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Philadelphia Film Festival 2008 - Wrap Up

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

I have had some time to recuperate. The films I saw stewed in me for a bit. Some that I may have liked at the time are forgotten, others that I didn’t find appealing have grown on me. Some sank to obscurity but others have risen to the forefront of my mind. Here’s a quick breakdown of the notable films:

Free Swag!Lucky Miles
The Pope’s Toilet
Timecrimes
Bad Habits
The Sun Also Rises
Mirageman
Stuck
Autumn Ball
Nothing to Lose

and of course, the best film of the festival: American Teen.

Who knew a documentary would be the best film at the festival this year? This is a film that you could not have written any better if you made it up. Ordinary material elevated to the extraordinary. Each person has a story that you want to see the end of. It’s not just your normal documentary. It’s very theatrical, but very true at the same time. Easily the best film there.

The festival itself was well-run. The volunteers pretty much knew what they had to do and kept things organized. The films had some good prints, ran on time, and I only experienced one projection problem out of 49 films. Thats not bad at all. However, there was one major issue.

About 10 of the films I saw were projected on DVD. Not hi-def digital projection, but actual DVD. As you can probably guess they looked horrible. Dark and muddy, improper aspect ratios, etc. This was not acceptable. Also, there was no notice as to what films would be projected this way. It was a crap-shoot. Formal complaints have been lodged and hopefully next year there will be a change. Either no DVD-projections, or notification of which films will be on DVD.

Other than that, all went smoothly! I saw 49 films at a very reasonable price and got out alive. I will most likely be back again next year.
To close this set of entries, I will leave you with a Top 10 list.

Top 10 Things I learned by attending the 2008 Philadelphia Film Festival

10) LCD thinks I’m crazy.

9) Estonia, of all countries, can make a a film with insanely high production values

8) Korean Gangster films rock.

7) Making a complete schedule before hand is the best thing I could have done.

6) People ask directors and actors stupid questions during Q&A.

5) If the program guide highlights a film, it will sell out.

4) No matter how much I wanted to, I have still never been able to bring myself to walk out on a film.

3) I had to be the youngest person attending this festival.

2) DVD Projection sucks

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1) A documentary can beat out 47 theatrical films to take the highest spot on my list. Who knew?

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Philadelphia Film Festival 2008 - Day 12

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
Philadelphia Film Festival
Lucky MilesThe last day!!

The first film today was Lucky Miles, from Australia. Funny and touching, it tells the story of a two groups of exiles who are dropped off on the shore of Australia, seeking freedom. They are told they can climb the ridge and catch a bus to the nearest city. Unfortunately, after the boat leaves they realize that they were lied to, and are now stuck in the middle of harsh desert and flat lands.

Adventures ensue as they split up, get caught be police, escape, reunite, team up, and travel for days trying to find civilization. All the while being tracked by three amiable army reservists. It’s a beautiful film that reminded many of The Gods Must Be Crazy.

Next came Blood Brothers, which I thought would be a Lust, Caution rip-off from Hong Kong. It turned out to be a well-made yet standard gangster flick. Three brothers from a small country town move into the big city. They soon join the mafia and slowly drift apart as they are forced to make hard choices. Great cinematography and competent writing and directing elevate this film to a better-than-average effort.

My first and only “Festival Favorite” for this year is The Deal, starring William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, L.L. Cool J, and Elliot Gould. This felt like a fast-talking David Mamet film. Very similar to State and Main, its tells the story of suicidal man (Macy), trying to get a film made starring L.L. Cool J as a Judaic action star. Meg Ryan is the love interest, and Elliot Gould is the concerned Rabbi. It’s very funny and fast and played well in the theater.

And finally, the last film of the festival for me: A Song of Good, from New Zealand. A young man, drug-addicted and hard up for cash, tries to steal a TV from his neighbor. When she arrives, he inexplicably rapes her. Stunned by his actions and the low he has sunk to he tries to turn his life around. Unfortunately, things just don’t seem to go right. It’s a very aggravating to watch, because you really want him to succeed but the director keeps knocking him down again and again. It’s sad, and has an interesting ending. I felt frustrated watching it, but that is what I think they film-makers wanted us to feel.

Well, the festival is over for me! There is a closing night film, but I will not be attending. So my number for this year stands at 49. I will have post a festival wrap-up later in the week.

Now, I just need to relax.

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Philadelphia Film Festival 2008 - Day 11

Monday, April 14th, 2008
Philaelphia Film Festival
Sunday Sunday Sunday! Five films today, nothing spectacular and nothing horrible.

First came Empties, a charming film from the Czech Republic about an elderly couple and their search for personal fulfillment. This film does everything right, except for the very very last scene. The story mostly follows the husband as he gets a new job, tries to help coworkers and friends find love, and tries to have an affair with an ex-coworker. During all this, he learns a lot about himself and even more about is wife.

The whole thing leads to a beautiful sequence and a satisfying conclusion. However, after the credits start to roll, we are treated to one last scene that really turns the climax on its head and almost ruined the film for me. It had such a perfect ending, but this extra scene negates it with one split second shot. It really bothered me, but other than that the film is sweet and entertaining and very good.

After that I watched What We Do Is Secret, a bio-pic on the underground punk band The Germs. I didn’t know much about the germs going in, so I don’t know if that helped me enjoy the film or not. I did like the film, its well-made, has a slick underground punk energy, and has a great lead performance by Shane West. The story is a classic sad tale of a rock and roll burnout, but it kept me engrossed until the expected conclusion.

Next came a film I was looking forward to called You, The Living, from Sweden. Its really a series of vignettes around a group of characters. It’s very tongue in cheek and very dark. The film follows no normal story arch, but the vignettes were funny, interesting, well directed, etc. Still, without a common thread the film is just a connection of scenes that don’t seem to work together. It’s an experiment that some might find appealing, but I thought didn’t work as a whole film.

The SpermAnother film I was looking forward to was Hong Kong’s Triangle. It was directed by Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnnie To. With names like that, I was expecting to be entertained. I was entertained, but the film wasn’t great. The story involves a trio of men who steal a priceless ancient golden robe from a museum and then must try to sell it. All the while dealing with a crooked cop, a group of gangsters and an unfaithful wife. There is lots of action and some comedy, but the film takes too many liberties with the characters logic to be really good.

The last film of night was much more entertaining than it had any right being. The Sperm, from Thailand, is the story of a young rock musician who is in love with a model. During a late-night masturbation session, his sperm leaks into the sewer and then becomes mutated. The sperm then infect hundreds of women, who give birth the next day. The babies look just like him, and have only one thing on their mind: masturbation and the production of more sperm. Oh, and there are also aliens.

It’s fast-paced, absurd, and a very funny. It’s not as offensive as I thought it would be. The theme of true love is held throughout, and you can’t help but like the main character and his group of bumbling friends. It was a good late-night film, and it’s cult status is all but assured.

One more day to go!

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Philadelphia Film Festival 2008 - Day 10

Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Philadelphia Film Festival 2008
The Pope's ToiletToday started out on the right foot with a film called The Pope’s Toilet. It’s about the poor Uruguayan town of Melo, which is expecting a visit from the Pope. Usually, the citizens don’t have many chances to make money, so the lead character provides for his family the same way many other men do. He smuggles goods in from Brazil by bicycle.

The Pope’s impending arrival, and the influx of people that are expected, give high hopes to the town. Many of them spend their life savings to buy equipment and food so they can open stands to sell things to the crowd. This could finally be their way out of poverty! The main character has another idea. He spends the film trying to build a bathroom in his front yard so he can rent it to the crowd. Toilets are hard to come by in that area, so its not an easy task to get one, and using it would be considered a luxury by most.

It’s a touching and sad film that has great performances by the lead family, and doesn’t turn into melodrama and also doesn’t have a sappy ending. It’s written and directed with humor and care. Very enjoyable.

After that, I saw Vexille, an anime that had great animation but a horrible story. It’s told from the point of view of an American special forces unit called S.W.O.R.D. who, 50 years from now, go to Japan to liberate them from an evil corporate cloning organization. It is well produced, but the story and script are horrible. There is one excellent scenes towards the middle, where people are trying to get into the enemy headquarters, but otherwise it’s not worthwhile.

Third came a surprisingly good film called Dangerous Parking. A British film (written, directed and starring Peter Howitt) about a famous director coping with alcohol and drug-addiction. It’s very funny, and told in a quick and smart style using some cool editing, special effects, picture in picture, animation, etc. At heart, its a simple no-frills story of a fall from grace, redemption, and the consequences of one’s actions. Nothing special there, but it is extremely entertaining, and pulls all the right strings as it goes.

Another good film came next. Nothing to Lose, from Holland, is the story of a man convicted of killing his father and sister and has been in jail for 6 years. He escapes to find his mother, who can verify he didn’t kill his sister. He did kill his father but only because the man was trying to take advantage of his sister.

This film is very simply told, but the script and performances really carry it through quickly to a great conclusion. I was impressed by the directors ability to let the story tell itself without over-dramatizing the drama or over-stlyzing the action. Apparently this was based on a true story, but its unique and interesting enough that you wouldn’t have thought that unless told. It’s a great film.

Last but not least for today was Film Noir. Cheaply animated in black and white with accents of color, this film still had me enthralled due to its great story. It’s definitely a Film Noir. The story involves a man who wakes up next to a dead cop underneath the big Hollywood sign in California. He doesn’t remember who is is or how he got there. He must navigate a tricky set of clues to figure out who he is and what is going on. A good script adequately executed equals a very entertaining film.

40 Films down!

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