AFI Film Festival Wrap-Up
Well, the AFI Film Festival is officially over, and I must say I had a great time. I wasn’t able to get out to too many films, but here’s a run-down on the seven films I saw over the course of the week…
Southland Tales. Richard Kelly’s follow-up to Donnie Darko proved to be highly entertaining but strangely disappointing. ** (out of ****) See full review.
Sigur Ros: Heima. This is a beautiful, hypnotic music documentary and a real treat for Sigur Ros fans. The movie chronicles the end of Sigur Ros’ world tour that ends in Iceland, where we are treated to different performances from the band. Cutting between the performances, interviews with all the members of the band, and various shots of gorgeous Iceland, the film can almost work as a relaxation exercise. I just became a Sigur Ros fan about a year ago after first hearing their work, and I’ve since used their music in two of my own films. Their music makes for great inspiration, especially in a visual sense, and the director Dean DeBlois uses the great material he has to cut together a movie that is as informative as it is beautiful. ***1/2
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. Winner of the Palme D’Or at last May’s Cannes Film Festival, this well-made but difficult-to-watch movie tells of a young woman who finds out she’s pregnant and needs an abortion, with the help of her best friend. The cinematography is absolutely striking, with the director allowing action to play out on screen for long, slow takes at a time, sometimes lasting upward of three or four minutes each. The small use of editing brings up the tension and uncomfortable tone of the film. It’s very well acted and realistic, but it’s also a movie I would never want to see again. Maybe that’s saying something positive about the film, given that it shook me up quite a bit. ***
Deficit. Gael Garcia Bernal’s directorial debut is pretty solid, featuring a huge and vastly talented ensemble cast, with most of the film taking place at a party house, where hijinks and mayhem ensues. Bernal allows the camera to float around the premises, capturing small moments in the lives of these friends. It’s funny at times and very sad at others, and the beauty of the movie is that it never becomes too interested in telling a complicated narrative. There are some developments had with Gael’s main character, who has family problems, but for the most part, we are treated to events that play out in almost real time. It’s always a delight to see Gael on screen, and to see him working here both in front and behind the camera make for a double good time. ***
American Fork. Here’s a comedy with a fantastic premise that doesn’t really live up to its potential. While mostly forgettable, it features a winning main performance from Hubbel Palmer, playing an overweight younger man who works at a nearby grocery store and wants to pursue an acting career. Featuring supporting performances from Kathleen Quinlan and William Baldwin (the latter of whom is a complete sleazeball in this), American Fork is never funny enough to work as an original comedy, but it’s also not very moving in any way as a drama. It’s pleasant enough on the surface, but with a better screenplay and in the hands of a better director, this could’ve been a home run. One can only watch Palmer’s character be tortured emotionally so many times. Having said that, there are a handful of good scenes, including the first introduction to Baldwin’s character at an acting class, who tries to convince the class that taking notes will not make anyone a better actor. Baldwin is the stand-out here. **
Margot at the Wedding. Moderately entertaining, this film is somewhat of a let-down from director Noah Baumbach, who directed the far superior Squid and the Whale. **1/2. See full review.
The Savages. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney star as brother and sister in this fascinating and hilarious character study, easily one of the best films of the year. ****. Full review coming soon.