I’ve probably never had as many unforgettable cinematic experiences in one year before. The highlights of 2019:
- In September, I was privileged to attend one of the year’s most stirring experiences of Bay Area cinema culture. The Roxie Theater screened the The Last Picture Show – with the legendary Peter Bogdanovich himself in attendance for two Q&A sessions, plus a screening of his hard-to-find Saint Jack (1979).
- The thrill of discovering the neo-noir Pale Flower, thanks to Turner Classic Movies.
- Noir City – special thanks to the team at the Film Noir Foundation, who went out of their way to help me with lodging. My favorite was the bracingly topical The Well, an unusual combination of a rescue procedural and a race riot noir. I was joined for my weekend at Noir City by The Wife despite her battling excruciating back pain.
- The year’s best movie, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – I caught the first Bay Area screening.
- Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) with three films on my top ten list – Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit, 63 Up – plus Frankie. Michael Apted himself appeared at the 63 Up screening.
- Discovering two remarkably unexpected film triumphs – The Last Black Man in San Francisco and last year’s Burning.
- As usual, I screened over thirty films at Cinequest. This year, my friend Keith visited from LA and joined me for five features in three days; our binge included including the Buster Keaton short The “High Sign” and Cinequest’s best film Buy Me a Gun.
- San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), the highlight being the documentary Midnight Family.
- Getting to see the virtually lost film Mr. Klein, thanks to the Rialto Pictures re-issue and the Roxie.
- My first year covering Frameline, with Song Lang and Making Montgomery Clift.
Recapping all this, I’m amazed at what a great year I had at the movies. Onward.