Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 6

The big first weekend finished, and I had a pretty light day of films--only 4 on Sunday

First up was THE TRUTH ABOUT MARRIAGE, from returning Cinequest master Roger Nygard. With his trademark sense of humor and a rapid-fire editing technique, he takes us on a worldwide journey, starting close to home with his own friends and ranging as far as the amazing Don Blanquito, the most single man in the world (now married.) He ponders why a product that fails half the time and requires constant upkeep when it does work...is so popular? Full disclosure, this is a review written by a guy who has never been married, of a movie by a guy who has never been married, and is surprisingly optimistic about the institution. And he does come up with an answer in the end. And it's a satisfying one. So all was write with the world. Except for the fact that this was its last screening in the festival, so if you want to see it I don't know how you can. I'm sure it'll be released eventually.

Next a few drinks in the lounge. Then a few more drinks, and finally it was off to GROUPERS, a sick and twisted revenge fantasy about torturing homophobes...for science!

Confession, I got too drunk in the lounge before this film, and ended up mostly taking a nice nap, but I loved the ending, and I pieced together from my friends more or less what happened before. So...good job team! I loved the ending. Sometime I plan to really see the rest of it.

GROUPERS plays again Fri, Mar 15 9:30 PM in Redwood City.

So I then decided to skip the Soiree and the Meetup and go into sobering-up mode, which was a good idea.

The next show started with the music video SECOND HAND LOVERS. A cool music video with a lot of synchronized bodies (presumably the baggage of ex-lovers) following a guy around. Really clever.

Then the feature, GUEST ARTIST. Jeff Daniels wrote and stars, a rambling meditation on art and writing and alcoholism (appropriate given my sobering up mode,) based on his play based on a true incident (Mr. Daniels was not present to explain.) He plays famous playwright Joseph Harris, who hasn't written anything in about a decade, because he's been drunk. He's not to happy to be in Lima, PA to write a world premiere for the local theater. But Kenneth Waters (Thomas Macias) is absolutely ecstatic to meet him, he's a big fan. And they'll have a wild night in the train station, Kenneth trying to pick Joseph's brain, and Joseph trying to convince Kenneth to buy him a ticket back to New York so he can get out of this nothing town where no one would ever go unless they absolutely had to. It's a very funny, caustic, entertaining night. The one-room setup probably works great on stage, but is a little stifling on the screen--some effort could've been taken to make it more cinematic. But the strength of this film is its writing, and that crackles while jumping from hilarious to serious and surprises in the end with a bit of unexpected political bite. Very well done.

GUEST ARTIST plays again Wed, Mar 13 5:15 and Sat, Mar 16 7:30 PM. Both screenings are in Redwood City

And then I ended the night with ELECTRIC LOVE, an endearing rom-com about dating in the age of Tindr and Grindr, albeit with a surprisingly 80s aesthetic (I'm assuming Los Angeles just never wanted the 80s to end.) Tindr and Grindr have made hooking up easier than ever (also a point made in the first film of the day, THE TRUTH ABOUT MARRIAGE, so they made excellent bookends) but making romance work is still difficult--maybe more so when options are so easy. You still have to navigate annoying roommates, polyamorous podcasters, Internet trolls, best friends who may or may not be romantic rivals, and Grindr hookups who really aren't gay so stop calling them gay just because they used an app to find another guy to have sex with! (Confession...I've never actually dealt with that one...or really most of the complications I listed.) The film handles them all with sweetness and humor and provides a pair of appealing pair of leads in Adam (Zachary Mooren) and Emma (Mia Serafino, who is gorgeous). A really fun film to end a really fun day.

ELECTRIC LOVE plays again Wed, Mar 13 3:00 PM in Redwood City and Fri, Mar 15 10:00 PM at the California Theatre.

Total Running Time: 356 minutes
My Total Minutes: 499,336

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 5

Saturday was my first (of many) days of full-on morning-to-night Cinequesting, starting with the first drinks (a Tito's Bloody Mary) in the lounge at 10 and ending with "springing forward" an hour to 3 am. But let's get to the actual movies

First up was TRAVEL BAN: MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AGAIN, a hilarious documentary about Muslim comedians in Trump's America. Or at least, that's the focus now. It actually starts with comedians going back in the pre-9/11 days, with an interesting backstory of how the legendary Mitzi Shore promoted Muslim comics at her legendary Comedy Store, sensing that there was a war brewing between America and the Middle East, and that they needed to be presenting a positive face of Muslims in America. The stand-up sets showcases in the movie had me laughing harder than I have in a long, long time (and my friends now that I'm someone who enjoys a good laugh.) At the same time, the news footage and cell phone videos of vicious, vile, racist attacks make me fear for the soul of my country. But fortunately, the movie gives the answer, as one of the comics (I'm sorry I forget which one) puts it, "Comedians are the doctors of the soul." Well said, and well proved in this movie.

TRAVEL BAN: MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AGAIN plays once more, Wed, Mar 13 8:20 PM in Redwood City.

Next up was a couple more drinks in the lounge, then to the California Theatre for a program that started with the music video STAND DOWN. With visuals reminiscent of NATURAL BORN KILLERS, Billy Bob Thornton plays a vet suffering from PTSD, heading for the ultimate showdown with...himself.

Then the feature was a different type of showdown, THE TINY LIFE OF BUTCHER DUKE. 20 years ago Butcher Duke could've been someone. He was a local tennis star, and won a contest to win a double-wide mobile home if he could only beat local ex-pro Creek Thomson in a best 2 out of three games match. And he took the first game, but Creek came back and crushed him in the next 2. Now 20 years later he still lives with his mom--at least, until she kicks him out. He's estranged from his daughter--who is getting married to a guy who is much like Butcher (some obvious daddy issues that are never explored because it's funnier to just let the audience ponder it.) And he coaches a team of children who are just...awful at tennis. They won zero games last year, and it doesn't look like they've improved at all. But he's got a chance at redemption. Creek's son, Delta (holy sh*t, I just got that joke) has taken over the tiny home business...and is running it into the ground. So as a promotion, he'll take on a rematch with Butcher, this time for a tiny home. And Butcher's luck is looking up, as Delta is truly, truly terrible at tennis. But there are more twists in store in this largely improvised comedy that is intermittently funny and often just kind of meanders. But even in the midst of meandering it's always a pleasant little ride that never takes itself seriously and really picks up at the end.

This man could really use a tiny home

THE TINY LIFE OF BUTCHER DUKE plays again Mon, Mar 11 9:20 PM in Redwood City; Wed, Mar 13 7:30 PM again in Redwood City; and Thu, Mar 14 2:50 PM in the California Theatre

Then the next show started with another music video, HEART KILLER. Who needs a review when I can just post a link.

That was the lead-in to ADONIS COMPLEX. A vacation at a lake house turns creepy and deadly when their fitness-obsessed host Tad is a little...too obsessed. Actually, it's not just the obsession, it's his...unorthodox theories on health and body-building. Oh yeah, it's a full-on horror/thriller with Tad as the monster and plenty of surprises about how far he'll go with this endeavors. Well acted and scripted, it's a nice creepy, occasionally cringe-worthy (at the risk of giving away spoilers, I have a bit of a phobia about needles) affair. Well done!

ADONIS COMPLEX plays again Mon, Mar 11 7:30 PM; Wed, Mar 13 8:45 PM; and Sat, Mar 16 1:00 PM. All screenings are in Redwood City.

Then for a little lighter fair, THE BRA is my favorite film of Cinequest 2019 so far. I love silent films (although I'll probably be missing the Buster Keaton program next Friday, if only because I've seen those films so many times and there's so much else to see.) But I can say I did see an excellent, beautiful, and surprising silent film at Cinequest with this one.

Okay, technically I wouldn't call this a "Silent" film, as the rhythmic soundscape is actually very important to it. But it's a dialogue-free film, and it's delightful. The marvelous Miki Manojlovic stars as Nurlan, a cargo train drive in Azerbaijan. As part of his daily route, he goes through a town where people have to run out of the way and pick their laundry off the line before his train comes through destroying it all. So part of his job is also returning odd articles of laundry that get snagged on his train. On his last day, he snags a blue bra. So his first journey in retirement is searching the village--modern day Cinderella style--for the owner. Which causes some pretty funny interactions with the locals, whom he's only seen from way up in his train. It's a wonderfully playful ride, and in the end it doesn't really matter who the proper owner is. The real bra is the friends we made along the way.

No words necessary

THE BRA plays again Tue, Mar 12 8:30 PM at 3Below; Sat, Mar 16 10:00 PM in Redwood City; and Sun, Mar 17 1:15 PM at the California Theatre.

Then another wonderfully creepy thriller, but one that takes a little while to get going. THIS IS OUR HOME is the story of Reina and Cory, a young couple who is going through some rough times, and trying to put their troubles aside with a tip out to Reina's secluded childhood home. Early one, they have an incident with a flat that shows Cory's immaturity, pride, stubbornness, and incompetence. The kind of scene that makes me hate him and not care about him as a protagonist. Hence there was a bit of a barrier to overcome for me to care about him, and that's why I said it takes a little while to get going. So when a little boy shows up and claims to be their son Zeke, it's mysterious and weird, and weirder sill when Reina humors him over Cory's objections. Things really get going when Zeke and Reina start teaming up against Cory. And then it gets really weird, dangerous, and scary. But since it's all happening to the character I fucking hated, it was all good!

THIS IS OUR HOME plays again Sun, Mar 10 8:30 PM at the Hammer Theatre; Wed, Mar 13 9:30 PM in Redwood City; and Fri, Mar 15 2:30 PM, again in Redwood City.

And finally I ended the day with a Cinequest tradition, always one of my favorites, the Mindbenders Shorts:

I SEE THROUGH YOU bent my mind when that guy tried to rip her face off. (Also when it played twice because it didn't play right the first time)

LOA'S PROMISE bent my mind when CGI robots take over an abandoned Argentinian ghost town.

MAKR bent my mind when that exorcist has more than he bargained for with a Djinn 

PENANCE bent my mind when people use the Bible to keep people from living their own lives, but luckily these Latinas take their own selves back.

TAKEN FROM ME bent my mind when robbers turn into snacks

TiCK bent my mind when vampires were burned away like bloodsucking insects

ULYSSES bent my mind when that fisherman caught a mermaid. And then...with what he did next. 

WAKEY WAKEY bent my mind when dreams and reality converge with tragic results.

WE GOT A MONKEY PAW bent my mind when wishes go awry. Maybe collecting occult artifacts is not the best hobby.

YOUR FRIEND bent my mind when a man learns that a robot--no matter how realistic--is no replacement for a real, existing, human friend.

YOUR ORDER HAS ARRIVED bent my mind when arrival announcements take over a guy's life.

Shorts Program 5 - Mindbenders plays again Sun, Mar 10 3:35 PM in Redwood City; Mon, Mar 11 4:35 PM also in Redwood City; and Fri, Mar 15 4:45 PM at 3Below

Total Running Time: 521 minutes

My Total Minutes: 498,980

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 4

The big first weekend starts, and so does my vacation! Now Cinequest gets really intense, starting with the VIP Soiree at Social Policy, the newest spot in downtown San Jose. A few tasty Tito's cocktails and some delicious food, and I was ready for a movie!

First up was MINE 9, the most unsettling claustrophobic movie I've ever seen. Set in West Virginia coal country, it's inspired by several elements of real coal mine tragedies but based on none specifically. Mining work is always dangerous, and the miners in this movie have some particular concerns about the high levels of methane and poor levels of safety systems. But in a brutally stark revelation early on, they talk about how if they die in there, at least their family gets to collect their life insurance so they're still providing; if they refuse to go in the mine, their family goes hungry. So they all agree, including the new rookie (and son of the most conscientious veteran.) Given the setup, you know tragedy will strike, and it does in the form of a massive methane explosion. But even before you get there, the filmmakers do an incredible job of setting up exactly how claustrophobic the mine is. Seriously, I was on the verge of a panic attack the whole time, and I'm not known to be claustrophobic at all. Once the explosion happens, it's a fight against the elements, against time (with limited oxygen supplies), and against less-then-fully-helpful rescuers (in one of the cruelest ironies, the conscientious veteran miner called MSHA to report problems, but they don't shut down mines until they've completed their investigation. But they're also very cautious about sending rescuers down mines after a report has been called in. So trying to do the right thing screwed them even more.) 

During the credits, real miners are interviewed and describe their experiences. What's striking isn't the stories of danger but how proud they are of their work, and how well they know the risks but do it anyway because that's how they provide for their families. It's the greed of the mine owners that leads to the exploitation and dangers. And even then, they talk about how they've worked in many perfectly safe mines that follow all protocols. It's just...too many times when that's not the case.

This face has a high probability of haunting your nightmares, but it's not a monster, it's a man in trouble

MINE 9 plays again Mon, Mar 11 7:05 PM at 3 Below; Tue, Mar 12 6:15 PM in Redwood City; and Thu, Mar 14 5:00 PM also in Redwood City.

Then I popped in briefly to the Maverick Meetup at Aura Nightclub for a quick drink before heading back to the 3Below for LUPE, and interesting and challenging movie of contrasts. Rafael is a strong Cuban boxer who can kick most anyone's ass. He's been living in New York, looking for his older sister, whom he suspects has fallen into a life of prostitution. And he beats the crap out of a few pimps along the way, rescuing girls, looking for Isabelle. But the story takes some unexpected turns. Early on we're told that Isabelle gave him the name Rafael, and he never liked it. Turns out, Rafael is transgender, and starts presenting as a woman, and she can still kick anyone's ass. The story transitions (pun intended) from Rafael trying to find his sister to Rafael finding herself, and herself is Lupe. 

And now, of course, we should all pause and police my pronouns. I know I used a lot of male pronouns for Rafael. I think that's fair, as I was referring to the character during the times when they were presenting as male. In any case, I'm prepared to be corrected and move on. What's more important, in my opinion, is the wonderful acting, sensitive storytelling, and a transgender character who is already strong when presenting as male, and even stronger when allowed to be her true self.

Lupe, looking good!

LUPE plays again Sun, Mar 10 8:00 PM; Mon, Mar 11 2:20 PM; and Sat, Mar 16 9:30 PM. All shows are in Redwood City

And finally I ended the night with REPOSSESSION, a horror/drama from Singapore with a really great idea that just dragged on a little bit. Jim is a well-off engineer, drives a nice car, lives in a luxury condo with his loving wife and daughter. They're solid, respectable citizens, doing good works like bringing food to some of the poorest people. But they're also at risk of becoming poor themselves, as Jim just lost his job and is too proud to tell his wife and daughter. So he lives off his savings. He takes some risky investment choices. He secretly drives people for a ride-hail company (His shame at this is maybe the biggest culture shock in the movie. Here in Silicon Valley, about half the time I take a Lyft or Uber, the driver is a highly trained tech worker just between jobs and there's no shame in it.) Now that real life drama is just frustrating. I can understand his thoughts, but I just don't like him for it. Just tell your wife and daughter already! They'll understand (and in fact, when he finally does, they do.) But there's also a supernatural terror--a demon that is haunting him, and has since childhood. It's the reason his sister is an invalid. And it comes back infrequently, but is terrifying when it does. That part could've been expanded more, because I liked the battle with the demon. It's a clever idea to juxtapose the very real economic fear and shame and the supernatural terror, I just felt like I would've enjoyed it more if the balance were a little different. The realistic drama emphasized his weakness of character, which is important to the story but made me really not like him. And the demon story was really cool but underused.

They're scared of something even worse than unemployment

REPOSSESSION plays again Sun, Mar 10 10:10 PM in Redwood City; Wed, Mar 13 4:45 PM at the California Theatre; and Sat, Mar 16 10:35 PM in Redwood City

Total Running Time: 258 minutes
My Total Minutes: 498,459

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 3

I wasn't able to make it to San Jose in time for any of the 5:00 shows (I was hoping to catch RICH KIDS) due to possibly very exciting developments in my day job. But of course I was there for at least some of the VIP Soiree at Il Fornaio. Tasty snacks and drinks with filmmakers from such films as THE TINY LIFE OF BUTCHER DUKE, ADONIS COMPLEX, and APARTMENT 413, so I have those circled in my program now. And then I was off to the California for the Thrive Award presented by Kaiser Permanente, this year presented to Patch Adams and the documentary CLOWNVETS.

But first, the short documentary series STORYBOOKED: INNER WORLDS. It's a showcase of creativity and drive, with an underwater dancer/performance artist, a musician, a choreographer, and an Olympic long-distance runner (is long distance running and introspection an emerging theme of this year's festival? I'll keep my eyes open for it.)

Then CLOWNVETS was an absolutely amazing and beautiful story starring the real-life Patch Adams. Actually, "starring" is the wrong word. He's the catalyst that kicks everything in motion, but the stars are his team of humanitarian clowns. We start with profiles of several veterans, all suffering from PTSD. There are the grim statistics on suicides (the biggest killer in the military, more than combat) and these people are at risk. And Patch comes in with a proposal--a trip to Guatemala to clown around for the needy and disabled in hospitals. I can't stress this enough, but none of these veterans were clowns before. In fact, they seemed like the least likely people in the world to crack a joke or even a smile. But their first assignment--via Skype--was pulling a funny face. Patch walks them through it easily--take your two index fingers, stick them in the sides of your mouth, pull your mouth open as wide as you can, and stick out your tongue. And then we're off to the races. And you can simultaneously see the vets come to life and the poor, disabled Guatemalan kids. It's a story about helping yourself by helping others, and it's about the healing and resilience powers of goofiness. I'm a big fan of goofiness, and a big fan of this movie.

Making this face can save your life. I'm absolutely serious

STORYBOOKED and CLOWNVETS plays again Fri, Mar 8 (today!) at 11:30 AM; Sat, Mar 9 at 5:30 PM; and Mon, Mar 11 at 7:15 PM. All 3 screenings are in Redwood City.


Then it was time for more fun with a sci-fi-rom-com, THE WRONG TODD. Todd is a nice enough guy, if a little bit lazy, coasting through life with his best friend Dave and his lovely girlfriend Lucy (Dave's sister.) And Lucy has some exciting news--a new job offer in Seattle! Thing is, Todd has barely ever left Rhode Island and isn't all that thrilled to move. And then his doppelganger from an alternate universe shows up, clonks him over the head, and sends him into his universe so he can steal Lucy. Now Todd #1 seems crazy to other Dave (with a crazy mustache) and his alternate universe wife-and-mother-of-his-child other Abby (Abby is Lucy's best friend, and in universe #1 she and Dave don't get along.) Confuse yet? Well, it's not that hard to follow, even when the technicians operating the parallel universe transport machine enter the picture. The sci-fi story keeps everything light and entertaining, but the heart of the movie is about the love story, and about Todd learning to appreciate what he had and doing whatever it takes to get back to his universe and win back his Lucy. And finally being willing to move to Seattle (which is an awesome town, I don't know why anyone wouldn't jump at the chance to move to Seattle!)

THE WRONG TODD plays again Fri, Mar 8 at 11:45 AM at the 3 Below; Sat, Mar 9 at 3:15 PM in Redwood City; and Thu, Mar 14 at 7:45 PM again in Redwood City.

Total Running Time: 169 minutes
My Total Minutes: 498,201

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 2

Cinequest is in full swing now, but I've still got my day job. So I got to San Jose last night just in time for the VIP Soiree at Forager Tasting Room & Eatery. A few delicious Tito's Vodka Mules, and some tasty eats, and I was ready for my first movie of the day.

Repetition and variation was the theme of the day, starting with MAN RUNNING. Jim (Gord Rand) is entering a 100 mile (or wait, it's probably 100 km, it's in Canada) ultra-marathon, despite the race officials being warned of his medical condition. The thing is, he's a doctor, so he has authority to decide for himself, and he chooses to run, risks be damned. The movie is partly about his competition with nature and his own limits, and partly about the psychological baggage he's carrying and what he's thinking about while running. See, he has a young patient (Milli Wilkinson) who is dying of some unspecified cancer. It's clear that she's losing that fight, and wants to retain some control over her fate. Let's not sugarcoat it, it's about assisted suicide, and who has the right to make that decision? The patient? Her parents (who are against it)? And what role should the doctor play? What role did he play? The thing is, we see flashbacks to many different versions of what may or may not have happened. It's less about what happened than how this all is weighing on his mind, and that strange mental zone you get in when you're running long distances, alone with your thoughts (those who know me might be surprised to learn this, but a couple of decades ago I used to run regularly on the beach in San Diego, so I'm not unfamiliar with that mental space.) It's a wonderfully shot, excellently acted, seriously meditative piece about some tough issues that are never handled with as much seriousness and subtlety in mainstream movies. 

As far as the intentionally obscured answers to what really happened...I don't even think it's about that. Or at most it's about what the audience makes of it. I have a rule that if the movie is about "what really happened?" then the answer is "you sat in a dark room while flickering lights and synchronized sound entertained you for a while."

MAN RUNNING plays again on March 7 (hey! That's today!) 5 pm at the Hammer Theater, and next Wednesday, Mar 13 5:35 PM in Redwood City

Then I briefly popped into the Maverick Meetup at Cafe Stritch for a quick drink and to greet a few of my Cinequest friends, then off to the California for the late film.

As part of the festival's name change--it's now the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, this program started with a brief interview with the poet laureate of California and former head of the NEA. He'll be part of the Poets N Film event tonight at the Hammer Theater, and he spoke about the ability of art to bring people together in shared experiences. He also recited a poem about NOSFERATU, which is possibly my favorite movie, so that was excellent.

I think this poet's name is Dana...something

Then variation and repetition was the theme of the day, ending with THE FARE. A sort of Twilight Zone inspired story of a cab driver, Harris and his fare, Penny (like the coin.) Harris is driving to a lonely desert destination to pick up Penny. They make some small talk, he's driving her to her destination--also in the middle of nowhere. There's some weather ahead, dispatch warns him, and suddenly the cab goes dark for a second, and when the lights return...Penny is gone. He tells dispatch, who seems unconcerned and sends him on to his next fare. And it all starts over. When he reaches the pickup point, his fare is...once again Penny. Only Harris doesn't remember her at all. And we repeat...but with little changes. Over and over he starts to remember a little bit. There's something breaking through his consciousness. Ultimately, all will be explained (perhaps over-explained, I prefer a little more mystery and room for interpretation, but that's just me.) Rather than the literal explanation, I prefer to recognize it as a poetic love story, a story of star-crossed lovers and learning to appreciate the brief time they have together.

THE FARE plays again Mar 7 (today!) at 7:10 pm; Sat, Mar 9 at 1:10 PM; and Sun, Mar 17 6:30 PM. All three shows in Redwood City

Total Running Time: 173 minutes
My Total Minutes: 498,032

Jason goes to Cinequest--Opening Night

I'm back, and so is my favorite drinking festival with movies, Cinequest!

I got there early, checked in, grabbed my media pass, and immediately got to my main task at the filmmakers--drinking in the Continental, where for festival guests the Tito's vodka flows freely along with the  PHP Honey Pale Ale from Umunhum brewing. 

Of course, it's not just about drinking for the sake of drinking, it's toasting my good returning friends--much hugs all around! And it's about making new friends in the film festival community. 

A notice to all the visiting filmmakers, if you have a drink with me, I will see your movie if at all possible, and I will write about it (probably poorly, but...whatever.) Your drink does not have to be alcoholic, but mine will be. There are, unfortunately, necessary constraints (stupid finite time and space, why can't I be everywhere at once?!) If someone else whose film is playing in the same time slot has already drunk with me, I will make all efforts to see both of them somehow, but if that's not possible it's a first-come, first-served system. To maximize the number of films I can see, I don't waste time travelling between San Jose and Redwood City in the same day. So if a drink has committed me to be in a location on a day, I stay in that location all day. Also, weekends (Fri-Sun) are all San Jose for me, since I get a suite at one of the magnificent downtown hotels to keep the party going as late as possible.

Anyway, with that out of the way, it was on to the glorious California Theatre for the opening night festivities. Cinequest CEO and co-founder Halfdan Hussey kicked things off with his opening remarks, something I've come to look forward to like an opening benediction (funny, since I'm not a religious man, but I suppose independent cinema is something like my religion.)

There were some brief words from Stand Up to Cancer, a humorous piece by Children's Musical Theater, and the first half of the big event--the Maverick Spirit Award given to Nandita Das. She was interviewed by my friend Sean McCarthy, a Guerilla Wanderer and part of the team behind the festival trailer (I've found no link to it? I guess you have to just...go to the movies to see it. Anyway, after several animations, this is their first live action festival trailer.) Nandita spoke eloquently...more eloquently than my meager words can convey. But she spoke about her career (over 40 films, in 10 different languages) and about the ability of stories--be they literature or cinema--to allow one to empathize with the other, and what exactly it means to be the "other." 

And then it was time for the feature film, MANTO. I confess to a great deal of cultural ignorance here. I had never heard of this author, and I know barely enough of the history of Indian independence and the subsequent partition into India and Pakistan to put this story in a bit of context. 

I have to assume that if I knew more about either the history or his work I would've enjoyed the movie more. As it was, I found him to be a great character (masterfully performed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.) The storytelling is episodic, shifts seamlessly from his stories to his life--mostly focusing on his trial for obscenity. Ultimately, I found it drags on a little too long, which is very common for biopics made by true fans--they tend to not want to leave anything out. And in fairness, for someone who is familiar with his work it probably wouldn't feel as long. In the end, it left me with a desire to learn more about him, and read his work. Which is easy enough to accomplish.

Then there was the big after party at The Glass House with J. Lohr wine (I enjoyed their Cabernet,) Drake's brewing (I enjoyed their Pilsner,) more Tito's, and Hendrick's Gin (which makes a damn good martini.)

Here are the filmmakers who know (or learned) how to Cinequest right, and have secured my attendance by drinking with me (or at least, watching me drink):

MAN RUNNING

CLOWNVETS

SHORTS PROGRAM 2 (specifically, POZOLE)

THE WRONG TODD

LUPE

LUCKY FIFTY

SUBURBAN WILDLIFE

SHORTS PROGRAM 1 (ummmm...I don't actually remember which filmmaker I drank with, but it's circled in my guide)

AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS

RICH KIDS

I'd say a pretty successful opening night!

Cheers! It's Cinequesting Time!

Running Time: 112 minutes
My Total Minutes: 497,859

Jason gives an important update on...the lack of updates here

My regular readers...if there are any left...may have noticed I haven't posted anything here since around last June.

Yeah, I've been busy, both personally and in my day job, and I don't care to elaborate. So I decided to scale back. At least for this year, I'm only guaranteeing coverage when I'm accredited press at a film festival. When I'm a paying customer, I get to sit back and enjoy the movies without worrying what I'll write about them. Even when something really impresses me--like Peter Jackson's THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD--if the muse doesn't strike, I'll keep my thoughts to myself...and to my personal friends (remember having actual conversations in person, not just shouting into the online void?)

So the next time I guarantee I'll be writing regularly will be Cinequest, March 5-17. Before that, you can see me in person at Noir City and SF Indiefest, where I'll be reprising my starring role of "guy who sits in front row center for damn near every movie." And occasionally, if the muse strikes, I might write about a movie here or there.

Speaking of...I've gotta tell you about this amazing movie I saw at Noir City last weekend. THE WELL (1951) is a simple story of a little girl trapped in a well. And it's inspired by a true story of a child who was trapped in a well in a small Northern California town (the movie was shot in Marysville and Yuba City.) But the movie takes a daring approach, by making it a story of a little black girl trapped in the well, and the racial suspicions that boil over when she goes missing. A white guy (Harry Morgan of M*A*S*H back when he was still going by Henry Morgan) who was just passing through town was spotted talking to her and buying her flowers. But without evidence of wrongdoing, the sheriff doesn't want word getting out. But it gets out anyway. And people talk, and suspicions grow into outright violence. I don't think I've ever seen a film that deals with race issues in quite this way, and it couldn't be done today (and not just because of the off-putting casual use of the N-word.) It's important that this is a peaceful, liberal town where races have gotten along so far. It's not the deep south with a history of slavery and lynchings, this is good, liberal Northern California. But while the races get along fine when everything is good, put in some fear and suspicions run wild on both sides until it's a full blown race riot.

Just as importantly, when the truth is discovered, the whole town comes together to rescue her, in a final reel that features heavy machinery and amazing camera work by Ernest Laszlo. But there's still the way everyone is side-eyeing each other. You can tell that in some ways this town will never fully recover. Not from a child trapped in a well, but from what they all did to each other.

Frightened parents and the town sheriff look to rescue a little girl

Oh, and I've still been keeping up my tally of total minutes spent watching movies. The total is now up to 493,419 minutes.