So I skipped Saturday night at SFFILM, because I had an incredible opportunity back at my local silent film theater.
A TRIP DOWN MARKET STREET (1906): The film that, through a 60 Minutes piece (look for me in the final seconds in the audience at the show!) made our little film museum famous! A camera attached to a streetcar, from 8th street to the Ferry Building. Watch all the traffic going past! Read the license plates! Watch the guy in the bowler hat go back and forth a half dozen times! Watch for the puddles at the end! Realize these are all inside jokes, because they're part of how David Kiehn figured out that it was made just 4 days before the famous 1906 earthquakes.
SAN FRANCISCO AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE (1906): So this was the amazing treat. A TRIP DOWN MARKET STREET was filmed by the Miles Brothers Studio, and was on a train to New York the night before the earthquake. But when they heard about the earthquake, they took a crew onto a train back to San Francisco and started filming some of the first footage of the aftermath. And that footage was discovered at a yard sale, and the museum is in the process of restoring it. This was a digital work-in-progress screening, but it was still incredibly moving. And the 35 mm restoration will premiere at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (with TRAPPOLA) in under a month!
Then a brief intermission, and the feature.
OLD SAN FRANCISCO (1927): A thriller of land deals, organized crime, and Chinatown (complete with really bad Chinese stereotypes. Some of the challenge of these old films is dealing with old attitudes.) The Vazquez family was one of the oldest in San Francisco, but they're in decline. Just an old man, his granddaughter, and his grand but crumbling estate. And a sleazy businessman with Chinese crime connections who wants their land...and the daughter...and will resort to ruthless means to get them. And there's the dashing hero, who happens to be the nephew of an employee of the villain and also happens to be smitten with the granddaughter. He might be able to save the day, maybe with a little help by the shaking earth.
Total Running Time: 106 minutes
My Total Minutes: 477,028
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 11
Just two films at the festival on Saturday the 14th. And first up was the program that is often the best of the whole festival--Shorts 5: Family Films. Hooray for kid-appropriate films!
BIG BLOCK SINGSONG WIZARD: A big purple block in a wizard hat, singing about how he's a wiz at everything. Because he is. At everything except...being a wizard.
BIRD KARMA: A beautiful, stylish animated short about a bird who won't settle for any old fish. He wants the shiniest fish in the whole river.
COIN OPERATED: A young aspiring astronaut is disappointed that the coin operated rocketship in front of the store won't actually fly him to the moon. So he works to earn more coins until it will work.
CRISANTO STREET: 8 year old Geovany Cesario takes a video camera and videos his family, living in a trailer on Crisanto Street in Mountain View. But soon they will move into low-income housing (because they're being evicted from the street.)
JESSZILLA: I love Jesszilla. I saw this at Indiefest as was thrilled to see it again. Jesselyn “Jesszilla” Silva is a kick-ass little girl. 10 years old, and in love with boxing. She trains hard and already has plans to go pro. Her father...well, he's not exactly thrilled, but he's totally supportive.
LATE AFTERNOON: An animated film of an old woman who drifts in and out of memory, and her daughter who is taking care of her.
PIG: THE DAM KEEPER POEMS: CHAPTER 4: Beautiful animation from Tonko house. Pig has a little trouble having lunch, because everyone wants a taste. Before he knows what's happening, he's running a restaurant.
SCRAMBLED: A Rubik's cube helps people put down their darn smartphones and maybe connect with real life a little bit.
SHERBERT ROSENCRANTZ, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL: Sometimes guinea pigs are better than people. They can be the best friend to a shy little girl.
UNDISCOVERED: A favorite from Cinequest, A cute animated short about bigfoot, and why he can't be found.
BIG BLOCK SINGSONG WIZARD: A big purple block in a wizard hat, singing about how he's a wiz at everything. Because he is. At everything except...being a wizard.
BIRD KARMA: A beautiful, stylish animated short about a bird who won't settle for any old fish. He wants the shiniest fish in the whole river.
COIN OPERATED: A young aspiring astronaut is disappointed that the coin operated rocketship in front of the store won't actually fly him to the moon. So he works to earn more coins until it will work.
CRISANTO STREET: 8 year old Geovany Cesario takes a video camera and videos his family, living in a trailer on Crisanto Street in Mountain View. But soon they will move into low-income housing (because they're being evicted from the street.)
JESSZILLA: I love Jesszilla. I saw this at Indiefest as was thrilled to see it again. Jesselyn “Jesszilla” Silva is a kick-ass little girl. 10 years old, and in love with boxing. She trains hard and already has plans to go pro. Her father...well, he's not exactly thrilled, but he's totally supportive.
LATE AFTERNOON: An animated film of an old woman who drifts in and out of memory, and her daughter who is taking care of her.
PIG: THE DAM KEEPER POEMS: CHAPTER 4: Beautiful animation from Tonko house. Pig has a little trouble having lunch, because everyone wants a taste. Before he knows what's happening, he's running a restaurant.
SCRAMBLED: A Rubik's cube helps people put down their darn smartphones and maybe connect with real life a little bit.
SHERBERT ROSENCRANTZ, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL: Sometimes guinea pigs are better than people. They can be the best friend to a shy little girl.
UNDISCOVERED: A favorite from Cinequest, A cute animated short about bigfoot, and why he can't be found.
And then the documentary RBG, a hero-worship piece about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The progressive icon and trailblazer actually was ideologically middle-of-the-pack when she was appointed by Bill Clinton. She has become a liberal dissenter because the court has veered to the right. But this joyful documentary is about more than that. It's about her spirit, her personality, her unlikely friendship with Antonin Scalia (built a lot on a shared love of opera.) It's also about her late husband Martin Ginsburg, who was her biggest fan and completely at ease reversing the role of the great woman behind the great man. And it's about the cult of Notorious RBG that has built up around her. She's not a naturally funny woman (Martin was the joker of the couple) but she understands and jokes about the meme. And it's about her amazing career as a lawyer in gender equality cases well before she joined the court. Really, it's about everything related to her...other than criticism. I mean, it briefly mentions the controversy when she spoke up about Trump being unfit for office during the 2016 election. But other than that, even her conservative critics talk about how much they like her personally. That is, other than the talk radio extremists, and I don't think their voices would add much of value to this documentary.
Total Running Time: 160 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,922
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 10
Two more on Friday the 13th. But it turned out I was pretty lucky with both.
First up was THE SOWER, a period piece featuring the female erotic gaze, from director Marine Francen. In an 1850s French rural village, all the men have been arrested for sedition. So the women run the village themselves. They plant and harvest, and do all the hard labor as best as they can. Surviving is one thing. Having children is another concern, and one they obviously can't solve themselves. So when a mysterious stranger arrives, he's the subject of a great deal of interest.
And now I realize I'm a man and can't describe that plot in any way that doesn't sound like it's going to become a porno. But it's not. It's totally from a female perspective, which I can appreciate. I liked it. I just can't write about it correctly. Maybe that's because I'm a lousy writer, not just because I'm a man.
So then I got a big shot of masculinity with the prison boxing movie, A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN. Based on the real story of Irish boxer Billy Moore, it starts with him being arrested in Thailand (for heroin.) Thai prison is not an easy place to live, especially if you're white. Very crowded, very violent, almost no rules other than no escape. But if you make the boxing team, you have some benefits. Moore is a bare-knuckled brawler. Tough, brave, but untrained and technically underskilled. And he gets into trouble a lot. It's a brutal, visceral film that holds no punches (pun intended.) It's intentionally unpleasant, and the "victory" at the end means he gets to get the fuck out of Thailand and never come back. Oh yeah, and the real Billy Moore was a consultant, but because they shot on location in an abandoned Thai prison, he had to consult over the phone.
Total Running Time: 271 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,762
First up was THE SOWER, a period piece featuring the female erotic gaze, from director Marine Francen. In an 1850s French rural village, all the men have been arrested for sedition. So the women run the village themselves. They plant and harvest, and do all the hard labor as best as they can. Surviving is one thing. Having children is another concern, and one they obviously can't solve themselves. So when a mysterious stranger arrives, he's the subject of a great deal of interest.
And now I realize I'm a man and can't describe that plot in any way that doesn't sound like it's going to become a porno. But it's not. It's totally from a female perspective, which I can appreciate. I liked it. I just can't write about it correctly. Maybe that's because I'm a lousy writer, not just because I'm a man.
So then I got a big shot of masculinity with the prison boxing movie, A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN. Based on the real story of Irish boxer Billy Moore, it starts with him being arrested in Thailand (for heroin.) Thai prison is not an easy place to live, especially if you're white. Very crowded, very violent, almost no rules other than no escape. But if you make the boxing team, you have some benefits. Moore is a bare-knuckled brawler. Tough, brave, but untrained and technically underskilled. And he gets into trouble a lot. It's a brutal, visceral film that holds no punches (pun intended.) It's intentionally unpleasant, and the "victory" at the end means he gets to get the fuck out of Thailand and never come back. Oh yeah, and the real Billy Moore was a consultant, but because they shot on location in an abandoned Thai prison, he had to consult over the phone.
Total Running Time: 271 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,762
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 9
Two more on Thursday, April 12th.
THE CHILDREN ACT stars Emma Thompson as a British High Court judge who specializes in case involving children. Custody battles, etc. And she always follows the law of the Children Act--that the welfare of the child is paramount. Also, she's a workaholic...or at least overworked. To the point where her husband (Stanley Tucci) comes right out and says he plans to have an affair. She doesn't like this plan. But she's also too busy, and too emotionally distant, to actually do something about it (like...make love to him for the first time in 18 months.) Meanwhile she's on one of her hardest and highest profile cases in her life. A teenager, just months short of adulthood, is deathly ill. But his parents' religious beliefs--and his--forbid the blood transfusion that could save him. But the court has the ability--if she chooses--to compel that transfusion to save his life. So all that emotional connection she's avoiding with her own husband she pours into this case, making the unorthodox decision to visit him in the hospital. It's wonderfully acted, and a compelling drama. A bit emotionally overwrought, but that will probably make it more popular, just not my preference.
Next up was WINTER BROTHERS, a movie that had some interesting things going for it, but not a compelling protagonist. It takes place in a stark white industrial compound, where Emil is a screw-up and not at all popular. He pursues many interests, all of them poorly. And a bad batch of moonshine that hospitalizes a coworker is the last straw. He's out, friendless, jobless, aimless. There are many scenes that are interesting, even compelling. Most of them have to do with toxic, fragile masculinity (including a very literal pissing contest.) It just doesn't add up to a compelling whole. But it has fantastic cinematography.
Total Running Time: 199 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
THE CHILDREN ACT stars Emma Thompson as a British High Court judge who specializes in case involving children. Custody battles, etc. And she always follows the law of the Children Act--that the welfare of the child is paramount. Also, she's a workaholic...or at least overworked. To the point where her husband (Stanley Tucci) comes right out and says he plans to have an affair. She doesn't like this plan. But she's also too busy, and too emotionally distant, to actually do something about it (like...make love to him for the first time in 18 months.) Meanwhile she's on one of her hardest and highest profile cases in her life. A teenager, just months short of adulthood, is deathly ill. But his parents' religious beliefs--and his--forbid the blood transfusion that could save him. But the court has the ability--if she chooses--to compel that transfusion to save his life. So all that emotional connection she's avoiding with her own husband she pours into this case, making the unorthodox decision to visit him in the hospital. It's wonderfully acted, and a compelling drama. A bit emotionally overwrought, but that will probably make it more popular, just not my preference.
Next up was WINTER BROTHERS, a movie that had some interesting things going for it, but not a compelling protagonist. It takes place in a stark white industrial compound, where Emil is a screw-up and not at all popular. He pursues many interests, all of them poorly. And a bad batch of moonshine that hospitalizes a coworker is the last straw. He's out, friendless, jobless, aimless. There are many scenes that are interesting, even compelling. Most of them have to do with toxic, fragile masculinity (including a very literal pissing contest.) It just doesn't add up to a compelling whole. But it has fantastic cinematography.
Total Running Time: 199 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 8
I skipped Tuesday, April 10th, because I was too busy at my day job. But I was back for two films on Wednesday.
LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY, AND A CASTLE is director Gustavo Salmerón's bizarro documentary homage to his own mother. What could be a glorified home movie (which would prove correct mother Julita's prediction that nobody outside of friends and family would want to watch) is brought to life by her...amusingly aggressive personality. The title comes from the three wishes she had in life. Since she was a little girl, she wanted lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle. And, amazingly enough, she got them all. But now the kids are grown, although some of them still come back and live at home for...too long. And the monkey was not as charming of a pet as you'd think, so they didn't remain a monkey-owning family. And they've fallen on some hard times and have to move out of their broken down castle. But at least she still has her grandmother's vertebra. And an extendable poking stick. And lots more of odd knick-knacks. A charming little wonder of a movie, about a pretty weird family.
And then a Secret Screening. Let's pretend I'm still not allowed to talk about it. Because I didn't enjoy it as much as the description led me to believe I would. I'm not going to say it was bad. In fact, much of what I didn't like--overwrought emotional performances, everything wrapped up so nicely at the end--will probably make it popular. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
Total Running Time: 211 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,346
LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY, AND A CASTLE is director Gustavo Salmerón's bizarro documentary homage to his own mother. What could be a glorified home movie (which would prove correct mother Julita's prediction that nobody outside of friends and family would want to watch) is brought to life by her...amusingly aggressive personality. The title comes from the three wishes she had in life. Since she was a little girl, she wanted lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle. And, amazingly enough, she got them all. But now the kids are grown, although some of them still come back and live at home for...too long. And the monkey was not as charming of a pet as you'd think, so they didn't remain a monkey-owning family. And they've fallen on some hard times and have to move out of their broken down castle. But at least she still has her grandmother's vertebra. And an extendable poking stick. And lots more of odd knick-knacks. A charming little wonder of a movie, about a pretty weird family.
And then a Secret Screening. Let's pretend I'm still not allowed to talk about it. Because I didn't enjoy it as much as the description led me to believe I would. I'm not going to say it was bad. In fact, much of what I didn't like--overwrought emotional performances, everything wrapped up so nicely at the end--will probably make it popular. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
Total Running Time: 211 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,346
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 6
Just one show back on Monday, April 9th, but it was a doozy.
Oddball Films is a film archive and a lifestyle. And up until his recent passing, it was synonymous with Stephen Parr. This program was an homage to Parr, and a celebration of his weird, eclectic collection (which provides stock footage to several films, from independent to Hollywood blockbusters.)
Live music was provided by an equally eclectic group, Marc Capelle's Red Room Orchestra. Jazzy, eclectic, experimental, with many instruments, found objects, and distorted voices.
So, it was weird movies with weird films. And I couldn't possibly describe it. Not just because it's been three weeks and my memory fades. I don't think I could describe it from the moment I walked out of the Castro befuddled but exhilarated. And WTF was up with those horses and the fire?
Running Time: 84 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
Oddball Films is a film archive and a lifestyle. And up until his recent passing, it was synonymous with Stephen Parr. This program was an homage to Parr, and a celebration of his weird, eclectic collection (which provides stock footage to several films, from independent to Hollywood blockbusters.)
Live music was provided by an equally eclectic group, Marc Capelle's Red Room Orchestra. Jazzy, eclectic, experimental, with many instruments, found objects, and distorted voices.
So, it was weird movies with weird films. And I couldn't possibly describe it. Not just because it's been three weeks and my memory fades. I don't think I could describe it from the moment I walked out of the Castro befuddled but exhilarated. And WTF was up with those horses and the fire?
Running Time: 84 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
Jason goes to SFFILM--Day 5
Well, the festival ended over 3 weeks ago, so I guess I better finish writing. Sunday, April 8th I had a prior commitment in the morning, so only 2 films that afternoon, and they were both pretty great.
THE THIRD MURDER is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film, and it's a courtroom drama thriller...kind of. Actually, the case looks to be pretty straightforward. A wealthy factory owner is killed, Misumi (Koji Yakusho) confesses readily, and it all looks easily wrapped up. But his story keeps changing slightly, and a young defense attorney starts investigating. His job was supposed to be straightforward--present the best mitigating case to avoid the death penalty. But there might be evidence that Misumi is innocent, and is accepting being framed for some other reason. Why I say it's only "kinda" a courtroom thriller is because so little of it takes place in the courtroom. I mean, there are proceedings, filings, etc. But the whole point is that the courtroom is a lousy place to get to the truth. So it becomes a semi-surreal parody of courtroom drama, while still being a taut thriller about truth and justice (and how often they don't go hand in hand.)
And then... (STAR.) Actually, the title isn't a word, it's just a symbol of a star. And it's my favorite movie that I could never actually recommend to anyone. Not that I don't have friends who would like it, it's just that they don't need film recommendations, they're ambitious enough to seek out strange films themselves. And my friends who do need film recommendations...won't like this. It's a compiled film, and a work in progress (as long as people still make films with star fields in them, director Johann Lurf will continue adding to this film.) And it's simply images from films of star fields and nothing else. It spans the history of film from silents by Georges Melies to very recent works. And he leaves the soundtrack in (at least once he gets out the silent era) but will cut out everything that has something other than stars. E.g., if the credits of a film play over a scene of stars, he'll leave the music in but cut out every frame that has words on screen. So you get to hear chopped up versions of both the STAR WARS and STAR TREK themes, and a chopped up version of the STAR TREK intro monologue. Film geeks--at least the truly hearty, experimental ones--can enjoy this on many levels. You can get a quick overview of the history of film. You can witness all the different ways stars are show. You can play "guess the film." You can be shocked when he cheats on his own premise in a scene from THE RIGHT STUFF (he shows lights on Earth as seen from space.) You can appreciate how a static star field seen from Earth is so different than a moving star field as seen in a sci-fi space travel adventure (one of my favorite end credits ever is David Lynch's THE STRAIGHT STORY specifically because the credits roll over a moving star field even though the characters are sitting on Earth looking up to the stars.) Anyway, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a fantastically film-geeky trip.
Total Running Time: 224 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
THE THIRD MURDER is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film, and it's a courtroom drama thriller...kind of. Actually, the case looks to be pretty straightforward. A wealthy factory owner is killed, Misumi (Koji Yakusho) confesses readily, and it all looks easily wrapped up. But his story keeps changing slightly, and a young defense attorney starts investigating. His job was supposed to be straightforward--present the best mitigating case to avoid the death penalty. But there might be evidence that Misumi is innocent, and is accepting being framed for some other reason. Why I say it's only "kinda" a courtroom thriller is because so little of it takes place in the courtroom. I mean, there are proceedings, filings, etc. But the whole point is that the courtroom is a lousy place to get to the truth. So it becomes a semi-surreal parody of courtroom drama, while still being a taut thriller about truth and justice (and how often they don't go hand in hand.)
And then... (STAR.) Actually, the title isn't a word, it's just a symbol of a star. And it's my favorite movie that I could never actually recommend to anyone. Not that I don't have friends who would like it, it's just that they don't need film recommendations, they're ambitious enough to seek out strange films themselves. And my friends who do need film recommendations...won't like this. It's a compiled film, and a work in progress (as long as people still make films with star fields in them, director Johann Lurf will continue adding to this film.) And it's simply images from films of star fields and nothing else. It spans the history of film from silents by Georges Melies to very recent works. And he leaves the soundtrack in (at least once he gets out the silent era) but will cut out everything that has something other than stars. E.g., if the credits of a film play over a scene of stars, he'll leave the music in but cut out every frame that has words on screen. So you get to hear chopped up versions of both the STAR WARS and STAR TREK themes, and a chopped up version of the STAR TREK intro monologue. Film geeks--at least the truly hearty, experimental ones--can enjoy this on many levels. You can get a quick overview of the history of film. You can witness all the different ways stars are show. You can play "guess the film." You can be shocked when he cheats on his own premise in a scene from THE RIGHT STUFF (he shows lights on Earth as seen from space.) You can appreciate how a static star field seen from Earth is so different than a moving star field as seen in a sci-fi space travel adventure (one of my favorite end credits ever is David Lynch's THE STRAIGHT STORY specifically because the credits roll over a moving star field even though the characters are sitting on Earth looking up to the stars.) Anyway, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a fantastically film-geeky trip.
Total Running Time: 224 minutes
My Total Minutes: 476,545
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