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2008-05-12

by John Esther

San Francisco International Film Festival 2008

Summary

America's longest-running festival finishes 51st year

Article

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Alive and twitching after 51 years, the San Francisco International Film Festival once again saw the flickering lights of theaters by the bay. This year the festival’s famous movie marathon ran several hours daily April 24-May 8, showcasing over 200 films from around the globe.

A noticeably provincial-participatory film festival lacking in parties and panels, SFIFF is really for the cineaste and not the budding filmmaker or diehard partygoer. Most of the people I encountered, other than a few filmmakers (in general many filmmakers were noticeably absent during the screenings of their films), were from the local area. According to the program there were only three “panels” while what parties there were tended to be for San Francisco’s jetsetters willing to throw down some fundraising dough for the San Francisco Film Society, an extremely impressive group of smart, friendly and kind individuals enamored with cinema.

Given the SFFS’ devotion to and promotion of cinema, it was somewhat ironic that there were hardly any meeting places or opportunities for non-festival badge holders to commingle and converse on cinema. Apparently there was nothing sponsored by SFIFF. This is a shame because most of the films viewed this year were worth the watch, often offering content worthy of comment.

In light of that, here are capsule reviews for 26 films at SFIFF 2008.

Alexandra – Screened at last year’s AFI Los Angeles Film Festival and previously released in Los Angeles theaters, the latest film by Russia’s formidable filmmaker, Alexander Sokurov (Mother and Son; Father and Son), follows the eponymous figure (Opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya, not singing) visiting a relative doing his mandatory military service time in the occupied Chechen Republic. Alexandra speaks little and says little of substance as the handsome, muscular boys embrace the elderly woman as a symbol of home. Masquerading as a high art, anti-war film, closer scrutiny suggests a mixed, perhaps cowardice, narrative toward the violent conflict between Russia and Chechnya.

The Art of Negative Thinking – For the first 20 minutes or so, this Norwegian film written and directed by Bård Brien takes a hilarious stance against New Age psychobabble therapy in the face of horrific circumstances only to make a U-turn and face the ugly predicament of numerous people under one roof who have lost the control of their bodies to various degrees. A smartly written, strong ensemble piece suggesting reality is what you will to see it, regardless that your bodies are trapped inside wheelchairs (or movie theater seats).

Ask Not – Under the U.S. Military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the U.S. military cannot ask you if you are gay, but you cannot admit you are gay to anyone either. This makes serving in the military extra strenuous because you have to live, perhaps die, a lie. To its benefit, Johnny Symons’ documentary Ask Not makes a clear and cut case on how unfair and anachronistic this policy remains. However, it barely raises the contradiction in fighting and protecting -- perhaps killing and dieing, too – for a nation that does not grant gays some basic human rights. Moreover Ask Not barely touches on the reality of what it means to serve your country in a time when it is engaged in two major aggressive and highly unpopular acts abroad and what if any parallels are there to homophobic hate crimes at home.

Black Belt – “Karate is not about fighting.” He who learns shall earn the ‘kuro-obi” black belt. Set in early 1920s Japan, director Shunichi Nagasaki’s film finds three karate experts following their hearts as Japan becomes increasingly militaristic. One is an idealist. One is a cynic. The third watches the other two as they battle for enlightenment with and without non-fight-en-men-t. A thinking person’s martial arts film with wit, humor, smart action sequences yet a tad heavy on the coincidental plot points, viewing this film at SFIFF was probably the most enjoyable viewing onsite (and it was my first one).

Ezra – Like thousands of boys before and after him, Ezra (Mamodou Turay Kamara) was pulled into a civil war he never wanted or understood. But under the persuasions of propaganda and persecution Ezra would grow to understand the means and meanness of survival in civil war-torn Sierra Leone. Ezra would kill, breed and lose more than his share. Now 16, Ezra stands before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Overweening with material that hardly needs an emotional nudge, filmmaker Newton I. Aduaka’s feature possesses clumsy acting and direction, yet manages to maintain enough significance to make it worthwhile for those who have little idea of what is going on in Sierra Leone and the western world’s involvement vis-à-vis diamonds, guns and other economic agents.

Flow: For Love of Water – Like any other book or documentary on the subject, Irena Salin’s documentary points out how and why the world’s water supply is dwindling. As usual the people are the last to know. Suburbanites fill up their pools while millions take excessive showers and baths as billions of poor people drink toilet water or worse. Meanwhile many companies are hijacking water supplies around the world or falsely labeling the purity of store bought aqua. All of this is pointing to disaster. Yet this documentary dares not mention the unmentionable: the poor are overpopulating themselves to death. At any rate, if you think the dwindling oil supply has wreaked havoc? Then we have seen nothing yet. It is one thing to be out of oil, but when life’s essential recourse dissipates, look out. The rivers will flow with a new liquid as precious as water.

Flower in the Pocket – With no mother in sight and a grieving father locked up in his work restoring mannequins, Ma Li Ohm (Zi Jiang Wong) and Ma Li Ahn (Ming Wei Lim) are two boys left their own devices. Outsiders, poor students and occasionally bullies, the boys get into the silliest predicaments, such as searching through shit for a swallowed tooth. Considering what their father (James Lee) is like – choking on a piece of gum after stealing it from his kids; learning to swim at work -- there is little wonder where the boys pick up their quirky behavior. While the film does move a bit slow at times, it has been some time since I saw a deadpan comedy as funny as writer-director Liew Seng Tat’s feature debut. It is not that the film was consistently funny but there were a few times when I unabashedly guffawed at the antics of father and sons alike.

Glass: a Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts – Judging by Scott Hicks documentary, perhaps the most renown living American composer is a nebbish, almost apolitical, family man whipping out works because he cannot imagine not working. Celebrating Glass’ 70th birthday and beyond, Hicks looked at Glass for 18 months. We see Glass at home with his seemingly clueless wife, chatting with film collaborators Errol Morris and Woody Allen, taking spiritual-exercise lessons. In between paternal and musical gigs he works and he works. I have always been an admirer of Glass but my adoration has dwindled a little after watching this documentary.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson -- The closing night film of the festival, Alex Gibney’s latest documentary is a hoot and hollering expose on the late journalist and his life and times. Focusing almost solely on Thompson’s life between the early 1960s through President Jimmy Carter’s bid for the candidacy in 1976 – without a peep about Hunter during the 1980s-1990s – Gibney traces his subject’s significance then and now. Gibney does his usual talking heads, archival footage is included, Johnny Depp narrates, etc…making for a piece that would have made Thompson proud. Whatever silliness occasionally creeps into the documentary can be forgiven. Watching Gibney’s last effort, the excellent Taxi to the Dark Side, was no easy task. Dealing with that fear and loathing was a lot harder -- although he was justifiably rewarded with an Oscar – Gibney deserves a break. Speaking of giving breaks, the closing night party was divided between into two parties – the VIP in one building the rest of us in another. Give me a break.

In the City of Sylvia – After an embarrassingly shoddy and unenlightening Q&A with Mel Novikoff Award winner, the estimable film critic J. Hoberman (Vulgar Modernism), the first screening of José Luis Guerin’s film occurred. The French/Spanish films follows an extremely handsome young man (Xavier Lafitte) who has returned to Strasbourg looking for a woman he met six years ago. After hours of gazing, he spots a woman (Pilar Lopez de Ayala) and follows her. Macho yet debunking/denying the male gaze, romantically bittersweet and intentionally unsatisfying according to normal storytelling standards, in terms of cinematic semiotics, this was one of the most thought provoking films of the festival.

Just Like Home – Written, performed and helmed on a day-to-day basis, this quirky film from Denmark follows the reactions of a people from a small town after a man was seen naked one morning. The town is in an uproar, the economy is collapsing and people are afraid of their neighbors. They need a scapegoat to bare all of their woes. Shot with style and grace with performances by adorable actors whom express genuine emotions, this film by co-writer and director Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners) is what makes film festivals culturally precious.

Lady Jane – A welcome antidote to the poisonous obsession with vendettas in America life and American film, director Robert Guediguian’s feature is a somber tale on revenge run amuck. Muriel (Ariane Ascaride), François (Jean Pierre Darroussin) and René (Gérard Meylan) were once successful crooks. Now retired and living the “normal” life in France, the kidnapping of one of their children brings them together. When the exchange for money goes terrible awry, the three are adamant about capturing the assailant, ergo capturing the good old days, too. A well-acted piece with sentiments, conceits and tropes no Hollywood studio could ever invest in without a little story tinkering.

Mataharis – Three women working as private detectives are at different points of their love lives in co-writer and director Iciar Bollain’s drama about the intermingling of the professional, personal and the political. Eve (Najwa Nimri) uses her work to discover a family secret while Inés (Maria Vasquez) infiltrates a workers group challenging a multinational cooperation and falls in love with Manuel (Diego Martin) while Carmen (Nuria González) ambles along in a loveless marriage. All three storylines are fairly entertaining as they explore some of life’s dismal affairs; unfortunately, by film’s end, Bollain takes the bourgeois way out and our heroines find content.

Mock Up on Mu – The most ambitious film I saw at SFIFF 2008, Craig Baldwin’s “underground” work takes on JPL and Scientology, along with an array of post-war economics vis-à-vis a postmodern hybrid of film history and films, primarily those of low esthetics. Based on historical “facts” the 12-part (foot) film uses JPL founder Jack Parsons, scientology wizard L. Ron Hubbard and the more obscure Marjorie Cameron as primary characters responsible for taking people on this earth and putting them out of this world in the not-too-distant future/past/present. While the energetic prowess of the film contains radical elements regarding the frequencies of secrecies, it still clings to white casting and male gazing.

Mongol – From Russia with love comes Sergei Bodrov’s lovingly revisionist take on the early years of Mongolia’s Genghis Khan (1167-1227). Not focusing on the latter years of imperialism and concubines, Bodrov’s film sees Temudjin (Tadanobu Asano) as a princely victim of evildoers whose dignity, perseverance, and adherence to traditional nation-state values, plus the love for his first wife Börte (Khulan Chuluun) -- whom she “picked” when Temudjin was 9 years old – gave him the thundering power to rule over the land and unite its people. Think of Macbeth with a happy ending.

My Winnipeg – Renown film director Guy Madden (The Saddest Music in the World; Brand Upon the Brain) ode to his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, gives credence to the phrase: “You can’t make this shit up.” Or can you? Juxtaposing the cities peculiarities (most sleepwalkers; Golden Boy pageant scandal) with his mother’s (clairvoyant), Madden made the funniest film to be seen at the SFIFF 2008.

One Hundred Nails – It takes a lot for me to look at the time during a theater screening. In fact the last time I can recall doing so is for Oliver Stone’s Alexander back in 2004. While I waited 125 minutes for that film, it took 67 minutes before I looked at my phone clock (25 minutes left!) during Italy’s writer–director Ermanno Olmi’s asinine anti-intellectual, pseudo-heretical feature about a young professor (Israel actor Raz Degan) who drops everything and goes and lives with peasants in Po Valley. A supposedly Christ-like character suffering for humankind (No, the viewer does the suffering here) the theoretically enlightened professor who has an epiphany eats flesh, litters, utters nonsense, and destroys public books. The film rips off great authors/auteurs of various filmmakers (Michelangelo Antonioni; Ingmar Bergman; Luis Buñuel; Federico Fellini) while clearly showing its ignorance when it comes to philosophy (Karl Jaspers is erroneously labeled “the father of modern existentialism”) and the invalidity of the written word. One hundred nails in the limits of my patience.

Redbelt – Released in Los Angeles theaters during SFIFF, writer-director David Mamet’s latest film follows the story of a man adhering to higher principles in a world fighting for the almighty dollar. The extraordinary actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mike, a Ju-jitsu instructor who runs a dojo. His students are bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and a rape victim. Although he is a master martial artist, he has avoided the prize fighting circuit because “Competition weakens the fighter.” This purity does not sit well with his wife, Sonora (Alice Braga), and her brothers who prefer money to morals. An allegory for many things Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross; The Edge) holds dear, this is a martial arts film worth talking about 30 minutes after the end credits have rolled.

Sleep Dealer -- Winner of Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and the Alfred P. Sloan Prize (for science in film) at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the design of Alex Rivera’s film is impressive considering it must have been made on a small budget. Haunted by his father’s murder, which he accidentally arranged, Rudy (Jacob Vargas) heads to Tijuana “the city of the future” in this futuristic film. There he hooks himself up to a world-life system (“nodes”) and works his mechanical arms to the boneless truth of a reality disconnected from natural world around him. Poignant and apropos, this superb film works out several themes on multiple levels.

Standard Operating Procedure – This year SFIFF 2008 awarded documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line; Fog of War) with the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award. On hand to receive the award, the presentation was followed with a screening of this disturbing documentary (already released in Los Angeles) about the infamous actions and images of torture and murders our servicepersons in the military engaged in at Abu Ghraib Prison back in 2004 and the cover-up and silence that has ensued hitherto.

Time to Die – Previously screened at Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, this mawkish movie about a old Polish woman living in her old house and talking to her dog (which many times is obviously not responding to her) is manipulative crap for the vapid filmgoer hungry to be conned into bogus feelings about growing old and dieing. The final tracking scene is nauseating in its intent and despicable for its god-awful lack of originality.

Two Ladies – Philippe Faucon’s heartwarming film tells the story of two women who find commonality under strange circumstances in France. A young Arab woman named Sélima (Sabrina Ben Abdallah) takes care of an elderly Jewish woman, Esther (Ariane Jacquot). After a series of events, Sélima’s mom, Halima (Zahra Mouffok), helps Sélima take care of Esther. Although Halima is Arabic and Esther is Jewish they both find affinity through their former home of Algeria and their similar ages. This does not sit well with Halima’s anti-Israel neighbors who are watching images of Arab children being killed by the Israeli military nearly every night on French television. A sincere film about companionship amongst two groups of people sometimes confused by who the real enemy is, this was one of my favorites at the festival.

Up the Yangtze – In their biggest structural endeavor since the Great Wall of China, the captains of the country have decided to damn the Yangtze (“The River”) with the world’s largest dam. This means thousands of poor people will be displaced and there is not a damn thing they can do about the damn situation. Meanwhile a peasant named Yu Shui has been sent to work on a luxury liner cruising up and down the Yangtze. By juxtaposing her personal story with the political situation of the country at large, Canadian director Yung Chang’s documentary provides a metaphor and example of China’s capitalism masquerading as communism. Everything be damned but free enterprise.

Vasermil – In a tough Israeli neighborhood a group of teenagers try escaping town by playing soccer well enough that they can leave and never look back. One young man with a temper lives under the thumb of his thuggish brother and his brother’s boss. Another one gets high with his brother. The third sells drugs. It may be a tough life but somebody is always living it. Scripted by director Mushon Salmona, the film uses non-actors using their real names. This leads to authentic performances that, well, if soccer does not work, there may be a chance for these guys via acting.

Water Lilies -- Refreshingly frank in its explorations on some of the confusions and delusions brought upon by those early stages of sexual self-cognizance, Céline Sciamma’s Water Lilies explores the lives of three 15-year-old Parisian suburbanites during one summer by the pool. Marie (Pauline Acquart) is a friend of Anne (Louise Blachère), but pines for Floriane (Adèle Haenel). Floriane is as every bit comfortable with her appearance and social standing as Anne is not, although they are both outsiders because of the ways their bodies have developed, albeit differently. Marie is attracted to Floriane’s command of all situations. Or is it blissful oblivion? Meanwhile, after a revealing encounter with a young man, Anne has become so conscious of her sexuality she unsuccessfully self-imposes a regression to her pre-pubescent days, but there is no denying the body what the body wants.

The Yellow Handkerchief – In connection with the excellent actor Maria Bello (The Cooler: A History of Violence) receiving the Peter J. Owens Award, SFIFF 2008 screened Udayan Prassad’s lame film about a recently-released convict (William Hurt) contemplating lost chances with his lost lover (Bello) while he haphazardly sojourns through the back roads of post-Katrina Louisiana with two teenagers (Kristen Stewart and Eddie Redmayne).