Cinequest 2001
Here is my abbreviated take on Cinequest 11,
which took place in Silicon Valley, CA from February 22 to March 4, 2001. This
was the first film festival I have attended and I have only gotten serious
about film in the last year, so take my comments with a grain of salt.
-- Mike, 3/15/2001
Besides the films listed below, I also attempted to see the Billy
Bob Thornton event, but he was a no-show. Spike
Lee did show, and he was interesting, although I have to admit to never
having seen any of his movies, yet.
Here are the films I saw in approximate descending order of preference:
- Himmel
kann warten, Der (2000, CQ
link, English title: Exit to Heaven):
This is a powerful drama with abundant humor and often amazingly good acting;
sadly it seems that very few people saw this; in German with subtitles
- Amores
perros (2000, CQ
link, English title: Love's a Bitch):
This film (the closing gala) is an Altman-esque
set of three overlapping stories with interesting directing (reminding me
of Traffic), a non-linear
timeline, and occasionally excellent acting; if it hadn't been such a downer
it would have been my top choice; in Spanish with subtitles
- Maze
(2000, CQ
link):
I think Laura Linney
is amazing in this film, and Rob
Morrow (who also directed for the first time) isn't far behind; this
film is a good mix of humor, human drama, and romance, and there is no
reason I can see why it wouldn't be successful if released
- Fruen
på Hamre (2000,
CQ
link, English title: The Lady of Hamre):
This film is more or less in the Dogme95
style (although it is a period piece which I believe technically disqualifies
it), and features excellent acting in the lead parts (especially Bodil
Jørgensen) and a strong story; this would have ranked higher
if it had been less challenging; in Danish with subtitles
- Lady
in the Box (2000, CQ
link):
This film has a great story with unexpected twists and turns and good
production values, and stars Darren
Burrows of Northern Exposure;
this is only ranked as high as it is because it was just plain fun
- North
Beach (2000, CQ
link):
This start of this film has no plot and an almost Seinfeld-like
feel (except with younger people who use drugs and alcohol more), but it
works its way gradually and gracefully into a sweet romantic story with
very good acting, marred only slightly by below average production values
(the sound in particular seemed well below average)
- Luna
Papa (1999, CQ
link):
This is a magical comedy/fantasy that is great fun with occasional
serious moments; Moritz
Bleibtreu of Run Lola
Run has a significant supporting role; in Russian and Farsi with subtitles
- Lovers
(1999, CQ
link):
This is a true Dogme95 film with amazing acting at times (e.g., the
staircase scene near the end) from Élodie
Bouchez that make it seem almost like a documentary; in English and
French with subtitles as needed
- Hotel
Splendide (2000, CQ
link):
This is a fun, dark, quirky Tim
Burton-like film with Toni
Collette of Muriel's Wedding
and Hugh O'Conor
of Chocolat, and it seems
like it might be successful if released
- Bunny
(2000, CQ
link):
This film is far darker and more depressing than one might expect,
and there is no obvious point, yet you have to admire the style and confidence
with which it tells its story
- Pourquoi
se marier le jour de la fin du monde? (1999, CQ
link, English title: Why Get Married the Day the
World Ends):
I came out of this film thinking it was either brilliant or extremely
pretentious, and while I lean more towards the latter viewpoint, it does
offer some images of madness and obsession that go beyond anything seen
in more mundane fare; in French with subtitles
- Shoe
Shine Boys (2000, CQ
link):
This has been described
as "...Natural Born Killers
without the graphic violence," which, not having seen the Oliver
Stone film, I can't argue with; it is quite unpolished, but most of
the film was supposed to have been shot by the main characters, so that
is appropriate; I was also quite tired the night I saw it, so to some extent
I'm giving it a ranking based on others' reactions
- Felicidades
(2000, CQ
link):
This film is actually much like Amores Perros, described above,
in that it is a Spanish language film of interlocking stories, but it doesn't
have the non-linear timeline or quite the level of the acting of the other
film, and it has no obvious point to make; in Spanish with subtitles
- Amargosa
(2000, CQ
link):
This is the one true documentary that I saw, and despite the subject
matter not being something I would normally find interesting, I found it
to be a compelling story
- Preston
Tylk (2000, CQ
link):
Comparing this to Lady in the Box, described above, it is a
more straightforward whodunit with less humor, more drama, and to me, way
less fun; the acting is in some cases better (Dennis
Farina) and in some cases worse (Luke
Wilson, the lead, whose acting I felt was painfully visible at least
once)
- Too
Much Flesh (2000, CQ
link):
This is the second in a Dogme95 trilogy, the first of which is Lovers (described
above) and I expect the third of which will be Being
Light; it also has Élodie
Bouchez, although her character's name is different than it was in
the first film; this one is far more challenging (a number of people left
the theater) and doesn't have quite the transparency of acting, but I was
still glad I saw it
- Bawandar (2000, CQ
link, English title: Sandstorm):
This film is all about the message that treating people differently
(as extremely as rape) due to their gender and/or their caste (it is set
in India) is a common occurrence, burned into the generations-old collective
unconscious; the film's message is excellent, but as a film it is quite
mundane; in Hindi with subtitles
- Nasty
Neighbours (1999,
CQ
link):
This is an edgy black comedy about two sets of neighbors in an escalating
war; it's well done but didn't seem to click as either a comedy or a drama
for me
- Boku
no ojisan (2000, CQ
link, English title: The Crossing):
The Crossing is a film with plenty of symbolism but not much point,
although it does have some good moments; in Japanese with subtitles
- Morir
(o no) (2000, CQ
link, English title: To Die (or Not)):
This film tells seven interconnected stories with some interesting
alternate reality concepts, but it feels contrived and a little amateurish
at times; in Spanish with subtitles
- Young
Unknowns, The (2000,
CQ
link):
This technically well made film portrays four young characters heavily
into alcohol, drugs, and themselves; the immediate impression was of a
highly unpleasant film with no obvious point, but it does make you think
well after it's over, raising its rank somewhat
- Perfect
Son, The (2000,
CQ
link):
This feels like it would be an excellent TV movie, complete with somewhat
obvious clichés
- Comedy Favorites (shorts, CQ
link):
My favorite segments are Damned if You
Do and Sex, Love,
and Kung Fu, and I also think Angry Kid, Except
You, Fruits
of Labor, The Office Party, and Thinking
Out Loud have
their moments. Driving Home is neither funny nor interesting to
me; although it may have been because of the late hour, on a few occasions
I found myself wondering whether I should leave early
- Your Guardian (2001, CQ
link):
This film (the opening gala) has production value problems (fuzzy digital
video used not for effect but because it was what they had), story problems
(they admitted that they were unable to film the entire script, and yet
some of what they did film was superfluous), and more; there are much worse
movies out there, but I didn't see any at Cinequest this year
Filmography links courtesy of IMDb and
Cinequest.
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Copyright © 2001-2003 by Michael S. Weston. All rights reserved.