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recurrent themes:
when attending these festivals, you start to realize just how many similar themes are going through all of these vastly different stories. there are stories of all kinds that are itching to be told, and i think that film allows people to explore these themes on such a different level that novels or articles.
i also think that it will be the last day here at the bangkok international film festival, when any sense of normalcy might come to order. i know that yesterday i gave the how-it-was-going report an a-okay, but today i found out that certain films being screened in the normally special-seat theatres (more plush, couple-oriented spacing, food allowed, less audience, super wide screen) have doubled in price.
now in the great scheme of things, paying five bones instead of $2.50 is no big deal, especially when you think of prices per ticket at a festival. the problem i have is this:
what if this is the only screening of the film that is available when you are available to see it? what if you don't want to pay extra, because you don't really have any say over the location of the screening?
what if you don't care that the screening is attached to a special all-day cinematographer's workshop which makes you pay extra for an additional movie that you don't want to see and don't have time for?
i guess that i personally only had to deal with these questions in theory, because the film i wanted to see was sold out, but still. i believe that it is not the viewing audiences fault if normal festival films are being screened in the specialized theatres or not.
the fact of the matter is, if the festival box office can't start a pricing scheme from the very beginning of the festival day one, then it is just bad form to be changing the prices after the fact. the same thinking applies to film festival coupons and their wavering prices.
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mini reviews:
17. february 23rd - rize, usa, 11:00am ****
photographer david lachapelle has added another filmic work to his resume with this insider's look at the "krump" and "clown" dance phenomenons to come out of south central los angeles.
out of the predominantly black cities of S.E. L.A., there has been a scene emerging that has the aggressiveness and attitude of what most would consider the ingredients for a new gang-related subculture, but this time around the community is gathering around this dance not only as an activity in the pursuit of expression and peace, but also as a way of life that could lead to positivity, safety, and ultimately a way out from being labeled only as a "ghetto gutter child."
this documentary delves deeply into the personal lives of the dancers that have come to personify this dance phenomena, and explains its origins, ever-evolving boundless style, and impact upon the area and beyond.
it's a piece that shows and inspires. this is something that maybe the media can latch onto before someone else feels that nothing good ever came out of S.E. L.A. beautifully shot and worth the watch.
18. february 23rd - the white masai, germany, 2:30pm ****
a beautifully told story adapted from a novel about a young swiss woman who leaves her boyfriend of two years, to stay with and eventually marry a masai warrior and live in the bush.
i only wish i had access to the novel that inspired this film. it seems like the sort of adventure that would lend itself very well beyond the potential listing of differences. a very human story about the nature of love, acceptance, and cultural ties.
the shots are engaging and the hardships are not only felt by the woman herself, but also by the masai man who has also chosen to pursue the relationship. he must face issues of the mentality of the "western" female; independent, ambitious, and at times un-understanding of cultural isms.
the location very much reminds me of a film that i enjoyed very much a couple years ago, called "nowhere in africa." true the films take place at different times, but i believe both stories touch upon not only the differences in the cultures between europeans and africans of this area, but also how the human condition and love can create grounds of mutual understanding and care.
there are little annoyances like her lack of learning swahili language and continuing to yell at him in german. or in scenes where she is affected or shocked by eons-long masai customs, how she never takes that short moment most open-minded people take to try and understand and empathize cultural customs from a perspective other than her own.
it takes only small moments to get over such things, but over all this beautiful movie does end on a strange note, but delivers a great story to latch onto. hopefully soon, i can get my hands on the novel, and see what really when on in between the edits.
19. february 23rd - river queen, new zealand, 8:30pm **
damn.
i wanted to love it samantha morton and oddly cast kiefer sutherland.
so sad.
sorry temuera morrison and cliff curtis, really.
you know when you're watching a movie, and with every following cut, you feel horrible and confused at why anyone would allow this train wreck of a work print to be made into the final edit?
it felt like someone had known ahead of time that this film would be so fragmented, even with the beautiful collection of shots and vast potential to be an epic story set in the colonial-time campaigns against the fleeting maori culture in new zealand, it would have saved me about two hours of feeling guilty that such great actors were somehow done a greater disservice.
that's the sort of tedium i was riding almost the entire time of this screening. and yeah, i felt bad, but i felt worse for the director, vincent ward (aka-the guy responsible for what dreams may come), who was in attendance trying to not sound disappointed in his own film.
this is not to say that all of his films are epic-in-vision/horrid-in-practice bombs (i loved map of the human heart personally), but how can you have had the opportunity to work with these great actors, and somehow sell the entire idea of the story so short. i think it was not the actors themselves who faltered, but somewhere the story got lost, and someone didn't work hard enough to try and save it. it's not harsh, it's human.
not to dog him as a director, but you have to understand that i could feel that he had a passion for this film, and somehow it got away from him. there were articles i had read about the production problems, weather woes, bond company production infiltrations, and a whole slew of challenges, but it just wasn't pulled together.
story-wise, there were so many inexplicable holes. the space-time continuum was disrupted. lines ended up flat and odd. motivations were skewed. epic dreams turned into opportunities to get some booty during wars. it was all very very confusing.
you can see that a great deal of work went into the making of the film, but something happened after the last shot was doctored and assembled together. something that once was a strong cohesive story became shattered and it was bravely attempted to be pieced back together, but ultimately was a systematic prolonged example of how editing and slight foresight are both key in presentation.
true, i am not a "working professional" yet and i have many unfinished crappy scripts in the works, but i can use this film as a brilliant example of a work that should've been something great, had all the ingredients of something great, and then turned into a moving visual question mark.
sorry, but it just didn't work for me.
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