Last year Jacob Simmons and I produced an arduous (45 minute long) podcast of our weekend at Birmingham, Alabama's Sidewalk Film Festival. I'm going to cut to the chase (since there was a little bit of fluff last year, and too many "uhs" and "ums") and just provide a few notes about the films I saw. Most of these are probably going to be on the festival circuit (term I learned at the festival) but I imagine all of them will eventually be findable and watchable through the magic of the internet. I should mention that I have very low expectations for independent film (sorry). I should also say, however, that I didn't see a bad film this weekend. So marry those facts however you like.
The festival opened Friday night with a film called The Innkeepers, a suspense/horror film about two employees of an old New England inn on its last weekend of business. Before the inn is shuttered for good, Claire and Luke are determined to discover if there are ghosts around. The chemistry between the characters is really nice and there are some truly funny moments in the film--which you need, because there is a lot of suspense too. I think director Ti West does a good job of building tension and releasing it. And he saves the horror for the end, so you're not too worn out when you see it. I think the pacing is off at times, and some friends complained about how dark parts of the film were (lighting-wise, not emotionally). For a second film, though, not bad. Watching a suspense movie is best with a big audience, and this one is no exception. (There is also a good twist at the end).
On Saturday morning I started with a film called Puppet, which tells the story of the recent revival of American puppet theater. That narrative piggybacks on the development and staging of a piece of puppet theater called Disfarmer. Director David Soll could not have picked a more compelling drama to talk about what puppetry means and its relationship to society as a whole (especially talking about history and the ways puppet theater was part of almost every culture in the world). It's hard to believe that a film about puppets could be this engaging, but it really is. I highly recommend this film if for nothing else than watching ideas come to life through creative means.
Next I watched a narrative feature called Bag of Hammers. It starred a couple of dudes I'd not heard of and Rebecca Hall. This movie had some really funny parts, and the arc of the story was nice. There were also a few tremendously sad moments. This is a real accomplishment in any film, in my opinion. Parts of the movie seemed a bit forced, and the writing had some weak places (pacing, mostly). But on the whole the film was enjoyable. The director said it had just been purchased by a distributor, so it should be available sometime, somewhere.
I thought about taking a break after Bag of Hammers, but went to a panel discussion instead. Frankly, film festival people wear me out, with everyone trying to be the next great auteur, working on their doc and trying to make crappy production elements into a solid movie. This panel was about the reasons to/why make a short film and some tips on how to get it done. The high points were 1)a woman from E. Europe asking a question in a delightful accent, and 2)a kid, aged 9, complaining that none of his friends will sit still longer than 10 minutes (too short to make a movie, even a short).
Tired, and thinking of taking a nap, I was talked into watching Project Nim, the newest film by director James Marsh (Man on Wire). Marsh has, through brilliance, carved out a niche in telling a story from the 1970s with archival footage and recent interviews. This one is about a chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky who is raised by humans and taught human sign language. In the meantime you have some extensive human drama between Nim's various caretakers, and the personification of Nim himself. What a compelling story it is! You could dissect the layers of this film for an entire semester in a college classroom if you wanted. I think Marsh is top shelf and this film is a must see if you like documentaries.
I closed Saturday with an Austrian film called The Robber. It tells the story of a true life robber-runner who was released from prison and quickly began robbing banks and winning marathons. Such an odd combination, right? Everyone loves a chase movie and this one really takes advantage of the beautiful landscape of Austria (often on foot). It didn't plow any new ground as far as the genre is concerned and I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again, but it's a fun flick. It was nice to see 700 people sitting in the Alabama Theater watching a film in Austrian German.
Sunday morning started with coffee at Zaza. There were too many people--the downside of the film festival. Following that I went to director/photographer Danny Clinch's film Live at Preservation Hall: Louisiana Fairytale at the historic Carver Theater. What a film! Part documentary about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, part concert experience, this film is a dream for a music fan. The hinge of the whole thing is on the Louisville band My Morning Jacket who are collaborating with the Preservation Hall Jazz band for a couple of shows at Jazz fest. So you have this interplay between old forms and new forms. Old jazz musicians learning from young rock musicians, and vice versa. The creative director of the Preservation Hall band, Ben Jaffe, really ties it all together. And they really pull the music off. Clinch does this kind of film so well that it's not a surprise, but it is fun to watch. Jaffe was around afterward for a Q&A, which is one of the best things about a film festival. This one is currently on the festival circuit but I'm sure it will be out eventually. Highly recommend.
My seventh and final film for the weekend was the documentary about the New York Times called Page One: Inside the New York Times. This film has gotten plenty of press and I don't think there's much I can add. It felt a bit passé, even though it's only a few months old. I just don't feel like the concerns of the film are as strong now. We (for instance, toward the end of the film we learn about the new fees for online reading that the Times is starting to charge--this was a real point of interest at the time; about a month ago we learned that those fees were generating income and not hurting readership, so that element wasn't effective in building tension). It's a good doc. I'm sure you'll see this at some point if you like docs.
No comments:
Post a Comment