My Blue Reality

talhotblond

2009-06-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

A middle-aged man engages in an obsessive affair with an 18 year old girl via the internet, in the persona of a young marine stationed overseas. As the story unfolds, we discover that neither of them is what they claim to be, and the affair eventually culminates in the cold-blooded murder of a young man who comes between them. Oh, and it's a documentary.

This particular crime is chillingly easy to unravel, as all parties involved had nearly all their interactions logged on their computers. The documentary unfolds the story as a narrative, replaying key conversations verbatim.

Aside from some detailed interviews, the film also uses fictional narration by the dead man, and running commentary and analysis by a psychiatrist who has nothing to do with the case itself, but who is incredibly witty and entertaining while setting the context of the players' actions.

It's a tragic story, and there's nothing to like in any of the people shown here, but the flow of the whole thing is gripping.

Kimjongilia

2009-06-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, we get it. Kim Jong-Il sucks, and North Korea is a horrible place to live. I tend to think that this information is known broadly enough that a documentary would need to get pretty specific to really add something to the discussion.

Now, there are some horrifying personal stories behind these interviews. One man was born in a prison camp and kept there doing forced labor until he escaped at age 24. That's a story that deserves to be told, but it deserves more than a choppy 3 minute interview punctuated by random scenes of modern dance commissioned by the director to fill time.

It's only a 75 minute movie in the first place, and literally 15 minutes were spent on modern dance filler. I get that you want to make an emotional appeal, but you can do it a lot better by actually giving your subjects time to tell a coherent story.

Earns one star back just because the fragments of the stories they do manage to get across are really, really gripping.

The Spy And The Sparrow

2009-06-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Another Seattle film, featuring several cast members from that earlier abomination, The Whole Truth. At least this one does a bit to convince me that they're not terrible actors, although the overall tone is still pretty amateurish.

The story focuses on a newly retired spy trying to reconnect with his daughter who he hasn't spoken to in 30 years. A series of odd coincidences and unlikely characters contribute to a relatively weak climax, and the only thing anyone really learns is that the guy wasn't a neglectful father.

The direction and acting was decent, but the number of plot holes here is really irritating. For starters, the idea that nobody would notice random transfers of half a million dollars between bank accounts is a pretty big thing to just gloss over. An "offbeat" lawyer would fit better in a college stoner's basement, and isn't convincing at all.

But even with those aside, the entire plot hinges on characters doing random things for no reason, and especially on the main character's half sister hiding information for no reason, and in a way that's never explained at all. In a mainly character-driven piece like this, pivotal plot events hinging on stupid and unexplained actions is a problem.

The Hills Run Red

2009-06-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

Slasher movies are kind of a peculiar thing. To be really good, they have to walk a line between gore and pathos, character development and mindless psychopaths.

After an exceedingly disgusting opening in which a young boy cuts off his face with a pair of scissors, The Hills Run Red starts off a bit slow. A student is trying to track down a print of a legendary slasher film named The Hills Run Red which was supposedly filmed in the 70s and then destroyed. After tracking down the daughter of the dead director, the small group sets off into the backwoods to find the director's home and hopefully a copy of the film.

This intro takes a good 45 minutes to play out, and to offset the relatively dry content the director cuts in random flashes of gore from the movie. These are more startling than anything else, though, and the whole thing is pretty laid back.

The second half, though, is basically a completely different movie. Ultra-violent, yes, but beyond the gore is a non-stop series of twists that leave you completely disoriented. Throw in a healthy dose of self-reflection and commentary on the slasher movie genre, and the whole thing is good, and nearly overwhelming.

The pace change between the two sections is unfortunate, since it makes the movie, already only 1:20, feel even shorter. But while the flow change is relatively jarring, it doesn't hurt the overall production too much. Worth seeing for the second half, but only if you're really into slasher gore.

Swimsuit Issue

2009-06-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

An aging Swedish floor hockey team reinvents themselves as a male synchronised swimming team. It's the kind of plot that can turn out pretty badly in the wrong hands, but in this case the writing and acting are both quite strong, and the whole thing fits beautifully.

The pacing is perfect, drawing you along without a second of boredom or tiredness. With plenty of black comedy and character development, as well as some really beautiful cinematography and a fantastic soundtrack, this comedy is a must see.

A Pain In The Ass

2009-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

You know how you can go back and watch Steve Martin movies from the 70s, and understand on an intellectual level that it's supposed to be funny while not actually laughing at all? Well, this was basically the same thing, only released in the 21st century.

Apparently it's a remake of a very old script that the director had written but not gotten to direct at the time. So the datedness makes sense. It doesn't make it any funnier, though. What does save the film to some extent is a pretty strong performance by all the main characters. With lesser acting this film would have been intolerable. As it is, there are a few chuckles here, but nothing terribly clever.

Inju, The Beast In The Shadow

2009-06-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

A French scholar and author travels to Japan to promote his book, and goes out of his way to provoke a reclusive and possibly dangerous author in an attempt to force a meeting.

Great production overall, with strong acting, and some chilling moments in the cinematography. The plot is a bit obvious perhaps, but the main point is really in watching the chemistry between the main characters develop.

Some people are describing this as a noir, which seems to fit at least somewhat. It's a bit bright visually for that label, but the theme and pacing is spot on. Without anything particular to point to, it feels like a "classic", maybe due to the pacing and the relatively understated performances.

Slow, but interesting.

Krabat

2009-06-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

A dark German fairy tale based on a novel from the 70s features a teenager during plague times joining a coven of warlocks at a creepy old mill.

Overall a decent attempt, with some beautiful special effects, and fair enough acting and writing. The plot lags a bit, perhaps, and to some extent the story just feels small. There are tantalising glimpses of a wider world around them, but the characters never seem to break through that barrier and inhabit the space outside a couple of relatively claustrophobic sets.

The goth couple at the screening probably got a lot more out of this than just about anyone else possibly could, but it was fun for what it was, and worth seeing if you like wizards and fairy tales.

Home

2009-06-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

A family living next to an abandoned highway are startled to find that it will open after 10 years of disuse. The noise and intrusion on their privacy (their house is only 40 feet from the road) begin to wear on them, destroying their initially close family structure.

At least that's the theory. In practice, it doesn't really hold up that well. For starters, the original "closeness" of the family is somewhat creepy, with mother, father, young brother and college-age sister bathing together. The reason for the family's expectation that the road would remain unused is never explained, nor is the reason the mother refuses to leave the house even after the intrusion.

Fair enough, some plot points are left as a given. I can chalk that up to the surrealist aesthetic, but the characters are alternately understated and shrill, and pretty hard to warm up to. They would feel more at home in a traditional drama, but for me they lack a bit of the flair and exaggeration they need to stand up against the surrealist backdrop.

It's not all bad. The plot stays together pretty well, and there are good moments throughout. Taken as a commentary on modern life (meaning: when you ignore the weak characters entirely) it's not bad, although the point it makes is maybe a little trite. The cinematography is good as well, and it may be worth seeing once, although probably not twice.

Cold Souls

2009-06-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Paul Giammati (as Paul Giammati) goes to a "soul storage" facility to lighten his metaphysical burden until he can make it through a performance of Uncle Vanya. The movie then follows his struggles with conscience -- and the fact that without a soul he's a really terrible actor -- through episodes both serious and hilarious.

I really have a soft spot for these kind of indie Vonnegut-esque sci-fi films. Reality as it is today, just with a slight twist, and a great cast and script to back it up. The direction and writing is really top notch, especially for a first film. And while the pacing drags just a tiny bit in the middle, the pacing overall is pretty tight, and a fantastic story easily makes this a must see.

The Dark Harbor

2009-06-11T21:13:00.001-07:00

A lonely fisherman discovers that a woman and boy are living in his cupboard when they appear in the background of a dating video he has made.

Several humorous scenes throughout, but the characters are really, really weak basically the whole way through. The main character has an annoying tendency to pantomime instead of speaking as well, which I guess is supposed to characterise him as a buffoon, but just comes across as weird.

With no strong characterisation, it's hard to really care as the plot moves forward. Individual moments are okay, but as a whole piece it really doesn't work that well.

Story Of Jen

2009-06-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

In some ways a coming of age story, but the pacing and aimless plot don't do a lot for this one. Jen's life starts to disintegrate when her step-father kills himself. Her mother starts to retreat from the world aside from drunken excursions to pick up strangers in bars. Her step-father's brother comes to stay with them causing scandal among their nosey neighbours and sparking an idea of romance for Jen.

After the inevitable maybe-it-is-and-maybe-it's-not-rape sexual encounter, the entire thing takes a left turn, though. The uncle goes off into a huge national park on horseback to play Rambo, and Jen goes through a random series of experiences which are never followed up on.

Interesting for some really beautiful shots of the park, and a creepy yet hilarious scene of a teen pregnancy counseling class, but the entire thing really does fall apart. No message, no real point, and nobody is particularly likeable, nor comes close to learning anything.

Flame & Citron

2009-06-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a relative late-comer to the Mads Mikkelsen fan train, having seen the Pusher series only two years ago. As always, the man is completely mesmerising, this time as half of a pair of Danish insurgents who murder their way through a large swath of the occupying Nazi forces during WWII.

These are not nice people, although not exactly anti-heroes either. They're trying to do the right thing, but as always in true wartime stories the entire thing is a relatively dark shade of grey.

Gorgeous cinematography, and superb acting carry this, because the story is relatively slow and a little hard to follow, since it is based on real people. I wouldn't watch it just for the plot, but thanks to the care that went into making it I would happily recommend it to anyone.

(500) Days Of Summer

2009-06-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

There are some movies where everything just clicks. Great cast with good chemistry, beautiful but understated cinematography, great writing, and a soundtrack that captures the mood perfectly.

500 Days Of Summer is not a love story, and it's not exactly happy. But it's bitter sweet, and really perfect. Framed as a romantic comedy, but so quirky and so well done that you can't help liking it.

Manhole Children

2009-06-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sort of a 7 Up for Mongolia, Manhole Children follows three people over 15 or so years, from living in sewer pipes, to a kind of uneasy above-ground life, and sadly back to the sewers.

The film makes a point to connect the conditions that led the children to start their lives this way to the arrival of Capitalism, but the point is never supported. They remain relatively objective otherwise, but by the end it's hard to feel a lot of pity for anyone involved -- all the subjects are as manipulative and aimless as you'd expect from growing up in those conditions, but as adults the behaviour just seems mean, and watching it get passed on to their children is terrifying.

The film opened with many more children, at least some of whom they imply managed to get out and stay out of that situation. I really wish they'd included at least one of the success stories as well, because the choice to focus only on those who keep failing to make something better leaves the whole thing as a pretty depressing exercise that you'd think could be recreated in almost any country.

Still, seeing these conditions up close is interesting, and there are secondary characters who aren't completely confused. Worth seeing.

Black

2009-06-11T18:47:00.001-07:00

If Black Dynamite is an homage that takes the seriousness of Blacksploitation to a hilarious extreme, Black is the one that takes the other road into an odd kind of competence that makes it hard to laugh at.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. There's something pretty fun in the whole "70s action movie" that works well with the serious vibe. Kind of a black Indiana Jones combined with a bit of James Bond, and an extra dash of pulp serial thrown in. There's witchcraft, jungle escapes, gunplay, kung fu, and lots of other fun bits mixed in here.

Not a great movie, but a fun new entry in a genre that's nearly extinct.

The Market - A Tale Of Trade

2009-06-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

A UK film set in Turkey explores the uneasy relationship that exists between morality and capitalism. A somewhat bumbling hero tries to do the right thing, but keeps coming up against the local mob and the financial demands of raising a family.

Definitely not a happy story, and everything doesn't work out in the end, but it's an interesting look at what happens to an idealist in a certain subculture. It helps that the main character is acted well, and the actor is quite likeable.

Black Dynamite

2009-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Michael Jai White, the writer and star of Black Dynamite, had the perfect way to describe it. He said, roughly, that Blacksploitation as a genre took itself so seriously back when it was made that the line between homage and parody is blurred, because to do it as seriously as they did, today, is hysterical.

Everything about Black Dynamite is amazing. The music, the over-the-top kung fu, the random nudity, and the insanely cheesy dialog delivered with fierce intensity. Even without the parody element it stands up well, as the martial arts have a crisp, angular quality that I really haven't seen anywhere else. But taken as a whole, it's basically fantastic.

The Burning Plain

2009-06-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Burning Plain is stark, and a little confusing, but worth seeing. Charlize Theron is strong, as is the rest of the cast. Part character drama, part social commentary on race relations in the south, two families are torn apart when a married couple dies in an explosion in the midst of an affair. As the families grieve, two of the children start to grow close to each other.

Definitely not happy, and a bit confusing as the plot jumps around more than a little. It takes a bit of energy to figure out how it fits together at first, but the overall story is compelling.

That Evening Sun

2009-06-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

Absolutely beautiful. Hal Holbrook is a fantastic character actor, and plays the crotchety old man perfectly. Amy Ryan is nearly unrecognisable (again), and good as ever. In fact the entire cast is great.

On top of that, though, the music is excellent, the cinematography and shots are gorgeous, and the writing is really clever. There's no "bad" side to the feud between the protagonists, and you end up feeling sorry for both. Plenty of laughs as well, although this is not really a happy movie. One of the best things I've seen at the festival so far.

FutureWave Shorts 2009

2009-06-10T16:11:00.001-07:00

Dear god, why? Yes, supporting young film-makers is important. But at some point, you have to have a distinction between raw talent and lack of talent.

The only two that were remotely tolerable here were A Work Of Fiction, a poorly acted but moderately cleverly written piece, and If U Want 2 Get Technical, a documentary by the daughter of a black lesbian couple which is hackneyed and full of cliche, but does manage to capture some interesting people in between the teen-angst editorials.

Everything else was worthless. Must remember to miss this next year.

Everything Strange And New

2009-06-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

There are a couple benchmark movies that deal with the banality of suburban middle class life. And while Everything Strange And New isn't as slick as something like American Beauty, it also has a refreshingly raw element that makes it feel a bit less preachy as well.

Centred around the day to day life of a construction worker, dealing with the decay of his own marriage and those of his friends, and trying to make sense of life. It's not a fast movie, but the main character is acted with a skill that's nearly hidden behind an extremely understated and simple performance.

There's no message at the end, but the whole thing is fulfilling in a way that's hard to describe.

Prodigal Sons

2009-06-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

The introduction from the SIFF volunteer described this as "a very brave" documentary. I can see some elements of that, certainly, but there's also a strong element of in-your-face attention grabbing, and a large amount of personal family stuff that really doesn't need to be aired in public.

The doc starts with Kim going back to Montana for a high school reunion, the first time she will see most of her high school friends since she ceased to be Paul, the starring quarterback. Even at this point, it feels like Kim is going into it with a mindset to seek out confrontation, but her old schoolmates don't rise to the bait.

At that point the focus switches to Kim's family, including her older adopted brother who sustained a head injury at 25 and is now prone to random violent mood swings. What follows is a litany of physical abuse followed by sobbing contrition. At one point they call the cops. The brother discovers he's the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, which only puts him in a couple of extremely uncomfortable scenes with distant relatives in Bulgaria, and serves no real purpose in the documentary aside from a role which Kim admits she tried to force him into for her own feelings of acceptance.

In the end, there's really nothing interesting here. Yeah, families have a hard time with mentally damaged people. But framed from the point of view of a transgendered individual insecure in her own background and trying to force acceptance from a family member obviously not willing to give it doesn't really make for a good stage to make any real point.

Grace

2009-06-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

The "demon baby" thing is not new to horror. And this may be my peculiar sense of the horror genre, but I think it's done best when there's some element of actual evil or malice to the child.

In Grace, a woman's husband dies in a horrible car accident, and shortly after she nearly miscarries. However, despite the insistence of her midwife, doctor, and meddling mother-in-law, she delivers the baby who is miraculously alive.

At this point the movie seems to be going down the road of some kind of demonic possession or something supernatural, since the baby starts to stink, attract flies, bleed when bathed, and feed only on human blood. But the film never really commits, as the child never shows any kind of intelligence, and heals from his decrepit state for no particular reason.

This, plus a poorly supported lesbian relationship with the midwife that comes completely out of left field, make this more confusing than anything. Well directed and acted for the first part, but the lack of any satisfying conclusion made this one pretty forgettable.

Four Boxes

2009-06-08T18:28:00.001-07:00

Two guys whose living is collecting and selling unclaimed goods from the homes of dead people stumble onto something strange on their new job. A mysterious website (Four Boxes) is filming a strange figure in an undisclosed location without his knowledge. Stranger and stranger occurrences in the site start to merge with odd things around the house, while a love triangle between the main characters and a girlfriend they're both after start to break down.

Obviously shot on the cheap, but strong writing and acting makes Four Boxes quite creepy, and a lot of fun. There are several twists, which really do matter, but the performances were so strong that I will probably try to catch this one again at some point.

The Missing Person

2009-06-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

The Missing Person is film noir that doesn't follow a single noir convention. Shot in a pretty plain style, with lots of light and a relatively modern appearance, the film still feels quite dark and brooding, mainly thanks to a high degree of skill in all the performances, as well as a great soundtrack and solid direction.

The plot is a bit convoluted, as you'd probably expect. But the twists aren't really the point; the point is watching Michael Shannon sulk and drink his way through it all, which turns out to be a lot of fun.

The Paranoids

2009-06-07T18:09:00.001-07:00

I'm a big fan of Brett Easton Ellis. The moody, disaffected youth drifting through a landscape of moral vacancy and excess. And while The Paranoids doesn't involve him in any way, and isn't a simple clone of his style, there's enough similarity to keep me interested.

The lead character is likeable, if not particularly motivated. The direction and writing are quite good, at least as communicated by the subtitles. Somewhat surreal and a bit dreamy, I liked it a lot as a mood piece.

Art & Copy

2009-06-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

A series of interviews with the people behind some of the most recognisable advertising campaigns of the last several decades. This includes nearly every Apple ad, Nike's "Just Do It" campaign (inspired by the last words of an executed felon), and a number of others.

Overall the film takes a pretty upbeat attitude toward a social structure that most would agree is more bad than not. But it does a good job, because you can definitely come away with a new appreciation for the people who are trying to do something good in spite of what they're getting paid for. Not a ground breaking documentary, but a neat look at some influential people who are heard from very seldom.

Egon & Dönci

2009-06-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm usually pretty forgiving of animated films. Stuff aimed at kids can be pretty basic and unpolished and still very charming. But this was just irritating. Featuring almost no dialogue, the characters instead make retarded grunting and wheezing noises to communicate. And while there does seem to be a plot, the entire thing also feels more than a bit like an extended music video, breaking out into 5 minute techno light shows more than a couple times. Probably great to watch stoned, but not really my thing right now.

Tears Of April

2009-06-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

A woman fighting on the losing side of the Finnish civil war in 1918 is captured, and befriends her captor on the way to her trial. The setting is pretty standard, but the cinematography and acting make this work really well.

The two leads are both excellent, and the judge, a writer who has found his bloodthirsty side during the war, is played to chilling effect. A number of chilling scenes between him and the male lead are worth watching several times, as well as the chemistry between all the leads.

The Karamazovs

2009-06-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

A fascinating look at the classic Russian story told by a troop of actors rehearsing the play in an old Polish steelworks. But this is much more than just a presentation of a play. The back stories of the actors are part of it, as are the stories of the audience, factory workers looking on during the performance.

It's fantastically surreal to see the actors moving about the space, using found items as improvised set pieces, while the audience literally stands in among the actors, observing. The performances are fantastic, the music is beautiful and very effective, and overall it's just a really unique and interesting piece of film.

The Whole Truth

2009-06-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot for me to walk out of a movie. But after 45 minutes of high school drama class acting, and the most hackneyed string of cliches ever put to film, I couldn't take another minute of this atrocious crap.

ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction

2009-06-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Many zombie films have an element of social commentary. The George Romero originals typically cast the undead in the sense of some disadvantaged group, usually in terms of class or race. And even outside of his work, a lot of them tend to take the apocalyptic events as something of a social equaliser in exploring the interactions of the surviving few.

But there's definitely a level at which it becomes tiresome, and ZMD hits it pretty quickly. The premise is a zombie outbreak in a small town, which the media attributes to middle eastern terrorists, and the church attributes to sinful behavior. Queue our plucky heroes, an Iranian girl back from college, and a completely over the top gay couple visiting from The Big City.

The dead don't have much to say. In fact, for a zombie film, they have surprisingly few appearances, and are largely innefective even then. So the only interesting spots come from various rednecks mistaking the girl's country of origin for Iraq, and a wide assortment of biggots trying to throw the gays to the zombies before their sinful behavior infects them too.

Okay in theory, but these topics are handled with such a heavy hand that it's really hard to tolerate for more than a few minutes. Fortunately there's plenty of gore to offset the bad acting. And since zombie movies are supposed to be cheesy anyway, this one is certainly acceptable, if nothing special.

Animated Enemies with James Forsher

2009-06-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

I hadn't been to a presentation series at SIFF before. Animated Enemies wasn't a great introduction, due to a number of technical problems that left us viewing maybe half the scheduled clips. But Professor Forsher was interesting to speak with. Not a lot of a point to the presentation, really, as it was more of an informational piece about racism in cartoons during the first half of the 20th century, but certainly interesting to watch.

After seeing this presentation I'm interested in taking a class with him at UW, more than anything else.

Back To The Garden

2009-06-06T18:26:00.001-07:00

A documentary film crew returns to interview subjects of a documentary shoot from 1988 in the present day, to see whether they've stuck with their "back to the hills" hippie roots (the subject of the original documentary).

The results are relatively uniform, with all of the featured participants actively pursuing their alternative lifestyle. And while this is pretty inspiring, the film glosses over a number of questions that it raises. These modern day hippies are shown using ruber hoses in farming, a Cat mini-loader, and solar panels, all of which are treated as solutions to industrial activity while ignoring the fact that they can only be obtained as the pinnacle of large-scale industrial activity.

Still, the ideas of simplicity, of being able to work within the system but still move toward the ideal, are all well taken. And it's definitely interesting to see several examples of people who have been in this lifestyle and are still happy and fulfilled twenty years later.

Food, Inc.

2009-06-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

There are several people who have been writing about the breakdown of our food supply system for a number of years. Food, Inc. includes interviews with many of them, and serves as a good summary for their arguments as well as some good demonstrative examples that help to prove their point.

As far as new information, there's not much here. Reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defence Of Food, and a couple others gives basically the same message with more facts. But Food, Inc. does add a visceral sense of what the results of our food system really are. A number of truly disgusting scenes in modern meat packing plants are terrifying, and very necessary. And it also finds some illustrative examples of the human cost that results when the cheapest food available is packed with corn and fat.

Unfortunately, the only solutions offered are in the form of some flashing text at the end, which feels very tacked on, and somewhat condescending given that the people who will likely choose to see this film already know the type of common sense things they throw at you. But the rest of the movie is still valuable, and worth seeing.

Downloading Nancy

2009-06-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

An absolutely terrifying look at the last days of a very disturbed woman. Nancy was molested by her Uncle as a child, and continues to play out the effects through self mutilation and destructive behaviour. Her husband has retreated into a numb haze of golf and scotch, convincing himself that their life is the suburban dream.

The story jumps around a bit chronologically, following the fulfilment of Nancy's destructive path as she confides her fantasies to her psychologist, dissociates from her husband, and meets a man on the internet who agrees to kill her.

The whole thing is shot in an extremely bleak style, and the setting feels very faded and claustrophobic. The acting is raw, but very good. The writing isn't flashy, but is haunting in places. Very hard to watch, but very powerful as well.

Serenity Prayers

2009-06-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

One final attempt at a shorts package, and thankfully SIFF has redeemed itself, at least a little bit.

Easily the best of the bunch is Welgunzer, a fantastic piece involving time travel, a bathtub, and way too many aviator goggles. Next up is the short but sweet What's Virgin Mean? and the funny, if somewhat drawn out, Boutonniere. Immersion and November are both good as well, although a little preachy.

In the "why?" column are Control Master, and the intolerable The Day My Parents Became Cool. I really wish they'd stop booking mediocre films just because they happen to be shot in Seattle.

The Nightmare Factory

2009-06-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, now I'm REALLY pissed off at the people who choose the short films. When I go to a package called The Nightmare Factory, and furthermore when it's described as "Unsettling dreams prepackaged for your dire convenience," I expect something at least a little dark.

Instead, we got weird (but not particularly scary) stop-motion photography, "nude" people covered head to toe in crocheted false skin fucking in the woods, and overgrown dust mites. Lame.

A couple pieces were good, notably Excision, a tale of amateur surgery and sibling rivalry, and the bizarre but enjoyable Horsefingers 3: Starfucker. The next best thing was Treevenge, a bunch of actors with evergreen branches glued to their arms pretending to maul children. Why do I even go to these anymore?

The Cock Collage

2009-06-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

The third attempt at a shorts package, and I'm getting less and less pleased with the people who pick this stuff. As usual, gay-themed cinema is an iffy proposition, with a number of them feeling amateurish or at least strongly clichéd. It seems that gay film gets a pass on stuff that would get a straight writer or director sent back to film school.

Probably the most interesting piece is Yuri, a documentary about an eccentric old Russian man who was once a ballet dancer. The Back Room is also pretty good, building some strong but unique characters in a short time, despite its relatively broad writing.

The rest aren't particularly bad, just not that good either.

The Merry Gentleman

2009-06-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

What's with aging actors playing hit-men? Michael Keaton jumps on the bandwagon, and it doesn't turn out too badly.

Like any good hit-man, Keaton's character is sad and mopey, and charmingly gruff, just waiting to be loved if only he could find the right woman. Enter a woman on the run from her abusive cop boyfriend. The combination plays okay purely on the strength of the actors involved to start, and an increasingly tense plot as the film moves on.

So while the characters may be a bit cliche, it's still fun to watch the whole thing unfold. And if none of the plot twists are particularly surprising, it's a pleasant enough attempt, and worth watching just for the two leads.

Deadgirl

2009-05-31T15:57:00.001-07:00

In case anyone tries to tell you otherwise, I have to clear one thing up: I LOVE zombie movies. Something about the inevitable hopelessness of fighting a horde of deranged once-human monsters is nearly endlessly entertaining to me. But you can only sit through that plot so many times before you start to want something a little more complex.

Enter Deadgirl, a zombie movie that's really not a zombie movie at all. Two teens find a dead, naked women strapped to a table in an abandoned mental hospital. Only she's not really dead, since she tries to bite their faces off when they start to untie her. So what would any disfunctional teenage boy do with a helpless naked woman? Needless to say, the titular character remains tightly restrained for a good part of the film.

All this sounds remarkably dark and pessimistic, which it is, but here's the good part. Because the zombie here is completely helpless, the real plot involves the gradual implosion of the teens who find her, and their circle of friends. While this is still not a particularly nice story, the counterpoint of a coming of age drama mixed with such a unique plot device to drive the whole thing along really works.

Disclosures

2009-05-31T15:56:00.002-07:00

The second attempt at shorts falls a bit closer to the SIFF we've come to know and feel ambivalent about.

Easily the low point is "It's In The P-I", a pointless and functionally useless look at a failing Seattle institution. Unfortunately, due to his otherwise quite interesting career, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut Sparks is probably second from the bottom. It's not particularly bad, but it just doesn't really make a punch, despite having a couple good actors and good direction. The script probably should have been scrapped altogether, or else rewritten into a feature where the characters would have the space to really dig into the innuendo that they attempt here, rather than making broad passes that leave no subtlety to the performance.

On the top of the list is a fantastic animated attempt from Japan. Kudan is nearly impossible to describe, involving alternate dimensions, heads in jars, and a man-headed cow fighting the grim reaper. But it's well worth seeing.

ShortsFest Opening Night

2009-05-31T15:56:00.001-07:00

Shorts packages at SIFF are usually a bit spotty, but at least for the opening package this year they seem to be surprisingly consistent.

Standouts include 2081, an adaptation of a Vonnegut short story in which the future has become "equal" by the calculated addition of weights to handicap the strong and intelligent; The Bake Shop Ghost, a somewhat sacharine but well done story of a lonely old woman; and my personal favorite, Next Floor, a fantastically surreal presentation of a party that just won't stop.

Hansel And Gretel

2009-05-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Bearing only loose resemblance to its fairy tale namesake, Hansel And Gretel is a relatively light take on the Japanese Horror genre.

A man has a car accident on a remote stretch of highway, and stumbles off into the woods to collapse. Upon waking, a smiling young girl greets him, and takes him back to a secluded house where he is fed and cared for by a family with three young children, until the parents disappear, and the children start calling him Uncle.

The acting, writing, and cinematography are good, but the plot is a bit uneven. Specifically, the whole thing seems to be building toward a nice scary demonic climax, only to suddenly switch course about halfway through. Not an entirely pleasant surprise, since trying to build empathy for a dark force usually makes the entire presentation weaker.

So the tone is a bit inconsistent, and the ending a bit unsatisfying. Still, there's something charming about parts of it, and in the end the whole thing is fun if a little underwhelming.

The Hurt Locker

2009-05-30T15:44:00.001-07:00

The best way I can describe The Hurt Locker is: the best damn war movie I've ever seen.

Raw, authentic, and terrifying. You get an awesome sense of the feeling of helplessness experienced by troops in Iraq, The choice to focus on bomb technicians is a superb one, putting the viewer immediately at the heart of the worst part of the Iraq war.

The acting from the leads is amazing, and they're supported by several high-profile cameos that give the film an eerie sense of drifting among the other more flashy offerings in the genre.

This film is perfect, and everyone needs to see it.

Rembrandt's J'Accuse

2009-05-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

It's hard to tell whether this film was a spoof or a serious dissertation. Several other festival goers seemed convinced that it was a spoof, but that was based more on Greenaway's previous work than anything in this film itself. Personally I saw no reason to think it was a spoof, and I like to think I can usually pick up on sarcasm.

The film begins with the premise that modern art viewers are "impoverished in visual vocabulary", and goes through 31 "mysteries" in Rembrandt's famous painting The Night Watch. Commissioned as a local militia portrait, the painting does contain a number of odd elements, including a youth with an obscured face firing a rifle at another man, and a series of odd expressions and symbolism. However, the theories advanced for the meanings of these oddities are presented as "historical re-enactments" with absolutely no supporting evidence.

Overall the presentation is pompous and confusing. Taken as a spoof it's mildly amusing, taken as a real piece of scholarship it's poorly done. Either way it's confusing. A bit of humor makes it only vaguely tolerable.

Bluebeard

2009-05-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

Bluebeard is based on a very charming idea. Two young girls are playing in an attic when one of them starts to read the story of Bluebeard to the other, and we are presented with a re-enactment of the story they read (a folk tale in which a young girl marries a misunderstood rich-but-ugly man).

At first the execution seems good. The young girls in the meta-story are charming and very cute together, and the fairy tale portion is done pretty well. However, before it really gets a chance to go anywhere, the story begins to take odd turns. Poorly placed breaks to the meta-story to reveal random details of their school and home life, or discourses on marriage and homosexuality, while charming, don't seem to really fit. And the folk tale takes an odd turn from somewhat realistic to fairy tale logic. One or the other would be fine, but the shift in tone is confusing.

In addition, the cinematography becomes increasingly cheesy as the film progresses, not least due to a sequence of staircase ascent/descent shots which are done by repeating a single shot of the actor walking past a camera 4 times in a row.

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

The last five minutes really kills it for me, though. At the climactic moment of the fairy tale, one of the meta-girls scares the other and she falls to her death, while the French cavalry show up in a complete deus ex machina moment and save the heroine from her suddenly murderous husband. The film ends with a 20 second shot of her staring at the camera stroking his bloody severed head on a platter. Basically it's a total cop-out in both stories, and while it seems like it's supposed to be climactic, it falls completely flat.

Not a total loss, since the first half or so is pretty nice, but pretty deeply flawed as well.

The Higher Force

2009-05-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know that I've seen an Icelandic film before, but after this one I'll definitely keep a lookout for them.

The Higher Force follows a low-level organized crime lackey as he bumbles his way through trying to move up the ranks and get revenge on the people who pick on him. Full of dry humour and perfectly flawed characters, it feels a lot like some of the offerings from Denmark or The Netherlands.

The writing and the characters really make this. A little fragmented in parts, but the characters hold it together.

Fear Me Not

2009-05-30T13:26:00.001-07:00

A father on health leave from work joins an experimental anti-depressant trial and begins to reveal a darker side of himself.

The tense situation is built up pretty well here, with the entire thing having a wonderful air of inevitability. The actors are well cast, and the writing is fine. The entire thing feels a little cheap, though, and a plot twist at the end might not work twice.

Overall a solid thriller, but it feels like it's missing something to really push it over the edge.

Moon

2009-05-30T13:15:00.001-07:00

I've been a fan of Sam Rockwell since I saw Lawn Dogs on basic cable in 9th grade. He tends to play relatively understated characters, and sadly not a lot of leads, so I'm always grateful for anything that gets him out there. I'm also a fan of retro sci-fi, which focuses on real people rather than explosions and special effects, so my expectations going into this were pretty high.

Even so, I was completely blown away. Sam Rockwell is mesmerising in this role. The movie as mostly him alone on the screen for an hour and a half, and I couldn't look away. The special effects are brilliant, with the externals of the lunar base shot in miniature on a sound stage with fantastic results. The writing is amazing, standing out as an instant classic without relying on surprise plot twists or gimmicks.

The director, Duncan Jones, said they drew inspiration from 70s classics like Silent Running and (indirectly) 2001. I say he far surpassed those. He managed to capture the feel perfectly, while adding an element of modern special effects and modern acting that was never achieved in the old classics, and makes the entire thing much more magical and empathetic. If you have a chance to see this, do not pass it up.

Warlords

2009-05-30T13:11:00.001-07:00

A friend had this to say after seeing this movie: "There are movies where Jet Lee cries, and then there are good Jet Lee movies." I'm paraphrasing, but the point is valid. There's something about a movie that requires Jet Lee to cry, and further that fails to require him to kick a tremendous amount of ass, that just doesn't really work.

Warlords is the story of three friends who rise through the Chinese military in some ancient dynasty in a series of daring victories. Fighting, betrayal, and intrigue end up with a lot of people dead, but by the end I was having a hard time caring. The visuals are beautiful as always in this type of film, and the acting and music are fine as far as that goes. The plot gets pretty fragmented in the second act, though, which really doesn't help make me care about the climax. Maybe worth seeing if you're into this particular sub-genre, but as someone who really isn't, I can't say that I recommend it.

Terribly Happy

2009-05-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

Another solid entry from Denmark. A big-city cop is transfered to a remote town, and tries to deal with suspicious people and strange local customs. Then about halfway through it switches pace into more of a thriller/suspense piece.

Dark and brooding (in a really good way throughout). The acting is strong but understated. The visuals and writing are solid, even surprisingly creative at times. The ending could have had a little more punch, but the energy is so strong through the whole thing that I didn't mind too much.

Khamsa

2009-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Khamsa is the story of an 11 year old half-Gypsy, half-Arab boy growing up in Tunisia. The predictable stuff for a "troubled youth" plot shows up -- entanglements with crime and thievery, family troubles, run ins with the law, etc. But what makes Khamsa stand out a bit is the quality of the acting, and the general pacing.

The dialog (at least the translations in the theatrical release) are pretty well nuanced, and for a group of relatively young actors the cast does quite well. There's no tendency to over-emote like many of these films end up with, and while they don't hit the extreme dramatic highs, the whole thing is very believable.

The cross-section of life in that particular culture is well done, and the character comes off as reasonably sympathetic by the end. The direction and editing especially do plenty to keep things moving along, and I found my interest held pretty evenly until the climax. Which, by the way, is well worth it. My opinion of the film went up quite a bit in the last half hour, even though I was relatively pleased with it before then.

My Dear Enemy

2009-05-25T16:00:00.001-07:00

A gambler is confronted at a racetrack by a woman to whom he owes money, and they spend the day going around town while he tries to get the money together.

Good acting and good direction, but the overall plot and pacing are pretty slow. We do learn some interesting things about the characters as the plot goes on, understanding more of their history and their relationship with each other. In a way it's really a romance, as the most important part of the plot is the woman falling back in love with the man, or at least learning to forgive him.

Overall it's pretty good in a sort of Broken Flowers, extremely understated way. Maybe a bit too slow, but as a very understated romance it works pretty well.

We Live In Public

2009-05-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Part mad scientist, part Andy Warhol wannabe, Josh Harris is certainly an interesting character. As a documentary subject he was a fantastic choice. Switching between internet mogul, cult leader, insane clown, and rural farmer, his life in the past 20 years has been an eerie set of living predictions about the course of technology with the growth of the internet.

It's probably useless to describe the series of ultra-voyeuristic "experiments" he ran in th 90s, because the truth as it was meticulously recorded on video is so much stranger than you could expect. The documentation is fantastic precisely because he was obsessed with video surveillance, and the idea of cutting together a documentary from the 5000 hours of footage he had stored, including interrogations bordering on torture, is unnerving at best.

While the editing is fair, the whole thing feels a little raw. I suspect this is because he is such an unbalanced figure and there was no sane plan behind a lot of his projects. The whole thing could have benefited perhaps from some coverage of other projects from people in the same circles at the time, or more coverage of the reaction in society. As it is, the story is so fantastic that it's a bit hard to connect it to reality. A good effort, but a bit hard to place.

$9.99

2009-05-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Stop motion animation often tends to be cutesy, or at least a bit cartoonish even when the subject matter is serious. $9.99 is a rare gem of a movie, portraying a number of unattractive and unhappy people in fantastic detail. The small touches throughout the film are fantastic, from gently glowing cigarette tips to the sweat and grime on every character.

The voice acting is superb as well, opening with Geoffrey Rush, who is always fantastic. The characters express a fair amount of emotion for being relatively realistic, and they're helped by solid writing in the script.

The plot overall is what really makes this work, with a sleepy suburban setting slowly turning into a dreamy fantasy world. It's slow, but the process of discovering that other world is very rewarding.

Tulpan

2009-05-24T21:22:00.001-07:00

Like goat placenta? See Tulpan.

The struggles of a small family on the Kazakh steppe. The husband and wife are trying to make a living, the wife's brother is trying to find a wife. There are some interesting moments when some bits of western culture filter into their remote home, but overall the pacing is slow, and the struggles they face are a bit hard to connect with. Some bits of humor stick, but compared to the length of the movie they're a bit sparse.

Well done in its way, but not great.

Departures

2009-05-24T16:54:00.001-07:00

Wow. The first half was a bit slow and maybe a bit too slapstick compared to the second. But the second half... sniffles from all over the theater. Some absolutely beautiful scenes. The acting was fantastic, the music was used incredibly well. Some very nice, simple cinematography as well.

My only complaint is that they could have explained a bit more of the social stigma surrounding morticians in Japanese culture. I'd just happened to read about it a bit the week prior to seeing this, and that understanding certainly helped convey how important some of the character reactions were. That lack of context might make this a bit harder to catch on with American audiences.

But wow. So good. I went into this expecting to be a bit underwhelmed because of the hype, and left completely blown away.

Dead Snow

2009-05-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Nazi Zombies are awesome. Unfortunately they don't appear in Dead Snow, but cursed Nazi ghouls rising from the dead to reclaim their plundered gold is the next best thing, and there's plenty of that.

The basic setting: three young couples, an isolated ski cabin, and a horde of undead Nazi soldiers. Plenty of gore, creative disembowelment, and explosive head shots. The direction is good, the acting is better than average for this type of film, and the pacing is quite good. Plenty of startling moments and cheesy fake-outs.

If you don't like a LOT of blood, don't see this. If you do, it's worth the time.

Bronson

2009-05-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Going into Bronson I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The only other films I'd seen from Nicolas Winding Refn were the Pusher trilogy, and Bronson certainly delivered a more slick and psychotic feel than those.

It's difficult to do a character study of someone who's an unrepentant psychopath. But while Charlie Bronson remains a terrifying figure throughout, the movie gets as close as possible to making you feel his frustration, childish as it is.

That does it for the character. As for the movie itself, the direction and settings are quite fantastic. A number of clever devices allow a very chilling narration between scenes from Bronson's life, and definitely help drive home his instability.

Tom Hardy does a fantastic job portraying the main character, switching moods totally in a split second, and generally tearing up the screen. I have to think he had a lot of fun filming this.

In the end it's a bit hard to watch, just because the character is so messed up. But what's there is fantastic and surreal, and worth watching again.

Paper Heart

2009-05-23T20:58:00.001-07:00

I keep thinking I'm going to get tired of Michael Cera, but it never happens. Although honestly, Charlotte Lee completely steals the show here (as much as the main character can steal it, but as she says at one point, "Michael is way more successful than me").

Charlotte plays herself, shooting a documentary about why she can't fall in love. Michael Cera plays himself as the guy she falls for during shooting. The awkwardness level is through the roof, but they play off each other perfectly. And a series of fantastic interviews fill out the documentary, along with 4 ingenious puppet show segments to illustrate select interviews.

I honestly can't tell which parts were ad-libbed and which were totally scripted, which is part of why it works so well. Even though you know the general premise is fake, the interviews are very genuine, especially the one with a playground full of children.

The direction is low key, the production on the puppet shows is fantastic, and the acting is perfect. The entire thing is charming to the point of being disgusting. I loved every second.

The Immaculate Conception Of Little Dizzle

2009-05-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Local movies are always a mixed bet. A lot of the ones last year were interesting more for the local angle than entirely on their own merits. And while Dizzle suffers just a little bit from the same problem, it's a much stronger movie in general.

An odd message in a bottle sets off a rant and a change in careers for the main character. Wacky adventures ensue with his new coworkers at an office cleaning company, but things quickly devolve into experimental cookies and drug trips.

The story holds together pretty well, although the third act could have used a little heavier hand in editing. The acting is great for a local film, and good in general. The special effects actually stand out pretty well, with several hand- and computer-animated freak-outs adding a very neat feel to the whole thing, and reminding me perhaps of a slightly flashier version of Michel Gondry at times.

Overall every element works well, and for an offbeat sci-fi in the general style of Vonnegut or Pahlaniuk it's a lot of fun.

Trimpin: The Sound Of Invention

2009-05-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

Don't get me wrong, Trimpin was a fun movie. It was neat to see the output of a local artist captured on film, especially footage from several sessions of him collaborating with the Kronos Quartet.

The direction was fine, acting in a fairly removed documentary style. The editing was pretty good, cutting together various one-off exhibits with progress on the Kronos collaboration and culminating with footage from the performance they eventually produced.

But at the same time, it's a little hard to find something really compelling in the story. Sure, the man has done some amazing installations, but there are an equal number of entries that are just plain weird. And while it's neat to see some of his creative process, it's also hard to really capture the spirit of it on film when it's such a spatially rich art form. In the end I think I'd rather just see some of his work up close. As a catalyst for that the film works, but maybe not much more than that.

Modern Life

2009-05-23T12:54:00.001-07:00

I've said it many times before, that the best documentaries are those with no narration. The director who can get the subjects to speak for themselves is the one I want to watch. However, when the director must narrate and conduct interviews with the subjects, is it really to much to ask that they don't blatantly fish for controversy?

Modern Life claims to be a tribute to rural farmers in southern France, but from the first set of subjects on more than half the time is taken up with the director asking ridiculously leading questions and trying his hardest to stir up controversy. Granted these are probably not the easiest people in the world to get talking on camera, but that doesn't make it any less irritating to watch.

There are some good sides to the film, however. The shots of the countryside are beautiful, and several of the subjects do give a hint of some pretty interesting characters. But if the director had a point, it was lost on me. Most of the interviews felt me leaving either confused or sad, rather than inspired. But nobody offers any solutions, or even really addresses the issue. The basic message is at best, "farm life is hard, and old people are stubborn". Not a very profound message in the end.

Worth watching for some interesting people if you can get past the director. But not a must see.

I Sell The Dead

2009-05-23T11:00:00.001-07:00

The midnight shows are always a bit of a risk. Horror movies can be either pretty awesome, or pretty terrible and fragmented. I Sell The Dead falls somewhere in between. The story is of pretty standard quality. The dialog is suitably cheesy, with plenty of jokes (some of which work better than others).

The settings are actually quite well done, with good atmospheric effects. I spent quite a few minutes enjoying the sensation that something was going to jump out and grab the characters.

Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman are both very enjoyable, and the rest of the cast is suitably grimy and toothless.

Basically this is a fun film if you're into black comedy. Otherwise probably a pass.

Baby Love

2009-05-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

There's a certain style of movie that the French do really well. Trendy urbanites, usually in Paris, gently but firmly confronting social issues, with a little comedy thrown in. The French also tend to name their movies terribly, at least in the English translation, and on both counts Baby Love is about the norm.

The story is framed by the legal prohibition on homosexuals adopting in France, but the bulk of the story revolves around the relationships of the characters and only briefly skirts the social issue. But the characters are charming and likable, the acting is good, the directing and score are fine. Not the best movie ever, but worth watching.

Shrink

2009-05-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Dreamy and beautiful. It's relatively rare to find a really good ensemble drama outside of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies, and this is one of the really good ones.

For most of the movie the plot drifts in and out of small vignettes in the lives of Hollywood actors, agents, shrinks, and students, rendered against a beautiful sound-scape reminiscent of Stars Of The Lid. Sometimes only seconds long, the brief glimpses set a fantastic mood, while building a story so subtly that I found myself surprised when I realized how much foundation had been laid.

The entire cast is excellent, but Kevin Spacey is in rare form, possibly even more enjoyable to watch here than in American Beauty. Several climactic scenes had me nearly in tears from his expression and presence alone.

The plot and writing are very solid. It's not easy to weave such a scattered plot into something that grabs your attention.

This type of film in general is one of my favorites, and I'm always ecstatic when I find another that lives up to the genre. As the first show of the festival, this is a very good sign.

Kung Fu Panda

2008-06-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Jack Black is hilarious. It's as simple as that. His shtick may get old in some settings, but when he's got a setting to twist it a little bit from his worn out Tenacious D persona I find him extremely entertaining, and Kung Fu Panda does a great job of channeling his energy into a clumsy, kung-fu-obsessed noodle soup chef-apprentice.

Dreamworks Animation has a somewhat checkered history. Where Pixar seems to create unique characters, Dreamworks trades almost exclusively on translating a recognizable actor into some type of animal -- Mike Meyers in Shrek, Will Smith in Shark Tale, Seinfeld in Bee Movie -- and quite frankly those were all pretty useless. But when they hit the mark, as with Jack Black, or Woody Allen in the hysterical Antz, it's a joy to watch.

The animation easily outdoes all their earlier attempts, with fantastic fog-shrouded and exagerated oriental landscapes and beautiful creature design. I would be happy to watch the movie with the sound off for the facial expressions alone, although the brilliant casting choices of Black, Dustin Hoffman, and James Hong would make that a shame. The choreography of the fight scenes is wild, and quite creative. The story is good, if not too surprising, and the ending has a very satisfying zen aspect to it. Great for kids, but also fine fare for those who are fans of the new breed of animated film like Emperor's New Groove that are designed to appeal to adults as well.

On SIFF '08

2008-06-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

It's now a couple weeks after the close of the festival, so the immediate fatigue has passed. This was my third attendance at SIFF. I saw 60 movies, including the Secret Festival entries. There were some great pictures, and plenty of things I feel privileged to have a chance to see in this setting.

Was it better or worse than last year? Tough question. It feels like the edge has come off the festival a bit. There were less really awful movies, but there were less amazingly good ones as well (or I've just become more jaded). There were more decent and good movies than last year, so overall it may be an improvement. I hope this isn't a sign that the programmers are drifting away from taking chances, though, because getting to see stuff that's more out of the ordinary is one of the best things about the festival.

The mechanics of SIFF itself are worth mentioning, and there seems to be a decline there. Under-staffing problems seemed to crop up more often, and the volunteers that were there weren't trained quite well enough to really handle the crowd. Which probably just means that I should volunteer myself next year.

The really odd change, though, was the change in focus at the festival. The SIFF Cinema, the festival's year-round theater at the Seattle Center complex, was brand new last year. They mentioned it before each screening, certainly, but there was a definite focus on external support, and mentions of sponsors was much more prominent.

They've always had self-promotional advertisements before every screening, but they've been funny, and short, and focused on the festival. This year there were three (3) advertisements before the festival, and the two longer ones (45 seconds each) were for the exact same thing -- the year-round activities of the festival. This is irritating off the bat, since nobody likes to be told the same thing multiple times as if they're too dense to get it the first time, and makes not a whole lot of sense since the amount of out-of-town attendance is high. And the focus on their own income generation rather than sponsors seems like it could easily be a sign of financial trouble.

The theaters in rotation changed this year. The Neptune and Lincoln Square in Bellevue are out, and The Uptown Cinema and a week of the Cinerama added in their place. All in all this seems positive; the Neptune was close to exactly nothing, while The Uptown is in easy walking distance of SIFF Cinema. And the Cinerama is easily the best screen in town, so no complaints there.

Maybe it's just me, but the whole thing felt a bit subdued. Less energy, less extremes, less attendance (that one is probably not just me). Let's hope this is a temporary slump, or at least that the slump doesn't become a trend. Because SIFF is a hell of a lot of fun.

Donkey Punch

2008-06-27T16:18:00.001-07:00

Some slasher movies feature a menacing evil presence hunting down defenseless vacationers. Much rarer, but usually more interesting, are movies like Donkey Punch, where everyone is an innocent victim and a psychotic killer at the same time.

The plot's nothing special, and there's plentiful nudity to appeal to that crowd. But the direction is solid, and the actors hold their own to a degree not usually found in B movies. With plenty of surprising and gory deaths, this is a damn good slasher for fans of the genre.

Sleep Dealer

2008-06-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sleep Dealer is an interesting but unfocused attempt at a pretty rare category (Mexican sci-fi). The science fiction elements could be compelling; bio-feedback interfaces allow day-laborers in Mexico to run construction robots and other unappealing jobs in the USA by remote, and poor quality electronics and working conditions leave many blind or worse.

On the other hand, the acting is not great, and the second half of the story turns pretty milquetoast. The ending packs no punch, and the science aspect could have been left out almost entirely without the plot changing, which makes its inclusion a bit confusing.

Towelhead

2008-06-27T15:55:00.001-07:00

SIFF always seems to save a couple of the best movies of the festival for the closing weekend (mostly it's random junk), and this year it's Towelhead, a story of a young Lebanese girl growing up in Texas.

The story is slow, mostly about her difficulties finding acceptance with her friends, family, and herself, and that could be blandly generic if not for excellent writing and amazing cast and direction. Every performance is perfect, and there's an immense power behind the story, script, and direction.

When it gets a wide release, some people are certainly going to be offended by the fact that it contains frank examination of young teenage sexuality, and that it contains plot elements of abuse without making the abuser out as a total monster. But the honesty in every character is rare for a film about such touchy subjects, and it's absolutely worth watching.

Visioneers

2008-06-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Employees of the Jeffers Corporation, the biggest, friendliest company in the world, salute each other each morning with a friendly middle finger, happily complete their work handed down from Level 4, and dutifully ignore the fact that people around them are exploding from pent up frustration.

In a wonderfully twisted modern fairy tale with more than a touch of Brazil, the perils of boredom and facile distraction are presented as very real, and very fatal. The story follows the head of one division of the Jeffers Corp as he starts to realize that his life is not everything he thought.

There's a hint of Indie bareness under the surface, but it's totally excusable since the plot is just so damned original. Perfectly understated, perhaps even slow at times, but never boring. There are a few really great visual moments, and plenty of social commentary against everyone and everything. Don't expect jokes, or car chases, or anything resembling modern Hollywood's traditional output. But Visioneers is great anyway.

Summer Heat

2008-06-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

It seems the director was trying to make an erotic thriller of sorts; all the elements are present: ruggedly attractive Nordic stars, guns, drugs, and a mysterious figure behind the scenes. But while the cinematography is beautiful, and the events seem like they could be suspenseful, a lot of it comes off as detached or just strange.

The island scenery itself is almost enough to make the film worth seeing, and the acting and writing isn't bad by any means. But it's hard to feel any real fear (or any emotion) from the characters, and without that it's impossible to really get into the film. It all feels a bit abstract; interesting, but not compelling.

It's Hard to Be Nice

2008-06-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

A low-level crook in Eastern Europe tries to go straight, to the dismay of his wife, friends, and cohorts.

Surprisingly relaxed considering the number of times the main character is beaten up, the film is a sometimes-funny look at the difficulties in breaking peoples perceptions. While the plot doesn't have a particularly strong arc, the gradual progression of the main character is fun, as are the vain and comically pompous side characters. The movie finds a lot of dry humor in the culture of the city that would be hard to replicate if the story were set anywhere else.

The cinematography is gritty and realistic, and the direction lets the actors stay understated but still seem strong as the focus. And although the pacing feels very laid back, there are enough twists that it stays interesting throughout. In the end, definitely worth seeing.

Chrysalis

2008-06-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly slick for an indie film, Chrysalis is a mix of martial arts, hard-boiled French cops, and mind-bending sci-fi.

The production values are great, with tons of detail devoted to the futuristic feel and fight scenes. The plot is good if slightly confusing due to a lot of back and forth in who's good and who's bad. The whole thing feels a bit like Equilibrium, except it's lacking the really standout performances.

Not great, but a lot of fun, and pretty impressive considering we don't see much French sci-fi at all.

Jolene

2008-06-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Jolene is a movie that is quite obviously carried by the lead actress. On its own, while well shot, it's a relatively meandering story of ten years in the life of a young girl filled with one horrible relationship after another. But newcomer Jessica Chastain does a fantastic job of breathing life into the character, and in the end makes this film absolutely engrossing.

When I say meandering, I mean really absolutely no point. Nothing is learned by any character, and it's a little hard not to be frustrated at them when looking back on it. But this thought doesn't have a chance to surface until hours after the strength of the performances has faded, which is quite a feat.

Female Agents

2008-06-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Despite the extremely unfortunate translation of the title, Female Agents is actually quite good. A cheesier-than-Charlie's-Angels premise (a nun, a prostitute, a stripper, and a jilted lover go behind the lines in Nazi occupied France) is instantly forgivable when it becomes clear that the characters are written with great care, and the outcome will not be cheerfully banal.

The overall look of the film is bright and colorful, and a good contrast to the events unfolding within it. The direction is good, if not very imaginative, and the plot is excellent. The acting is quite good as well, although hidden behind intentionally fakey personalities for the first part of the movie. Not for the squeamish, but a great story based on true events for any spy or war buff.

Triangle

2008-06-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

The second Johnnie To film of the festival (this time with two other directors as well) is arguably better than the first. Three low-level crooks are handed a business card by a mysterious figure in a bar, just before dying under strange circumstances. A heist ensues, with plenty of ill-fated romance and double crossing.

Dark and gritty like the rest of his work, Triangle certainly stands up next to the rest of the pantheon. Unfortunately this means that a number of plot points are reworked here, as several original scenes devolve into a madcap road trip and zany shootout in the third act. The beginning is good enough that this is definitely worth watching, and the ending is satisfying if somewhat formulaic.

Possibly not as good as Exiled, but definitely worth a look.

Apollo 54

2008-06-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

If you've ever wondered what four sci-fi fans can do with a couple years, a camera, and a basement, wonder no more. Apollo 54 is delightfully cheesy, and a perfect retro sci-fi experience.

Shortly after strange symbols begin taking over television screens across the globe, a lone hero stumbles upon a cable, anchored to the ground and stretching off into the clouds. Naturally he builds a rocket-ship, attaches to the cable, and heads off into space to see where it leads.

Alien planets, fierce space monsters, and intergalactic toll-booths make for an epic journey, all done in fantastic blue-screen, homemade CGI, and cardboard. Thankfully the film takes itself even less seriously than the viewers will, so the effect is just fun, rather than bad. And it's helped along by a plot that's legitimately creative, which gives an extra push.

Not for people looking for serious science fiction, but lots of fun.

Fields of Fuel

2008-06-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

It's hard to come in to a documentary about such an important and interesting subject and be so badly disappointed. Bio-fuels have a nearly endless amount of material to talk about, but from the first minute Fields of Fuel launched head-on into a glowing biopic of "a lone bio-fuels champion fighting against corporate America." Which might not be too bad, except the lone hero is also the director of the film. Ridiculously indulgent scenes such as staring straight into the camera and exclaiming in a shocked voice, "I'd been back and forth across the country educating people, and nothing had changed!" made me want to throw things at the screen.

The focus broadened out a bit in the second half, but never seemed to get beyond "Documentary Light." Easy on the facts, heavy on the "think of the children" rhetoric, and not particularly good at either. Since the director was present people had a chance to ask about the recent media backlash against bio-fuels, and his responses to those questions were far more interesting than anything in the film itself, which is really a shame.

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop

2008-06-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Another film that seemingly cribs blatantly from Hollywood, Seachd is essentially a Gaelic version of Big Fish. The first feature film shot in the language, big budget special effects and a just-vague-enough story keep it moving along well.

As in Big Fish, a man visits his dying father and reminisces about the stories he was told as a boy, and his eventual rejection of the fantasies. But in this case the fantasies are drawn heavily from Scottish tradition rather than Tim Burton's messed up brain, and they're told with enough feeling that the film stays honest.

The writing and acting are good, but the vignettes and landscapes seem to steal the show from the actors. And that's definitely not a bad thing, as they're very well done. The stories felt almost a bit like the fantasy sections of The Fall in their level of uniqueness, which is saying a lot.

The Island of Lost Souls

2008-06-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Evil wizards, dead spirits inhabiting the living, and fearsome creatures. Island is probably a kids movie, but it's plenty of fun for adults too.

The comparison to Harry Potter is inevitable, since some themes are pretty similar, but Island more than stands on its own (especially since it's the better of the two). Hollywood-level special effects mix well with the murky Danish landscape, while competent acting and direction fill things out nicely.

The plot is a bit simple, but this isn't meant to be a thinking movie. And even when you can see what's coming, it's done well enough that you can appreciate it anyway.

Tulia, Texas

2008-06-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Fortunately the documentary genre quickly redeemed itself with Tulia. A fascinating and personal account of a DEA "special task force" in a small Texas town which demonstrably falsified evidence against black suspects.

The directors were undoubtedly lucky that events played out so well, as they arrived very early in what could have been another bland fuckup of the American justice system. Fortunately they arrived before the undercover agent was revealed to have outstanding warrants for theft, and a number of convictions were overturned.

The direction itself is quite good, leaving out narration and outside opinion, and letting the people involved speak for themselves. Each participant is featured in a series of interviews as the events progress, and it's pretty shocking to see the disconnect between the people being charged and the undercover agent, and an interview with one of the members of the jury is even better.

There's not much balance in the story they tell, but then it's hard to see how there could be much balance in the actual events. And it's extremely entertaining to see some smug racist southerners get their plans turned upside down, even if it's obvious that the directors had picked a side from the start.

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel

2008-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

You'd think there would be some easy subject material in the fact that for 30 years the only pornographic literature you could buy in Israel was Nazi dominatrix themed. And while there are a couple interesting interviews, this documentary mostly falls flat.

The main problem seems to be a lack of focus. The film jumps around to different events and time periods in direct contradiction of basic causation, leaving the viewer disoriented. Even worse, the subject of the film seems to switch halfway through from the Stalag publications of the title to a since dis-proven account of sexual slavery of Jewish women in concentration camps.

Both potentially interesting subjects, but the change in subject is jarring and disorienting, and the film seems to make no point upon reaching its conclusion, nor even really provide the raw material with which the viewer can draw their own moral.

Baghead

2008-06-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

There have been way too many attempts in the "realistic horror" genre since Blair Witch convinced people that any random person with a camera equals art (or at least profit). But with similar production values and a bit more scripting, Baghead does a decent job of creating something new.

One couple and one pseudo-couple, starving actors all, go off to a cabin in the woods to write a movie in which they can star to break in to the industry. After one of them has a dream about a mysterious figure in the woods with a brown paper bag over his head, they decide that they've found their plot. But was it really a dream? (cue dramatic music)

The shooting, dialog, and direction all have an extremely realistic style, which accentuates the fact that the characters are all average to the point of being mildly comical. Some might find the pacing a bit slow, but I think it heightens the few startling moments, and in the end it's worth it.

Phoebe in Wonderland

2008-06-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

It's easy to go handle a movie about children badly. Either making them more childlike than they really are, or more cute, or even more adult. And I think there's a tendency to tone down the drama of the adults in the picture because children might see it and not understand.

Fortunately Phoebe has none of these problems, but delivers a touching and very believable story of a young girl coping with a difficult home life and finding out that she is different from other kids (I'll leave the details a surprise).

The cast is top notch. Felicity Huffman is fantastic as always, and Elle Fanning is, if possible, even more adorable than her sister. The writing and direction are great, miking fantasy and reality, adult drama and childlike confusion so that the entire thing has a wonderful flow. The story has some good twists, but this is very much a character driven movie, and the execution there is perfect.

Sukiyaki Western Django

2008-06-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Absolutely incredible, and yet amazingly hard to describe. What Kill Bill tries to be to the samurai movie, Sukiyaki does with the spaghetti western. Except it's set in California, which is in Japan, and stars an entirely asian cast with the notable addition of Quentin Tarentino.

It's extremely stylized, to the point of absurdity. The actors all speak in hilariously cliched English phrases, and sound like they're reading their lines phonetically. I choose to think that both the quality of the dialog and the delivery are conscious decisions by the director, because even though the plot, dialog, and acting are badly stilted, they fit together into something amazing.

The costumes and sets are intricate, brightly colored, and very beautiful. The music is great. The plot is typical, a lone gunman roles into town and immediately gets between two feuding clans. The joy is in watching the story unfold in its inevitable fashion, and watching all the little awful pieces fall into place in the master plan of insane fantastic glory.

Timecrimes

2008-06-13T18:16:00.001-07:00

Now I get to say something that I'd really like to say more often: this was the best time travel movie I've ever seen.

The plot starts out simply; a couple is house-sitting out in the country, and the husband stumbles into a weird science experiment when he goes exploring in the woods. And of course, as with any time travel movie, things rapidly get more complicated.

And while the direction is good, and the acting is better than good, the key ingredient is that the plot fits perfectly and still leaves the viewer surprised at the end. It's hard to say any more without giving things away, but all the right pieces are here, and it's a really fun ride.

Choke

2008-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine how Choke could be any better. Based faithfully on a story by one of my favorite authors (Chuck Pahlaniuk), staring an actor and actress I love (Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston), with good direction and a good soundtrack.

Vincent is a sex addict, who makes some extra money on the side by choking himself in restaurants and taking gifts from the people who save him. His mother is an aging freedom fighter hippie, who has a secret about Vincent's father. And the details as the plot unfolds are uniquely Pahlaniuk.

Unfortunately it's no Fight Club. The slick production and relentless energy are absent, which is a shame since they were so much fun there, even though they wouldn't really fit here. Instead, the film takes a leisurely stroll through dirty, gritty, faded reality and the people who inhabit it. Of course there's the humor that always ends up in his work, and it translates quite well to the screen. So while there's a vague sense that maybe the movie could have been just a bit more, it's still one of the better ones for this year.

The Wave

2008-06-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

Most people should have already heard of the high school class in California in the '60s which created and nearly lost control of a fascist movement as part of a class project. And while several dramatizations have been made of those events, its hard to imagine any of them topping this German interpretation.

There are some obvious creative licenses taken with the story; the writers give in easily to the instinct to bring the Nazi government into the mix, and in this case it's warranted. And the story tends to diverge from the actual events the farther the film progresses. But a top notch cast and good direction retain the message even if the actual events stray towards fantasy.

Especially fine is the work of the lead actor, and his slow and unintentional descent into acceptance of his new role as leader. Which is not to say the younger actors don't hold their own, as there isn't a bad performance in the bunch.

Crisp cinematography finds many beautiful shots in the surroundings of a modern German city, and the direction and pacing are snappy enough that there's not a dull moment.

Otto; or, Up With Dead People

2008-06-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

I came expected zombies. Instead I got an emo gay kid who was convinced he was a zombie, being exploited by a walking art school cliche. The dialog is stilted and delivered with way too much melodrama, and the plot really goes basically nowhere. Maybe there's some hilarious reference that I'm not getting.

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains

2008-06-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

You'd think a plane crash in the Andes, cannibalism, and a daring escape against all odds would be a slam dunk as the subject for a documentary. And while this one is reasonably well done, it manages to fall flat in several ways.

There are some amazing present-day interviews with the survivors of the event, conducted during a pilgrimage to the actual spot of the wreck. But these are interspersed with faux-grainy footage of re-enactments that are muddled and confusing. Combined with a sparse and airy soundtrack that ends up trying too hard to be other-worldly, much of the documentary feels too dreamlike to give the full impact of the events. The artistic choices work to remove the viewer from the events on the screen, rather than make them more immediate.

The story is fascinating, but the full effect is missing, and there's probably a book out there that does a better job of telling it.

The Great Buck Howard

2008-06-11T09:45:00.001-07:00

Few things make for a good plot like abject failure, and The Great Buck Howard delivers spectacularly. John Malkovich, perfect as always, brings warmth and compassion to the character of an aging and nearly forgotten mentalist playing to half-full houses in Akron Ohio and similar out of the way venues around the country.

That's just a supporting character, albeit a large one. The lead is a law school drop-out who hires on as Buck's assistant in search of adventure and a way to break in to show business. The character is well played, and provides a good anchor for the story to balance Buck's posturing ("My good friend George Takei, who played Sulu on The Star Trek").

The premise at least is autobiographical for the writer/director, and the care taken in the script shows it. It's not a fast movie, but the pleasure is in watching the characters grow, rather than a driving plot. And with these actors, it works quite well.

Mad Detective

2008-06-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Perhaps mistakenly billed as a "buddy comedy" on the SIFF website, Mad Detective oscillates between nervous laughter, gruesome insanity, and tense mystery.

The main character is a brilliant but disturbed detective, who sees inner personalities as physically distinct people and solves crimes by re-enacting the actions of the victims in obsessive detail. Fired from the police force and re-enlisted by his one-time partner to help with a stale case involving a murdered officer, he is in danger of losing control again.

The film is beautifully shot but intentionally dark and gritty to the point of being depressing. The characters are all extremely flawed, and quite well played. I found the plot a bit convoluted, but the journey is a hell of a lot of fun, especially when the hero is simultaneously confronting seven physical personalities of a suspect.

While the comedy is quite good, the dramatic aspects are better than I expected. The main character has plenty of sadness in his past, and it's played quite well. And maybe it's just me, but the overarching theme of failure brought everything together brilliantly.

Call Me Troy

2008-06-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Billed as a biography of Reverend Troy Perry, Call Me Troy encompasses a huge amount of civil rights history, due in large part to the amazing life of its subject.

Troy Perry was the founder of the first openly gay Christian church, as well as a leader of the Gay Rights movement. Due to his role in the public spotlight the filmmakers have plenty of archival footage, which is mixed with some great present-day interviews with Troy, and his friends and family.

The pacing is good, and the subject is fascinating. There's much more political and historical content than I expected going into the film, and it's put together very well. It manages to give a great sense of the time without losing touch with the central characters. It's hard to say whether the end effect is due to expert direction or the charismatic and entertaining character of the subjects, but it works fantastically well.

Shadow of The Holy Book

2008-06-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

There are some crazy things in government, but I don't know that I'd heard of anything as crazy as the subject of this documentary. The Turkmen dictator wrote a rambling book called The Ruhmana, full of bad poetry, inaccurate history, and philosophical musings, and then made it required reading in all grades of school, a requirement for public office, and part of the drivers license exam. He erected statues of the book, ran television programs featuring readings, and outlawed criticisms of the work.

The documentary follows the two film-makers as they investigate the effects of The Ruhmana, and as they try to get corporations to comment on the habit of sponsoring translations into their native languages in exchange for business favors in Turkmenistan.

Not surprisingly the companies give them the runaround, and the Turkmen citizenry come off as ignorant and misled. And while their point is a good one (that corporations will happily lend support to fascist dictators in exchange for profit), it's a point that doesn't necessarily need to be made again. The sheer number of companies who have paid lip service to the dictator is certainly disturbing, but their failed attempts to confront CEOs and marketing departments come off as a low rent attempt at the Michael Moore school of documentary. It's entertaining, and there's plenty of stuff worth seeing, but I found myself wishing they'd replaced the dozens of clips of them failing to get comments with something a bit more forceful.

Ben X

2008-06-02T16:31:00.001-07:00

There have been some relatively awful video game-themed movies (I'm looking at you, Fred Savage), but thankfully Ben X handles it quite well.

Ben suffers from the mild form of autism known as Aspergers, and as bullying and social ostracism grows worse at his high school, he begins to confuse his favorite swords and sorcerers video game with real life. The blending of the two works quite well, and adds a bit of surrealism to the story, but in the end this is more of a conventional drama than the description would suggest.

This is by no means a bad thing; the characters are strong, and easy to identify with. The actors do a great job, and especially in portraying the pain of Ben's parents as they find themselves unable to do anything to help their child. The bullies may be a bit overdone, but as a whole it gives a good sense of what the world looks like from his eyes.

A couple things could use improvement: like so many indie films, digital cameras hurt the overall feel of the movie. And a few scenes are drawn out maybe longer than necessary. But the good strongly outweighs the bad, and the message and acting make it well worth seeing.

Idiots And Angels

2008-06-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

Anyone familiar with Bill Plympton's work might expect a full-length work to contain goofy antics and comical drawings, and while those are certainly present, there's much more as well.

Speaking before the screening, Plympton compared this piece to Lynch, and it's certainly apt. While the animation style is still roughly the same, there's a dark edge to the scenes, and certainly to the plot. A lonely, lecherous man harasses a barmaid, and then wakes the next morning to find wings growing from his back. A greedy barman, fame-seeking doctor, and a couple of miscreant bar patrons comprise the rest of the cast.

Told entirely without dialog, the narrative is still compelling. A couple of beautiful dream sequences really open up the range of the film, and the motivation of the characters comes through perfectly in their expressions and actions.

Definitely not for children, but a must-see for adults.