Telluride 2009
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
I loved these films. They made my day:
An Education The BEST film in the festival.
The star – Carey Mulligan – has been receiving a LOT of praise for her work
in this film and all of it is well deserved, although Peter Sarsgaard and
Alfred Molina are pretty darn good as well. A young hard working, motivated
high schooler in England in the 1960s wonders if there might be more to
life than reading English literature and cramming for college. Enter the
“older man” who proceeds to “educate” her in the sometimes brutal realities
of real life.
Up In the Air
Jason Reitman’s (JUNO) new film. Wow, can George Clooney and Vera Framiga
ever act! A timely tale about a man who virtually lives in airports and
airport hotels for his job firing employees for other companies. Fun,
thoughtful, lots of chemistry and definitely worth seeing.
The Last Station
Helen Mirren at her very best as Tolstoy’s wife. Award worthy performance.
A fascinating account of the last year of Tolstoy’s life (played by
Christopher Plummer). Paul Giamatti is his evil (?) muse and the always
wonderful James McAvoy pulls the whole thing together as his secretary.
Gorgeously shot this did not have distribution by the conclusion of the
festival so hope for someone to pick it up so many can have the pleasure of
viewing this lush production.
Bad Lietenant: Port of Call New Orleans
This is NOT really my cup of tea and I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as
I did. Nic Cage gives a brilliant performance in this VERY quirky, often
times funny, crime drama.
London River
Brenda Blethyn is a widow from Guernsey who – in the aftermath of a 2005
terriorist bombing in London – is searching for her daughter. Along the way
she meets an African Muslim who is looking for his son. Heart rending and
powerful. Blethyn is superb.
RENT A MAN & A WOMAN (1966)!
Wow, it is as good today as it was when it was in theatres.
“the line” gave these films lots of positive buzz:
Farewell
Everyone who saw this was talking about it. It takes place in 1981 about a
Russian KGB agent whose codename is Farewell who feeds documents to a
French businessman. The secrets offered changed the balance of power
between the Soviet Bloc and the West. May well get a nomination at the
Academy Awards.
The Miscreants of Taliwood
Documentary about making movies in Taliban-controlled Pakistan.
Animated investigative journalisn like nothing you have
ever seen. A reconstruction of a notorious atrocity in the Palestinian
refugee camps.
these films were OK, but I wouldn’t recommend them:
Coco Before Chanel
Audrey Tautou (Amelie) is good and the production is very, very pretty, but
in the end it is hard to care about what happens to Coco. Her life seems
prosaic and not particularly inspiring and there is no real insight into
what made her into a fashion icon. Disappointing.
Red Riding: 1974, 1980, 1983
A British crime drama that ran on TV. Each episode (there were 3) has a
different director which makes the series a bit uneven. The only way to see
this is to watch ALL of them. Despite the extra ordinary violent nature of
the story I enjoyed these films. Think they have been picked up by other
film festivals.
Bright Star
I wanted to love Jane Campion’s (The Piano) story about the poet Keats and
his unconsummated passion for Fanny Brawne (beautifully played by Abbie
Cornish) but I found it to be slow, tedious and not particularly
enlightening. Gorgeous cinematography, though.
The Jazz Baroness
Documentary about one of the Rothchilds (Pannonica) who left her family to
do everything in her power to promote and support the jazz legend Theoneus
Monk. Interesting, but it felt incomplete. Lots of unanswered questions.
“Oh my god, they spent money on THAT?”:
Fish Tank
While the write up for this film called the star ‘riveting and charismatic’
I was just horrified by her. This is a week or so in the life of a sullen,
angry teen, with the most hideously abusive mothers imaginable and the
mother’s boyfriend who rapes her when he is high. This won the Cannes Jury
Prize, so I guess I am alone in thinking this was an enormous waste of time
and money.
Life During War
Written up as “nightmarish and funny” I just found this to be nighmarish.
Jokes about pedophilia that are embarrassingly unfunny etc. Alison Janney
does a good job in a bad film.
Split decision - some really liked these films, others hated them:
The Road
Viggo Mortensen in the film version of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. .
The White Ribbon
I saw this because if won the Palme d’Or and 2 other awards. A looooong,
tedious movie that was remarkably similar to watching paint dry. Whatever
it was trying to say totally escaped me. Takes place in an obscure German
faming village just prior to World War I where cruelty and violence are the
norm.
“The Line” thought this film sucked:
My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done
The plot line is so confusing I am at a loss to summarize it. Werner Herzog
& David Lynch.
TERRIFIC Short films:
The Kinda Sutra
how different people learned about the facts of life
Western Spaghetti
creative in the extreme.
