So, I have more one film to see at the Int'l Film Festival Rotterdam and that will conclude my studies here. I did alright for a first time. Near-somnabulism put a dent in my numbers, but I was defenseless. Sleeping pills are evil and I'll never take another one again.
Feature Count: 26
Shorts Programmes Count: 15
I've told you about several of the short films and a feature or two of note that I saw here. A few more include:
Wonderful Town - This film is from Thailand and I saw it at 10am this morning and it is fantastic! There is a big difference between a 10am movie and a 930am movie. That half an hour makes all the difference. I was like a bird at a feeder for this film. It's going on to play Berlin. One writer once said there are only two kinds of stories; 1) A stranger comes into town. 2)I don't remember what this one is. Sorry. This was the first one. It's set in a small town in Southern Thailand that was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. A love story and much more. Fabulous!
Trumbo - A documentary about the screenwriter and man of letters. Craig Zobel was the production manager. How about that? Kudos, Craig. If you like to write, you'll want to imitate DT and change your name to a much cooler one. He was blacklisted and went to prison for a year for contempt because he refused to answer the immortal question, "Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist a Party?"
Limite - This is the Brazilian silent film with 3 intertitles, all of which are in Portugeuse and not subtitled. I was waiting for them the entire film. Wonderful movie. Feels like something that inspired Terrence Malick and was inspired by Murnau and the surrealists.
Der Verlorene - German for "The Lost One". Peter Lorre directed and stars in this. He went back to Germany to direct it. I once heard someone refer to his eyes as 'heavy-lidded'. It's true. He carries this film with the help of 1000 packs of cigarettes. Seriously, he puts one out, he lights one up. There is never a second when he is not smoking...or drinking. And he plays a doctor. I loved it because it's old and Peter Lorre isn't playing a sniveling little weasel, at least not throughout the whole movie. Very talkative.
Film - Samuel Beckett's only film. Buster Keaton is in it. Boris Kaufman shot it. It's quite funny, especially if you like Beckett. I loved it. It's a short.
Fujian Blue - A Chinese film. Great. Original in conception and execution.
Momma's Man - I really enjoyed it, but I take issue with the film not revealing that one nugget of information.
I did not get to see Paranoid Park, which made me sad, but I'll see it back home, I'm sure. I waited until the last screening and could not get tickets. Distribution is a funny business. Many films open in their home countries after playing all over the world.
Those are the notables, I believe. There were some other great shorts, but I won't tell you about them right now. I only saw two pieces of trash. Two of them had ejaculating penises in them. What does this say about me? That is not the only reason I didn't like them. Actually, I saw a few other trash shorts, too, but the good always outweigh the bad by a long shot.
Rotterdam is all about this film festival. At the hostel, I met two Dutchmen who had traveled from home to stay in a hostel and go see movies all week. I'm serious. I spoke with one Dutch architect and he said every year he takes off work most of the week to go see movies, as do many of his friends. Can you believe that? Nearly every feature screening I attended was packed. Lines at the box office at 9am every morning every day like Cher was coming to town. Posters for IFFR in the windows of cheese shops, shoe stores, art galleries and nearly everywhere else. Billowing blue tiger banners in the streets, on rooftops. Extraordinary support for the cinema and the film festival. I was amazed. Well financed. Incredibly well organized. Good messenger bag though it's taken a beating. They put my posters up everywhere for me. In the festival HQ, in the venue itself, in prime spots. The staff was so nice. You walk in a door and they ask you, "What do you need? Who may I introduce you to?" It was the tops!
Tomorrow, I'm going to rent a bike and travel around. Monday - Amsterdam. Tuesday-Paris.
Oh, damn. I forgot to talk about Phase IV. Later. It's the awesome ant movie I saw. Fabbo!
mike b.
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1 comment:
how's about some pictures? or you too pilled out for that?
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