Last Day and Lunch

On the last day of the Festival repeat screenings showcase the favorites and award winners of the past 12 days. With luck and planning one can cram another 4-5 movies in. I had planned on three but the crowds were enormous and I opted out of seeing one. The pass-holder lines were 50 deep an hour and a half before the screening. They were using only the two movie theatres so seating was an issue. I started with “Of Gods and Men” a French film chronicling the events that led up to the disappearance from their Algerian monastery of 6 Cistercian Monks in the mid 1990s. Living in graceful harmony with the local population their safety becomes an issue when fundamentalist terrorists become active in their region. It is a slow moving meditation on the question of should they stay or leave. The locals depend on them for many things especially that one of the monks is a doctor and the only one in the region. When the doctor at gunpoint is asked to treat one of the terrorists the local military gets wind of it and starts their own harassment of the monks and their flock. Their decision-making involves extended scenes of ecclesiastical exercises with accompanying chant/singing, some of it quite beautiful. I found these scenes tedious overwrought. Still, it is a beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted depiction of the growing rift between cultures and creeds. It won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and the National Board of Review awarded it as Best Foreign Language Film. The PSIFF also chose it as the Best Foreign Language Film. It has an important and timely message and I think it has been submitted for Oscar consideration.
I had lunch at Sherman’s, a fabulous, grilled Pastrami Reuben, and returned to the theatre for “The Hedgehog.” Based on Muriel Barbery’s much-praised story “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” we are introduced to the characters in a high end Paris apartment building by brilliant and cynical 11-year Paloma. Director, Mona Achache, has captured the philosophical essence of the novel with great charm and humor. This is a “must see!”

Subarctic Crime

On the last competition day of the Festival I managed to see 3 more films. I started with “Lou,” an Australian entry about a young family, a 27 year-old mother of 3 daughters. In financial crisis they take in the deadbeat dad’s father played by John Hurt. As he can no longer care for himself properly, the state will pay for his care. The 12-year-old, Lou [-ise] reacts with outrage and petulance; she must give up her room to this intruder who, in his own words is “losing his marbles.” The younger girls are taken with his talk of the sea and exotic lands. Hurt’s character is smitten with Lou mistaking her for his wife Annie who abandoned him at the onset of his memory loss. The writer/director, Belinda Chayko walks a very dangerous line in the development of the relationship between the lost and delusional Doyle and the precocious and rebellious Lou. We are taken into the fears, suspicions, misunderstandings and ignorance that are manifest by the caretakers and the cared for. This is an important film for its heart and its hope. The performances are first rate and the cinematography is gorgeous particularly the night burning of the cane fields a subtle metaphor visited throughout the film. Racing cross-town I just managed to slip into “Lope,” a Brazilian costume drama by Andrucha Waddington. Set in baroque Spain it chronicles the youthful indiscretions of Lope de Vega, perhaps the most prolific author of all times. It’s a sexy, swashbuckling adventure with fine performances and exquisite art direction. My last film of the day was a long and often tiring Swedish thriller about a young ambitious and amoral student looking for a get rich scheme. “Easy Money” follows JW as he sinks deeper and darker into the criminal underworld of modern Sweden. Is this a trend? Steig Larsson, Henning Menkell, Sjowall & Wahloo [sorry, I still can’t make diacritical marks], Lackberg and many others have created a genre some call “subarctic crime.” Jens Lapidus, like Larsson, has written [is writing] a trilogy aptly titled “The Swedish Noir Trilogy.” This is the first installment and the novel as well as the film are big hits in Sweden. The film may not get the same reception here, as it is extremely slow. Still, it has a lot going for it and as a lover of all “noir” I can certainly recommend it to the like-minded.
Oh, yeah, I saw Elliot Gould at the premiere of "The Encore of Eddie Duran."

Photos

Cakes at Sherman's
Seven AM, Palm Desert

Siberia Again

My second movie this weekend set in Siberia at a gulag during WWII. This one is based a true story of a group of prisoners who walk out of the gulag into the Siberian wilderness to Mongolia, then China, Tibet and finally India. Only 3 of the original 8[?] make it. Peter Weir assembled an international cast including Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saorise Ronan and Jim Sturgess. Survival meant avoiding civilization, as there was a standing bounty on the heads of escapees. They must cross hostile territory, deserts and finally the Himalayas. The camera backs off to display vast expanses of forests, sand dunes, rocky deserts and mountains then zoom in on the tiny figures moving through the landscape. We learn a bit about each as they come to rely on and trust one another. It’s an amazing tale of heroics and determination by a true master.

Everyone is in Love with Bill Cunningham

OK, three good ones. “The Sound of Noise” is a Swedish comedy about a tone-deaf police detective who hates music and a sextet of musical anarchists attempting to perform a four-part piece of guerilla theatre. The premise is absurd but it is done with such a playful touch that you are carried along rooting for both sides. “Goethe” is a period piece and costume drama covering a romanticized incident in the development of Johann Goethe’s genius. Sumptuous cinematography, attractive performers and wonderful music illustrate the The Sorrows of Young Werther, which according to the film launched a thousand broken-hearted suicides. Lastly we have “Bill Cunningham New York,” a documentary so authentically affectionate one leaves the theatre in love with the subject. If you read the [whole] New York Times you will know who this charming and unassuming man is. If you live in Manhattan you will have seen him riding his bicycle at all hours of the day and night snapping away at any and all who dare to show originality in their attire. If you are associated with style or fashion or simply follow it you will understand why when having his credentials checked at a Paris Fashion Week event another staff member rescues him telling the novice “HE IS ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT MAN ON EARTH.”

Beautiful People in Beautiful Tuscany

“Copie Conforme” is a lovely film on so many levels. “Certified Copy” [the English title] is directed by an Iranian, Abbas Kiarostami, stars France’s Juliette Binoche and Britain’s acclaimed baritone, William Schimmel and is filmed in Tuscany. The dialogue,
in English, Italian and French is a tete a tete, an extended conversation. It begins with an intellectual duel between an author and an antiques dealer about the value of originality in art. It then morphs into what appears to be a playful bit of role-playing. The role-playing gets complicated with phone calls and advice from people they meet on their afternoon excursion. As each character expresses their emotions when frustrated by the conversation, we wonder if they knew each other already; are they married, is this the beginning of or dissolution of a romance? It is a slow, languorous meditation on art, love and life.

Another Number One

Today started well with “Bardsongs” a trio of sung folktales set in India, Mali and Ladakh which is actually India but closer to Tibet in culture. Each tale conveys a moral or life lesson. Dutch filmmaker Sander Francken has lovingly captured the beauty of these exotic places with charm and humor. As the boob tube used to say, “Two thumbs enthusiastically up.” “Acquainted With The Night” is an exploration of after-dark phenomena from across the globe. Michael McNamara explores millions of bats in Austin, TX, bottle rockets in Greece, the Northern Lights, the 9/11 memorial in NYC and the drunken revelers of Toronto’s “Clubland.” It reminded me of the film “Chronos” and even had a similar soundtrack. “Dossier K” was next in today’s line-up and plays the noir thriller theme with virtuosic precision. Vincke and his team investigate the murder of a John Doe who turns out to have been a member of an Albanian clan involved an escalating blood feud. The true villains are not revealed until the end but the roller-coaster ride through the dark streets of Antwerp and the rugged, barren Albanian mountains will keep you riveted. My last film today was “The Drummond Will,” another turkey. It wasn’t as bad as “Ceremony” but almost and for very similar reasons. The guy behind me loved it. He SCREAMED with laughter at all the lame jokes and then some. He may have contributed significantly to my discomfort with this British peculiarity.

Palm Springs at Night

I remembered my pass this morning and wore my new BassEarth shoes. Light as a feather, good support and very comfy… highly recommended. I started my day with “Hello, How Are You?” a delightful comedy from Romania. Gabriel and Gabriela are a nice middle class couple with a teenage son. Gabi [the guy] was once a promising pianist but broke his hand and now travels with the symphony turning pages for the pianist. He is well liked and even a bit too much by some of the women in the group. Gabi [the gal] was studying tom be a psychologist but instead became a wife and mother. She now runs a dry cleaning store. Serendipitously they are both simultaneously introduced to Internet chat rooms where they explore new relationships unbeknownst to them with each other. I classic screw-ball comedy style signals get crossed, rumors are spread, suspicions grow and their comfortable and dull lives begin to unravel. Wonderful performances all around bring humor and warmth to a contemporary treatment of love’s pitfalls.
With minutes between I took in “The Edge,” a Russian feature about a low security gulag at the outer edge of Siberia. Ignat is a damaged soviet soldier “retired” to work the lumber train at the gulag. His demons make his life difficult there and he goes to find a locomotive said to be on an island at the other end of a fallen down bridge. With the reluctant aid of a young German woman who has been living there he restores the engine, gerry-rigs the bridge and brings the train back to the mainland. Jealousy, bigotry, pride and long hidden secrets soon surface and the gulag is turned on its head. This film will probably be submitted for the Foreign Language Oscar nomination but it has some stiff competition. After a happy hour light dinner at The Tropicale Restaurant and Coral Seas Lounge [****] with my friends Theo and Liza I headed for my last film of the day. “Loose Cannons” was directed by Ferzan Ozpetek [his “Hamam” is one of my faves] and tells the story of a contemporary Italian family in the pasta business. The family starts to dissemble as secrets are revealed. The old ways are on trial in this warm and very funny romp. The gorgeous cast is comprised of wonderful veterans and popular newcomers. Put it on your Netflix queue now; in fact put all three on it.

Self-indulgence

I was wondering when I would finally be subjected to a bad film. Ceremony fit the bill nicely. A self-indulgent writer/director shoots a film about self-indulgent characters and casts a bunch of self-indulgent actors to play [?] the roles. Don’t bother with this turkey.
On the other hand The Light Thief, a little film from Kyrgyzstan, was a charming tale of an honorable man of diminutive stature with an enormous heart. I started the day leaving my pass at home and not realizing it until I was about to turn off the freeway. Unable to see a film without it and reluctant to return to get it I headed for the wonderland known as Desert Hills Premium Outlets. It is certainly the largest outlet mall I have ever scene. If you can’t get rid of all your money at Brooks Bros., Barney’s or Zegna you can go right next door to the Morongo Casino.

Documentary Day

Three documentaries began my day. How Much Does your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? is an examination of the creative process through the life and work of Norman Foster. Best known for “the Gherkin” [and it’s Barcelona Torre twin] and the spectacular Millau Viaduct, Foster’s work has redefined modernism with new efforts toward “Green” building and massive, carbon-neutral projects. Filmed with an almost sensual reverence to his design we are given the opportunity to see what Foster saw in his efforts. This prodigious genius doesn’t slow down for anything including cancer and a heart attack. He still has the energy to cycle daily and participates in a grueling ski marathon every year. The title is from a question his great friend Buckminster Fuller posed; that simple, almost childish inquiry was Foster’s epiphany. My second film was The Sons of Tennessee Williams. In a series of interviews with several Mardi Gras elders the once secret and now embraced Gay Mardi Gras Krewes are revealed over their 5 decades of struggle. The director informed us before the film that he edited for laughs and there are plenty but the individual stories are of courage and perseverance. The costumes, oh the costumes! The third documentary was just added to my itinerary because of the buzz I overheard while waiting in line. Everyone was gushing over Louder Than a Bomb. Many of you know that I am not a fan of poetry. Well I am now and enthusiastically so, at least the style displayed in this wonderful, joyous and thought-provoking film. The filmmakers chose the world’s largest poetry slam held yearly in Chicago. It only features local high schools but the participation is monumental. The young people featured not only write but also perform their works. I do mean perform; they verge on theatre. This is a story of lives transformed and I am one. My last film of the day was a confusing and phantasmagorical journey form Transylvania to Germany and on to Liverpool and a gentlemen’s club which provides sex slaves trained to portray great literary characters. You will be reminded of Terry Gilliam’s work with splashes of Fellini. It is inventive on many levels but special effects can’t hide the lack a cohesive narrative. Bibliotheque Pascal was produced in Hungary and spoken in Rumanian, English and Hungarian.

Number 1 again

Today was my first marathon of 4 films in one day. This morning Diane, Gary and I saw Juan, a Danish production of Don Giovanni set in modern time with an updated libretto sung in English and peppered with contemporary foul language, tons of great sex, car chases e-mail and texting. Directed by the artistic director of the Danish Royal Opera, it was surprisingly entertaining and quite an accomplishment in casting. The stars were all young and beautiful with great bodies that they were not ashamed to show and they all sung “live” on location; it was not dubbed. My second film was the Belgian Madly in Love. It has been described as a foreign language version of It’s Complicated and it does have similarities but it is broader in its humor and much prettier to watch. The Miller girls are all beautiful, particularly Barbara. I could not take my eyes off of her. She also displays incredible comedic talent especially in a scene set at and art museum where she describes to the other 3 her first multiple orgasm. Think Sleeping in Seattle diner scene on steroids. I love this movie. Steam of Life is my first of the documentaries and portrays modern Finnish men pouring their guts out in saunas all over the country. The saunas are actually characters in their uniqueness and creativity. The men are all excruciatingly depressing each having either lost a child or wife. I found the dialogue a little contrived as if the director told each one to tell of their most painful experience. Surely all Finnish men aren’t this sad and dull; are they? With barely 15 minutes to spare I turned around and walked back into a theatre to see Carancho [Argentina] another gut wrenching examination of the underbelly of society. This time it’s ambulance chasers, petty thugs, evil hospital administrators, corrupt cops and junky doctors. It’s another tale of bad choices, compromised morals and failed redemption. It is not for the faint of heart and will probably be considered for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The tow leads should also be considered for Oscars as well. I am going to try for 4 more tomorrow.

I'm number one

Mike Leigh has had a string of successful films many of which appeal because of their simplicity and heart. It appears that he gives his actors a great deal of time and space to inhabit their characters. They are all very real and recognizable. No one is any more extraordinary than the others. Tom and Jeri are a comfortable couple dealing gracefully with aging. Tom is a geologist/engineer; Jeri is a psychological counselor working at a local medical facility. They entertain, often spontaneously, a number of “friends” less fortunate than themselves. Broken into 4 seasons the story introduces us to several of Jeri’s colleagues, Tom’s old buddy, Tom’s recently widowed brother and his unhappy son, Tom’s and Jeri’s son and others. The minor roles are also carefully developed some quite well in little or no time. My favorite character is Mary a clerical co-worker who considers herself Jeri’s best friend. Jeri accepts that with great compassion and understanding… to the point of being used. But Jeri’s has boundaries and as broad as they are you best not cross them. Mary defines needy. She drinks too much, smokes too much and is extremely careless in her decisions. She dominates the film and acts as a catalyst in many of the dynamics. It’s a beautiful and understated film and another Mike Leigh masterpiece. With only ten minutes to spare I left one theatre and entered a second for the screening of Todo lo que tu quieras [Anything You Want], a Spanish film by Achero Manas. The plot is such that any information might ruin it for you. It’s about a young successful attorney who suddenly finds himself being Father and “Mother” to his toddler daughter. His decisions are unconventional and potentially dangerous. It’s a bit slow but rewarding in it’s advocacy and compassion.

Colin!

Colin Firth nails it again in The King’s Speech portraying George VI as he reluctantly assumes the throne after his brother’s abdication. Plagued since childhood with a stammer he undergoes every form of speech therapy practiced in the realm. His wife stumbles upon Lionel, an eccentric but very convincing practitioner and we have our story. The screenplay is wise and witty with much verbal sparring between Firth and Rush and we watch as a friendship grows amidst suspicion, distrust, misunderstandings and the imminent threat of war. It is beautifully filmed with some splendid sets, most notably Lionel’s almost dingy office and home. People pay small fortunes to achieve this tattered elegance and formal shabbiness. The rooms are painterly and almost impressionistic in their color and lighting. The period details are clever and the costuming is splendid. And poor Mrs. Simpson is sliced up and served like a badly concocted apple pie. It’s a wonderfully entertaining film with a generous dose of unfamiliar history. Watch for Timothy Spall as Churchill; I still think there should be an award for scene-stealing minor roles. Firth graciously sat through a so-so interview and fawning questions from his adoring subjects.

Javier!

Even with a Platinum Pass [the best available to me] it is still a good idea to arrive at some of the more popular screenings at least an hour ahead of time. Sponsor, Donor, Industry, Patron-type passes can get in even at the last minute. They reserve a block of seats for them until a few minutes before the program starts. They release those seats to ticket holders and then the “rush” crowd. Last night there was a “rush” line of some 50 hopefuls 2 hours before the program. I got in the pass-holder line an hour before and I was # 50. I don’t like it but they do cut off the number of pass-holders at some predetermined point just to ensure that some regular ticket holders get in. Last night it was JAVIER! Biutiful is Javier Bardem’s latest film. It is directed by Alejandro Inarritu [sic; I don’t know how to get the international keyboard on a Mac] of Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros. A cliché is sometimes the best description one can use. This film is heart wrenching, gut wrenching, moving, thoughtful, timely, profound, and just plain superb! That said; it is not for the faint of heart. Bardem plays a “gifted” father of two who lives in the underworld of immigrant Barcelona. If you have been to this remarkable city you will not recognize it in this film. The setting is slum, construction site, sweatshop, closet-size apartment, narrow filthy street, jail cell, and the inside of a troubled mind. Uxbal has just been told that he has a couple of months to live. He sets out to put his life in order, tie up loose ends, provide for his children and seek redemption for all the pain and suffering he has participated in. This process is slow and frustrating. His efforts at redemption often backfire in the most horrifying ways. His family becomes more and more difficult to deal with [he does not tell anyone he is dying]. The cold and heartless underworld of Barcelona coupled with Uxbal’s “gift” expose suffering of enormous magnitude. There is no happy ending; indeed, there is no redemption. Bardem won the Best Actor prize at Cannes and I suspect he will be nominated [again] for the Best Actor Oscar. After the film there was a 45-minute interview on stage with Mr. Bardem. Yes, he is as handsome and sexy as he appears on screen. He is also very thoughtful, funny [he imitates Woody Allen spot-on] and ultimately compassionate. He fielded questions from the audience with apologies for his lack of English language skills; he started learning English only 5 years ago. I found him easy to understand and his language skills only enhanced his answers. They were expressed in uncomplicated, unadorned, unguarded and guileless simplicity. He is a treasure as an actor and I would guess he’s a pretty nice guy.

Daunting

To describe this process as daunting somewhat masks the incredible fun I am having just navigating the schedule. There are about 200 films in the festival from dozens of countries. There are 5 venues providing 11 screens over 10 days. That comes out to about 425 screenings. All of the venues are in Palm Springs proper; some of them are only a couple of blocks apart. I hope to see 25 to 30 in that time. The downside of all this planning is that the weather is gorgeous at about 70 degrees with picturesque clouds and an incredible blue sky. I am sure I’ll find some time to enjoy that as well. My first film was a bit of French fluff. Copacabana is the story of a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship set against a less than picturesque Belgian seaside resort. Isabel Huppert is wonderful as a free spirit mother who has over the past 20 years dragged her now about to be married daughter along on vagabond treks and hippy adventures all over the globe. Her daughter tells her she isn’t invited to her wedding because she will embarrass her. Hurt and once again footloose she takes a job selling timeshares in Belgium. She finds success and a modicum of respectability, repairs her family, goes to the wedding and everyone lives happily everafter.

On my way to the PSIFF

Sitting at “my” desk at gate 20 in SFO last minute details are coming together. Tomorrow evening I am going to The Annenberg Auditorium at the Museum for a screening of Biutiful with Javier Bardem. Following the screening Bardem will be interviewed on stage as part of the “Talking Pictures” events at the festival. At noon on Saturday I will attend another “Talking Pictures” event with a screening of The King’s Speech followed by an interview with Colin Firth. That evening we three will see Mike Leigh’s Another Year. I have not done much else with the schedule as I don’t need tickets for myself. I can pretty much decide up to an hour or so before. More to come when I reach Palm Springs.