Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Seriously... he makes that guy who wrote in with 17 mini-reviews look like a huge ol’ pussy. Take that, other dude! This guy is obviously sitting on a huge stockpile of trucker’s speed, and I wish I had some so I could finish these updates and all my reviews and still sleep before daybreak tomorrow. sigh
This was my first year at SXSW so I figured I should hop in the deep-end. I ended up seeing 43 films. Let’s get right to it. Forgive the staccato reviews. And if at all possible, It would be much appreciated if in exchange for this hunk of content you could link to my own website, full of fiction, and films and photos. My name is Sean Whiteman, and this is my wrap-up of SXSW 2007. Day #1 Suffering Man’s Charity – First solo directing effort by Alan Cumming is an orgy of over-the-top performance and editing. Dark comedy about a music teacher who has a weakness for young hustlers. Cumming has a field day with the lead role. This could be a problem if you aren’t a fan of his. I was, so I had myself a good time opening the festival. Each time his performance and the film threatens to take itself too seriously a very dry one-liner would sneak through and restore balance to this dark and pleasant little film. The Lookout – Scott Frank finally takes the reigns and directs one of his scripts. The result is a very solid and confident little film. I say “little” as a compliment. Performances and script are very solid. Not the sort of film that tries to change the world. Just trying to entertain it. And it does this quite well in my opinion. Mulberry Street – Rats bite humans. Humans turn into rats. Admirable job with such a low budget. Would have liked to see what the director could do with a substantial chunk of change. Some wonderful digital cinematography. Day #2 The King of Kong – My word. Never would have imagined I would see a documentary at eleven in the morning and be so absurdly entertained. I also did not think a film about two rival Donkey Kong champions could sustain a feature running time. I was wrong. Billy Mitchell who has held the DK record since the early 80’s is a goldmine and director Seth Gordon had the right kind of pickaxe to mine his sneers and mullet into the perfect film villain. Truly entertaining and engaging. First highlight of fest. When a Man Falls in the Forest – Very lean drama featuring a surprising lack of emotional confrontations. Dylan Baker turns in a fantastic performance as a socially awkward night janitor attempting to learn how to lucid dream. Timothy the Hutt(on) had the trickier role to play. He had to play a shell of a man who is still likeable and I believe he pulled it off quite well. Very lean film. Doesn’t mess around with too much unneeded exposition. Writer/director Ryan Eslinger has what it takes to stick around and make movies for the years to come. The Ten – If you are a connoisseur of the absurd like me, then you will take to David Wain’s newest film with much affection. Ten stories that correspond, sometimes very loosely, to the Ten Commandments. If you like Stella, The State, Wet Hot American Summer then you will find two fistfuls of funny. If you don’t like these things, we probably wouldn’t be very good friends. Elvis and Annabelle – Very solid, but didn’t knock me out. Follows a young mortician as he connects with a beauty queen. The two leads, Max Minghella and Blake Lively, were very strong and elevated certain aspects of the script that could have dragged down the whole movie if they both didn’t have such natural grace and presence. The script problems I won’t mention because I don’t want others to look for them, and I’m really just nit picking. I dug it all told. And, as always, Joe Mantegna brought his A-game as the hunchback father. The audience I was with absolutely ate it up, so it did knock out a fair portion of the festivalgoers. Everything’s Gone Green – Written by Douglas Coupland. Paulo Costanzo stars as a young man looking for a little piece of mind as he fights with the idea of working for a living. I reacted to this one strongly because of a few things. I am young and don’t like the idea of work despite the clear necessity of it, so this was operating on my wavelength. Another big plus was the fact that it was set in Vancouver. After seeing Vancouver play every city on the face of the earth in other films, it was nice to see it play itself for once. A very agreeable film. Avoided a number of clichés while still moving forward within a structure we’ve seen a lot. Never tried to be Icarus, so it never got the chance to fall from the sky. Had some good laughs and a few beautiful moments. Black Sheep – Killer sheep and those delicious New Zealand accents. Two things I found I never got tired of. Some beautiful cinematography and the appropriate amount of humor to complement such a concept. I had a grand time with this one. Would suggest seeing it with an audience as this one is all about having fun. Perfect midnight movie. Day 3 Frownland – Written and Directed by Ronald Bronstein. A very strange movie to wake up to. It’s about a very awkward and tightly wound man who attempts to navigate his life as a door-to-door fundraiser/salesman. Bronstein was able to capture a very unnerving tone that really served the story well. Original and unsettling while also finding a great deal of humor in the pain that accompanies life. There is a sequence at a testing facility that really stood out and made me laugh out loud which is not something I do as frequently as should. One of the more memorable films. Hasn’t left my mind and I look forward to future efforts by Bronstein. Fantastic performances all around. The simple line “I really appreciate it.” is now iconic to me. Hell on Wheels – Documentary about the resurrection of Roller Derby. The filmmaker did a fantastic job of sticking with a story that really took longer to tell than he had planned. We are privy to witness the inception of this Roller Derby league and the eventual break-up. The access director Bob Ray was given is truly an accomplishment. We are there for all the little meetings, all the little catfights and all the injuries that these women went through to really kick-start modern-day roller derby. Not one I’m likely to revisit, but kept my interest throughout. Diggers – Second film that featured Paul Rudd. He starred in this 70’s period piece about clam diggers. Didn’t realize till the Q and A afterward that this was shot digitally. Ballsy move considering it’s a period piece, but it looked beautiful. Never took me out of the story. Credit should go to writer/star Ken Marino who structured a very free-flowing film that kept the funny through the sad. Wonderfully directed by Katherine Dieckmann and enjoyably acted by the cast. Was a specific treat for me to see Josh Hamilton show up as the drug-peddling philosopher (which didn’t fall into cliché either). Besides a Stella short I haven’t seen Hamilton since Kicking and Screaming as Grover and I hope this helps change that. Hannah Takes the Stairs – Very entertaining and painful to watch. Entertaining because of the talented improvisational cast who hit their comic beats with beautiful precision and painful because it strikes very close to home in its examination of a woman who continually believes she will be able to find happiness in the next relationship she has. The psychology revealed and the behavior of the cast was note-perfect and makes me want to check out past films by Joe Swanberg. Mark Duplass, Kent Osbourne and Greta Gerwig stand out in the performance department. One moment featuring the ridiculously adorable Gerwig hit me hard as she drunkenly reveals how she just wants to be the funny one in her relationship. Exiled – Fantastic take on the western genre with a family of criminals having to decide which side they’re on. Great deal of fun and wonderfully directed and acted. I love me some good stupid-courage in movies and this has plenty in that regard. Borderland – Story about vacationing students getting tangled up in a human sacrifice cult. Not my cup of tea. I dug Sean Astin though, and one Achilles tendon bit. Day 4 Audience of One – Fascinating and terrifying look at a Minister who attempts to make an epic sci-fi movie because God told him to. Seeing his faithful followers become his faithful crew is a strange and wonderful thing to watch, especially because he is inept as a director, relying on his faith alone to guide him. Goes to show that it takes more than God to make a decent movie. He was in attendence as well which made for a wonderful Q and A as we laugh at his expense the entire film. He was a good sport though. Highly recommended. Skills Like This – Entertaining and polished feature that follows a failed writer who becomes a successful criminal. Played for laughs, this was a crowd pleaser. Charismatic performances and a likeable tone made for a pleasant experience. Unraveled a bit toward the end for me, but I had a great time. Kurt Cobain About a Son – Poetically shot documentary about Kurt Cobain. Doesn’t feature stock footage or performances. Instead director AJ Schnack goes for the Godfrey Reggio path and shoots beautiful scenes of the cities Cobain has lived in and layers an interview track over the footage along with music. The interviews were done in the wee hours of the night, so the conversation goes deeper than the formal interview normally would. I dug it. Knocked Up – Hilarious. Glorious. I genuinely did not want it to end. I love the whole cast and would say it’s more an accumulation of chuckles that were steady throughout that left me so happy. 40 Year-Old Virgin was great, but it went for the big gags more often (chest hair, vomit car ride, speed dating), where as this one was just steady and hilarious. Though the mushroom scene was a big gag and it was played to perfection by the third Paul Rudd performance of the festival. I love Rogen and Apatow. Smiley Face – Another treat. Gregg Araki directs Anna Faris as she navigates through a regular day while being incredibly stoned. Faris was amazing, and even though the film gets most of its laughs from stoner-jokes, it manages to still feel fresh. Recommended. Murder Party – Follows a man who attends a party that ends up being an art-school clan’s attempt at being original and cutting-edge (by murdering the guest). Pokes plenty of justified fun at the world of the art school and manages to entertain throughout on a low budget. This finished up a very good day at the festival. Day 5 Devil Came on Horseback – Harrowing and educational. Despite knowing of the atrocities in Darfur, I still came away with much more of a grasp on the situation and how absurd it is that the administration has yet to intervene. A film that should really be seen by the masses. Even though the masses would probably not attend such a film, which is sad but true. Interesting seeing the perspective through the eyes of an ex-military man who just wants to be the hero and is incredibly frustrated that a country he so fully believes in does not want to be the hero. Made me really want to be proud of America again. Never ventured into the preachy despite being warranted to do just that, this film states the facts and shows that the facts are not favorable. The Whole Shootin’ Match – 1979 film by Eagle Pennel. Entertaining and engaging tale of two good old boys in Austin just trying to get by in life. Working, drinking, living. Highly charismatic performances by the two leads (who were in attendence). Getting a DVD release this summer. Put it on your Netflix list as soon as you can. Anyone who has ever been crushed by dreams only to cling to the idea of a later one will love this film. Sounds weird, but the film is very inspiring at times. ***At this point in my festival experience I took a film off in order to discuss the state of a relationship with a woman I had romantic intentions toward. We had a month of casually hanging out and she gave hope that it would become more. We met at a coffee shop and chitted some chat before the subject was broached. The woman regretfully rebuffed my advances due to the presence of a boyfriend and my inspired mood created by the last film took a dramatic blow and a bout of depression followed. She did however suggest we stay friends. How awesome is that?*** Monkey Warfare – I think I would have loved this film if I had not been rejected moments before. As I saw it, I was only half-listening as I wallowed in self-pity. What I saw through the frustration was good though. As an aspiring filmmaker it was particularly nice to see such a beautiful looking film that was shot on the camera I own. The film followed two ex-activists as they scavenge garage sales for antiques to sell on eBay while interacting with a young woman with radical ideas of her own. Funny and sad. I look forward to revisiting it some day in the future when I’m not recovering from a failed attempt at romance. The Signal – Three directors tackle this film. They each get their own section as we follow the aftermath of a dangerous signal that alters the reasoning of those who are exposed to it. Alternating between funny and serious, it is inventive enough to garner an audience down the line. Wonderfully unique at times while also keeping a serious tone amidst some very interesting satire. Day 6 ***Had to work today, so I wasn’t able to catch as many as I would have liked.*** Big Rig – Friendly documentary that follows the lives of a few truck drivers and the changes their unique world is going through now that gas prices are skyrocketing. The filmmakers basically hung out at truck stops and asked truckers if they could hang out for a while. No production schedule and no idea where they would end up. This loose travel plan made for a very natural take that never feels forced. Engaging. Fido – A kid and his pet zombie. Hilarious and smart enough to not spend too much time laughing at it’s own concept. The characters actually had arches and the film was confident enough to never lose momentum. Day 7 Pretty in the Face – Low budget flick that deals with body issues and centers on a young overweight boy and a plain-Jane type of woman. I enjoyed the lead actors and the spirit of the movie. Personally, I was just in no mood for this movie at this time in my life. My mind was still full of the blah, blahs from the previous day of work and the day before when the lady I dug did not dig back. 638 Ways to Kill Castro – Humorous look into the many plots to kill Fidel Castro. I would have liked to see more about the politics of Castro and why he was so hated by these men. And I never thought I would have asked for a movie to have more politics, it just didn’t set the table enough for me. Seems like something I would love to find on the History Channel though. If I got the History Channel. Great World of Sound – I dug this one. Subtle and sad. It followed a couple song sharks. Song sharks are people who look for new musicians and audition them only to ask for their money to help in the recording of the album. There are many scams like this and it was uniquely done in that the actual auditions in the film are real people who thought they were auditioning for a real talent scout. The two leads were fantastic and this film had two truly amazing moments for me. One involving a TV being lifted up and down to fight the butterflies in the stomach and another that was a woman doing a Joanna Newsome song at an audition. Bella – Great film. Director Alejandro Monteverde is going to be around for the next few decades. Graceful sense of rhythm both in the dialogue and the cinematography. Follows a man and a woman as they spend the day together. One is an ex-soccer player with a past he can’t forget (sounds cheesy, but is not) and the other is a woman who just found out she’s pregnant. I did not think I would like this one. But by the end my mouth was actually open and I had goose bumps for the last shot. I was starting to become a zombie after so many films and this one woke me up. Cashback – I saw the Oscar-nominated short film this was based on and fell in love with it, so I had to catch this one. It is a very simple story about an English art student who is trying to recover from a relationship. He can’t sleep, so he gets a graveyard shift at the local grocery store where he forms a unique relationship with time. How to pass it, how to stop it. Beautifully unique with a very lean script that does not push too far in either direction (either direction being too far into the drama, or too far into the slapstick). I predict in a few years this will be featured on many myspace pages under the favorite movies section. Seems like the sort of “cool” film that people will feel cool for liking. The lovelorn will also find much to identify with. That being said, it really is a treat and highly recommend it. ***Because I was on foot and Cashback played at the Dobie I was unable to get to a midnight movie in time. Knowing that Hal Hartley’s Fay Grim was playing the next day, I decided to do some extra-credit movie watching at home. I watched Hartley’s Henry Fool in order to know the events that lead up to Fay Grim. And my god. Henry Fool is amazing. I’m glad I Netflixed it before the fest. It built up such a mythic character that I was salivating to find out what happened to him in Fay Grim. Hilarious and complex while maintaining a deadpan tone that is underused these days. Just amazing. Glad I sacrificed even more sleep for it. *** Day 8 The Lather Effect – I am a sucker for these sort of movies. Old high school friends reuniting and figuring out their lives. Great cast and well directed. I think this film could grab a healthy audience if given the right chance. As always, Eric Stoltz was amazing as the man who never stopped partying after high school. It all takes place in the days that follow an 80’s throwback bash. A good comfort movie. The type of movie that could be rewatched. My little brother will enjoy it I believe. I know I did. Hard Road Home – Documentary about Exodus, a program run by ex-convicts that helps prisoners readjust to society after they are released. I wasn’t too interested until one of the workers of Exodus falls off the wagon and needs their help. Then things picked up a bit. Maintained my interest, but I won’t revisit. Good luck to the Exodus people. Electric Apricot – Directed by Les Claypool of Primus fame. Mockumentary about an aging jam-band. The jam band scene is ripe for some healthy ribbing and this does it’s job in that department. Claypool himself plays the drummer of the band and gets the best laughs. Any film like this will probably garner comparisons to Spinal Tap, and it’s too bad because of course it’s not as good as Spinal Tap. 99% of films aren’t. But this is funny. Eagle vs. Shark – Another film that will garner comparisons. And rightfully so. It is related to Napoleon Dynamite, whether intentionally or not. That being said, it is quite charming and features some amazing work by the cast and filmmaker. Again, New Zealand accents will win me over any day. Fay Grim – Very glad I saw Henry Fool the night before as the follow-up is a further expansion of the universe Hartley set up nine years ago with Fool. Where in that film we aren’t sure whether or not Henry actually lived the tales he spoke of, in Fay Grim we learn so much more about both him and his “Confessions”. Parker Posey carries the film wonderfully as she navigates a series of hilarious sequences of espionage. Jeff Goldblum is great as the agent who has past with Fool and seeks to find his “Confessions” as a matter of national security. I love this universe so much; I hope they keep expanding it in another 9 or so years. Simon, Fay and Henry have all become so iconic in the past few days that Henry’s “Confessions” are now a vital part of my film geekdom. Grimm Love – Disturbing and beautiful tale about a man who wants to be eaten alive and the man who wants to eat him alive. Played very real and has a few of the awkward moments of any romance even though this is a romance of drastic psychological excess. Not played for laughs at all. Keri Russel plays a very one-note character who only serves to tell the story. Perfect film for those right-wing parents of yours, as it not only features a love affair that is cannibalistic in nature, but the two are both men. Homosexuality! If that’s not enough, they are Germans! My word. Day 9 Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few – Not the most engaging documentary. Released some years ago (part of music doc retrospective). Didn’t seem like they were able to find out much about Drake, which overall left me feeling like I still don’t really know who he is or why he was depressed enough to take his own life. That being said, his music is bliss to me. I want to take a bubble bath and replace the bubbles with his voice and guitar. That’s right, I’d love to take a bath in Nick Drake. Interpret as you may. So, as long as they played some of his music this was not that much of a wash. Billy the Kid – Jesus fuck. Seriously? Where did you come from Billy the Kid? This is a fucking movie. The synopsis was vague, and as a result I almost skipped out on it, but I’m very glad I did not. I just didn’t understand why this kid warranted a feature documentary. The opening shot put me at ease immediately. The rhythm and vocabulary that 15 year-old Billy uses in his day to day life leaves a wake of quotable lines. We watch as he talks about his past, and we watch as he attempts to find a little love. I don’t want to talk too much about the specifics, as it was amazing to stumble upon it, but I will say that he is a very engaging subject and I was on the verge of tears (laughter and otherwise) at numerous times through this fantastic and touching film. Highly recommended. Made me feel like a human again after becoming a glazed-over zombie who was still sad about the girl that didn’t like me. Monterey Pop – Also part of the music documentary retrospective. I almost didn’t go to this, as I wanted to catch as many new films as possible. At the last second I couldn’t resist the idea of watching some of my favorite musicians in their prime. Good choice me. Everything about this film is iconic. It seemed to have set the table for every 60’s montage in any film that followed. After Janis Joplin finished her piece the audience at the Paramount actually applauded wildly to complement the film’s audience footage. From this point on, the theatre was engaged and rapt. Ravi Shankar’s performance is the stuff of legend and I’m glad I witnessed it for the first time on the big screen. I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK – Chan-Wook Park’s latest film. I had been waiting for this one. The idea of Park tackling a film that is lighter in tone was fascinating. We follow a young woman who believes she is a cyborg as she attempts to complete a mission that is very important to her. She is in a mental hospital so we are privy to a number of quirky characters. One of the leads is a thief who steals people’s ping-pong skills, sympathy, etc. Beautiful examination of madness. Park was able to merge the hilarious, the badass, and the beautiful in such a way that left this theatre wanting to make a film that attempts to do the same some day. That’s as big of a compliment as I can give. I could very easily gush about a handful of sequences but they would be best to find on your own. Flakes – Quirky comedy about two rival cereal bars. Has Aaron Stanford, Zooey Deschanel and Christopher Lloyd. It’s funny how I use the word “quirky” comedy to describe this film. I hate that description. What it means is that it isn’t a stereotypical comedy, even though it hits the beats necessary to fall into such a category. Elevated by performance and a script that veers off the beaten path just enough to avoid cringes. I really dug it. Nice to see New Orleans as the backdrop to a fun movie without ignoring the obvious problems the city is facing. Will resonate with anyone who has to put their art in the backseat while their job rides shotgun. Severence – Very appropriate last film of the festival for me. I work at the Alamo South Lamar location and one of the reasons I asked for this week off and spent a month’s rent on a badge was because I had to work during Fantastic Fest and it was the worst sort of torture I could imagine. I had to deliver food to these theatres that were playing a number of films I had been waiting to see for months (Tideland) or years (The Fountain). I swore this wouldn’t happen again. So I sucked it up and bought a badge for SXSW. Severence was one of the films at Fantastic Fest that I had heard nothing about but it looked hilarious from the brief moments I could catch a glimpse in between delivering Mozzarella sticks and sides of ranch to those lucky enough to watch it. Well, now I finally got to see it, in the same theatre. And it was hilarious all the way through. Note perfect humor and well-crafted horror. Team-building weekend gone awry is a plot I hadn’t seen before but was ripe for the plucking and it has been plucked well. Didn’t want it to end. But that’s mainly because it means the festival is over. TOP TEN I realize that I was not particularly harsh on any of these films. I am very open in regards to movies. I tend to look for the good. So, if you are wondering what really stood out among all the “good” films, well here is a list of the “great ones”. The following films stood out among the haze of 43 films and I believe will go on to engage the masses. King of Kong Hannah Takes the Stairs Bella Cashback Knocked Up The Ten Exiled I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Ok Billy the Kid Fay Grim Honorable Mentions The Whole Shootin’ Match (previously released) Monterey Pop (previously released) Henry Fool (not part of the festival, but amazing and I recommend) So, that is that. Hope you enjoy. If you have a spar tick or two check out the website my brother and I have that features short films, fiction and photography. Sincerely, Sean Whiteman
