No, no matter how much LCD wishes it was true, this is not a new Olympic sport. The film is called Water Lilies, and it’s directed by Celine Sciamma. It came out in France last year, and its going to get a theatrical release here sometime soon.

The original French title is Naissance des Pieuvres, which translates to “Birth of the Octopuses”. I’m not quite sure where they got that from, or what it actually means in French. But the English title does fit the film.

The story involves a young girl, Marie, struggling with her feelings for an older girl. Marie’s overweight friend, Anne is on a synchronized swim team. During visits to watch her perform, Marie becomes obsessed with Floraine, an older teenager, and the captain of another team.

Anne has her own issues. She yearns to kiss a boy, one in particular, but he happens to be obsessed with bedding Marie. There are never any adults around, and Marie and Anne spend a lot of time together. This changes when Marie starts trying to get close to Floraine.

Floraine has a reputation for being promiscuous. The film hints at affairs she has had with many men. Maybe that is what makes Marie so obsessed with her. The motivations are never clear, and that is where this film falls apart.

Its not that I don’t mind unclear motivations. In fact, thats what drives one of my favorite films. The problem is that the characters in this film do things that feel like they are just to set up some sort of memorable scene.

For example, it feels like the film-makers wanted to make a film full of young teenage sexual tension, so they start the film off with one character already obsessed with another. This leaves out any buildup that would allow the audience to understand more of the characters.

It’s not just the premise. At one point, the older girl, Floraine, falls for another character in the same way. No explanation, it just felt like that was an excuse to get them into bed together, which does happen. Then, after that, she changes her mind again, with no clear reason.

Anne’s story evolves the same way. She is obsessed with a particular boy. They fumble around with sex. Afterwards, she is still obsessed with him, but just before she is about to get the kiss she has longed for she inexplicably changes heart. It’s just too much left unexplained, which really makes the film seemed forced.

The cinematography and directing is great. The film has a nice blue look, and the young girls turn in very great and bold performances. I just felt like the film was exhibiting their young flesh in sexual situations for no other reason than to be edgy and make a memorable film.

It reminded me of Larry Clarke, who makes well-directed films with naked teenagers who give great performances. Water Lilies is the same. It may look good, but without the core of story and character, it falls apart and ends up being an exploitative mess.

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:

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?