SFIFFBLOG - Week Two - The Forks, The Lap, The Fur

My Winnipeg

SFIFF51 closed May 8th with a screening of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson. A week ago, Saturday, I went to the Pacific Film Archive to see Guy Maddin present his latest, My Winnipeg.

The last time I saw Guy Maddin in-person was at the Brand Upon The Brain! screening in Seattle, a few months before I moved to San Francisco. The time before that was at a screening of Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary, at the New York Video Festival, a few months before I moved to Seattle. I think I must be stalking Guy Maddin.

Maddin told the audience San Francisco was his favorite city in the United States. But wait, I recall him telling us at the Cinerama that Seattle was his favorite city. Perfidious wretch! Actually, I think San Francisco may be his favorite. He has a longstanding relationship with the the San Francisco Film Society and the PFA. He's appeared at numerous SFIFFs and received the Film Society's Persistence of Vision Award in 2006. He's also appeared at the PFA a number of times and did a residency, curating a series of films in 2004. He also, by his own admission, once passed out in a local bar, trying to catch-up on some sleep. If Guy Maddin is comfortable enough to lay his weary head upon the countertop of one the city's drinking establishments, well then, I consider it a compliment.

I grew up in Leonia, New Jersey, a town with a 400 year history. A few things happened there, most notably George Washington's retreat from the British army; and a number of well-known people lived there, including Anthony Bourdain, Alan Alda and, my favorite, Sammy Davis Jr., who took up residency during his stint in Golden Boy. I can only imagine him, shopping at the Acme or checking out the produce at the Co-Op saying, 'Hey man, look at these mangoes.' For all that, I can't imagine doing a film, My Leonia. Sad to say, the subject of my hometown doesn't inspire any flight of fancy in me. Guy Maddin has no such problem. My Winnipeg was commissioned by Canada's Documentary Channel as a personal history. Well, what they got was personal, but there isn't much history. At least, not of the factual sort. Maddin did a ton of research and quite a bit of the film is archival footage, but he so thoroughly mythologizes and fictionalizes his subject, that you would have an easier time discerning the history of Edwardian England from the novels of Ronald Firbank.

Indeed, I used to think of Maddin as the Firbank of film, with his whimsical pastiches of Russian Constructivism and German Expressionism, bordering on the twee, but something in him broke with Twighlight of The Ice Nymphs and, ever since, with the exception of The Saddest Music in the World, he's headed into deeper, more personal, territory and his work has gotten darker, richer, kinkier and more kinetic. Cowards Bend The Knee kicked off the trend with a heavy dose of oneiric perversity [like chasing shots of chartreuse with sips of absinthe], but Brand Upon The Brain! introduced a depth of emotion, mostly oedipal, that gave it gravity. With My Winnipeg, Maddin becomes lyrical. It's rare to see a filmmaker with an equal command of the surreal, in imagery and language and, I imagine, George Toles leant a hand in this, but the voiceover narration, improvised by Maddin, is a Joycean riff of repetitive phrases [The Forks, The Lap, The Fur, The Forks, The Lap, The Fur] and ideas, lulling the viewer into a dense meditation on nostalgia, aging, the mortality of people and places, memory, family, hockey, the past and how, even such a seemingly mundane place can hold a tight grip on you if you call it 'home.'

Oh, and Maddin. Yes, he was there. Charming as usual. Sanguine yet witty, in his Bill Irwin sort-of way, solicitous of the audiences questions, eveready with an insightful, yet humble quip. The fucker.

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Six

A Chat with David Gordon Green: On Bill Anderson
and Pineapple Express (click here for part five)

I noticed in looking at the crew for Snow Angels, that you worked
with [editor] Bill Anderson. The name didn't ring a bell until I look-
ed at a list of his movies. How did you come to work with him?

[The Northern Ireland-born Anderson has worked
extensively with Bruce Beresford and Peter Weir.]

I wanted to switch it up a little bit, and get a guy who could be a kind of mentor.
I really admired the movies he worked on, and talked him into working for donuts.
It was a really fun relationship, because he's of a different generation and—just as on Undertow, we had [Terrence] Malick and Ed Pressman to talk us through some things, because they were tremendous influences on movies we all liked—I think
it's important sometimes to reach out to people who aren't necessarily your best friends, but they obviously come from a soulful place you want to learn from.

Two Blurbs: Encounters at the End of the World and Derek

After heading “into the wild,” so to speak, with Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog heads south to another remote corner of the globe, Antarctica, in Encounters…. Thankfully, he also narrates, as I love his voice (I was particularly hung up on the way he said “Demons” in Grizzly Man). It’s an often beautifully shot look at a place I have absolutely no desire to visit. The film’s tagline is “Off the map, things get strange.” Well, they don’t actually get that strange. But with Herzog at the helm you know they’ll be interesting.

Herzog’s first port of call is McMurdo research station, an ugly facility, as he aptly notes. But he quickly makes connections with the myriad folks working at the place, many of whom have surprising histories. I particularly enjoyed a brief scene where the scientists are relaxing by watching the movie Them! (about giant ants). As a child, my father woke me up early one morning so we could watch it on TV. And some of the crew have even darker views of the future than I do, I suppose not surprisingly, given their field of work. One, for example, posited that the extinction of the human race was a certainty. I’ve thought that myself, and haven’t always regarded it as a bad thing (especially after watching the evening news). But this time it made me rather sad. Perhaps because the environment — outside of McMurdo — was so picturesque. Then again, without humans it’ll stay that way.

Press Launch Report

The SIFF press launch was held early this year (May 1). And it was pretty toned down in comparison to previous such events.

When I first began covering SIFF, the press launch used to be a much more well lubricated affair…basically, a happy hour with film trailers. It even started at happy hour, around 4 pm. This was when SIFF’s HQ was at the Egyptian. You drank merrily, had some snacks, then you were corralled into the theater (with your drinks), Dan Ireland and Darryl MacDonald came out to say how wonderful this year’s SIFF would be, then they screened a bunch a trailers. Afterwards, you went back out and drank up whatever alcohol was left.

They began getting a bit spiffed up as the years went by. They moved it to noon. Your press kit was in a three ring binder. They began to give you your press pass at the launch. They finally started showing a film after the trailers, usually the opening night film, on the pretext that they then didn’t have to get you an opening night ticket. There was plentiful food, gift bags of swag, and of course the all important alcohol (champagne).

SFIFFBLOG - Week One

The Romance of Astrea and Celadon

The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival began a week and a half ago with an opening night screening of The Last Mistress. Due to time limitations [work] and fiscal constraints [relocation debts] I had to be a bit selective when choosing my SFIFF tickets. Fortunately, two of those tickets were given to me as a birthday present by Siffblog commenter, Ratzkywatzky. As an additional stroke of fortune, I received a rebate check from Verizon, allowing me purchase three additional tickets for a total of five, five screenings, ah, ha, ha!

So, last Sunday, I went to the Sundance Kabuki and saw Eric Rohmer's The Romance of Astrea and Celadon . Interestingly, it was showing in two adjacent theaters, simultaneously [or near simultaneously, the projections were 30 seconds apart], so if you were going to meet someone at the film, you had to contact them and let them know which theater to find you in. Anyway, the film. I'm embarrassed to admit, I've never seen one by Eric Rohmer before. The closest I ever came was in college, when I had a crush on my freshman composition instructor, Claire, and one of my classmates told me I should see Claire's Knee, because I would really relate to it. And you know, Rohmer's only made 50 movies, so I have some catching up to do. Anyway, the film. Rohmer adapted it from an early 17th century text, by Honoré d'Urfé, set in 5th century Gaul. An Arcadian tale of shepherds and shepherdesses, druids and nymphs, one would expect 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' sort-of romp and there's something of that in the tale of romantic misunderstandings, mistaken identity and lovers separated and rejoined, but there's very little of the supernatural in evidence. Instead it plays very flatly, albeit charmingly, like a lighter version of Bresson's Lancelot du Lac. Rohmer sought inspiration from the 16th century imagining of classical virtues, but he infuses it with the sensibility of his era. To put it simply, it's what you get when you combine 60's/70's French cinema with a Baroque vision of the Roman era. It's slow, it's languorous, it's offhandedly funny and it's sprinkled with casual nudity. I loved it.

On the Road to SIFF '08

Filmed in the city of...Vancouver!

A few basic facts:
SIFF '08 runs from 5/22 - 6/15
This is the 34th year of the festival
The opening night film is Battle in Seattle (Stuart Townsend)
The closer is Bottle Shock (Randall Miller)
Press screenings began on 4/28

Now playing at SIFF Cinema: Amazing films from UA

The United Artists 90th Anniversary series has started playing at SIFF Cinema, and I plan to warm up for the Festival by getting my fill of some old-school masterpieces. My picks:

Annie Hall playing Friday, May 9th @ 7pm (followed by Manhattan @ 9 if you’re looking for some double feature Woody Allen action).

West Side Story, Saturday May 10th @ 2 and 8pm (the first musical to win my heart – and I don’t generally like musicals).

Some Like it Hot, Sunday May 11th @ 2:15pm

Dr. No/Goldfinger Double Feature on Sunday, May 18th @ 2/6pm or 4/8pm (HELLO Sean Connery Bond!)

And…The Manchurian Candidate on Monday, May 19th @ 7pm (I’ve never actually seen this original – only the remake. I’m kind of a Liev Schreiber fangirl).

Whether or not I’ll make it to all of those has not been determined yet, but I love that SIFF is giving me the opportunity to go see some greats on the big screen. Tickets are just $10 each (cheaper for members), or if you’re feeling hardcore you can grab a pass for all twenty-one films for $100 ($85 for SIFF Supporters!). You can see the full schedule here.

SIFF Cinema is located at 321 Mercer Street at 3rd Avenue, McCaw Hall.

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Five

A Chat with David Gordon Green: On Actors
and Producers (click here for part four)

A Green production

I love me some Noonan.
-- David Gordon Green

*****

I know you've answered this question before, but I'd like to ask it again: Why
don't you mention the location in Snow Angels? I had a feeling, while I was watch-
ing, that it was set in Pennsylvania, but I didn't know for sure until afterwards.

Well, in the book, it's Pennsylvania—we shot it in Nova Scotia—but I figured if you could have it take place in a timeless, place-less...place, that can make it more universal. And it looks cool. Most places that are more specific are just strip malls.

I thought there was one reference to the 1980s. Otherwise, it didn't specify a year.

There are cell phones and that kind of stuff. Kate calls Amy on a cell phone.

The cell phones inevitably make it more modern, though with
the way people are dressed, it could almost be the '80s.

It could be any time; it could be the '70s. I just tried to make it some-
thing all generations could relate to, and would project their own youth
on to. Tom Noonan came up with all the 'Sledgehammer' stuff.

A Southerner Looks to the North: Part Four

A Chat with David Gordon Green: On the Cast (click here for part three)

The Criterion Collection: Spine #152

In spite of the commercial challenges his films have faced,
Green has emerged as one of the most interesting and idio-
syncratic independent filmmakers of the last decade.
-- George Ducker, The Believer (2006)

*****

You've talked about some of the differences between shooting your last two films, but were you working within the same time frame? Or did you have more time?

Same time—six weeks—and about the same budget.
Well, there was a little more money for Snow Angels.

How does that compare to your first two films, in terms of the shooting time?

My first movie was 19 days straight; second, third, and fourth were six weeks: five-day weeks, 30 days. And I just finished one [Pineapple Express] where I had 45 days.

What Happened To Me

The view from my commute.

So, I've been absent for awhile. What happened what this. I was scheduled to interview Crispin Glover, during his January visit. An hour before the interview, I was notified that I was being laid-off. The next day I was getting ready to see Crispin Glover present What Is It? when my landlady notified me that she was going to sell the condo I'd been leasing. I'd like to think that losing my job and apartment had nothing to do with Crispin Glover. The following week, the heating broke down in my building, a mouse took up residence in my wall and the zipper on my sweater broke. I decided to move to San Francisco.

I flew down to see what I could line up. Three weeks later, on Valentine's Day, I got offered a job in the Financial District. A few days after that, I signed a lease on an apartment in Pacific Heights. I flew back to Seattle, packed up my shit and here I am, living a stone's throw from Lafayette Park, riding the cable car home from work, eating dinner in Chinatown, knocking back drinks at Tosca [Wim Wenders 'favorite bar in the whole, entire world']. My life is a fucking Rice-A-Roni commercial.

It all happened so vertiginously, I sometimes wake up and ask myself, "How did I get here?" Like Judy Barton, I often feel this isn't real my life, but an impersonation of somebody else's. Things aren't helped by the fact that I pass by the Brocklebank Apartments nearly every day. Hopefully, I won't be falling off any belltowers, anytime soon.

Veering between excitement and nostalgia, I find new and wonderful things to do, as I continuously miss my life and friends back in Seattle. Luckily, some things continue to be the same. Movies, for instance. San Francisco is a real film town. Not just because this city has inspired a significant number of memorable cinematic moments, but also because they show a lot of films here. Granted, there's nothing quite like the vastness of SIFF, but there are numerous festivals, one of which, the San Francisco International Film Festival, is right around the corner. So, along with Anne Hockens, I shall continue to contribute to Siffblog, as a sort-of foreign correspondent. In fact, I still have that Crispin Glover thing to transcribe... In the meantime, I have some SFIFF scheduling to figure out.