A scene from Denali Tiller’s TRE MAISON DASAN, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.
The unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary Tre Maison Dasan was my top pick from the world premieres at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) – and you can finally watch on TV this weekend. The title reflects the names of three Rhode Island boys with incarcerated parents. Unfettered by talking heads, Tre Maison Dasan invites us along with these kids as they interact with their families – both on the outside and the inside. PBS is airing Tre Maison Dasan on its Independent Lens series on April 1; you’ll also be able to stream it on PBS.
Look for some binge-posting from me this weekend as I catch up from Cinequest and get ready for SFFILM. Of new movies out now, I’m surprisingly ambivalent on Transit and a thumbs down on The Hummingbird Project. Details to follow.
ON TV
On March 31, there’s George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight, an all-star 1933 Hollywood dramedy that mostly still stands up today. Jean Harlow is hilarious as the trophy bride of the course noveau-millionaire played by Wallace Beery. Marie Dressler is at least as funny as a former star yearning to relive an old romance. John Barrymore adds a heartbreaking performance as a man facing disgrace. If all this weren’t enough, we also get Lionel Barrymore, some ditziness from Billie Burke and a splash of sarcasm from quick-patter artist Lee Tracy. Harlow, who died at 26, is usually remembered as a platinum blonde sex symbol, but Dinner at Eight reminds us of her comic brilliance.
A scene from Denali Tiller’s TRE MAISON DASAN, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.
The unwavering and emotionally powerful documentary Tre Maison Dasan was my top pick from the World Premieres at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) – and you can finally watch on TV this weekend. The title reflects the names of three Rhode Island boys with incarcerated parents. Unfettered by talking heads, Tre Maison Dasan invites us along with these kids as they interact with their families – both on the outside and the inside. It’s all about the kids, all of the time – an effective choice by writer-director Denali Tiller In her feature debut.
One of the parents is released from prison early in the film; the other two are going to stay there during critical developmental periods in their children’s lives. Tre, Maison and Dasan are each taking different paths. One kid is getting wonderful nurturing and guidance from a released parent, and lots of support from the community; we sense that he’s going to be OK. That’s not the case with all of the kids.
Tiller doesn’t get academic or partisan. By simply showing the impact on these children of having a parent incarcerated, she gets our attention and sympathy. Tre Maison Dasan may not be a call to action in itself, but it’s an essential predicate. PBS is airing Tre Maison Dasan on its Independent Lens series on April 1; you’ll also be able to stream it on PBS.
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie and Ben Foster in a scene from Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.
This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILMFestival) opens on April 4 and runs through April 17. As always, it’s a Can’t Miss for Bay Area movie fans. This year’s program is especially loaded. Here are some enticing festival highlights:
Leave No Trace is Debra Granik’s first narrative feature since her 2010 Winter’s Bone (which I had rated as the best film of that year). Leave No Trace stars Ben Foster and Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie as a dad-daughter team and co-stars Dale Dickey (so unforgettable in Winter’s Bone and Hell or High Water). Winter’s Bone launched the career of Jennifer Lawrence, and buzz from Sundance indicates that Leave No Trace might do the same for McKenzie.
Tully stars Charlize Theron, is written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman. Those three combined on the underrated game-changing comedy Young Adult, so my expectations are high. Theron and Reitman will attend the SFFILM screening.
Sorry to Bother You, described as a “taboo-breaker”, is an offbeat comedy about an African_American telemarketer whose career climbs when he discovers his “white voice”. Stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Armie Hammer. Written and directed by Bay Area artist Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You shook up both the Sundance and SXSW fests. Will release into theaters on July 8.
Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson in a scene from Boots Riley’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.
First Reformed is a dark drama from director Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ. Ethan Hawke stars. Schrader will appear at SFFILM.
Godard, Mon Amour is, at the same time, a tribute to the genius of Jean-Luc Godard’s early cinema and a satire on the insufferable tedium of the political dilettantism that squandered the rest of Godard’s filmmaking career. This is a very inventive film, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). I’ve seen it, and the more Godard films that you’ve seen, the more you will enjoy the wit of Godard, Mon Amour.
Claire’s Camerais the latest nugget from writer-director Hong Sang-soo, that great observer of awkward situations and hard-drinking. Claire’s Camera is set at the Cannes Film Festival, and the great Isabelle Huppert drops into the story. There’s an especially fine performance by Min-hee Kim (The Handmaiden). It’s not as surreal as last year’s Hong Sang-soo entry, Yourself and Yours, but just as observational and droll. Hong Sang-soo has a cult following at SFFILM, so there is certain to be an appreciative audience.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties: This is the North American premiere of the latest from writer-director John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Rabbit Hole). Mitchell will attend the screening. Premiered at Cannes.
Bad Reputation: Biodoc of Joan Jett – and Joan is attending!
Pick of the Litter: This doc by Bay Area filmmakers Dana Nachtman and Don Hardy was the feel-good hit at Cinequest. Adorable puppies strive to help the blind.
Tre Maison Dasan: This unwavering and emotionally powerful doc is my top pick from the World Premieres at SFFILM. In her feature debut as writer-director, Denali Tiller follows three kids with incarcerated parents. Unfettered by talking heads, Tre Maison Dasan invites us along with these kids as they interact with their families – both on the outside and the inside. Tiller will attend all screenings.
Along with Theron, Reitman, Schrader, Hazanavicius, Mitchell and Jett, there will be personal appearances by storied directors Gus Van Sant and Wayne Wang, actors Bill Hader, Tom Everett Scott, Jason Sudeikis and Henry Winkler, composer Danny Elfman and film historian David Thomson.
The 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILMFestival) opens this Wednesday. Here’s SFFILMFestival’s information on the program, the schedule and tickets and passes.
Throughout SFFILMFestival, you can follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.
A scene from Denali Tiller’s TRE MAISON DASAN, playing at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 4 – 17, 2018. Courtesy of SFFILM.
