Demon

CINEQUEST’s online fest returns

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EVERYTHING IN THE END, available to stream from Cinequest’s CINEJOY.

Cinequest’s online festival CINEJOY begins on November 4 and runs through November 17. Here are my top five recommendations:

  • Willow: This triptych by Oscar-nominated master Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski plumbs the heartaches and joys of having children; there’s a scene in the final vignette with a mother and son in a car that is one of the most amazing scenes I’ve ever seen. Manchevski’s Before the Rain was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1994. Most recently, he directed my choice as the best film of the 2017 Cinequest, Bikini Moon. Special live online event: Manchevski will appear at the screening at 10:30 AM PST on November 11.
  • Everything in the End: The “End” in the title of this powerful think piece means, literally, the end of the world. Set in a future where climate change has made human extinction certain and imminent, the story imagines how people would react as they understand that they have only a few days left. More profound than grim, End of Everything takes the sensationalism out of the apocalypse and leaves the humanity. Set in the stark beauty of Iceland, this is a visual stunner.
  • Travel Ban: Make America Laugh Again: a serious film about misunderstanding and bigotry with some hilarious comedy by American Muslim stand-up comics.
  • Demon: On the lam from some aggressive bill collectors, Ralph hides out in an off-the-track motel. It doesn’t take long for things to get odd and then surreal. Ralph’s journey to this most mundane setting becomes nightmarish, but this darkly funny film is not really a horror movie. As the lead actor, Ryan Walker-Edwards is very appealing in his feature film debut. This is also the first feature for director and co-writer George Louis Bartlett.
  • Mister Candid Camera: This is an affectionate but clear-eyed biodoc of Allen Funt, who originated the iconic television show Candid Camera and, in the process, invented reality television. It’s written, directed and extremely well-sourced by Allen Funt’s son (and Camera Candid performer) Peter Funt. Peter Funt reveals the secret sauce of the show (e.g., calibrating just how mean can you be without becoming cruel). Baby Boomers will especially appreciate the insider’s look at Allen Funt himself and the nostalgic glimpses of sidekick Durwood Kirby, etc. Everyone will enjoy the classic clips, including the talking mailbox, split automobile and the hilarious utterances of little kids.
Ryan Walker-Edwards in DEMON. World premiere at Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Zersetzung Films.

Other films at CINEJOY imclude:

  • 12 Days of Christmas: High school friends reunite when they’re home for their first college Christmas break. They all get down to some serious partying, but two of them must deal with a serious issue. I didn’t buy the unrequited love at the core of the story.
  • Adventures in Success: This broad comedy traces the misadventures of a self-help retreat center led by a self-described energy transformationist who claims to have experienced a 12-hour orgasm. Her movement is centered on the female orgasm, the mantra is Jilling Off, and the sessions are essentially orgies where men are not allowed to ejaculate. Opens with an impressive 28-second performance of urination art.
  • Agua Rosa: First-time writer-directors Miguel López Valdivia and Ca Silva use the camera brilliantly in this 71-minute Mexican relationship drama.
  • Closet: This offbeat dramedy is about one of those quirky only-in-Japan things, like capsule hotels and golf in highrise buildings. Reeling from a breakup, Jin gets a job with a non-sexual escort service where insomniac clients pay him to cuddle with them as they try to get to sleep. Given his recent medical and relationship traumas and the weirdness of his new job, Jin (Yosuke Minokawa) often looks bewildered.
  • Events Transpiring Before, During and After a High School Basketball Game: The humor in this Canadian indie comedy– along the same lines as in The Office and Parks and Recreation – just doesn’t get close to that level. Cast and screenplay were shooting for deadpan, but only reached dead.
  • Far East Deep South: In this genealogy documentary, a Northern California Chinese-American family is stunned to discover that they have roots in Mississippi.
  • Fox Hunt Drive: A woman works as a rideshare driver at night to make the rent and subsidize her futile daytime job search. She picks up a ride who may be a serial killer, and we’re all off on one wild ride. There is a gobsmacking plot twist.
  • Non Western: This aspirational documentary has a lot going for it: an intriguing and underseen setting (the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana) and masterful cinéma vérité filmmaking by Laura Plancarte. But the film is undone by its very subjects – a talented woman with low self-esteem hitches to a guy who poses as traditional – but he’s just a dick.
  • See You Then: This two-hander, which could have been titled My Dinner with Kris, reunites two close college friends after a decade of estrangement. The dramatic power is undercut by a Big Reveal which is too predictable to be shocking.
  • Welcome to the Show: This indie comedy plunges the characters and the audience into a puzzle. Four college-age guys, always up for a party, blow off Thanksgiving with their parents to party, but the joke is on them. What is being done to them? By whom? Why? And just where the hell are they? Are they in a elaborate party game or inside a piece of performance art? Or is this a prank or something more sinister? They don’t know and neither does the audience.

Peruse the entire lineup and buy streaming tickets at CINEJOY.

the rest of Cinequest

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Ryan Walker-Edwards in DEMON. World premiere at Cinequest. Photo courtesy of Zersetzung Films.

I written about the the very Best of Cinequest and even more Cinequest films. Here’s my take on the rest.

Demon: On the lam from some aggressive bill collectors, Ralph hides out in an off-the-track motel. It doesn’t take long for things to get odd and then surreal. Ralph’s journey to this most mundane setting becomes nightmarish, but this darkly funny film is not a horror movie. As the lead actor, Ryan Walker-Edwards is very appealing in his feature film debut. This is also the first feature for director and co-writer George Louis Bartlett. I screened Demon for its world premiere at Cinequest.

Yutaka Takeuchi in DRIVE ALL NIGHT, world premiere at Cinequest Photo courtesy of Cinequest..

In Drive All Night, a taciturn night shift cabbie (Yutaka Takeuchi) picks up an alluring and mysterious woman (Lexy Hammonds). She has him take her on a bizarre night ride, and he’s guessing what her secret is. Unfortunately, the dialogue is still and hackneyed, and the payoff just isn’t there. Their ride gets trippy at one point, and there’s a parallel thread with another character, but it doesn’t help.

If you’re from Silicon Valley, you’ll recognize lots of San Jose locations like MiniBoss, the Capri Motel, Western Appliance and I-280.

Drive All Night is the first feature for writer-director Peter Hsieh. Hsieh’s nighttime exterior visuals are superb. So far, he’s a far better director than writer. I screened Drive All Night for its world premiere at Cinequest.

In the light and appealing coming of age comedy Drunk Bus, a young slacker (Charlie Tahan) is paralyzed by the disappointment of a breakup. He’s stuck driving the shuttle between a college town’s bars and the dorms (the “Drunk Bus”) until he is mentored by a 300-pound Samoan security guy with facial tattoos (Pineapple Tangaroa). It’s all sweet and predictable. It’s the first feature for co-directors John Carlucci and Brandon LaGanke. I screened Drunk Bus, which had played at the 2020 SXSW, at Cinequest.

Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game: This Canadian indie comedy had the best movie title in Cinequest (an even better title than I’m an Electric Lampshade) and an inviting trailer. But the humor – along the same lines as in The Office and Parks and Recreation – just doesn’t get close to that level. Cast and screenplay were shooting for deadpan, but only reached dead. I screened Events Transpiring… for its world premiere at Cinequest.

Hunting Bigfoot: There are very, very few men who believe that they have personally encountered Bigfoot, and this documentary’s interesting premise is that some of them become obsessed with duplicating those events and returning with scientific evidence that Sasquatch exists. We meet a crew of these guys, of varying degrees of eccentriciy, who devote their spare time to this (so far, futile) pursuit. One of them, John Green, has essentially abandoned civilization and his family to live full time out in what he thinks is Sasquatch habitat. Green’s life journey, with his Bigfoot episode coinciding with crises in his business and his family, would be fascinating for 30 minutes, but doesn’t warrant taking up most of this full length feature. I screened Hunting Bigfoot for its world premiere at Cinequest.

Non Western: This aspirational documentary traces the new marriage of Nanci, a White woman with teen and college-age kids, and Thad, a Cheyenne man. Non Western has a lot going for it: an intriguing and underseen setting (the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana) and masterful cinéma vérité filmmaking by Laura Plancarte. But ts very subject lets us all down. It’s impossible to watch this movie without asking what is she doing with this guy?

Nanci’s childhood was so destitute that she was taken in by a Lakota family on the Pine Ridge Reservation, possibly the most socioeconomically deprived community in the US. Somewhere along the line, she had an unsuccessful relationship that produced these kids. Yet she has overcome all this to get her PhD and a job at a college. But Thad just expects her to do all the housework and wait on him, using his embrace of his Cheyenne traditions as an excuse. He’s not traditional – he’s just a dick. It’s painful to watch this dynamic (along with her kids) and observe how low that Nanci’s self esteem seems to have sunk. The Wife HATED this movie.

Ironically, Thad’s mom, who seems close-minded and cruel throughout most of the film, turns out to be the most interesting character when she finally reveals her own view of traditional family culture. I screened Non Western for its US premiere at Cinequest.

Mister Candid Camera: This is an affectionate but clear-eyed biodoc of Allen Funt, who originated the iconic television show Candid Camera and, in the process, invented reality television. It’s written, directed and extremely well-sourced by Allen Funt’s son (and Camera Candid performer) Peter Funt. Peter Funt reveals the secret sauce of the show (e.g., how mean can you be). Baby Boomers will especially appreciate the insider’s look at Allen Funt himself and the nostalgic glimpses of sidekick Durwood Kirby, etc. Everyone will enjoy the classic clips, including the talking mailbox, split automobile and the hilarious utterances of little kids. I screened Mister Candid Camera for its world premiere at Cinequest.