Friday, June 2
49th SFIFF Final Wrap-Up
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Sometimes, especially during the over-stimulation of a large, diversely programmed film festival like the SFIFF, I feel like I'm not enjoying the films I see as much as storing them up for later comprehension. It's a frustrating game because often the most intriguing films are the ones that I never find myself with a chance to view again. It's some kind of paradox that the most easily-digestible films are usually the ones I'm least glad I fit into my schedule. In the past couple of years when I've been charged with wrapping up the festival it has required me to create a large block of space between the last screening and my writing process. I'm extremely impressed with folks like Fernando Croce of Slant, who busted out a cogent and comprehensive wrap-up mere days after the festival finished. Perhaps I should try to sequester myself off from reading such material until after I've completed my own process, but I can't help myself. Reading reports from Cannes has been an irresistible distraction each time as well. I thought that since this year I had the outlet of blogging before and during the fest, perhaps I would be able to somehow circumvent that feeling of blockage. But no, there are still too many films I want to write at least a few words on, that I've been carrying with me for the past few weeks, same as ever. But now I'm about to take an out-of-town trip and I must unburden my load, coherent or not. Hopefully at least a few of the words will be ones you haven't seen before.
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In trying to evaluate the festival as a whole, I'm trying to resist the temptation to remember the names of films I'd hoped would be programmed but weren't, and all I have to do is recall that I couldn't have fit anything more into my schedule without taking time off of work, and still I missed out on titles I'd hotly anticipated like Bashing and the Lost Domain. As for the new films I did see, the 49th SFIFF acquitted itself nicely for the most part, with only a few real disappointments. Certainly better overall than last year, though hopefully not as good as next year's golden anniversary edition. That's right, I'm expecting continuous improvement, even in the face of reluctant distributors and sales agents, mounting costs, and increased competition (perceived or real) from the growing DVD import market. Show more films that exhibit the unique essences of celluloid, like the Regular Lovers and the Sun did this year. Fly in bold filmmakers who can lucidly talk about their work, like Raya Martin and Alan Berliner did this year. Put a little higher priority on retrospective selections, and keep up the good work with the short film programs and the experimentation in new directions (like the Kinotek spotlight). I'll be checking in again this October when the Film Society tries its hand at putting on an Animation Festival called Supercollider. But right now, I'm on the next plane out of of Frisco. Back soon, I promise.
Comments:
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Thanks for your take on Wayward Cloud. Your interpretation of The River is something I didn't pay attention to, I thought then, it was an in-joke to make Cinema (his admired colleague ) the cause of the neck pain. But in retrospect, you're right, coupled with Wayward Cloud, this could mean a profound critique of the industry. Although I'm sure he loves cinema, but like most cutting-edge auteurs he feels like the mainstream movies really put down the idea of cinema as a whole...
I'm back, and I added a couple links (and even tweaked a word or two, sorry purists) to the above piece, which I finished literally minutes before boarding the plane to San Diego. When I was in S.D. I noticed that the Fallen Idol was playing at a theatre called the Ken, but unfortunately I was unable to squeeze any moviegoing into my schedule. So now I've missed the print twice on its tour. Ah, I had fun with friends anyway.
Harry, glad you stopped by. Given how important water is to Tsai's palette of images and themes, I couldn't help but make the connection. Of course, water can always be polluted, as it is in the River. Interestingly, watermelon is one of the few fruits that I was told to avoid when living in Southeast Asia, as unsafe water is often injected into melons to make them weigh more at the market, where they're sold by the pound. Is it a coincidence that such a corruptable fruit plays the key role in a film about the corruption of his characters?
I'm not sure Tsai is against mainstream cinema. Remember that he loves old kung fu films and Grace Chang musicals, which were certainly mainstream in their day. It may be that he's somehow saddened by a discontinuity between the nostalgic feelings he has for older films and the painful realities of making movies in the modern era. And if so, this discontinuity may be expressed in his usage of lavish musical numbers to represent his characters' fantasies.
Harry, glad you stopped by. Given how important water is to Tsai's palette of images and themes, I couldn't help but make the connection. Of course, water can always be polluted, as it is in the River. Interestingly, watermelon is one of the few fruits that I was told to avoid when living in Southeast Asia, as unsafe water is often injected into melons to make them weigh more at the market, where they're sold by the pound. Is it a coincidence that such a corruptable fruit plays the key role in a film about the corruption of his characters?
I'm not sure Tsai is against mainstream cinema. Remember that he loves old kung fu films and Grace Chang musicals, which were certainly mainstream in their day. It may be that he's somehow saddened by a discontinuity between the nostalgic feelings he has for older films and the painful realities of making movies in the modern era. And if so, this discontinuity may be expressed in his usage of lavish musical numbers to represent his characters' fantasies.
You're right, Tsai obviously loves musicals and old movies. I might put too much of my own agenda into this interpretation. But he doesn't make mainstream accessible movies himself. And it's not because he uses porno in his last film that he pays homage to this genre though. ;)
Although I believe he expressed himself at the Berlin press conference his near-contempt for traditional acting or the Star System.
I don't know about this watermelon "urban legend" there, but it's too popular a fruit to become a negative symbol. It is ubiquitous in asian films.
Also characters aren't corrupted really, it's just sexual fantasy... ;)
Although I believe he expressed himself at the Berlin press conference his near-contempt for traditional acting or the Star System.
I don't know about this watermelon "urban legend" there, but it's too popular a fruit to become a negative symbol. It is ubiquitous in asian films.
Also characters aren't corrupted really, it's just sexual fantasy... ;)
Asians and their watermelons!! Y'know, the Japanese actually developed a square watermelon for stacking purposes: how efficient!
Yeah I heard about those. I wonder if any Japanese filmmakers have used them in a film?
I guess everything's fantasy in the world of films, Harry.
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I guess everything's fantasy in the world of films, Harry.
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