Has it really been a year since I sat in those seats at Tower City 8 hours a day? When we’re experiencing June Weather in March it adds another hurdle to investing so much time. But when you arrive, ahhh, it seems like yesterday.
Had a quick conversation with Susan Smoluchowski, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Film Festival. Apparently, there are similarities between our two cities and festivals and she came to see what makes us so successful. Their festival takes place over 3 weeks versus 1 1/2 weeks for CIFF. Their attendance is about 40,000, around half of ours. Their downtown theater has significant “charm”, her words, but we can schedule twice as many movies at any one time. Frankly, whenever I talk with Directors, they have nothing but great things to say about our Festival. Keep charging on.
I saw two movies of varying quality. This year, I will be rating them two ways.
- Competency – Evaluate the plot, dialogue, actors, camera work and scenery
- Compelling – Determine if I was affected by the movie. Even a well-made film doesn’t mean it was compelling to me. Likewise, a sloppy movie can be moving.
Nana. This movie was difficult to watch for many reasons. Nana is taken from the perspective of its 4 year old girl who observes and makes mischief. The opening scene shows a pig being killed, including draining the blood. Later on, she finds a dead rabbit and carries it to her bed. Beyond, that, nothing much really happens. This French film does a great job of showing life on the farm, but to all the high schoolers in attendance(!), it probably resulted in more boredom than anything else. I shared their sentiments.
Competency 2 1/2 * out of 4 Compelling 1 * out of 4 12:15 PM Sunday, 8:20 PM Monday
Jitters. I always check out at least one Icelandic film a year. This coming of age story about a youth who begins to question his sexuality is well-told and well-acted. The story is set off when Gabriel kisses his male roommate. Throughout the rest of the movie, you can sense his conflicting thoughts, but not until the end of the film will you understand the meaning of Jitters and how things will never be the same. A worthy entry for a teenage gay-themed stories.
Competency: 2 1/2 * Compelling: 3 1/2 * 9:25 PM Saturday, 9:15 AM Sunday
Leave a Reply