Category: Marcus

Part 3

The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF51) has just concluded. Unlike the previous two years, this year I didn”t work at the Festival, so I had no insider information to use in selecting films (nor did I have free tickets). You can see my chronicles of the 49th and 50th in the archives of this site.

For SFIFF51, I relied on the Program Guide for my selections, as well as chatting up members of the SFFS staff at the Members Night previews. The Program Guide has descriptions of each film, along with one picture. They are not reviews, but promotional descriptions meant to entice ticket buyers to buy tickets.

Here, I include the Program Guide entries for the films I saw, and append a paragraph called My Take — for my reaction to the film. I”ve rated the films, as well, from * to **** with ~ being a half star. I”ve noted the films that have distribution. Some will gain distribution due to their exposure here, some may never be seen again.

The films are presented in the order I saw them, April 25 through May 8, 2008.

UP THE YANGTZE
Canada

On a cruise ship gliding up the Yangtze River, European and North American tourists get a relaxing firsthand view of changing China. The perspective is markedly different, however, for two Chinese teenagers working on the boat. Chen Bo (assigned the gringo-friendly name Jerry) is a good-looking, supremely self-confident urban dude with a quick appreciation for the newly introduced practice of tipping. Downstairs in the galley, meanwhile, the shy country girl Yu Shui (aka Cindy) grapples with the demeaning drudgery of dirty dishes. Yu Shui would much rather be in school, but it’s not in the cards. Continue reading “SFIFF51, My take… Part 3” →

Part 2

The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF51) has just concluded. Unlike the previous two years, this year I didn”t work at the Festival, so I had no insider information to use in selecting films (nor did I have free tickets). You can see my chronicles of the 49th and 50th in the archives of this site.

For SFIFF51, I relied on the Program Guide for my selections, as well as chatting up members of the SFFS staff at the Members Night previews. The Program Guide has descriptions of each film, along with one picture. They are not reviews, but promotional descriptions meant to entice ticket buyers to buy tickets.

Here, I include the Program Guide entries for the films I saw, and append a paragraph called My Take — for my reaction to the film. I”ve rated the films, as well, from * to **** with ~ being a half star. I”ve noted the films that have distribution. Some will gain distribution due to their exposure here, some may never be seen again.

The films are presented in the order I saw them, April 25 through May 8, 2008.

I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND
Czech Republic, Sony Pictures

I Served the King of England marks the return of director Jirí Menzel, master filmmaker of the Czech New Wave. The story, told in flashbacks, concerns the rise and fall of an amorous and opportunistic apprentice waiter. Jan Díte is a little man with a big appetite for discreet sexual encounters and worldly success. His coming of age at various grand hotels exposes him to the lifestyles of the upper crust, the crème de la crème of 1930s Czech society, and a taste of their self-indulgent and carefree extravagance fuels his ambition. Soon he lands a job at a prestigious luxury hotel, where a chance encounter with a Sudeten German activist leads to a newly varnished Aryan identity. As the hotel changes hands from private ownership to the grip of the German SS, he finds himself in one of the Lebensborn breeding resorts designed to spawn the Aryan master race. It appears he finally has it made, but with the Germans occupying Czechoslovakia he is unfortunately on the wrong side of history. Luscious to look at, this finely crafted film is based on the picaresque novel of Bohumil Hrabal (1914—1997), a frequent Menzel collaborator who inspired a generation with his lyrical yet unsentimental view of 20th century life.
—Janis Plotkin Continue reading “SFIFF51, My take… Part 2” →

The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF51) has just concluded. Unlike the previous two years, this year I didn”t work at the Festival, so I had no insider information to use in selecting films (nor did I have free tickets). You can see my chronicles of the 49th and 50th in the archives of this site.

For SFIFF51, I relied on the Program Guide for my selections, as well as chatting up members of the SFFS staff at the Members Night previews. The Program Guide has descriptions of each film, along with one picture. They are not reviews, but promotional descriptions meant to entice ticket buyers to buy tickets.

Here, I include the Program Guide entries for the films I saw, and append a paragraph called My Take — for my reaction to the film. I’ve rated the films, as well, from * to **** with ~ being a half star. I”ve noted the films that have distribution. Some will gain distribution due to their exposure here, some may never be seen again.

The films are presented in the order I saw them, April 25 through May 9, 2008. My first film, The Golem, was a one time, live performance.

THE GOLEM WITH BLACK FRANCIS

A silent classic and an exemplary specimen of German expressionist cinema, The Golem is set in 16th century Prague. A rabbi fashions a proto—Frankenstein’s monster, sculpted from rough clay and brought to life through sorcery, to protect the Jewish ghetto from a Christian emperor’s decree that it be dissolved. Through means both surprising and charming, the creature manages to stave off the wrath of the emperor and his court. But it eventually goes haywire, as the rabbi’s jealous assistant turns the golem toward evil. A true juggernaut, the golem destroys everything in its path. The last in a trilogy of films on the golem myth, all cowritten and codirected by Paul Wegener, The Golem depicts the labyrinthine ghetto as a baroque and anxious world of secrets and magic capable of producing amazing discoveries as well as horrific power. Wegener, who had a long career as an actor, plays the title character with odd grace. Photographed by master cinematographer Karl Freund (Metropolis, The Last Laugh), the film, in a beautiful archival print, remains visually stunning. But there are aural enchantments in store as well at this special screening. Black Francis (aka Frank Black), best known as the front man for the towering 1990s alt-rock band, the Pixies, will perform the world premiere of his original score for the film live and onstage at the Castro Theatre. One of the most influential songwriters and performers of his generation, Black Francis’s collaborative appearance with The Golem marks a unique outing in musical and cinematic history.
—Sean Uyehara Continue reading “SFIFF51, My take… Part 1” →

Roger Donaldson, the director was in attendance and participated in a Q+A after the film.

FILM BLURB
A tightly wound heist film, The Bank Job is based on an infamous 1971 London robbery, in which a gang of East End crooks got away with approximately  £500,000. Roger Donaldson’s film unpacks all that went into the job and all that came after, including the shady criminals, the corrupt politicians, the government cover-up, the violent revenge and, of course, the royal scandal. Jason Stratham plays the mechanic and small-time criminal who masterminded the heist, ultimately finding himself in far over his head. The film opens in the Bay Area on March 7.

MY TAKE
Michael X, a black radical, has pictures of Princess Margaret in a compromising situation and is using them to thwart his arrest by the Government. MI5 (or MI6, who can tell) knows they are in a safe deposit box in a London bank. A babe returning from Morocco is found with drugs in her possession. An agent promises her immunity is she will round up a band of guys to break into the bank, give the pictures to MI5 and keep whatever else they take. They do this, but of course, there are complications. A Porn Lord who has the goods on crooked cops, a high class madam and members of Parliament become involved, so the hapless crooks are sought by dangerous dudes on both sides of the law and the government.

I wanted Michael X and the Porn Lord, despicable chaps, taken down, but could have accepted an ending where either MI5 or the small time criminal with balls of steel, prevailed.

Very cool film — taught, tense, and with more plot turns than Lombard Street. Incredibly, based on a true story.

A film that reminded me of Sir Ben Kingsley‘s Sexy Beast, as well as Layer Cake. Check it out.

We saw Zidane at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Screening Room last night. The room is not large, maybe 200 seats, and was packed, largely with soccer teams and their coaches. We were two of a few “civilians.”

I expected to see the familiar number 10 of the French national team, and of course, the famous head butt. But no, seventeen cameras focus on Zinedine Zidane for an entire, regular season soccer match, Real Madrid vs. Villareal, April 23, 2005. Zidane wears number 5 for Real Madrid.

This is an amazing film. For me, it defines the art of the motion picture. IMDb mentioned it as a “conceptual art installation.”

What we see on the big screen is Zidane; his face, his head, the back of his neck, his torso, his feet, sometimes his whole body. He stands, jogs, runs, handles the ball, whatever the match situation calls for. He sweats, spits, blows his nose, says very little. His expression rarely changes. We see Zidane assist on a goal as he kicks the ball across the face of the goal, to be scored on a header by a teammate. It is one of the few instances where the camera follows the ball. We see a few brief shots of a black and white video monitor and a few brief shots from the stadium roof, otherwise we don”t see the match, just Zidane. From time to time, quotes from Zidane interviews are shown as subtitles.

The film is in real time, and at half-time, news clips of things going on in the world on that day, are shown.

The sound may be even more amazing. We hear in turn, silence, the roar of maybe 80,000 rabid soccer fans, the thunk of his foot against the ball, the skidding sound of the ball on the turf, footsteps digging in the turf, a musical monotone building and fading as the action warrants.

I found the film a joy; I delighted in the clarity of the pictures moving before me. I felt as if I were in a photo gallery, passing from one photograph to the next, always thrilled by the image at hand. I was mesmerized. Carol was bored silly.

Zidane played at Sundance last year, but has not secured distribution in the US.

Here is a review from the Guardian, and a Wired review from Sundance.