Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a whole slew of mini-reviews from the wonderful sounding Seattle International Film Festival. It looks like they had a helluva line up this year... I'll have to see about catching this one next year... They've convinced me they can line up some quality flicks! Anyway, lots and lots of good stuff down below. I'm particularly newly excited about TURN LEFT TURN RIGHT. Sounds like a helluva movie. Enjoy!!!
Hi, Harry. Getting closer to the films I've been looking forward to most: BEFORE SUNSET, GARDEN STATE, CRIMINAL, all three INFERNAL AFFAIR movies. And some French horror movie called HAUTE TENSION tomorrow at midnight. Until then.....
Turn Left Turn Right
Here's a sweet confection: a literary translator (Gigi Leung) and violinist (Takeshi Kaneshiro) fell in love as kids, and meet again 13 years later. That's it. The film is like this wierd, delicate, lovely, perfect thing, and it wears its big bulging heart on its sleeve. All about destiny and how the characters take similar paths in life that never seem to cross. Until finally they do, and then magic happens. I won't say a lot else, except this is the best example of that whole lovers kept apart by circumstance until we almost can't stand it any longer formula -- same formula as, say, the recent LAWS OF ATTRACTION (i.e. Hollywood crap). TURN LEFT TURN RIGHT is a breath of fresh air by comparison.
Why can't all movies be this joyous? Anyone with half a chance to catch it will leave very, very happy.
Noise
is an oddly fascinating DV. A woman (Trish Goff), Joyce, moves into a new apartment, and is tormented by her upstairs neighbor (Ally Sheedy, showing her age). Goff is terrific as the new divorcee on the verge of breaking down; alcohol and one night stands get her by. The loud neighbor subplot is there to amplify her increasing... whatever. Madness. Disaffection. But, I wish the film had delved a bit deeper into the Sheedy character's erratic behavior and fleshed her out more so she wasn't simply a device. Also, Joyce does something at one point as an act of revenge that's funny, but makes no sense considering how intelligent she is otherwise. Especially given her astute observation, "Inside every frustrated woman lies a whore dying to be released."
Can't knock the writing, though -- Lance Doty's script is laced with sharp, witty dialogue. Compelling story. Strong performance by Goff, in the lead. The ending is expected, but still grabs you.
Cavedweller
The new film from Lisa Cholodenko (HIGH ART) is slow and uninvolving. A woman (Kyra Sedgwick) returns home to Georgia seeking custody of the two daughters she abandoned years ago. She left an abusive husband (played by Aidan Quinn), now ailing, for a rock star (Kevin Bacon, in a thirty second stint), with whom she has another daughter. None of the kids like her.
Sedgwick smokes a lot, and sits around looking despondent. There are lots of close-ups of her driving, and reflecting on the past, feeling sorry for herself. And, numerous shots of sunsets. But, Cholodenko never does decide what to do with any of it. There's no real direction, here -- just a series of
depressing moments, with no hope in sight. Occasional attempts at comic relief are out of place. What a friggin' drag.
Baadasss
Mario Van Peebles' exciting docu-drama about the making of his
father's film SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSS SONG. What we have here is a movie within a movie about the making of a movie, with Mario (who was a child actor in dad Melvin's original film) playing Melvin; God knows how many inner demons are getting worked out, here. It's a neat stunt. Plus, BAADASS just happens to be a thoroughly entertaining film about filmmaking, period. From legal pad, to the editing room. An uninhibited, funny, dizzying piece of work.
Maria Full of Grace
This won the audience award at Sundance. Catalina Sandino Mareno gives a naturalistic performance as a Colombian girl seeking a better life for herself. I was reminded of Ashley Judd, from RUBY IN PARADISE; one can only hope Mareno doesn't suffer a similar fate careerwise.
But, anyway. One thing did bug me: this character, Maria, makes two distinctly bad decisions that the script lets her get away with. I can understand the irrationality of a 17 year-old in this 17 year-old's situation, but to allow what happens to happen consequence free is a narrative misstep -- one of very few in an otherwise effective, and kind of harrowing motion picture.
The Tesseract
As explained during the prologue: "A tesseract is a hypercube. When a hypercube unravels, two universes become one." Rrrright... An hour and ten minutes into an hour and fifty minute movie, one would hope that a theme, or idea or purpose or anything would surface. But no. There are four stories, involving what appears to be child therapy and drug smuggling, etc. All equally a terrific cure for insomnia. Forget the name listed in the writing credits, and avoid.
J-Man
|
