Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 11

Aka, the penultimate night. It's all over now except for the writeups. 10 movies to finish reviewing, starting with these 4 Friday night, and a little popcorn related chaos.

I showed up a good 10 minutes early for WILL YOU MARRY US? And just before entering the theater, the fire alarm went off (apparently over burning popcorn oil). So it was delayed nearly an hour. Luckily everything I saw last Friday was at the Camera 12, so the delay affected everything and I didn't have to miss anything (if I had planned screenings at the California, the Rep, or the Camera 3 I might've been S.O.L). But it meant there was very little time between screenings as they tried to make up time on the turn-around, so I didn't have time to run out to the Soiree or Maverick meet-up to grab a drink. Make a note, dear readers, Friday was my sober night at Cinequest. But at the same time, kudos to the staff at Cinequest for turning everything around quickly and getting nearly back on schedule in just two movies.

Anyway, first up was a hilarious romantic comedy from Switzerland, WILL YOU MARRY US? Rahel is a civil registrar in a small town...think sort of a justice of the peace who only does marriages, not something we really have in America. Long ago she was in a band called Raben (Raven) with her good friend Ben (Rahel + Ben = Raben, get it?) They had one hit, then she got pregnant (from her current husband) and he went on to great fame. And now he's back in town, just for a relaxing time with his famous actress girlfriend. And he runs into Rahel, they have a good time reconnecting and she meets his girlfriend. They're all friends now, so they ask Rahel to marry them. Only problem, Rahel is realizing she has long-buried feelings for Ben. Worse yet, Ben has feelings for her. And everything gets either more complicated or less complicated when Rahel catches her husband cheating on her. It's a comedy of manners and social obligations trumping following your heart. And most importantly, it's just really funny.

And then we traveled back in time to 1981 to watch...1981 (that's the title of the movie). A very explicitly autobiographical film by French-Canadian (by way of Italy) director Ricardo Trogi aka Ricardo "Crunchy" (I think that pun must work better in French). They move to a small town in Quebec when he is 11, and immediately has trouble fitting in. So to get in with the right gang, he promises them he has as stash of Playboys and will share them...eventually. Plus he also develops a crush on Anne, the smartest and prettiest girl in class, who brushed his arm in class one day--an obvious sign. It's a great comedy about the lies we tell to be popular when growing up (and everyone tells lies). Oh, and it's steeped in 1981 style, but my favorite part was the Star Wars bedsheets he has. I had those exact same ones growing up. Not just similar sheets, not just Star Wars sheets, but that exact design. And that took me back.

Next up was the agoraphobia thriller, SOLITARY, which went on to win the New Visions jury award at the end of the festival in what everyone I talked to agreed was the worst award choice. I don't want to say it was a really bad movie, it was capably done and engaging in places, but I saw the ending coming from a long way away and there were others in the category that I thought were better (7 DAYS, FrICTION, and LIFE IN ONE DAY were easily more deserving, and cases could be made for a lot more of them)

Anyway, SOLITARY is the story of Sara Ballard, who is going insane from agoraphobia and has locked herself in her house. Anytime she ventures just a little bit outside, she has a seizure and has to be brought back in. Her husband doesn't seem to help much, and in fact kind of makes things worse. Her estranged sister is brought in, huge gaps of time are skipped in a blink, and psychiatrist Dr. Reznik appears to offer some advice but mostly hints about and finally reveals the big twist ending (which, as I said, was telegraphed from well in advance). Good acting and competent camera work, I just wasn't that impressed with the story.

And finally, the night ended with a midnight screening of the strangest vampire story I've ever seen, STRIGOI. It takes place in a small Romanian village, although it was an English production and as such contains one of my biggest pet peeves--badly accented English filling in for a foreign language. I have no problem with suspending disbelief and letting English stand in Romanian. It's just if you do that, why do you need the thick accents? I'm already suspending disbelief, so let them just speak normal English.

Okay, as for the story, I said it's the strangest vampire movie I've ever seen. It's not scary, it's kind of funny, but mostly it's just strange. In the opening scenes, the hated town master Constantin and his wife are murdered. But when young Vlad comes back to town, he swears he can see Constantin walking around at night. Meanwhile another man is dead, and the locals are keeping watch over the body. Tradition says to watch it for 3 (or was that 5?) days, too make sure it doesn't come back to life. Too bad the locals really use the wake as an excuse to drink over the body, and don't quite watch it enough. That and Vlad wakes up with his dad (or was it granddad, I forget) sucking his blood while patting him and saying "it's all right, it's all right..." Seems there are (un)dead strigoi and living strigoi, and none of them make sense. Just really, really, really weird.

Total Running Time: 419 minutes
My Total Minutes: 176,173

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 10

Nearing the final weekend. Here's what I did last Thursday night. Guess what, I saw three more movies!

First, to Denmark for THE ESCAPE (FLUGTEN). I wonder if something is lost in translation, like it should be "ESCAPES" because there's certainly more than one. Rikke Lyngvig is a Danish journalist in Afghanistan. She's interviewing her translator about the dangers of working there, when they are attacked. She is kidnapped, he (we learn later) is killed alongside his entire family. She is forced to read a statement on camera calling for all Danish coalition forces to leave Afghanistan immediately, or she will be killed. Her captor is Nazir, a young man with soulful blue eyes whose father was killed in an altercation with American troops. He's not actually cut out to be a terrorist, and his dad opposed the Taliban, but his uncle insists he restore the family honor. So he does his best to mistreat her, and cuts off her pinkie finger (and immediately runs outside to throw up). But in the nick of time, he helps her escape. His only condition, never tell anyone he helped her or he will die. That's escape number one. Escape number 2 comes when Nazir escapes from the Taliban and hides in a truck all the way to Denmark. There he's put in a holding house while his asylum request is processed. And there he meets a lovely Iraqi refugee and they sort of hit it off. Trouble reappears when immigration police show up to deport all the Iraqis. So it's time for another escape. They get separated, Nazir is alone, and the only person he knows to contact is Rikke. In the meantime, she's written a best-selling book about her ordeal, and of course kept him safe by claiming she escaped on her own. But now it suddenly looks like she's palling around with a terrorist. The one part I didn't quite by is why she wouldn't come forward and explain everything right away, but a rival journalist who crucifies her in the press provides the argument against that (still, I believe in sunlight as the best disinfectant--be open and people will understand). So this calls for a few more escapes. An exciting thriller with great performances, perhaps the greatest escape is from the stereotypes about what makes a terrorist.

Next up was a road trip film about the 80's, new friendship, loyalty, and D&D--GOD IS D_AD. Tim is a Korean-American comic book clerk and dungeon master, and the movie features fantasy scenes that were shot in Korea (the country) and in Korean (the language). Tim has a plan to win the big regional D&D convention in Chicago (and then go on to the nationals in New York), and so he puts an ad in the paper for road trip buddies. And he gets out of it a cinematically appropriate team of misfits--the girl, the born-again ex-homo, the weirdo horndog best friend, and the mildly retarded kid with money (both came from a car accident)--all of whom have their own (secret) reasons for coming along. There are funny bits, and a pretty good story, and a lesson about loyalty, responsibility, and choices (delivered by a weird sound-alike cameo).

I don't know, it all seemed just a little bit short of a great film. I normally forgive low budget films even when they look low budget (and am quick to praise when they don't), but I was tired, the festival is near an end, and I just didn't have the patience needed...mostly for the bad acting in this movie. I liked the fantasy Korean scenes better than the "real life" road trip.

GOD IS D_AD plays again on 3/6 at 4:15 pm, and also at the upcoming SF International Asian American Film Festival.

And I ended the night with an absolutely charming film, PRIMA PRIMAVERA. Gabor is a middle-aged, mildly retarded man-child with an amazing eye and ability to draw perfectly. He's at the bank with his mother when the place is robbed. In a scene that makes it look like he doesn't know what's going on, he fights the robber and rips off his mask, but the robber shoots his (Gabor's) mother. Tragic, and Gabor has trouble taking care of himself, but he's also the only eye-witness who got a look at the robber's face (he's a really creepy Dutch guy who calls himself a lawyer). Meanwhile Joli is a prostitute who drove the getaway car in the robbery, but is afraid of the Dutchman, especially when it's clear he plans to kill at least Gabor and probably her. So she befriends Gabor and the flee...to Gabor's grandmother's house in Serbia. Oh yeah, and he buys a chandelier on the way because he thinks his grandmother would like it (she died in the 50's, if I recall correctly). The movie is equal parts romantic comedy and dangerous crime thriller, and it's surprisingly successful on both counts. It's just excellent.

PRIMA PRIMAVERA plays again 3/6 at 9:00 pm. I don't know how the "closing night" gala film MOTHER will play (since I haven't seen it yet), but I wouldn't be surprised if you're actually better off catching this one instead (it's pretty hard to beat).

Total Running Time: 299 minutes

My Total Minutes: 175,754

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 9

Wednesday...I should say something clever about Wednesday...but I won't. Just tell you about three more movies I saw.

First up, PARABLE. Nebraska, in George Bush's America. Part 1: Road trip, blind date, butt rape, gunshot. Part 2: Red man enslaves Blue woman. Lots of knot tying (reminds me of Boy Scouts). Cowboy rapist (in white) reappears, rapes blue woman. Everyone teams up to kill the cowboy. Leaves him face down in a barn stall, I hope choking on cow shit. It's a metaphor.

I'm not sure I loved this or hated it. Or if I was confused or if was really simple. I do know it hasn't left me the way most movies do. It was a lot of symbols, metaphors, a parable (although I'd point out that most parables are meant to enlighten and clarify, not confound and confuse. If you "read whatever you want" into it, it's not a very good parable). Oh yeah, and it's about George Bush. And I can't form another coherent thought about it.

Next up was what I believe might be a breakthrough film for Cinequest veteran and singular visionary Alejandro Adams (AROUND THE BAY, CANARY), BABNIK. In his previous film, CANARY, Adams started with 10 minutes of banal Russian dialogue with no subtitles. This time he's still directing in Russian (which he does not speak) but at least he's putting in subtitles (when they're important). Misha and Sasha run a modeling company, where they provide beautiful girls with fancy clothes and discounts on vitamin supplements (which they're obliged to take). And they shepherd them into a life of sexual slavery (not shown). Meanwhile immigrant Artem is fired from his job at a telemarketing company. He tried to impress his bosses by coming in on the weekends, instead that just creeped them out. So he goes to work as an enforcer for Misha and Sasha. Meanwhile a destitute girl is dragged into the whole "modeling" world. The FBI (or an elaborate hoax) gets involved at the end. And while I left some things out to avoid spoilers, this is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. And if you've seen Adams' work before, that should shock you. And this is why I predict BABNIK might be his breakthrough. Mainstream audiences might still be confused and lost in his world--in CANARY he made a horror film with no blood, now he's made a sexploitation film with no sex. Power is shown in little ways (the repeated "you need to take vitamin supplements...we'll get them for you at a discount" conversation is one of the least subtle power plays there). His camera still comes from strange angles, peeking over shoulders or around walls and focusing on unconventional places. And there's a peculiar style to his performers that loses and disorients me. One of my favorite scene was dominated by a laughing prostitute. I have no idea why she was laughing (maybe she was high?), but I believed it and can't forget it. Oh yeah, and at the Q&A, we learned the title BABNIK means "womanizer" in Russian slang (think beat:beatnik::babe:babnik). I was glad to learn that (and apparently if I read the guide I would've known it already), but after the fact it turns out the title is the least interesting part of the movie.

And then I ended the night with LOVE LIFE OF A GENTLE COWARD. A Croatian film about food, love, writing, courage, and politics. Saša is an aspiring writer, but in the meantime makes a living as a food critic for the local (Zagreb) newspaper. And he's a coward. Rather than saying food is good or bad he writes essays on the nature of eggplant. He sees his son rarely, and is intimidated by his ex-wife and her new lover. And to make everything worse, his back is freaking killing him. So he goes to the local sports center and gets a massage. The masseuse is the lovely and strong-willed Ines. They hit it off, and start to date (although that's forbidden by sports center rules). And some of her courage rubs off on him. He writes a scathing review of a local restaurant. Too bad it was politically connected and now he's got thugs out to teach him a lesson. But he survives, more wacky hijinx ensue, and as is explained in the opening and closing frames, if you survive the Zagreb fall and winter, by spring you will know who you are and will be ready for some cheer.

Now I really want to go back and watch TRESETA, director Pavo Marinković's Cinequest film from 2006.

And that was Wednesday at Cinequest.

Total Running Time: 243 minutes

My Total Minutes: 175,455

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 8

Three more movies on Tuesday. Let's go:

First, a trip through the night in Mexico City with ONE FOR THE ROAD. A beautiful opening shot zooming over the city takes us from the disheveled slums up to the wealthy parts of town. Then a group of well-to-do friends take a trip to sample the night life in the...less safe neighborhoods. They get separated, and they each have their own adventures. One ends up picking up a stripper, getting into a fight with a mariachi, and has to convince the stripper that he's really a good guy. One has an overprotective mother who actually sends a bodyguard to spy on him. He sneaks out, and ends up on a bus at the end of the night and spends the night with the sexy bus driver. And one gets dragged into the local hoods and is robbed. Most importantly, a watch he picked up as a birthday gift is stolen, and he has to spend the rest of the night--and risk his safety many times--to get it back. It's a visually and musically engaging film, and mixes just the right balance of humor with a revealing look at Mexico City's less popular districts. And it's a cautionary tale about white boys (there's an epithet thrown around through the movie that they didn't translate until near the end, and translated as "white boy") and poverty tourism.

The next show started with a short, GRAND DAME, a wild performance piece of a trans-gendered star and his/her long love affair with Bill Shakespeare. Includes an Encore--his/her funeral.

That led into THE SONOSOPHER: ALEX CALDIERO IN LIFE...IN SOUND. Alex Caldiero is a beatnik, a Mormon, and a self-described "sonosopher". That is, he plays with sounds. Not necessarily music (although he is very musical), not necessarily poetry (although he can write beautiful poetry), not necessarily even words. Sonosophy is a celebration of the sound of...sound. In a way it's pure. In another way, it's pure bullshit. But as Alex said in the Q&A, he even takes his bullshit seriously. He's a fascinating guy, and it's a lot of fun spending a little over an hour with him. I don't know how fun it would be to spend much more time with him.

Oh yeah, and on another note, by this time in the festival I'm so exhausted I'm nearly dozing off in just about every film. This is a perfect film to take a 5 minute catnap during, because as long as you can still subconsciously hear everything, you get the most important part of the experience.

And I ended the night with the excellent thriller THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. My only complaint--it's opening at the Camera Cinemas in 2 weeks, so I didn't need to see it here. I should've seen the animated shorts instead. But I must look to the positive, don't mourn the films you missed but celebrate the films you did see. If the worst thing that happened last Tuesday night is I saw a great film, I'll count myself blessed.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is based on a Swedish novel which I haven't read. But in talking to other fans I can report it was faithful to the novel and people are relieved that a "good, Swedish" version came out before the inevitable American remake. Michael Blomkvist is a journalist caught up in a libel case. He's just lost, and his career and the magazine he helped create ("Millenium") is in ruins. So he takes a leave of absence, and is soon contacted by the patriarch of the Vanger family. 40 years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared. Her uncle is convinced she was murdered, and hires Blomkvist to solve the mystery. He knows he's a ruthless, meticulous investigator, and he also knows he's clean, because he had Lisbeth Salander check on him. Lisbeth is a computer hacker, a really tough chick, and the titular girl with a dragon tattoo (all down her back, and very hot). At first Blomkvist is wary, but she quickly proves an invaluable ally, and their investigation shows a string of murders that appear to be connected, and connected to the family. An exciting adventure thriller, although as I said it's opening in regular release soon (and so I could've/should've seen something else) it's exactly the tonic I needed at the time.

Total Runing Time: 322 minutes

My Total Minutes: 175,212

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 7

Way behind in my reviews. Here's looking way back to Monday:

First up, THE FERRARI DINO GIRL, by Czech New Wave master Jan Nĕmec. In 1968 Soviet tanks invaded Prague. Nĕmec was there, grabbed his camera, and made ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE, which became a huge hit and arguably his most important footage every. 40 years later, he revisits the adventure behind that footage, and frames it around his attempt to get into the pants of a beautiful female travelling companion. The Ferrari Dino is a model of car that Enzo Ferrari made to mourn the death of his son. It's a very rare, very valuable model. And Nĕmec's travelling companion is that kind of girl. Too bad she's travelling with her boyfriend/fiance (or at least they pretend to be engaged because he's Italian and Italians can get out of the country easily). Ultimately they get to New York, where his his movie is the toast of the town, but he still never quite gets the girl. A beautifully composed movie, somehow charming in it's self-centeredness. There's something we can all recognize, that even in the midst of world-changing events, chasing girls and reveling in your fame are more immediately compelling.

The next show started with the short AMOKLOVE. A recounting of a brief affair that didn't really work out.

And that was the lead-in to COOKING HISTORY, a rather astonishingly playful documentary. In war many people die. Other people cook. And animals die so that cooks can feed the people who will die (or kill). Beautifully shot and choreographed with a sly sense of macabre humor, this is an amazing movie that is often painful to watch (because of the animal slaughter scenes, and I won't say much more about that). Covering 6 wars (WW II, Algeria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Balkans, and Chechnya), the film features cooks telling their stories, sharing their recipes (punctuating each segment and always ending with a "pinch of salt"). My personal favorites: the Jewish baker who served arsenic bread to Nazis, and the Serbian and Croatian cooks who insist on the purity of their cuisine (it's the same damn food, idiots!) Brilliant film, difficult to watch.

And continuing the theme of brilliant but difficult to watch, we traveled into the foothills of the West Virginia (Appalachia) for BLUE RIDGE. J.T. (well portrayed by Eric Sweeney) has some issues. He barely holds it together as the jack-of-all-trades handyman for the rural trailer park where he lives. His neighbor is an unpleasant, fat woman always harping on him to fix her satellite TV. His landlord is a creepy weirdo who tries to pick up girls by impersonating a police officer (and that's just the tip of his creepiness). Just about the only thing he's got going for him is Sara. A beautiful young lady who takes care of her old father (or grandfather, there seemed to be some inconsistency there and I'm not sure it wasn't intentional). Their brilliant plan to escape is to save up enough money to move away and buy a beach-side amusement park. But even his relationship with Sara--which should be a good thing--just adds to the pressure and you can see the cracks in his stoic facade. There is some weird foreshadowing, like J.T. shooting at roadkill or aiming his rifle at his neighbor (and her constantly yapping dog).

I thought it was a compelling story, very character-driven around J.T. A lot of the characters were very "out there" and I cringed sometimes thinking this is bad hillbilly stereotyping. But it's not like the characters were played for laughs, and I know director Vince Sweeney grew up in the area. So I'm really curious to hear opinions from southerners and especially people from that exact area (the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, which I forgot to mention are absolutely beautiful in some of the opening establishing shots) as to how fair those character depictions really are.

And that was Monday at Cinequest

Total Runing Time: 264 minutes

My Total Minutes: 174,890

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 6

Finishing up the first weekend with a 5 movie Sunday:

First up was a movie that I didn't know about until I met the filmmakers at a party. This was due to an error in the printed Cinequest guide (BTW, pick up the Metro for the latest updated guide and schedule). Networking works, filmmakers (and these guys did it well)!

Anyway, COST OF A SOUL is the interwoven story of two Iraq war vets who return home to Philadelphia, where different sources of violence continue to accost them. Tommy Donahue worked in the Irish mob. He joined the army to get away from that, and now he's back home with his wife and meeting 4 year old daughter for the first time. But the local mob boss pressures him back into working. Meanwhile DD has to deal with his older brother who has moved on from just selling a little weed to becoming the neighborhood drug kingpin. And DD is charged with protecting his mom and his little brother from that influence. Both DD and Tommy joined the military to escape exactly these conditions, and returning home they find very little has changed and their military experience doesn't necessarily prepare them for the different kind of war at home. It's a tight, thrilling story, and eventually Tommy and DD's worlds cross paths. And the acting is excellent.

COST OF A SOUL plays again 3/5 at 11:30 am

So after that dark drama, it was time for a little laughter with CUMMINGS FARM, or as I like to call it, MY BIG, AWKWARD, JEWISH ORGY. Three couples go to Cummings Farm for a night of consequence-free sex. But they're all weird and neurotic. Alan and Yasmine have just started dating, and Yasmine is more than a little controlling. Rachel and Gordon live together. Gordon is an alcoholic and casual drug user. Alan is secretly in love with Rachel. Tina (Laura Silverman, an actual star in this film) and Todd are married with children. Todd is batshit insane (when we first see him, he drinks his own pee), and the orgy was basically his idea. Add in a drug dealer (crap, now I can't remember if he was Lorenz or Lavar, and that's a running joke in the movie...) who is Gordon's hookup for Ecstasy but who scares the heck out of Alan (who points out that he's not afraid of all black guys, just that black guy). And so hilarity is bound to ensue. And for the first 75% or so, it is a wacky screwball (no pun intended) sex comedy. And then it takes an oddly dramatic turn as...well, I don't want to give away spoilers. It's pretty obvious early on that with this mix of neurotic vs. zany, no orgy is going to work out well. But it takes a very unexpected tonal shift in the end that is probably more rewarding than any screwball comedy ending would be.

CUMMINGS FARM plays again 3/5 at 1:30 pm

Next up was yet another movie that I saw based on chatting with the filmmakers, BUMMER SUMMER. I have to start by talking about the look of the film. It was shot on a digital camera. I can't remember the exact model, but it's a digital still camera that also has a movie mode. Basically the cheapest, low-rent camera this side of cell phones. And the movie looks amazing. Excellent use of black and white and very well composed shots. Cinematographer Nandan Rao deserves huge credit for this. As for the story itself, Isaac, his big brother Ben, and Ben's ex-girlfriend Lila go on a road trip to see a giant hedge maze they read about in a book of roadside attractions. Oh yeah, back up a little bit. Isaac just finished his senior year of high school, and his girlfriend breaks up with him. Oh, and on the way he realizes he's attracted to Lila, too, and so there's that awkwardness. And there's some deadpan humor. But mostly it's a whole lot of nothing happens. Still, the look and the performances were impressive.

BUMMER SUMMER plays again 3/3 at 12:15 pm. Holy crap, that's just a couple of hours away! Go now!

Then I saw the documentary TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: KA SHEN'S JOURNEY. Ka Shen is better known as Nancy Kwan, the beautiful Eurasian (Chinese father, English mother) star of THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG and FLOWER DRUM SONG. This movie is all about her, her turbulent childhood (fleeing from the invading Japanese), her sometimes difficult relationship to her parents (who separated at the time), her stage and film career, and her latest tragedy involving her son. Actually, that part I don't think is handled well. They start the movie by showing her at a temple dealing with "the loss of someone close to her." They don't even mention she has a son until very near the end of the film, and it's immediately clear he is who she's mourning. Other than that, it's a very engaging documentary. Probably better suited to die hard Nancy Kwan fans. I confess to very little knowledge of her, and only brief familiarity with her two big films. But now I want to see them, so I guess that's an endorsement.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: KA SHEN'S JOURNEY is not scheduled to play again. Sorry.

And finally, I ended the night (and the first weekend of Cinequest 20) with a work-in-progress screening of SUPER HERO PARTY CLOWN, played to a very, very hometown audience. Produced at San Jose State, it's a comedy about comic-book geek Eugene Stimpson. He plays Arachnid-Man (the 70's version, not the fancy new version) at birthday parties. And while he's a hero when he's wearing the costume, in his normal identity he doesn't even have the courage to talk to Emily, the girl he's liked since...forever. To make matters worse, she's dating Todd, a total douche-bag who's also his nemesis at school. And when Emily shows the slightest interest in Arachnid Man (because her little brother is a huge fan), Todd gets a job playing a rival superhero. And so Eugene has to protect his secret identity (for needlessly complicated reasons, he doesn't want Emily to find out), while trying to sabotage Todd and win the girl. Oh, and I forgot the best part of the movie--sidekick/party clown Garth Gator (Zack Sutherland). He's really funny.

So the movie is definitely low budget, and as I said it's a work-in-progress screening. It's a rough cut without finished sound, etc, and could use some more editing to make it snappier. I'd really need to watch the final version with a more realistic audience before I can judge the film. Usually an enthusiastic audience is great, but when the cheers were so obviously out of proportion to the quality on screen, it's just disorienting. Still, it was fun, and I'll be ready to give it a fair chance when it's finished.

SUPER HERO PARTY CLOWN is not scheduled to play again. Sorry.

Total Running Time: 483 minutes
My Total Minutes: 174,626

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 5

Big Saturday, 6 movies. Let's go:

First up was PASSENGER SIDE, an oddball road comedy about brothers, drugs, lost love, and really weird characters. Michael gets a call from his brother Toby, and immediately with the way they joke with each other you can tell they have an easy familiarity but also a bit of familial resentment. Early back-and-forth over the phone (paraphrased to the best of my memory):

"Hello Asshole"

"How did you know it was me? It could've been mom"

"No, mom would've hung up when I didn't answer, instead of letting it ring forever like an asshole."

Well, that call turns out to be Toby asking Michael to drive him around all day. But not for any old errands, to find a girl. Oh yeah, and never mind that it's Michael's birthday, he doesn't mind giving up his birthday plans to drive his ex-junkie brother around. And somehow, at every stop something really, really weird happens (usually to Michael, while Toby is away). Like a transvestite hooker hops in the car, starts beating off, and charges him $40. Or at one gas station Toby picks up a dog. When Michael asks the attendant if its his dog, he responds "Why? You wanna fuck it?" Pretty funny stuff. I had an old Cinequest friend in the audience with whom I have a standing agreement. If there's ever an actual Cinerama movie playing anywhere in the world (the only possible locations would be Seattle, Los Angeles, or just outside London), we're going on a road trip. After PASSENGER SIDE, we both agreed that our road trip would likely include banter similar to Toby and Michael's. At least, if we're lucky.

PASSENGER SIDE plays again 3/4 at 11:30 am

So next up Cinequest veteran Cullen Hoback (FREEDOM STATE, MONSTER CAMP) is back with a bit of a mindbender--FrICTION. Cullen taught film at a small (well, attendance dropped from ~80 to 7) summer camp program. The camp is run by Jeremy and Amy Mathison. One bright scholarship camper is August Thompson. Cullen decides he will use these people not just as actors, but as characters in his movie. In fact, the film class will make a movie in which August comes between Jeremy and Amy. And two years later, after an extremely difficult editing job, what he presented last Saturday was not just that movie, but also the "making of" documentary about that movie, and yet another movie about how making the movie wrecked these people's lives. Their characters, who are already not that distinct from themselves (they use the same names) start to blur into their real lives, and since they're scripted to behave badly, they start behaving badly. People get hurt, there are huge revelations, and with each potentially production-ending surprise (e.g., August walking off the set and disappearing for a while) Cullen's response is to put it in the movie.

Or I don't know, maybe all those surprises were scripted? Maybe they're breaking the fourth wall, but it's not really real. Actually, Cullen gave a lot away in the Q&A, but I'll never tell. Not that there's anything to give away, you should take the movie completely at face value...or not.

I suppose it's a movie about making a movie, which in a way is the most self-indulgent type of indie film. But by casting non-actors (or were those actors playing non-actors?) he makes the story accessible to non-filmmakers. And by casting people as themselves, it's about how making a movie destroys innocent people's lives. Which is surprisingly funny.

FrICTION plays again on 3/2 at 9:00 pm.

And then I saw something I knew was darn well and documentary, CLEANFLIX. There are--or were--businesses, mostly in Utah, that would edit Hollywood movies to remove the sex, swearing, and (sometimes) violence. And then they'd sell or rent these movies back to (usually Mormon) customers. CLEANFLIX tells the story of the rise, proliferation, legal battles, and ultimately the fall of these operations (although one service that doesn't edit the DVDs but makes players that skip over pre-programmed scenes is still allowed). And it tells the story of Daniel Thompson, a edited video store owner who stays open long after it was ruled illegal. And without giving away spoilers, there's a pretty jaw-dropping twist. Oh yeah, and the comparison scenes of the originals vs. Clean Flicks versions were pretty illuminating. They're not just bleeping out a swear word or covering up a boob, they're cutting out whole scenes so that the movie doesn't make sense.

It's a fascinating story, and the filmmakers were sort of lucky with the Daniel Thompson twist. But I have to give them only middling credit for really tackling the questions of art, ownership, and censorship involved. They interview Hollywood directors as well clean video editors, distributors, and fans. And they all get to say their piece, but I don't think either side is really challenged that hard.

To Hollywood: if they buy a regular DVD for every one they edit, who really is hurt? All that's happening is you get more money and people who would otherwise not see your movie get to see a watered-down version. I understand your "artistic vision", but it's kind of like saying you shouldn't be allowed to see a low-res, faded print of the Mona Lisa, you can only see it in the Louvre.

To Cleanflix editors, distributors, fans: You spend so much time railing against the evil, immoral Hollywood, yet you desperately want their product. Why? You sound like you're saying, "I really like crack, maybe with a slightly different recipe, but I want to continue hating crack dealers."

I think my metaphors might be weak. But the point is I wanted more than just a reporting of the chronology of what happened, I wanted some more scenes challenging the beliefs of both sides.

CLEANFLIX plays again 3/3 at 11:45 am

And then another documentary, THE REAL REVOLUTIONARIES. It's the story of the transistor, the integrated circuit, the growth of Silicon Valley, and the people who did it. Starting with William Shockley, who some argue as the greatest genius since Newton (yes, that includes Einstein). He won a Nobel Prize for inventing the transistor, taking us out of the vacuum tube age. And he started his own transistor company near San Jose. It failed. In part because he was an awful boss. But the "traitorous eight" (later the "Fairchild Eight") left and teamed up with a venture capitalist (named, of all things, Sherman Fairchild) and formed Fairchild semiconductors. Among them, Robert Noyce, who invented the integrated circuit (at the same time as Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments. Ultimately Kilby won the Nobel, and Noyce couldn't share it because he had died and they don't give out posthumous Nobels). From Fairchild, Noyce and Gordon Moore founded a little company called Intel. And that company grew until it was big enough to be Cinequest's biggest sponsor. The end. Oh yeah, the movie contrasts it with other events of the time--sputnik, Vietnam, Kent State, etc. and makes the fairly breezy case that what was happening in Santa Clara Valley (now more familiarly known as Silicon Valley) was the real revolution and they were the real revolutionaries. No debate here.

Although there's not a whole lot of information I haven't heard before, I have to give the filmmakers credit for keeping a visually dynamic style in what could've been a deadly dry movie. Birds-eye scenes of the valley changing from orchards to labs and office buildings are pretty stunning.

That was the last scheduled showing of THE REAL REVOLUTIONARIES. Sorry.

And then I caught SHORT 7: Comedy Favorites. I've been pretty weak at catching the shorts programs this year. Anyway, here we go...
THE ACTION HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING LIVES: Patrick Warburton is Ace Mulligan, an action hero who always saves the day, no matter how many tries it takes.
ALWAYS A BRIDE: Some guys just aren't ready to get divorced, no matter how long they've been together. But don't you want to start a family? And I'll start a different family? And we'll get together on holiday's with both families?
THE DEVIL'S WEDDING: Even the prince of darkness is no match for bridezilla. And a very unhelpful hotel clerk/priest.
DUCKED AND COVERED: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO THE POST APOCALYPSE: Pretty self-explanatory, whether you're going for the Mad Max look or are shooting for Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rolla.
MAN'S BEST FRIEND: I like doggies, but not quite as much as this guy.
MIDLIFE: Sometimes all you need to drag yourself out of a funk is to run over the right corporate criminal.
NOTHING HAPPENED: A funny conversation between girlfriends that goes places it probably shouldn't.
TRUE BEAUTY THIS NIGHT: Hey, I saw this one at Indiefest. A man returns a purse, with surprising results.
TWO THEORIES, ONE STONE: A couple of douchebags talking in a diner about FARGO, city-living vs. country-living, and theories that don't hold up to scrutiny.

That was the last scheduled screening of Shorts 7. Sorry.

And finally, I ended the night with a really weird movie that at first I tossed aside as an amusing trifle but lately I find it won't leave my mind. LITTLE FISH, STRANGE POND stars Matthew Modine and Callum Blue as Mr. Jack and Sweet Stephen, respectively. They start on a park bench, philosophizing on life and good vs. evil. They wander along to a video store owned by Bucky (Zach Galifianakis from THE HANGOVER). They're there to get some drugs, but a holdup leaves a clerk dead, Bucky freaking out, and Mr. Jack and Sweet Stephen surprisingly unconcerned and enjoying talking to the robber (best line from Galifianakis, "What is this, MY HOLDUP WITH ANDRE?") As they make their way through the day, they philosophize more, they go to bars, they talk to Tommy the cop (Adam Baldwin), they find a murdered woman, etc. And they end at a taping of a daytime tabloid talk show where the host is interviewing a little boy who murdered his parents. I got into a bit of a discussion with a friend who had a different take on the interpretation of the movie. Possibly large parts of the movie are hallucinated, or one character is the devil. I tended to take a more literal reading of events. But I was left wondering if the movie actually had a philosophy that was lost in the absurdism, or if it was just absurdity for absurdity's sake. Either way, I can dig it, and have ended up thinking about it more than I thought I would.

There was one more screening of LITTLE FISH, STRANGE POND last night, but I didn't get this written up in time. Now I'm really sorry.

Anyway, that was last Saturday at Cinequest.

Total Running Time: 543 Minutes
My Total Minutes: 174,143