estate, finance, and modern art, arguing that they all had the same flaws and are due to the same fate--art is just delayed. The movie does stall a little bit when he tries to make the connection of how a crash in the art market affects ordinary people. Yes, we don't get ridiculous art in our public museums, and yes, the whole of the economy is interconnected so there are ripple effects. But mostly I care completely out of a sense of schadenfreude. I like watching the ridiculous billionaires lose money buying ridiculous and ridiculously overpriced art. And you know what, I still enjoyed it. You don't have to care two bits about contemporary art to really enjoy this movie.
The next program started with the short, THE PHYSICS TEACHER, which I happen to know won the audience award. And this profile of Sohail Khan deserves it just from the charisma of its character. Originally from Pakistan, he now teaches high school physics in Texas, and is a gruff, sarcastic guy who would come off as a total jerk if it wasn't so clear how much he cares about the students and how much they know it.
And that led into the feature, THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS. Director Patrick Shen travels to the greatest institutions in the world--Princeton, Cornell, Duke, even my alma mater Caltech--to discuss the wisdom of real life rather than the esoteric principles studied there. He meets an immigrant from Haiti working to send money back to his family, and an artist pursuing his dream. A man who lost and arm and suffered brain trauma but was back to work within 10 months. A man who miraculously learned to walk again after injuries suffered in Vietnam and his longtime friend and colleague. A woman whose mother died from a hospital accident (double dose of drugs). A mentor in the Duke chapel, a Berkeley man who puts family above everything (after a history of not doing that). Oh yeah, and all these people are custodians, not professors. The film is an epic poem to the dignity of good honest work, the importance of every person, and the idea that prestige is meaningless and no one can take away your dignity but you.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Jason goes to Docfest--Day 11
Docfest is over, but I'm still wrapping up my last half-dozen "reviews"
Last Monday started with the World Wide Shorts program:
EVERYDAY PEOPLE--From the UK, funny interviews with people who have the same names as celebrities. Julia Roberts, Gordon Ramsey, etc. Interesting, funny anecdotes and tips for dealing with the reactions. Reminds me of the hotel clerk I knew in Yuma, AZ named Bill Cosby. He always introduced himself as "the poor white one, not the rich black one."
SWEAT--Another one where the trailer has been bugging me all week. I now finally know how competitive sauna works (whoever stays in longest wins). A real weirdo from Finland, where sauna is like a religion.
THE FLYING SHEPHERD--Romanian shepherds tend their flocks, hang out and chat, and fly their ultralight airplanes. All while keeping an eye out for "the German" who owns the runway an who will be pissed if he catches them.
STORY OF A BUSINESSWOMAN--A young Japanese woman opens a real estate office, mentors up-and-coming businessmen (most of whom are older than her), and does what she must to succeed in the male-dominated Japanese business world. Creepiest moment (possibly a bit lost in translation): when they talk about a high school girl who was gang-raped and she blurts out "silly girl!"
SONGS FROM THE TUNDRA--Life of hunters in the remotest regions of Russia. Interesting mix of the traditional and the modern. One moment they're eating raw elk brains, next moment they're tooling around in tanks and playing video games.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm missing one of the shorts. I just feel there were 6, not 5. But that's all there is in the program and I don't recall an announcement about an added film.
Anyway, the next film was a feature about plastic surgery and the anti-aging industry, YOUTH KNOWS NO PAIN, and it inspired me to want to bring a ton of pain to the artificial youth. That's not fair, that's badly influenced by my personal opinions on cosmetic surgery, and shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the film. Director Mitch McCabe has actually made a fine film, and has a unique viewpoint as a daughter of a cosmetic surgeon and someone who has used face creams, etc. from a young age but hasn't gone under the knife (yet). She does a good job finding and interviewing doctors and patients, especially one woman who is always getting work done (her quiet, smiling husband is an interesting but ignored character. I couldn't help thinking he wanted to say more but didn't want to upset her). I'm sure this movie can find an appreciative audience, and I hate to pan a movie based on the subject rather than the film making, but I just couldn't get into it. And it's all because I didn't think any of the patients looked good (with the exception of patients who fixed actually damage--mastectomy, disfigurement, etc.) Telling point--there's one scene where the surgery-addicted woman gets lip implants, and remarks she looks 5 years younger. I had to lean over to my friend and whisper "because 5 years ago she was a mutated freak?" That's just my opinion, but I'm sticking to it.
Last Monday started with the World Wide Shorts program:
EVERYDAY PEOPLE--From the UK, funny interviews with people who have the same names as celebrities. Julia Roberts, Gordon Ramsey, etc. Interesting, funny anecdotes and tips for dealing with the reactions. Reminds me of the hotel clerk I knew in Yuma, AZ named Bill Cosby. He always introduced himself as "the poor white one, not the rich black one."
SWEAT--Another one where the trailer has been bugging me all week. I now finally know how competitive sauna works (whoever stays in longest wins). A real weirdo from Finland, where sauna is like a religion.
THE FLYING SHEPHERD--Romanian shepherds tend their flocks, hang out and chat, and fly their ultralight airplanes. All while keeping an eye out for "the German" who owns the runway an who will be pissed if he catches them.
STORY OF A BUSINESSWOMAN--A young Japanese woman opens a real estate office, mentors up-and-coming businessmen (most of whom are older than her), and does what she must to succeed in the male-dominated Japanese business world. Creepiest moment (possibly a bit lost in translation): when they talk about a high school girl who was gang-raped and she blurts out "silly girl!"
SONGS FROM THE TUNDRA--Life of hunters in the remotest regions of Russia. Interesting mix of the traditional and the modern. One moment they're eating raw elk brains, next moment they're tooling around in tanks and playing video games.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm missing one of the shorts. I just feel there were 6, not 5. But that's all there is in the program and I don't recall an announcement about an added film.
Anyway, the next film was a feature about plastic surgery and the anti-aging industry, YOUTH KNOWS NO PAIN, and it inspired me to want to bring a ton of pain to the artificial youth. That's not fair, that's badly influenced by my personal opinions on cosmetic surgery, and shouldn't be taken as a criticism of the film. Director Mitch McCabe has actually made a fine film, and has a unique viewpoint as a daughter of a cosmetic surgeon and someone who has used face creams, etc. from a young age but hasn't gone under the knife (yet). She does a good job finding and interviewing doctors and patients, especially one woman who is always getting work done (her quiet, smiling husband is an interesting but ignored character. I couldn't help thinking he wanted to say more but didn't want to upset her). I'm sure this movie can find an appreciative audience, and I hate to pan a movie based on the subject rather than the film making, but I just couldn't get into it. And it's all because I didn't think any of the patients looked good (with the exception of patients who fixed actually damage--mastectomy, disfigurement, etc.) Telling point--there's one scene where the surgery-addicted woman gets lip implants, and remarks she looks 5 years younger. I had to lean over to my friend and whisper "because 5 years ago she was a mutated freak?" That's just my opinion, but I'm sticking to it.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Jason hasn't had time to try Motionbox himself, but you should and let me know
Got this e-mail from Lowell Dempsey at Motionbox. I haven't had time to try this myself (and I'm not a filmmaker, so I don't really have videos to share online). But it looks like something I should give a shout-out. So any of my readers who try this out, leave a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know what you thought.
Now that it's almost Halloween, I wanted to try you one last time and let you know about a great Halloween promotion that our partner Shutterfly is running. From now until November 8th, you and the readers of Jason Watches Movies can get up to 60 free 4x6 prints just for posting and sharing a video! It would be fantastic if you could let your readers know about this.
You can check out the site that I put together which explains everything - feel free to use any of the images or videos on your site: http://motionboxnews.com
Motionbox makes it easy to share your videos online and is a great alternative to YouTube; better quality, more privacy settings and even editing features. I've also included a $10 off link to our Premium membership on the site for you to share.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Jason goes to Docfest--Day 10
So as I explained in my previous post, I had to split about 15 minutes early from WATCH HORROR FILMS: KEEP AMERICA STRONG to make it to the Roxie for the 7:00 show (thanks for the ride, Ira). What documentary could possibly tear me away from that? Two words: RABBIT FEVER (theme alert--another animal movie). I like bunnies. But there are people who take their bunny love to extremes, competing in rabbit shows and (for the youth) competing to be Rabbit King or Queen. ARBA, the American Rabbit Breeders Association, holds national rabbit conventions, much like the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Judging the rabbits proceeds much like in dog shows, with different breeds, classes, and finally Best in Show (note, my knowledge of Dog Shows comes strictly from the Christopher Guest movie BEST IN SHOW, so I'm assuming a lot here). Joseph Kim is the eccentric star of the movie for that half of the competition. But the really interesting competition is the youths (under 18) competing for Rabbit King and Queen (or, in younger age groups, Lord and Lady or Duke and Duchess). The competition is in several parts, including a written test, oral interview, rabbit judging (comparing the youth scores to the official judges), breed identification, etc. (I feel like I'm missing one part. Whatever). The kids competing for King and Queen are the best (and biggest) part of the movie, with returning champions like Jenna, fierce competitors like Jessica, longtime runner-ups like Jeremy (whom I really felt for, but I think he always blew it in the interview), or newer competitors like Paula or Johnny. Their preparation, focus, and drive makes this movie, and it's interesting to see how a casual affection for the cute fluffy animals turns into a lifelong obsession (in a good way).
This was actually screened as a work in progress, so I don't know when it will be released to a wider audience or how it will change by then, but if you want to learn more about bunnies the ARBA national convention is in San Diego starting next weekend (Nov. 1-5).
Oh yeah, and I got a free set of bunny ears at the screening. Woo hoo, I'm a bunny!
This was actually screened as a work in progress, so I don't know when it will be released to a wider audience or how it will change by then, but if you want to learn more about bunnies the ARBA national convention is in San Diego starting next weekend (Nov. 1-5).
Oh yeah, and I got a free set of bunny ears at the screening. Woo hoo, I'm a bunny!
Oh, and one final note about RABBIT FEVER. There's a scene where Joseph Kim is breeding his rabbits. For all their reputation, I've never actually seen rabbits fuck...until now. And it was fascinating to watch. They go at it for a bit as expected, and then at the "magic moment" the male spasms, falls on its back, and twitches for a few seconds. I don't know if this is typical or if this was a particularly special male, but it was a scene of sublime beauty. Just put that clip on Youtube and everyone will want to go see RABBIT FEVER.
Well, now that I've injected a note of lurid sex into this post, I just need to add drugs, Rock 'n Roll, and poster art to lead into the next film, AMERICAN ARTIFACT (Docfest theme alert: art). This movie tells the history of the rock concert poster, done by fans to publicize shows for very little money (at least originally). It's chock full of examples of the art, and is something of a crash course on the art and some of the big names, like Winston Smith, Victor Moscoso, Gary Grimshaw, Jim Sherraden & Hatch Show Print, and Frank Kozic (the man who really went national and made good money at it). Tons more can be found on the films website. It's also a crash course in the history, starting at the Filmore in San Francisco with the brightly colored psychadelia of the 60's and 70's, going through the economical black and white xerox art of the punk days, and finally the current resurgence and the creation of gigposters.com, which has turned it from a few isolated obsessives who built local reputations to a community where you know what artists are doing across the country. There are also brief mentions of the greater community, especially in regards to telephone pole flyers and "post no bills" laws. And I think director Merle Becker loses focus a bit when she talks about her own journey (either insert yourself fully as a character or take yourself out. I don't care that you're ending the movie because you ran out of money). But when it's all about the art, that's impressive enough.
Artists Ron Donovan, Chris Shaw, Dennis Loren, and Paul Imagine were there at the screening and got a bit rowdy for the Q&A (Ron Donovan even donned bunny ears and had the front row pose for pictures with then, so somewhere I'm on video clowning around with him in bunny ears). Meanwhile Dennis Loren actually brought examples of the art and various overlays and instructions he'd send to a printer, and that was fascinating.
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