Waiting for the shuttle bus after having just gotten out of a screening of Hot House, a doc from Israel about Palestinian incarceration. Most Israelis regard the nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners as murderers and criminals. To the Palestinians, however, they are heroes and freedom fighters, many of whom were and are extremely politically active. Granted unprecedented access to the prisons, director Shimon Dotan discovers that these cells have become a breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders and a hotbed for terrorist plots against the Israeli State. What we see in the film is a glimpse of everyday prison life, with people who are not only well cared-for, but who are also educated and intelligent thinkers who are fully immersed in the political reality outside the walls of the prison. Extremely informative and well built, the film puts a very human face on the conflict and violence between the two states. I only find fault in Shimon's doc through the simply fact that he assumes the viewer already has a basic understanding of Israeli and Palestinian politics and the issues and motivations that surround their turf war battle. Worth seeing regardless of whether or not you have any knowledge of the Middle East (in fact... if you know nothing about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, you need to see this film.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Intriguing
Park City
Waiting for the shuttle bus after having just gotten out of a screening of Hot House, a doc from Israel about Palestinian incarceration. Most Israelis regard the nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners as murderers and criminals. To the Palestinians, however, they are heroes and freedom fighters, many of whom were and are extremely politically active. Granted unprecedented access to the prisons, director Shimon Dotan discovers that these cells have become a breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders and a hotbed for terrorist plots against the Israeli State. What we see in the film is a glimpse of everyday prison life, with people who are not only well cared-for, but who are also educated and intelligent thinkers who are fully immersed in the political reality outside the walls of the prison. Extremely informative and well built, the film puts a very human face on the conflict and violence between the two states. I only find fault in Shimon's doc through the simply fact that he assumes the viewer already has a basic understanding of Israeli and Palestinian politics and the issues and motivations that surround their turf war battle. Worth seeing regardless of whether or not you have any knowledge of the Middle East (in fact... if you know nothing about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, you need to see this film.
Waiting for the shuttle bus after having just gotten out of a screening of Hot House, a doc from Israel about Palestinian incarceration. Most Israelis regard the nearly 10,000 Palestinian prisoners as murderers and criminals. To the Palestinians, however, they are heroes and freedom fighters, many of whom were and are extremely politically active. Granted unprecedented access to the prisons, director Shimon Dotan discovers that these cells have become a breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders and a hotbed for terrorist plots against the Israeli State. What we see in the film is a glimpse of everyday prison life, with people who are not only well cared-for, but who are also educated and intelligent thinkers who are fully immersed in the political reality outside the walls of the prison. Extremely informative and well built, the film puts a very human face on the conflict and violence between the two states. I only find fault in Shimon's doc through the simply fact that he assumes the viewer already has a basic understanding of Israeli and Palestinian politics and the issues and motivations that surround their turf war battle. Worth seeing regardless of whether or not you have any knowledge of the Middle East (in fact... if you know nothing about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, you need to see this film.
Gamers scare me
Park City
I think it's safe to say that the biggest surprise at the fest so far is Chasing Ghosts, a doc about the rise of competitive arcade gaming in the early 1980s. Reading the description in the festival program really didn't make it appeal much to me. I mean, how interesting can a bunch of hard-core gamers be? I'd been hearing a substantial amount of positive buzz from people around the fest - nearly everyone giving rave reviews. So I decided to take a chance and see what it was all about. I gotta say, I wasn't disappointed in the least. This film was not only really well constructed, but it really presented the subject matter in a way that totally sucked you in to this alternate world. Plus... it was really funny. It managed to walk a very fine line between paying homage to these insanely talented teenagers who could play any arcade game for several days straight on a single quarter without ever loosing a life and making fun of the fact that they were all geeky eccentrics who lacked basic social skills and desperately needed to bathe. Although the film could use a 10-15 minute trim, it generally moves well and does an excellent job of throwing you headfirst into this bizarre world of hard-core Pac-Man, Centipede, Asteroid and myriad other "classic" arcade game play. It's also a lot like a "then and now," as the filmmakers track down all of the big players from the early 80s and interview them about their past, present and future. It's really a lot like Dog Town and Z-Boys but with arcade games. Highly recommended.
I think it's safe to say that the biggest surprise at the fest so far is Chasing Ghosts, a doc about the rise of competitive arcade gaming in the early 1980s. Reading the description in the festival program really didn't make it appeal much to me. I mean, how interesting can a bunch of hard-core gamers be? I'd been hearing a substantial amount of positive buzz from people around the fest - nearly everyone giving rave reviews. So I decided to take a chance and see what it was all about. I gotta say, I wasn't disappointed in the least. This film was not only really well constructed, but it really presented the subject matter in a way that totally sucked you in to this alternate world. Plus... it was really funny. It managed to walk a very fine line between paying homage to these insanely talented teenagers who could play any arcade game for several days straight on a single quarter without ever loosing a life and making fun of the fact that they were all geeky eccentrics who lacked basic social skills and desperately needed to bathe. Although the film could use a 10-15 minute trim, it generally moves well and does an excellent job of throwing you headfirst into this bizarre world of hard-core Pac-Man, Centipede, Asteroid and myriad other "classic" arcade game play. It's also a lot like a "then and now," as the filmmakers track down all of the big players from the early 80s and interview them about their past, present and future. It's really a lot like Dog Town and Z-Boys but with arcade games. Highly recommended.
Amazing journey
Park City
It's really quite balmy today. I'm standing here waiting for the shuttle to take me from Prospector Square up to Main and I'd say it's probably at least 30 degrees. Maybe this sounds really cool to some of you, but to me it feels pretty good. My jacket's unzipped, no gloves, no hat. If I had shorts I would wear them.
So I just got out of a screening of Girl 27, a doc about Patricia Douglas, a movie extra who was raped at a big MGM party back in 1937. She pressed charges, but was made a fool of in the press and ultimately the whole story was covered up. Enter David Stenn, a biography writer specializing in the golden age of Hollywood. While working on a story about another actress, he came across the newspaper headlines on the case and was struck by the fact that neither he nor any historians had ever heard of her story. So he decided to dig. Four years later, he presents this film, chronicling his efforts to unearth this woman's story and his ultimate triumph in finding Patricia alive and, after months and months of work and patience, willing to talk about her experiences. The result is a film that is not only a documentary of what happened to Patricia back in 1937, but also about the amazing relationship that forms between the two of them. All this culminates in him writing an article on her behalf for Vanity Fair that allows her to fully share her story with the world for the first time in 65 years. Within weeks of her story being published, Patricia is admitted to the hospital and dies a few days later. The night before she dies, she tells David how much she appreciates what he's done and how she finally feels at peace.
From a filmmaking standpoint, Girl 27 isn't anything amazing. It's David's first film ever and he self-admittedly had no idea what he was doing. What makes this film remarkable is the story and the journey that David and Patricia take together. I absolutely recommend seeing this film if it ever finds theatrical or DVD distribution.
Screening before Girl 27 was a short documentary called Scaredycat. This is a film about fear and prejudice. What makes this interesting is that it's a film about the filmmaker. See... the director, Andy Blubaugh, has serious OCD: he obsessively straightens things (pictures on a wall, things on a desk, abandoned newspapers on bus benches), can't walk on cracks in the sidewalk... etc. One night while biking home, five guys mug him. In the aftermath, he develops a huge fear of black men, which even Andy himself considers to be strange and unfounded since only two of the five guys were black (two white guys and a Latino make up the balance). This film is basically his own exploration of his fear and his attempts to understand why he's so afraid. Extremely interesting and well done. Probably one of the only self-documentaries I've seen that isn't masturbatory, Andy's film manages to be a really objective, yet personal look at the issues and reality of social fear.
It's really quite balmy today. I'm standing here waiting for the shuttle to take me from Prospector Square up to Main and I'd say it's probably at least 30 degrees. Maybe this sounds really cool to some of you, but to me it feels pretty good. My jacket's unzipped, no gloves, no hat. If I had shorts I would wear them.
So I just got out of a screening of Girl 27, a doc about Patricia Douglas, a movie extra who was raped at a big MGM party back in 1937. She pressed charges, but was made a fool of in the press and ultimately the whole story was covered up. Enter David Stenn, a biography writer specializing in the golden age of Hollywood. While working on a story about another actress, he came across the newspaper headlines on the case and was struck by the fact that neither he nor any historians had ever heard of her story. So he decided to dig. Four years later, he presents this film, chronicling his efforts to unearth this woman's story and his ultimate triumph in finding Patricia alive and, after months and months of work and patience, willing to talk about her experiences. The result is a film that is not only a documentary of what happened to Patricia back in 1937, but also about the amazing relationship that forms between the two of them. All this culminates in him writing an article on her behalf for Vanity Fair that allows her to fully share her story with the world for the first time in 65 years. Within weeks of her story being published, Patricia is admitted to the hospital and dies a few days later. The night before she dies, she tells David how much she appreciates what he's done and how she finally feels at peace.
From a filmmaking standpoint, Girl 27 isn't anything amazing. It's David's first film ever and he self-admittedly had no idea what he was doing. What makes this film remarkable is the story and the journey that David and Patricia take together. I absolutely recommend seeing this film if it ever finds theatrical or DVD distribution.
Screening before Girl 27 was a short documentary called Scaredycat. This is a film about fear and prejudice. What makes this interesting is that it's a film about the filmmaker. See... the director, Andy Blubaugh, has serious OCD: he obsessively straightens things (pictures on a wall, things on a desk, abandoned newspapers on bus benches), can't walk on cracks in the sidewalk... etc. One night while biking home, five guys mug him. In the aftermath, he develops a huge fear of black men, which even Andy himself considers to be strange and unfounded since only two of the five guys were black (two white guys and a Latino make up the balance). This film is basically his own exploration of his fear and his attempts to understand why he's so afraid. Extremely interesting and well done. Probably one of the only self-documentaries I've seen that isn't masturbatory, Andy's film manages to be a really objective, yet personal look at the issues and reality of social fear.
A bit late today
SLC
I ended up getting out the door a bit late this morning. As a result, I'm eighth or ninth in the line so I'm not sure what ticket availability will be for a few of the hotter screenings on my list. So... I've put together a list of alts should I need them. Chasing Ghosts only has 10 tickets left, so it's likely it'll be sold out by the time I can buy anything. Guess we'll see what happens.
I ended up getting out the door a bit late this morning. As a result, I'm eighth or ninth in the line so I'm not sure what ticket availability will be for a few of the hotter screenings on my list. So... I've put together a list of alts should I need them. Chasing Ghosts only has 10 tickets left, so it's likely it'll be sold out by the time I can buy anything. Guess we'll see what happens.
Hmmm… what can I say about this film
SLC
Grace is Gone is a film I can’t quite put into words. Not that it’s all that far out there, but more that it goes to some interesting emotional places and doesn’t really contain a lot of substance beyond the huge personal journeys traveled by the characters. Stanley Philips, played by John Cusack, is a patriot and father of two. When he learns that his wife, Grace, has been killed in the Iraq war, he attempts to rally his strength to tell his young daughters that their mother won’t be coming home. Faced with this incredible task, he instead throws everyone in the car for a road trip across the country from Minnesota to Florida for a visit to their favorite amusement park. Over the course of the trip, Stanley attempts to figure out who his daughters are and, ultimately, how to break the horrible news. The result is a film about an incredible emotional journey that may take awhile to gain momentum, but ultimately discovers an incredible bond between a parent and his children. God... this is sounding ridiculously sappy already. Please just trust me that it’s not sappy or cliché… but genuinely heartfelt and natural. Best parallel I can draw is that the emotional journey in Grace is Gone is much like the one in Little Miss Sunshine.
The Weinsteins picked this film up earlier in the week, so it’ll get theatrical distribution sometime in the next few months. It’s what I consider to be a good film, though not amazing in any respect.
So... the rundown on films for the day:
Trade – Excellent but very emotionally heavy film. Definitely worth seeing provided you’re okay with some graphic nightmares for a day or two.
Bajo Juarez – On the fence. Intriguing and risky subject, poor execution.
Grace is Gone – Good, but nothing amazing.
Grace is Gone is a film I can’t quite put into words. Not that it’s all that far out there, but more that it goes to some interesting emotional places and doesn’t really contain a lot of substance beyond the huge personal journeys traveled by the characters. Stanley Philips, played by John Cusack, is a patriot and father of two. When he learns that his wife, Grace, has been killed in the Iraq war, he attempts to rally his strength to tell his young daughters that their mother won’t be coming home. Faced with this incredible task, he instead throws everyone in the car for a road trip across the country from Minnesota to Florida for a visit to their favorite amusement park. Over the course of the trip, Stanley attempts to figure out who his daughters are and, ultimately, how to break the horrible news. The result is a film about an incredible emotional journey that may take awhile to gain momentum, but ultimately discovers an incredible bond between a parent and his children. God... this is sounding ridiculously sappy already. Please just trust me that it’s not sappy or cliché… but genuinely heartfelt and natural. Best parallel I can draw is that the emotional journey in Grace is Gone is much like the one in Little Miss Sunshine.
The Weinsteins picked this film up earlier in the week, so it’ll get theatrical distribution sometime in the next few months. It’s what I consider to be a good film, though not amazing in any respect.
So... the rundown on films for the day:
Trade – Excellent but very emotionally heavy film. Definitely worth seeing provided you’re okay with some graphic nightmares for a day or two.
Bajo Juarez – On the fence. Intriguing and risky subject, poor execution.
Grace is Gone – Good, but nothing amazing.
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