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tiggymalvern
The Seattle International Film Festival came and went again this year. I actually saw very few films this time around. Partly that was because I had a lot of work scheduled during the festival, and partly it was because I just wasn't grabbed by many of the films as I browsed the listings.
Another influence was the traffic. The very first film I attempted to see was a documentary on the Earth Liberation Front - I allowed over 90 minutes to make what is usually a 25 minute drive outside rush hour and still didn't get there. After that, I decided I wasn't prepared to spend 2 hours sitting in the car to watch any film that started between 5pm and 8pm, and vetoed the lot. (As it happened, I wouldn't have seen the documentary anyway, because that showing was stopped due to a bomb scare, but the principal of the traffic stood.)
A Cat in Paris Animated French film about a cat who is the companion of a traumatised young girl by day, and the accomplice of a jewel thief by night. The cops and gangsters story is fun, if crazy (and with an utterly unbelievable ending, but hey, kids' film). The art style is blocky, and frankly rather ugly to my aesthetic sense, but the film zips along entertainingly enough. 7/10
Beginners This one is something of a cheat, since I didn't see it actually at the festival. Ewan McGregor was this year's guest of honour, with a talk after the screening, so I decided not to compete with his rabid fans, and saw the film at its official cinematic release a week after the festival. But I would never have heard of it without the festival poking my interest, so I'm counting it.
After Oliver's mother dies, his 75 year old father comes out as gay, and sets out to enjoy the life he denied himself through four and a half decades of marriage. Oliver has relationship issues, stemming from a fear of ending up in the kind of stilted, platonic relationship he observed daily between his parents. Oliver struggles to apply to his current relationship the lessons he learned from his newly liberated father.
I went into this film with the wrong expectations. I knew that two of my friends had loved it, and I was expecting something quirky and funny. That was definitely a component, but there was also a lot of moping. The moping scenes went on and on. The performances were excellent, particularly from Christopher Plummer as the gay senior citizen, but I just wanted to slap Oliver sometimes for being a dick. 7/10
How to Die in Oregon A documentary about physician-assisted suicide for terminal patients in Oregon, the first US state to legalise the process. The film follows a number of people who choose to make use of the option, interviewing them, their families, their doctors, and the volunteers who are there to advise the patients and ensure the legal details are adhered to. The main subject, with the biggest share of on-screen time, is Cody, a 50-something mother with inoperable liver cancer. The film also documents the campaign to enact a similar law in the neighbouring state of Washington.
This is not an easy film to watch. I needed more than the three tissues I had with me, but I recommend it without reserve. The only reason I mark it down is because it's definitely one-sided. I would have liked to have seen more of the views of people who oppose the system, even though they're wrong. But in the end, this isn't a documentary about the politics, it's a documentary about personal choices and relationships. And I would defy anyone to watch this film, and say that the intelligent, vivacious, joyful Cody should have had to bear that pain for one day longer than she chose to. 9/10
Buck A documentary following Buck Brannaman, the inspiration behind the title character of 'The Horse Whisperer'. Buck travels the US for 9 months every year, giving clinics on training horses and dealing with difficult animals.The nomadic lifestyle brings inevitable problems to his own family life with his wife and daughter.
Buck would be the first to say he isn't the original horse whisperer - he learned his techniques from a mentor, and that man from someone else before him. But Buck was the man interviewed by the author of the novel, and he was an advisor on Robert Redford's film, so the title became his. As he says early in the film, most times he's not helping people with horse problems, he's helping horses with people problems. Buck's own childhood involved a drunken, abusive father, and when he sees a terrified animal, he knows exactly how that feels. He isn't the most expressive or outgoing of men (he really is a typical 'cowboy'), but he works to overcome that for both the people and the horses. His techniques are impressive, but he's not a miracle worker - some problems are too well established for a quick fix.
I suspect this documentary will only really appeal to those with an interest in horses, the animals are so deeply entrenched in the film, but Buck's observations and intuitions apply to many species, including humans. Not a film to change the world, but involving enough. 8/10
Hurricane Kalatozov A documentary about the Georgian director Mikhail Kalatozov, who worked under the Soviet system. Many of his films inevitably were unknown to the west, but he won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1958. Kalatozov filmed in a regime of censorship, and there is a suggestion that he worked within the system in order to buy himself more leeway for pushing boundaries. Even so, he did find himself banished from film-making and stuck with managerial duties for a period.
Unfortunately, the subject matter of this film itself makes the material limited. I would have loved to have seen a powerful depiction of the struggles of a man of vision within a restricted society, but the evidence simply isn't there for more than speculation - Kalatozov would have taken great care to ensure the evidence didn't exist. I would also have thoroughly enjoyed a deep exploration of his creative genius, of the techniques he innovated. Sadly, this film tries to do both, and covered neither to my satisfaction, spending too much time interviewing surviving relatives who actually know nothing of the man's innermost thoughts. 6/10
Definitely a reduction from the 22 films I saw last year. Maybe next year's selection will inspire me more!
Another influence was the traffic. The very first film I attempted to see was a documentary on the Earth Liberation Front - I allowed over 90 minutes to make what is usually a 25 minute drive outside rush hour and still didn't get there. After that, I decided I wasn't prepared to spend 2 hours sitting in the car to watch any film that started between 5pm and 8pm, and vetoed the lot. (As it happened, I wouldn't have seen the documentary anyway, because that showing was stopped due to a bomb scare, but the principal of the traffic stood.)
A Cat in Paris Animated French film about a cat who is the companion of a traumatised young girl by day, and the accomplice of a jewel thief by night. The cops and gangsters story is fun, if crazy (and with an utterly unbelievable ending, but hey, kids' film). The art style is blocky, and frankly rather ugly to my aesthetic sense, but the film zips along entertainingly enough. 7/10
Beginners This one is something of a cheat, since I didn't see it actually at the festival. Ewan McGregor was this year's guest of honour, with a talk after the screening, so I decided not to compete with his rabid fans, and saw the film at its official cinematic release a week after the festival. But I would never have heard of it without the festival poking my interest, so I'm counting it.
After Oliver's mother dies, his 75 year old father comes out as gay, and sets out to enjoy the life he denied himself through four and a half decades of marriage. Oliver has relationship issues, stemming from a fear of ending up in the kind of stilted, platonic relationship he observed daily between his parents. Oliver struggles to apply to his current relationship the lessons he learned from his newly liberated father.
I went into this film with the wrong expectations. I knew that two of my friends had loved it, and I was expecting something quirky and funny. That was definitely a component, but there was also a lot of moping. The moping scenes went on and on. The performances were excellent, particularly from Christopher Plummer as the gay senior citizen, but I just wanted to slap Oliver sometimes for being a dick. 7/10
How to Die in Oregon A documentary about physician-assisted suicide for terminal patients in Oregon, the first US state to legalise the process. The film follows a number of people who choose to make use of the option, interviewing them, their families, their doctors, and the volunteers who are there to advise the patients and ensure the legal details are adhered to. The main subject, with the biggest share of on-screen time, is Cody, a 50-something mother with inoperable liver cancer. The film also documents the campaign to enact a similar law in the neighbouring state of Washington.
This is not an easy film to watch. I needed more than the three tissues I had with me, but I recommend it without reserve. The only reason I mark it down is because it's definitely one-sided. I would have liked to have seen more of the views of people who oppose the system, even though they're wrong. But in the end, this isn't a documentary about the politics, it's a documentary about personal choices and relationships. And I would defy anyone to watch this film, and say that the intelligent, vivacious, joyful Cody should have had to bear that pain for one day longer than she chose to. 9/10
Buck A documentary following Buck Brannaman, the inspiration behind the title character of 'The Horse Whisperer'. Buck travels the US for 9 months every year, giving clinics on training horses and dealing with difficult animals.The nomadic lifestyle brings inevitable problems to his own family life with his wife and daughter.
Buck would be the first to say he isn't the original horse whisperer - he learned his techniques from a mentor, and that man from someone else before him. But Buck was the man interviewed by the author of the novel, and he was an advisor on Robert Redford's film, so the title became his. As he says early in the film, most times he's not helping people with horse problems, he's helping horses with people problems. Buck's own childhood involved a drunken, abusive father, and when he sees a terrified animal, he knows exactly how that feels. He isn't the most expressive or outgoing of men (he really is a typical 'cowboy'), but he works to overcome that for both the people and the horses. His techniques are impressive, but he's not a miracle worker - some problems are too well established for a quick fix.
I suspect this documentary will only really appeal to those with an interest in horses, the animals are so deeply entrenched in the film, but Buck's observations and intuitions apply to many species, including humans. Not a film to change the world, but involving enough. 8/10
Hurricane Kalatozov A documentary about the Georgian director Mikhail Kalatozov, who worked under the Soviet system. Many of his films inevitably were unknown to the west, but he won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1958. Kalatozov filmed in a regime of censorship, and there is a suggestion that he worked within the system in order to buy himself more leeway for pushing boundaries. Even so, he did find himself banished from film-making and stuck with managerial duties for a period.
Unfortunately, the subject matter of this film itself makes the material limited. I would have loved to have seen a powerful depiction of the struggles of a man of vision within a restricted society, but the evidence simply isn't there for more than speculation - Kalatozov would have taken great care to ensure the evidence didn't exist. I would also have thoroughly enjoyed a deep exploration of his creative genius, of the techniques he innovated. Sadly, this film tries to do both, and covered neither to my satisfaction, spending too much time interviewing surviving relatives who actually know nothing of the man's innermost thoughts. 6/10
Definitely a reduction from the 22 films I saw last year. Maybe next year's selection will inspire me more!
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Date: 2011-07-03 03:20 am (UTC)