If you don’t know me, I have a terrible habit of getting really excited about movies and giving tangential descriptions of plot details instead of critical reviews. Taking this into consideration, I’ve decided to write this blog in plain text and give HTML links to movie trailers. Think of this blog as my last hurrah as a traditional blogger before I venture into the unknown world of multi-media journalism.
This is not a blog about my journey to the festival; it’s about the destination. Below you will find brief descriptions of the 11 movies I watched at the festival listed in order from worst to best. Click on the movie titles to view the trailers for most films.
11. Goodbye First Love
A TEDIOUS French film about a wishy-washy architecture student who is unable to part with her first boyfriend. The film absolutely crawls; just when you think the movie is about to take off it rewinds back to its starting point. I’m not sure how this movie was selected for the festival but it was very clear why the film didn’t have a distributor. Don’t buy a ticket to this movie. Take your $10 to the hardware store and buy a railroad tie. Watch the tie rust for a couple of months than use it to impale yourself. In terms of pain, it’s more or less same experience. Depending on the gauge of tie you select you might save a few dollars.
10. Butter
Jennifer Garner stars as a disingenuous trophy wife in this farce with eyes that are bigger than its stomach. The movie has its moments, but for the most part it does nothing more than serve as proof that a comedy about the butter carving competition at the Iowa State Fair can be either funny or uplifting; not both. All was not lost; I found some solace in the film’s wonderful and often-hilarious butter carvings. I would rather sit through another screening of the film than quarter myself with a stake, but be forewarned that this dark comedy misses the mark by miles. I don’t think I would have a problem with this movie if I saw it at a Harkins, but it definitely didn’t belong at the Telluride Film Festival. You don’t race a plow horse…
9. Into the Abyss
Werner Herzog forcefully molds a surreal tale of true crime in a hardscrabble Texas town of Dickensian economic disparity. Herzog, who didn’t edit out the questions he asked from behind the camera, moonlights as the star of the show. As you might imagine, in a documentary this raises serious questions of ethical practice and intent. This is not meant to disqualify the film- Herzog all but exonerates himself by the unearthing of such a fantastic story.
For me the film boils down to this: if Herzog fabricated this story he is a genius. If he stumbled across the story while making a documentary about prisons in Texas than he’s the luckiest guy in the world. But, after 40 years as a respected filmmaker you have at least a shred of self-awareness. Herzog needs to decide if he is an advocate, a journalist or a movie star.
8. The Decendents
Alexander Payne directs this traga-comedy about a real estate attorney who is a direct descendant of Hawaii’s royal family. As protagonist Matt Kain, George Clooney grows close to his two daughters as he struggles to manage his family’s trust and the affairs of his wife who has lapsed into a terminal coma. While there were scenes that made me laugh, and scenes that made me feel like crying, my biggest critique of this movie is that it struggled to entwine multiple aspects of a complex plot. Afterwards, the moderator of a worthless Q&A highlighted superb acting performances instead of digging into the intent of the complex plotlines.
When I talked to people at the festival that adored the film; without exception they said they admired the originality of the story line. As to not give away too many plot details, I will only say that general story in the movie is very similar to the story showcased in Catch and Release.
7. The Artist
The idea of a silent film showcasing a silent film star that doesn’t want to hear anything about talkies seemed completely unique to me and completely redundant to my father. Regardless of your feelings towards the plot this film is absolutely worth watching. A svelte John Goodman and a dour James Cromwell steal the show with an embedded expressivity that makes the performances of other actors seemed contrived. What is perhaps more impressive is that the director never lost the attention of a 24 year-old reality TV junkie who has never seen a silent film. Check it out.
6. In Darkness
An epic saga focusing on Jews who live in the sewers of Poland during German occupation. This film is every bit as intense as the last sentence makes it sound, and that’s only if I had you thinking about a movie largely filmed in a sewer with out the aid of artificial light. Though very difficult to watch, the story of these 11 Jews and an unscrupulous municipal worker who becomes their defacto keeper is a marvelous one. On another level, it’s encouraging to see a story of Jews who don’t submit to demands that they travel to a concentration camp. One of the film’s teenage mutant ninja turtlesque heroes even bags himself a Nazi solder, which is enough to for me to add the film to my tough Jew movie list with Munich and Inglorious Bastards.
5. Bonsai
I would fall head over heels for a love story about two book nerds who are unable to take care of a plant. The movie dives into an tumultuous relationship ala Blue Valentine, but scored points with me by focusing the good times in the courtship rather than the breakup. What is perhaps more impressive is the way the films director manages to seamlessly weave his love for literature into a heartwarming tale that seems totally genuine. Certainly Bonsai is one of the festival’s best examples of masterful story telling.
4. The Island President
A glossy, high production documentary about the president of the Maldives’ frantic struggle to save his country from the immediate effects of global warming. This movie is encouraging to me as snobby journalism buff because it is apparent that the director went through great struggles to insure that The Island President did not come off as an advocacy film. President Mohamed Nasheed is a charismatic dynamo, but what really makes this film is seeing the real time effects of global warming as they devastate a geographic wonder. The best honor I can give The Island President is noting that it functions both as a fantastic film and as a benchmark of environmental journalism.
3. Shame
A gritty portrayal of a functioning sex addict that is noteworthy for its alarming candor. Though it may prove to be a hindrance to mainstream success, director Steve McQueen allows us to see the world through the eyes of a troubled, real life sex addict; instead of giving us the Hollywood cliché of a married pick up artist. The end result is startlingly intense and visually spectacular. The movie raises some tough questions about the human condition and will have you doing double takes at the so-called normal people you know.
2. A Separation
A humanist Iranian drama about events that unfold around the termination of a marriage. This movie made me feel real emotion when I watched it, the same type of feelings I felt when I read McCarthy’s The Road. The director raises puzzling ethical dilemmas with a unique style that makes weaving a tightly structured, multifaceted story seem like the simplest thing in the world. I’ll go ahead and blow my film cliché allowance in reference to the stories protagonist: If you’d like to see an actor practicing his craft…
1. Footnote
Masterful filmmaking brings edge of your seat suspense to the ultimate be- careful-what-you-wish-for story. The modern melodrama focuses on a father-son duo of Talmudic scholars, and sets itself apart from any movie I’ve ever seen by granting the most of the story’s characters spectacular intellects. A movie of chock full of geniuses made for truly memorable dialogue and what have to be the best debate scenes ever imposed on celluloid. I know that you’re putting a lot of faith in me when you drag yourself to see a movie about religious academia in Israel but trust me: Footnote is this year’s must see.
The Artist reminded me of Singing in the Rain. However, it certainly was not a remake and seemed to use it as a jumping off point. Goodman and Cromwell were quite good in their roles. Jean Dujardin's and Berenice Bejo's dance scenes, while not as technically proficient as Gene Kelly's and Debbie Reyonold's, were far more spirited. I am still trying to figure out who Malcolm McDowell play.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that should have read "who Malcolm McDowell played."
ReplyDeleteMarc sent me here; thanks for this. I probably would miss all these movies (I generally stick to films where the actors hit each other--preferably with dead fish--over the head, and have names like "Moe" and "Spanky"), but now I will certainly seek them out. The Clooney film looks interesting (though you did not love it) and Footnote enticing (though that guy in the picture looks like Bill Pullman, who was in Scary Movie 4). Is is okay to watch these on DVD? No way I am going to the local "art" movie theatre.
ReplyDeleteUncle Herman!!!!!! You can watch all of these on DVD's after football season. The Clooney film is good its just cluttered. I'm interested to see what you think. Stay away from the art theaters, I think most of these movies will screen in the park by your house where the festive people go for their night time walks...
ReplyDeleteHerman, you should make an effort to see The Artist. Asides from the strong physical resemblance between you and Jean Dujardin, you have very similar dance styles, although your tap dancing is far more energetic.
ReplyDelete