My Film Fest

One of the things I look forward to most during the early spring is the Philadelphia Film Fest. The film fest shows independent and international films for 2 weeks. I look forward to this festival for several reasons. First and foremost, I LOVE MOVIES. I can generally see 35+ movies in a 2 week period. I like foreign films – I'm interesting in how other countries make movies. The subjects they choose and the artistic choices they make are often different from American film makers. Watching foreign films allows me to gain some insight into a place I have never been. I may never get to go to Chad, Mongolia, or Iran; but, I may get to see an artist’s interpretation of some of the things experienced by people in these countries. Although these are only movies and therefore not factual, they can still be very revealing. It is also fun for me to try to see what non-American audiences look for in movies. Once you get past the subtitles, foreign films made for foreign audiences are often very insightful. As for independent films, I find it interesting and enjoyable to see the choices made by a movie maker with limited resources. When you remove all the crazy effects, things like story, acting, editing, and pace become much more evident. I am not saying that big movies don’t do this well; rather, that when all the money is removed, all you have is your idea and if the idea is bad there is NO WAY for the film to recover. This scenario makes the movie making very transparent. Many of these movies could not get made because of the subject matter or they have been deemed not marketable. “Not marketable” does not mean “not good.” This is a fact that becomes evident at a film festival.

This year, the Philly Film Fest was cancelled. The biggest reason sited was the recession. The city and many of the corporations pulled their support out of the film fest. There were also internal debates between the Film Fest organizers. Since there was no film fest this year, I decided to make my own. There are several movies that I have wanted to see, but just haven’t gotten around to. I decided that for 25 days I would watch a movie a day; however, I only got to watch 22 movies. (If I were to do this again, I would not do it during playoff time since I like sports almost as much as I like movies.)

In this blog entry I am sharing a short review of those 22 movies in the order that I watched them. I am not going to discuss specific plot details, but I am going to discuss the general idea of these movies. If you are the type of person that likes to “GO IN FRESH” be warned.

My Sister's Keeper

This movie is centered on a family with a sick child. The parents’ solution to this was to have another child that was genetically compatible so that organs could be donated to the sick child. I think movies like this are very important because I believe in the very near future this and other genetic scenarios will not be science fiction, but a reality. I believe that as a society we must begin making decisions on these things now. I do not think it is good policy to wait until these things are a reality and then try to catch up legally and culturally. I am also in favor of anything that makes science more mainstream. Science touches every part of our lives. It is not some obscure thing that happens just in a lab. Science is all around us. I wish more of it were in our entertainment too.

Blindness

This is a movie that depicts an epidemic of blindness and the government’s response to it. It illustrates the danger that when people are scared they will let the government do things to their fellow man they would normally not allow. This movie is very well thought out, but is very, very disturbing.

The Big Lebowski

I really didn’t like this movie as much as everyone else did. I thought the story was OK. I though there were some kind of funny catch phrases. Maybe people talked it up too much. I LOVE the John Goodman character. He was totally outrageous in what was for me an OK movie.

Vantage Point

This movie shows a presidential assassination attempt from the point of view of several different people. Conceptually this movie is amazing. It illustrates that fact that the same thing can look very different to different people. It also reminds us that there are very few times in our life when we have all of the facts.

Seven Samurai

This was an amazing movie. It was three hours long and the pace was pretty slow, but I just didn’t mind. This is about a village that is being pillage by gangs so they hire seven samurai to protect them. The characters are well developed. A very simple story, but you are totally engaged for 3 hours. This movie is magical because it should not work. The story is too simple, the pace is too slow, and the length is too long but it JUST DOES NOT MATTER. This is just a FANTASTIC movie.

Raging Bull

This is the story of a boxer in the 1940s and his life. Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro are great. I have to admit I am extremely negatively biased against this era in America. The attitudes toward women, not to mention the physical abuse, is disquieting. This is still a very good movie.

300

This movie was good, not great for me. I LOVE the way it was shot. I am a big fan of history and historical fiction. I thought the acting was over the top and maybe ruined it for me. This was still a good movie, but not great.

Sophie Scholl

This is a foreign film about Sophie Scholl, a German woman who was executed for publishing and distributing anti-Nazi leaflets during the Second World War. Every time I see movies like this I have to admit I was wrong about something. As a child in high school I always blamed the German people for letting the Holocaust happen. I thought as a child that the German people turned a blind eye to the suffering and injustice done to their neighbors so that their own lives could be better. As I grew up I realized that that perception is not reality. I think a more accurate picture is that there are some people that fully supported Hitler, there were some people who didn’t care either way, there were some people who maybe hated what the Nazi’s were doing, but were afraid to do anything about it. There were also people in Germany who hated what Hitler was doing to their country and gave their lives in an attempt to stop him. The story of Sophie Scholl is one of many examples of courage in a terrible situation. Stories like this reinforce a core belief that I have. It is the responsibility of everyone (not just the people being persecuted) to stand up for injustice ESPECIALLY when it doesn’t directly effect them.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

This was a documentary about the Funk Brothers. Who are the Funk Brothers? They are the band that played in the background for all of the hits that came out of Motown. Every singer that came out of Motown like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and The Temptations had the Funk Brothers and their arrangers making and playing the American pop classics that we know and love. This is a very informative documentary. Anyone who has ever played in a band or likes Motown should watch this.

Hustle and Flow

This movie is about a pimp who tries to start a career as a rapper. I did like several aspects of this movie. Music performing and production is something that I am into. I also appreciated the struggles of someone trying to break into a music career so late in their lives.

A Streetcar Named Desire

LOVE THIS MOVE. It is dark. It is disturbing. And I loved every second of it. I really want to see the play now. It is excellent story telling. I love Marlon Brando. He is awesome in this movie. I had only ever seen an older Marlon Brando who just mumbles a lot. Stanley Kowalski 1950’s Brando is amazing. I see why women liked him.

The Other Boleyn Girl

I liked this movie a lot. It is about Henry VIII trying to have a son. One of the things that I cannot wrap my head around is how women have been historically devalued. This movie illustrates many aspects of this. It is very well made and completely engaging. There are also good acting performances by all the principles.

Sin City

I liked this movie a lot more than 300. In addition to the way it was shot, I love the story. I love the pace of the movie. I love the story telling.

On the Waterfront

Love this movie. While all of the attention is on the Brando character, I love the priest character in this movie. Karl Malden is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.

Flow: For the Love of Water

This documentary illustrates the challenges of supplying water to a growing population. It also shows what happens when corporate interests come in conflict with the ability of people to get what they need to survive.

Once

This is a simple story of struggling musicians. A great movie. A great soundtrack.

Citizen Kane

This is the story of a publisher and his life. I like this movie a lot. This movie is rated by some experts as the best movie ever made. I don’t know about that, but I did like it a lot.

Psycho

I am a huge Hitchcock fan. I have seen A LOT of Hitchcock movies. One of my goals is to see all of his movies. Some of them are very hard to find. I have seen a lot his obscure movies, but had never seen this one. Anthony Perkins is creepy-amazing. The subject matter is extremely racy for 1960. A Hitchcock classic, not as good as “Dial M for Murder” or “The Man That Knew to Much,” but still great.

Roman Holiday

I have loved Audrey Hepburn ever since I saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I loved her in this movie as well. This is about a princess who runs away from the palace and her responsibilities to have fun. There are times in our lives when we just want to get away for a weekend. I am also a Gregory Peck fan and he is great in this movie as well.

Dr. Strangelove

This movie is amazing. It is a very satirical comedy about the Cold War and the absurdity of mutually assured destruction; a concept that dominated our foreign policy for the greater part of 25 years. This movie was thought provoking and funny at the same time.

Godfather II

This was a very well done movie. It is a parallel telling of 2 generations of the Corleone family. The story telling is very well done. The directing is awesome: The director has to capture New York at the turn of the century, Las Vegas in the 1950s, as well as Havana and Italy. This is a great tale of immigrant struggle, family and community. It almost makes you forget that THEY ARE IN THE MAFIA AND THEY ARE KILLING PEOPLE!!! In addition to the phenomenal direction and storytelling there are some great acting performances.

Gone With the Wind

This is the 3 hour 50 minute American classic about the aristocratic southern way of life and how it is changed during and after the Civil War. It centers on the life and the love life of Scarlett O’Hara. I found absolutely NOTHING romantic about this movie. The role that women play in 1860s America is just nauseating. What people expected of women and what women were suppose to want just numbs my mind. The romanticizing of slavery and the role that individuals were supposed to assume in this orderly society is also hard to come to grips with. This is a wonderful example about how you can dislike the picture being painted but admire the skill of the artist. I really appreciate the movie making that went into this movie. I love Rhett Butler, maybe the coolest scoundrel ever.

As I compiled this list there were several movies that did not fit in my 25 day window. I am going to do this again. I am already formulating a new list of movies that I have not seen yet. If you want to recommend a movie please, post it in the comments. Some of the ideas for this festival were recommendations from people I know. As of now, the Philadelphia Film Fest is scheduled to be back next year. It is regrettable that in this economic recession, things like art, dance, music and literature seem to loose support at a time when they are so badly needed.

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