Telluride 2010
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
SEE THIS FILM!
The King’s Speech The BEST film in the festival.
Gorgeous and compelling, Colin Firth is destined (along with the film) for the Academy Awards. With Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter this is the riveting story of how George VI (Queen Elizabeth’s father) overcame a debilitating stutter/stammer … and in doing so, changed the course of history. Will be at the Mill Valley Film Festival.I loved these films. They made my day:
The First Movie
DOCUMENTARY. Mark Cousins, a lifelong video diarist, does himself proud as he captures the reaction of the children of a tiny Kurdish village as they discover – for the first time – movies. When the filmmaker hands out video cameras to some of the children the results are funny, alarming, eye opening and heart breaking. This is a stunningly beautiful part of Iraq and the children bubble with happiness as they discover the power of what Cousins calls “the empty machines”.127 Hours
BASED ON THE BOOK BETWEEN A ROCK AND AHARD PLACE. I think James Franco and Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) as well as the screenwriter Simon Beaufoy may be headed to the Academy Awards for this true story of a climber who becomes trapped in a deep canyon when a boulder falls on his arm in a remote part of Utah. Absent adequate food, water or survival tools, he tries to extract himself, survive the elements and in between hallucinates about his life. Untimely, he finds the courage to cut off his arm, scale a 65 foot wall and hike more than 8 miles before being rescued. Yes, the storyline is grim, but it is gorgeously shot, incorporates great music and includes innovative film techniques which result in a mesmerizing tale of survival. Oh, and NEVER EVER go hiking or climbing on your own without telling anyone where you are going …Inside Job
DOCUMENTARY. Charles Ferguson’s No End In Sight about the Iraq war was nominated for an Oscar. In this film he takes on the daunting task of explaining (in simple terms) the origins of the current financial crisis. Wall Street – unregulated - stars as a cauldron of ineptitude, greed and corruption. Matt Damon narrates. You will laugh … just before you cry.The First Grader
BASED ON FACT. A dirt poor 84 year old Kenyan man enrolls in first grade after the government announces a program of education for all. This modest act – a deep desire to learn to read – leads to flashbacks of his torture and his family’s murder at the hands of the British “rulers”. A fascinating, inspiring and uplifting story of courage. NAOMIE HARRIS plays the teacher with warmth, and fortitude … I hope we see a lot more of her! Oh, and the children (REAL first graders) are gorgeous.Tamara Drewe
A real crowd pleaser. Fun and funny with all around wonderful performances. A bit odd too, in a Monty Python sort of way. Stephen Frears ( The Queen) treats us to a quirky romantic comedy with a twist by weaving Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd into the plot. This film is worth watching just for a chance to meet Gemma Arterton who plays the enchanting Tamara.“the line” gave these films lots of positive buzz:
Precious Life
DOCUMENTARY. A mother from Gaza who has already lost 2 children to a genetic disease that now afflicts her 5 month old son goes to an Israeli hospital for help. As they search for a bone marrow donor, the war that rages outside rears its ugly head.The Princess of Montpensier
Set in 16th century France where Catholics and Protestants are locked in combat, a soldier-scholar is hired to instruct a beautiful woman being sought after by several young noblemen. Even as the tutor becomes bewitched by the “princess” he must figure out how to protect her from the dangerously corrupt court of Catherine de Medici.Carlos
5 ½ hours about Carlos the Jackal shot in 7 countries and 11 languages. I didn’t have the fortitude (or time) to see this, but apparently the lead, EDGAR RAMIREZ, gives a charismatic performance.disappointing …
Chico and Rita
ANIMATED. A formulaic, sort of boring love story about a Cuban singer and piano player . They make it to New York City, she takes up with a sugar daddy, he gets deported, the reunite in their dotage. The filmmaker won an Oscar for Belle Epoque. The film features the music of Grammy-winning pianist/bandleader Bebo Valdes.Tabloid
DOCUMENTARY. I was so disappointed in this Errol Morris ( Fog of War) film because I think he is a genius documentarian. This story of a former beauty queen who is also described/portrayed as a kidnapper and rapist is a truly bizarre tale, so weird and complex (and unbelievable) I can’t find the words to accurately describe it.The Way Back
BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Peter Weir (The Truman Show) takes us on a 4,000 mile journey from the hell of one of Stalin’s Siberian prison camps to India. The 6 escapees are led by a Polish prisoner played by Jim Sturgess who is brilliant in his exacting and realistic portrayal of the leader of the pack. Also starring Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan. Gritty in the extreme. Sometimes hard to watch, sometimes too slow.“Omg, they spent time and money on THAT?”:
Of Gods and Men
BASED ON A TRUE STORY. This winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes focuses on a small brotherhood of French monks in North Africa during the Algerian Civil War. The wrestle with whether to stay in their cozy enclave or flee back to France to escape the terrorists who are overrunning the country. If you have a fondness for self indulgent priests and LOVE religious chanting, this film is for you. I could hardly wait to escape the theater.If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle
If you have always wanted to know what it’s like in a brutal juvenile prison camp in Romania, this film is for you. The lead – George Pistereanu – is a veteran of such a place and probably has a future in film, but the loooong shots and inordinate amount of inaction followed by explosive violence was a hard to take.Split decision - some liked these films, others thought these were a huge waste of time:
Black Swan
Natalie Portman is being regaled for her role in this film and while I wholeheartedly agree she is amazing in it, I did not enjoy this film and wouldn’t recommend it. Primed by the advance word that this is a thriller set in the world of ballet, I was eagerly looking forward to seeing it. But this is really a horror film and since I anticipated all the “surprises” I found it a bit trite. Good job on Natalie’s part, though.The Illusionist
ANIMATED. I didn’t talk to anyone who liked this film, but someone must have … The filmmaker’s animated THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE won an Academy Award. A magician and a chambermaid form an unlikely family.Never let Me Go
BASED ON KAZUO ISHIGURO’S NOVEL (in 2005 TIME magazine called it the best book of the year). I wanted to like this film, I really did. It is visually arresting and the performances by Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightly and Charlotte Rampling are engrossing, but for me it was a big let down. The 3 leads, brought up in a British boarding school (brown/grey colors, rainy skies) blithely accept they were bred for just one function - to have their organs harvested one by one and given to “real” people until finally they “pass”. The question is: do clones have a soul? While the character’s monumental passivity didn’t bother me in the book, in the movie it made me restless and angry to see them so completely incapable of DOING SOMETHING, taking some action to help themselves, to determine their own destiny. As a result – for me – this made the film fall flat. Nevertheless, I’m sure reviewers will extol the film because it sticks so closely to the book, and the book was beloved by all …Biutiful
Welcome to Barcelona, an ugly, sordid, nasty city where the immigrant Asian and African populations are routinely exploited. Now enter Javier Bardem an amoral underworld figure, a psychic who talks to the dead and the ex-husband of manic depressive woman with whom he has 2 scared and needy children upon who he dotes … oh, and add in that he is dying of cancer. Yikes, I was really looking forward to seeing Alejandro Gonzalez Inurritu’s (Babel) new film. I suppose this is the type of part actors long for and it is certainly the TYPE of role that wins actors awards, but as a film, I say, stay home and watch TV – or if you love Javier, get it on Netflix. Playing at the Mill Valley Film Festival.GREAT EXPECTATIONS – the work of up and coming filmmakers:
Poster Girl
DOCUMENTARY. Wow, a powerful story about a former high school cheer leader who enlist, is wounded and returns with post traumatic stress disorder. I don’t think I will ever forget this film.Fatenah
ANIMATION WITH LIVE ACTION. A woman in the Gaza Strip diagnosed with breast cancer struggles to receive the treatment she needs. Unforgettable and unforgiveable.TERRIFIC Short films:
The Love Song of Iskra Prufrock
Dreams Awake
God of Love
The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger
No need to describe these films since other than film festivals and the Film Series @ the Library in Tiburon, it’s doubtful you will have a chance to see short films … but if you do, check these out.I usually have a category “The Line” thought this film sucked but I’m happy to say I didn’t consistently hear this about any film this year.
