Two movies--kinda--on Friday.
First up was STRAWMAN, an experimental drama from rural China. Xiatian has a tough life. His parents are gone. His little brother is bullied at school. His sister works as a maid at a hotel where she's sexually harassed by her boss. And he turns to petty crime to make a living. It's beautifully shot, and as a window into a part of China that isn't often seen, it's pretty interesting. His struggles are easy to sympathize with, even if his actions aren't always sensible. And there's not a lot of chances for even little victories in his life. It's kind of pessimistic, which I suppose given his situation makes it pretty realistic.
And then I raced over to the Brava Theater to see as much of THE BIG LEBOWSKI as I could. The Big Lebowski party has been a staple of Indiefest almost as long as I have been going. Lately they've been "shadow-casting" the movie (playing the movie while actors act it out on stage.) And I always have to check it out because my friend Ira is the best damn Walter Sobchak ever. I got there pretty early in the film--right when the Dude is meeting with the Big Lebowski the first time. And I don't have to recap the film, I assume everyone who wants to see it has. And the shadow-casting was excellent (although I've heard rumors of behind-the-scenes drama, on stage it seemed to work pretty well.) Plus I always like a party where there are plenty of White Russians and/or oat sodas (beer.)
Total Running Time: 162 minutes (figuring I missed about 30 minutes of BIG LEBOWSKI, between arriving late and hanging out at the bar a couple of times.)
My Total Minutes: 417,963
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