Telluride 2011
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
I loved these films. They made my day:
The Artist
I did not think I was going to like this film … but I loved it. A silent
film star (Jean Dujardin, best actor at Cannes) goes from wildly popular to
out of work when sound becomes an integral part of movie productions.
Thanks to a funny, sexy, wide eyed female extra, all is not lost. John
Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller and the best butler ever help to make this a
fun and emotionally engaging film.
A Separation
An amazing film from Iran. See it if you can. Sad, informative, emotional
and very, very human – a wife wants to take her teenage daughter out of
Iran so she can have a better education, a better life, but her husband
must give his consent, which he is unwilling to do because he doesn’t want
to leave his father who has Alzheimer’s. The couple – who love one another
- split and he hires a poor, devout woman to look after his father with
dire consequences for the entire family. Best Film at the Berlin film
festival AND in a never before award, the entire cast was given the Best
Actor and Best Actress awards.
Butter
A spoof on the real life butter carving contest in Iowa. Jennifer Garner
(also a producer), Olivia Wilde (and she is very, very wild), Hugh Jackman
and the rest of a terrific cast make this an enjoyable - if not memorable -
film. An adopted girl discovers her talent for butter carving and is pitted
against the wife of the town’s former champion.
The Decendants
The suburban side of Hawaii, brought to you by Alexander Payne (Sideways).
George Clooney, is wonderful – award worthy? – as a funny, sad, insightful
and sometimes clueless father who is a landowning baron thrown for a loop
when his wife is critically injured in a boating accident. Coping with a
troubled teenage daughter (Shailene Woodley – terrific) and a young,
confused and rudderless younger daughter isn’t easy but in the end he makes
it work. The festival program was right on – this is humor and tragedy
wrapped in a warm glow. Will be shown at other festivals (Mill Valley, Napa
Valley) and has distribution, so watch for it.
The Island President
DOCUMENTARY. Like An Inconvenient Truth, this is a film you MUST see. It’s
about climate change and the Maldives, 200 tiny islands in the middle of
the Indian Ocean. Mohamed Nasheed endured years of imprisonment and torture
by a brutal dictator followed by years of exile. Yet when he was elected
President he faced an even bigger challenge – to convince the UN and the
world that climate change is real and that if nations don’t agree to take
action quickly his country will literally be underwater … and his people
will become environmental refugees. Fascinating. The world would be a
different (and better) place if the world’s leaders had half the courage
and intelligence Nasheed demonstrates.
good acting, cinematography etc. … Not sorry i saw them … but can’t really
recommend to others:
A Dangerous Method
Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, directed by David
Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Based on a true story about the daugher
of a Russian diagnosed with acute hysteria and the young Swiss doctor Carl
Jung begins treating with psychoanalysis. Jung finds himself at odds with
his mentor Dr. Sigmund Freud over his treatment of his patient – who
becomes his lover. Gorgeous cinematography, interesting story, good acting,
but this film left me cold. Basically one fears for those entering
psychoanalysis if their doctors act as crazy as this trio.
Albert Nobbs
Glenn Close will probably be nominated for an Academy Award for her part as
a male butler in a posh hotel who at age 15 transformed herself from a girl
to a boy to obtain a job. Lots of angst. Fabulous acting but I didn’t
really believe some of the relationships between the characters and didn’t
care enough about any of them. Beautifully done period piece, though.
Footnote
Israel.
A father and son – both Talmudic scholars - are in
the running for an important government-sponsored academic prize.
Beautifully shot but a bit dense, this is the story of a distant, nasty and
set in his ways father and his well spoken, well liked son who longs for
his father’s approval. Best Screenplay at Cannes.
In Darkness
Poland. Yikes, imagine a small band of Jews from disparate backgrounds
having to hide underground in a sewer for 18 months while the Nazis try to
find and execute them. Then imagine a film that is shot mostly in a
darkness so dense it is often hard to see which character is speaking.
Throw in a thief, con man and Catholic anti-Semite as their only hope for
survival and the tension and suspense are almost too much to take. Based on
a true story.
Living in the Material World
DOCUMENTARY directed by Martin Scorsese. Be prepared. This is a 3 ½ hour
film about George Harrison (my favorite) Beatle. I found the first half
fascinating … it goes without saying that the music throughout is THE BEST.
The archival footage is mesmerizing and George’s struggle for self
discovery is quite interesting. Lots of - to me – new material about his
collaboration with Ravi Shankar, delving into the metaphysical world, and
his evolution as a terrific songwriter (Taxman) and music producer. This
will be on HBO as a 2 part series.
“the line” gave these films lots of positive buzz:
The Kid With a Bike
Belguim. An 11 year old boy is placed in a children’s home after his father
abandons him. He runs away to try and find him. He meets a kind hairdresser
who helps him find his lost bike and she becomes his weekend guardian.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
Pina
Germany. DOCUMENTARY. If you love dance you will probably enjoy this 3D
film about a dancer turned choreographer.
The Way Home
India. An Indian doctor attempts to reunite a young boy with his father,
only to find the father is a terrorist.
disappointing …
Goodbye First Love
France. This had potential … that wasn’t realized. Two 15 year olds fall in
love. They separate. Four years later they meet again. Their relationship
doesn’t work any longer. I found the characters irritating and
unconvincing. I know I was supposed to be intrigued by them and their
drama.
Journey of No Return
Germany. A Sudanese man living in Germany enters a living nightmare when he
reports a jacket missing.
Crulic: The Path Beyond
Poland. Very, very creative animation but the story of a Romanian man found
guilty of theft in Poland – despite strong evidence to the contrary – going
on a hunger strike is too long and become almost tedious.
“Omg, they spent time and money on THAT?”:
Bonsai
From Chile. A dreamy college student and a moody classmate have an affair.
Skip to 8 years later. The boy is now an aspiring writer who can’t get his
high school love out of his mind. I, on the other hand, found this film
easily forgettable.
Shame
Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. You would think with this cast the
story of a brother and sister who are sex addicts might at least be
interesting. No, think again. Straight porn. It’s a shame anyone spent the
time and money to make this film. Guaranteed to offend nearly everyone,
though I’m sure some critics will say it is a “brave” film. Yuck.
