I love Hal

Park City


I really like Hal Hartley’s work. Over the past twenty years, he’s produced some truly great independent films that have a pretty unique style. Fay Grim, a follow up to his 1997 film Henry Fool is a really fun and involving film…and very much a Hal Hartley film. What makes it a Hal Hartley film? For one, the dialog is extremely fast-paced and incredibly detailed. Hal actually warned the audience prior to the screening that there would be a barrage of dialog… but it wasn’t important to follow all of it. Secondly, there’s a definite visual style (he opted to dutch the entire film – which basically means the camera is always skewed one way or another). Lastly, there are (as always) great performances from every single member of the cast. So… what is the film about? I think the Sundance program write-up sums it best. The film simply asks, “can a neurotic mom from Queens (with help from a friendly stewardess/part-time topless dancer) elude spy agencies and Afghan terrorists before her ex-husband, who isn’t dead, is killed over eight volumes of illogical, pedantic gibberish?” The result is funny, political, quirky, and ultimately a really fun ride. Even those who aren’t familiar with Hal’s work will undoubtedly enjoy the exuberant joy that has so clearly been poured into this project by everyone involved.

And for those of you who are familiar with Hal’s work, especially those who enjoyed Henry Fool, Hal and Parker Posey (who plays Fay) told the audience during the Q&A following the screening that there was already movement on a third act to the saga.

Wow…

Park City

Manda Bala... quite possibly one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. It's a deftly woven story of kidnapping, political corruption, plastic surgery and frog farming in Brazil. Eliciting nearly every emotion from the audience in its 85 minute running time, this film manages to not only tell an incredibly compelling and emotional story about the rampant crime problems in Sao Paulo, but also to weave together several seemingly disparate story lines into a single, cohesive piece of cinema. Not only is the film amazingly cut, but the cinematography is several steps above anything I've ever seen on a doc. Jason Kohn, the director, clearly spent a huge amount of time (five years, according to him) shooting and cutting the film, paying incredible attention to detail. He really approached it more like a feature, going above and beyond what most directors would do for a doc. Case in point - during a section featuring plastic surgery reconstructing a severed ear on a kidnap victim, Jason and his crew laid dolly track in the OR and set up a full lighting rig. He also managed to gain unprecedented access to key players in the story and allow them to speak their own perspective. It's really quite a remarkable film. I strongly urge you to check it out. However, I will warn that there are sections of the film that are quite graphic.

There may be hope for Noise

Park City

So I've been thinking about Noise. I'm usually not one to say this, but I feel like this film could really benefit from the involvement of a studio. Usually I feel like studios shit all over most films and turn them into mediocre crap. But... if a studio were to buy Noise and recut it, they might come out with something really good. The concept is there... the material is there... it just needs to be recut (and maybe some new ADR as well so you can freakin' understand the one or two mumblers). For those of you unfamiliar with Sundance, everything here for the most part is done without any studio involvement. The films come in as what's basically a "director's cut" without any kind of MPAA rating. Once studios buy the distribution rights to a film at Sundance, they'll sometimes also "tweak" a film to help it get a certain rating, help it reach a certain target audience or because they simply feel it needs "adjusting." So... maybe Noise will find a life after all. It all depends on what happens if someone picks it u

Way too early

SLC

It's another day and as usual I'm back hanging out in the line at the SLC festival box office. Today I took a shorter route and used the building's service entrance (the line forms inside) instead of walking around for five minutes trying to find an unlocked door.

So... about Hear and Now... as I mentioned last night, it's a documentary about a 65-year-old deaf couple who decide to get cochlear implants. The striking thing about this doc is that it's directed by their daughter, Irene Taylor Brodsky. She somehow manages to walk the line between daughter and filmmaker and ultimately produce a piece that really makes you feel like you're going through the experience along with the entire family. Although not the greatest documentary film from an artistic standpoint, the subject matter lends itself quite well to the medium and the journey is pretty emotional. After 65 years of living in a completely silent world, they both now must come to terms with the chaos around them and learn (relearn?) how to understand sounds they've never heard before. One of the more interesting aspects of this learning is the fact that, unlike to rest of us hearing people, the couple featured in the doc need to gain the ability to filter sound to avoid having it overwhelm. I won't speak too much about what actually happens or how things turn out, but suffice it to say their new ability to hear is a profound experience. I'd have to say my favorite moments are the few days after the implants are turned on - both of them go running around like children, repeatedly doing things simply because they make a sound. Sally, the mother/wife, spends long periods of time banging on walls, flipping light switches, closing doors and watching birds. Paul, the father/husband, repeatedly takes his car through the car wash because he likes the sound so much. Although Paul and Sally didn't join Irene for last night's Q&A (she said it was past their bedtime), it was good to hear her talk through the process of making the film and how difficult it was to be objective while cutting. As she put it, "the daughter cut a 130 minute film, the filmmaker cut an 87 minute film."

Also screening before the Hear and Now was a documentary short called In Passing that chronicled the experience of a mostly-blind woman navigating the streets of London on a daily basis. Stylistically unique, I appreciated how the film was crafted both visually and audibly to mimic the woman's experience. Nicely done.

Deafening roar

SLC

Just got out of a screening for Hear and Now, a great documentary about a 65-year-old deaf couple who decide to get cochlear implants and how their new ability to hear sounds affects their life and relationships. I desperately need to sleep since I’m again jumping out of bed at 5:30a to wait in line for day-of-show tickets, so I’ll be writing more tomorrow on the film. For now, we’ll just say that it’s definitely a film to see. It was shepherded by HBO Documentaries, so it’ll likely get some play on HBO at some point in the near future.


So... the rundown on films for the day:
Waitress – Best film I’ve seen so far at Sundance and easily one of the better films I’ve seen in a long while. You must see this.
Noise – Avoid like the plague.
Hear and Now – Check this out if you have the opportunity.