SFIFF

THE LOOK OF SILENCE: chilling and powerful

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THE LOOK OF SILENCE
THE LOOK OF SILENCE

In the powerful and chilling The Look of Silence, documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer explores the aftermath of genocide in a society that has never experienced a truth and reconciliation process. This is Oppenheimer’s second masterpiece on the Indonesian genocide of 1965-66 in which regime-sponsored death squads executed over one million suspected political opponents.  Today, the victims’ families live among the murderers.

The Look of Silence centers on 44-year-old optometrist Adi as he investigates the murder of Ramli, the older brother he never knew.  Earlier, Oppenheimer had filmed Ramli’s killers as they describe and act out Ramli’s savage torture, mutilation and murder.   They are unrepentant and even nostalgic about their crimes.  Their matter-of-fact recollections are sickening.  We see Adi watching this video, trying to contain his rage and disgust.  Later, Adi – in the guise of fitting them for new glasses – is able to confront those responsible.   He faces the actual machete-wielding killers, the leader of the village death squad, the higher-up who ordered the killings and even one of his own relatives.

What makes this bearable to watch (and even more affecting) is meeting Adi’s family: his earthy 80-something mother, his frail and batty 103-year-old father, his giggly 7-year old daughter and his 10-year-old son.   There’s plenty of humor in this warm family.  But in one scene, the son receives a ridiculously twisted propaganda version of the genocide in public school.

The “Silence” in The Look of Silence is reinforced by the spare soundtrack.  We often hear only “crickets” (frogs, actually).

The Look of Silence is the companion to Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, which made my list of Best Movies of 2013.  In The Act of Killing, Oppenheimer got the unapologetic killers to re-enact their atrocities for the camera – even relishing their deeds.  The Act of Killing contains some of the most bizarre moments in any documentary EVER, including a cross-dressing mass murderer and a staged Bollywood-like musical number of Born Free, complete with dancing-girls in front of a waterfall, in which the garotted dead reappear to thank the killers for sending them on to the afterlife. The Act of Killing is more of a jaw-dropper.  The Look of Silence – because it is more personal – is more powerful.

The Look of Silence stands alone – you can fully appreciate it without having seen The Act of Killing.  But what I wrote about The Act of Killing is true for both films:  “hypnotically compelling – you can’t believe what’s on the screen, can’t believe that you’re still watching it and can’t stop watching”.

I saw The Look of Silence at the San Francisco International Film Festival before its limited theatrical release slated for July 17.  It’s one of the best films of 2015.

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE: a brilliant comedy about identity

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dear white people2
On its surface, the brilliant comedy Dear White People seems to be about racial identity, but – as  writer-director Justin Simien points out – it’s really about personal identity (of which race is an important part).  Set at a prestigious private college, Dear White People centers on a group of African-American students navigating the predominantly white college environment.

Each of the four primary characters has adopted a persona – choosing how they want others to view them.  Middle class Sam is a fierce Black separatist (despite her White Dad and her eyes for that really nice White boy classmate).  Coco, having made it to an elite college from the streets, is driven to succeed socially by ingratiating herself with the popular kids.   Kyle, the Dean’s son, is the college BMOC, a traditional paragon, but with passions elsewhere.   Lionel is floundering; despite being an African-American gay journalist,  he doesn’t fit in with the Black kids, the LGBT community or the journalism clique.  All four of their self-identities are challenged by campus events.

This very witty movie is flat-out hilarious.  The title comes from Sam’s campus radio show, which features advice like “Dear White People, stop dancing!” and Dear White People, don’t touch our hair; what are we – a petting zoo?”.   While the movie explores serious themes, it does so through raucous character-driven humor.  It’s a real treat.

It’s the first feature for writer-director Justin Simien and it’s a stellar debut.  Dear White People is on my list of Best Movies of 2014 – So Far.  I saw it at this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival and have been telling people about it for months.

DVD/Stream of the Week: Outrage Beyond

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Takeshi Kitano dares a Yakuza to shoot him in OUTRAGE BEYOND

Takeshi Kitano returns to star in the Japanese gangster movie Outrage Beyond. It’s a sequel to writer-director Kitano’s 2011 Outrage, of which I wrote:

If you’re looking for a hardass gangster movie with deliciously bad people doing acts of extreme violence upon each other, Outrage is the film for you. But what makes Outrage stand out is the pace and stylishness of all the nastiness, as if Quentin Tarantino had made Goodfellas (only without all the extra dialogue about foot rubs and the Royale with cheese)…Kitano, much like Charles Bronson, has the worn and rough face of a man who has seen too much disappointment and brutality.

Outrage was more of a tragic noir, because you know that most of the characters probably won’t survive – and they know it, too. There is less foreboding in Outrage Beyond, which is just glorious exploitation – gangster mayhem splattering the streets. Because this is a Yakuza film, Kitano delivers the minimum one full body tattoo and one severed finger. But he also makes ingeniously lethal use of a pitching machine in a batting cage, and “Let’s play baseball” is the cruelest line in the film.

I saw Outrage Beyond at the San Francisco International Film Festival. It’s now available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and XBOX Video.

DVD/Stream of the Week: The Spectacular Now

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THE SPECTACULAR NOW

Here’s number 5 on my Best Movies of 2013. The Spectacular Now is a spectacularly authentic and insightful character-driven story of teen self-discovery. It’s the best teen coming of age story since…I can’t remember.

Sutter (Miles Teller – so good in Rabbit Hole) is the high school’s gregarious party guy. Everybody loves being charmed by Sutter, but it becomes apparent that his compulsive sociability is masking some family related emotional damage. It’s also clear that he will soon face some consequences from his out-of-control and escalating drinking.

When his popular girlfriend dumps him for a guy who is less fun, but a better long-term bet, he is in the market for a rebound relationship and meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley, glammed down from the foxy brat in The Descendants). Aimee is focused, responsible, capable and smart, but has no self-esteem; she has family issues, too. Sutter becomes her first love. At first, it’s a lark for Sutter – until he assesses himself and his potential effect on her.

That’s the crux of the movie. Sutter isn’t just a shallow party guy. He’s smart – and too smart to keep from seeing where he is headed.

The Spectacular Now is directed by indie filmmaker Joe Ponsoldt (director and co-writer of Smashed), who is moving toward Hollywood’s A list. The screenplay is adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber from the novel by Tim Tharp.

Smashed is a remarkably realistic depiction of alcohol abuse, and so is The Spectacular Now. Miles Teller is great in the role. And there’s a second great alcoholic performance – that of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, Argo) as Sutter’s long-estranged dad; Chandler’s turn is Oscar worthy. Woodley is just as outstanding as she was in The Descendants. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, especially Brie Larson and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

If you see The Spectacular Now with your teen, there will be plenty to talk about afterward – teen drinking, addiction, dating, partying, picking your friends, making choices and what a damn good movie this is.

Every teenager should see this movie, which brings me to this bit of insanity – The Spectacular Now has an R rating because teenagers are DRINKING ALCOHOL in the movie. It doesn’t matter that the movie is ABOUT teen alcoholism. It doesn’t matter that The Spectacular Now is the 2013 movie most likely to help teenagers in their real lives (by sparking discussion of the issues therein). Of course, just last year, the MPAA similarly assigned the R Rating to Bully. Just leave it to the pompous asses at the MPAA to keep those 14- to 16-year-olds out (unless they show the good taste and resourcefulness to sneak in).

I saw The Spectacular Now at the San Francisco International Film Festival in a screening with director Ponsoldt. It’s now available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, GooglePlay and Xbox Video.

The Spectacular Now: every teen should see this movie (and the rest of us, too)

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THE SPECTACULAR NOW

The Spectacular Now is a spectacularly authentic and insightful character-driven story of teen self-discovery.  It’s the best teen coming of age story since…I can’t remember.

Sutter (Miles Teller – so good in Rabbit Hole) is the high school’s gregarious party guy.  Everybody loves being charmed by Sutter, but it becomes apparent that his compulsive sociability is masking some family related emotional damage.  It’s also clear that he will soon face some consequences from his out-of-control and escalating drinking.

When his popular girlfriend dumps him for a guy who is less fun, but a better long-term bet, he is in the market for a rebound relationship and meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley, glammed down from the foxy brat in The Descendants).  Aimee is focused, responsible, capable and smart, but has no self-esteem; she has family issues, too.  Sutter becomes her first love.  At first, it’s a lark for Sutter – until he assesses himself and his potential effect on her.

That’s the crux of the movie.  Sutter isn’t just a shallow party guy.  He’s smart – and too smart to keep from seeing where he is headed.

The Spectacular Now is directed by indie filmmaker Joe Ponsoldt (director and co-writer of Smashed), who is moving toward Hollywood’s A list.  The screenplay is adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber from the novel by Tim Tharp.

Smashed is a remarkably realistic depiction of alcohol abuse, and so is The Spectacular Now.  Miles Teller is great in the role.  And there’s a second great alcoholic performance  – that of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, Argo) as Sutter’s long-estranged dad; Chandler’s turn is Oscar worthy.  Woodley is just as outstanding as she was in The Descendants. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, especially Brie Larson and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

If you see The Spectacular Now with your teen, there will be plenty to talk about afterward – teen drinking, addiction, dating, partying, picking your friends, making choices and what a damn good movie this is.

Every teenager should see this movie, which brings me to this bit of insanity – The Spectacular Now has an R rating because teenagers are DRINKING ALCOHOL in the movie.  It doesn’t matter that the movie is ABOUT teen alcoholism.  It doesn’t matter that The Spectacular Now is the 2013 movie most likely to help teenagers in their real lives (by sparking discussion of the issues therein).  Of course, just last year, the MPAA similarly assigned the R Rating to Bully.  Just leave it to the pompous asses at the MPAA to keep those 14- to 16-year-olds out (unless they show the good taste and resourcefulness to sneak in).

I saw The Spectacular Now at the San Francisco International Film Festival in a screening with director Ponsoldt.  It’s on my Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.

Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay

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DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AMD MENTORS OF RICKY JAY

In tracing the development of the great magician Ricky Jay,  the documentary Deceptive Practice:  The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay explores the fascinating history of 20th century American magic.  We get to see performances by Jay and his mentors, with comments by Jay himself.  Ricky Jay’s mysteries are the secrets of 1) his illusions and 2) his family – both unrevealed.  Whether expansive about his mentors and his passion for magic, or tight-mouthed about his relationship with his parents, Jay is a fascinating character.

Because the audience gets to see lots of amazing magic, Deceptive Practice is attractive as a performance film.  But Jay is an unsurpassed raconteur, one of my favorites, and when he holds forth, it’s as entertaining as any of his illusions.

(I was fortunate to see Deceptive Practice at the San Francisco International Film Festival sitting next to bunch of real magicians.)

The Movie Gourmet’s Four-Day Film Rampage

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Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller in THE SPECTACULAR NOW

Some promising movies opened this weekend while I was sampling the San Francisco International Film Festival.  The result: ten movies for me in seven theaters in three cities over four days.

I started on Friday at the SFIFF with Prince Avalanche and Rent a Family Inc. at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas.   Prince Avalanche, a droll comedy with Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch that will open in theaters later his summer, is very funny.  Writer-director David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls, Pineapple Express) introduced his film and took questions.  Rent a Family Inc., a documentary about an odd Japanese practice of renting fake family members, was less successful.  (Note:  I missed my monthly poker game for these two flicks.)

On Saturday, I caught up with the new releases:  The Reluctant Fundamentalist at Camera 7 in Campbell (okay), At Any Price at San Jose’s Camera 12 (liked it a lot) and the French thriller In the House at San Jose’s Camera 3 (surprisingly clever).

On Sunday, I caught Kon-Tiki at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center Cinema; (I’m writing about Kon-Tiki tomorrow).  Then it was over to SFIFF for Me and You at the Kabuki.  Me and You is the latest from Italian cinema legend Bernardo Bertolucci, and I LOVED it.  (I had to miss the great director William Friedkin’s appearance at a rare screening of his 1977 Sorcerer at Camera 3; I would have loved it, but I just saw Friedkin last summer at a Killer Joe screening and I already had my SFIFF tickets; to make up for it, I am gonna buy Friedkin’s new book and Netflix his Sorcerer.)

Then I rendezvoused with my nephew Danny and his friend Zeke for a special showing of the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers at the Castro Theatre, preceded by a Q&A with director Philip Kaufman.  It was the first time that the guys experienced both a grand movie palace and an appearance by a filmmaker – and they enjoyed the movie, too.  Body Snatchers, which I saw in its theatrical release, held up very well – and still has one of the all-time great closing shockers in cinema.

I returned to the SFIFF on Monday with The Wife.  First, we saw The Spectacular Now at the Kabuki, a coming of age indie focused on teen alcoholism; one of the best films of the year, it will open widely on August 2.  Then we saw Deceptive Practices, the fine documentary about my favorite magician/card shark Ricky Jay, at the New People Cinema.

Whew!  That was a whirlwind!  It’s lots of fun to go to the movies, but trying to write about so many in a compressed period is tough for me.  The highlight was sharing the movie experience with The Wife and the guys.  But I also saw some movies that will be on my Best Movies of 2013 – The Spectacular Now, Me and You and (probably) At Any Price – all in one glorious weekend.

Outrage Beyond: glorious gangster exploitation

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Takeshi Kitano dares a Yakuza to shoot him in OUTRAGE BEYOND

Takeshi Kitano returns to star in the Japanese gangster movie Outrage Beyond.  It’s a sequel to writer-director Kitano’s 2011 Outrage, of which I wrote:

If you’re looking for a hardass gangster movie with deliciously bad people doing acts of extreme violence upon each other, Outrage is the film for you.  But what makes Outrage stand out is the pace and stylishness of all the nastiness, as if Quentin Tarantino had made Goodfellas (only without all the extra dialogue about foot rubs and the Royale with cheese)…Kitano, much like Charles Bronson, has the worn and rough face of a man who has seen too much disappointment and brutality.

Outrage was more of a tragic noir, because you know that most of the characters probably won’t survive – and they know it, too.   There is less foreboding in Outrage Beyond, which is just glorious exploitation – gangster mayhem splattering the streets.  Because this is a Yakuza film, Kitano delivers the minimum one full body tattoo and one severed finger.  But he also makes ingeniously lethal use of a pitching machine in a batting cage, and “Let’s play baseball” is the cruelest line in the film.

I saw Outrage Beyond at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

SF Film Fest to show “Polisse” and “Oslo August 31”

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Two films on my Movies I’m Looking Forward To are coming to the San Francisco International Film Festival in late April.

Polisse is a reputedly riveting French police procedural about the child protective services unit.  It was a hit at Cannes and stars an ensemble cast led by Karin Viard (Paris, Potiche, Time Out).

In Oslo August 3, the Danish director Joachim Trier (Reprise made my list of the 2007’s best) returns to Norway with a slice-of-life about a recovering addict.

Find out how to see these films and others at the SFIFF here.

Here’s the trailer for Oslo August 3.

 

 

Blogging from SFIFF: Attenberg

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Attenberg is a winningly offbeat original from Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari.  It’s about a 23-year-old who grudgingly decides it’s time for her sexual initiation.  Her oversexed friend (who dreams of trees fruited with hanging penises) gives her some pointers.  Hilariously awkward attempts at intimacy ensue.  She has a poignantly close relationship with her single dad, and their love of sarcasm and animal documentaries help them cope with his cancer.  As if this weren’t enough,  the film is randomly interspersed with Silly Walks by the gals that would impress John Cleese.

As the lead, Ariane Labed won the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival.