Twelve, More or Less
January 26th – February 1st
Operation Filmmaker, Helvetica – A pair of documentaries caught on the PBS series Independent Lens. The first tells the story of an Iraqi film student who gets the opportunity to work on a Hollywood film. The confluence of liberal guilt and the inability to to appreciate and take advantage of the good things that come one’s way make for a maddening but ultimately satisfying documentary. I wanted to strangle equally producer Peter Saraf and the Iraqi film student Muthana. I hope Liev Schreiber delivered a huge apology to director Nina Davenport. The second documentary somehow made 80 minutes of talk about a typeface quite interesting. I am now both appalled and enamored by Helvetica.
Sunshine – Another time through with this one. Something to fight the cabin fever of being stuck at home during the ice/sleet storm.
The Fall – What a delightful surprise. It was sort of a longer, more complex, multi-colored version of The Red Balloon. With a little bit of The Princess Bride thrown in. And however director Tarsem coaxed out the performance from Catinca Untaru as Alexandria, he and she both deserve great praise.
Sundance 2009 Short Films on iTunes – Ten short films from the festival that were available for free download: Acting for the Camera, Countertransference, Field Notes From Dimension X: Oasis, From Burger it Came, Hug, I Live in the Woods, Instead of Abracadabra, James, Magnetic Movie, This Way Up. My favorites were Countertransference, I Live in the Woods (Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking – Sundance Film Festival), Instead of Abracadabra, and This Way Up (Oscar nominee).
The Trials of Ted Haggard – I have to admit that after seeing this I kind of feel sorry for Mr. Haggard. He actually seems sort of human. Unlike his successors. I do wish there was a little more to the documentary though. It almost seems that Alexandra Pelosi relies too much on her ability to develop repertoire with her subjects instead of delving deeper into the story at hand. How has Haggard really dealt with his sexuality? And what does he really feel about those who were once his friends and supporters?
Let The Right One In – I loved this one. Vampires have been done every which way on film. But this film seemed to bring something fresh, even if it isn’t really a vampire movie. The cold and dreary Swedish landscape, with the occassional touch of color, was beautifully shot. Warm red blood on cold white snow. That’s what this movie was all about. Complementary. Life complementing death. Warmth complementing coldness. Laughter complementing terror. Love complementing misery. This movie, more so than perhaps any other from 2008, is one that I can’t wait for its DVD release so I can watch it again and again.
