November 16, 2009 – 10:48 am
As part of this week's celebration of 1939 films (in honor of the State's two-year anniversary), we'll be screening "Dark Victory" for free tonight at 6:30 p.m. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Bette Davis) and Best Original Score, "Dark Victory" stars Davis as a hedonistic young woman who is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and must come to grips with the fact she has less than a year to live. George Brent and Humphrey Bogart co-star in the film.
Local filmmaker Rich Brauer and Interlochen's Motion Picture Arts Division director Michael Mittelstaedt will host a free film class post-screening on lighting and other cinematic techniques used in the movie. For more information, click here.
November 14, 2009 – 7:49 pm
The September issue of Vogue magazine is often referred to as the bible of the fashion industry: a sprawling, multi-hundred page tome packed to the brim with couture designs, exotic location shoots and rail-thin models. The force of nature behind this (and every) issue of Vogue is editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, the "single most important figure in a $300 billion-a-year industry" and a source of both rapt admiration and abject terror among designers. The last time Wintour appeared on screen, she was being portrayed as a withering witch by none less than Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada." In "The September Issue," a fast-paced and illuminating documentary chronicling the compilation of the September 2007 Vogue issue (the magazine's largest ever), we get to see the real Anna - and she's both more intimidating and more enigmatic than even Streep could portray.
Wintour is no doubt wise enough to curtail any excessively negative behavior with cameras following her every move, but we do catch a glimpse of how unpleasant life can be on her bad side. A single cutting remark brings a look of devastation to a designer's face; a flick of a wrist scraps $50,000's worth of photo shoot work from the magazine in an instant. You have to wonder about the creative atmosphere in a workplace where everyone from the fashion photographer to the arts director waits to see how Wintour reacts before offering their own opinions. Strangely enough, they somehow always end up aligning with hers.
Wintour displays superior knowledge and taste in fashion, so perhaps she has earned the right to such tyranny. However, one of the film's most refreshing and unexpected elements is Grace Coddington, Vogue's Creative Director. A former fashion model, Coddington has worked with Wintour for over 20 years - and in a roomful of yes men and women, she's the lone voice of dissent with enough spine to challenge the Boss. In one scene, Wintour snidely tells one of the photographers - who's appearing in a photo in the magazine with a model - that he "needs to go the gym." Coddington looks aghast. "It's enough that the models are perfect," she reassures him. "You look fine. You don't need to go to the gym." She then immediately calls the layout department and orders them not to retouch the offending photo, contradicting Wintour's instructions.
The clothing, accessories, models and attention to detail that go into the magazine are astounding, and you gain a respect for the artistry and passion required to put together what someone would dismiss as a shallow fashion rag. It's a neat trick of the film that it is able to elevate fashion and the pursuit of beauty into a respectable, even commendable, occupation, while at the same time questioning just how much importance should be placed on this kind of industry. In one of the movie's most revealing scenes, Wintour's daughter confesses she plans to pursue a career in law rather than work at her mother's magazine. "It's a weird industry," she says slowly. "I respect my mother and what she does, but some of these people…there's just more out there to life than fashion." Wintour also admits, rather painfully, that her siblings - all in high-profile positions in politics and culture - find her profession (and here she pauses, embarrassed) "amusing."
It's these authentic contradictions and ambiguities that make "The September Issue" such an intriguing film. Regardless of whether you worship at the altar of fashion or mock it as a shallow waste of time and resources, after watching this behind-the-scenes tell-all, you won't be able to walk by the newsstand and look at an issue of Vogue the same way again. Particularly not the September issue.
"The September Issue" is playing now through November 17 at the State Theatre. For showtime and ticket information, click here.
November 12, 2009 – 10:00 am
Today is your last chance to see two independent gems that have been a hit with audiences this past week at the State.
"My One and Only," based on the teenage life of George Hamilton, capitalizes on the '50s craze currently popularized by "Mad Men" with glamorous performances by an all-star cast including Renee Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, Chris Noth, Nick Stahl and Eric McCormack. Zellweger turns in a standout performance as a proud trophy wife-turned-single mother struggling to make a life for herself and her sons in an era when not having a man to support you presents a host of social and financial vulnerabilities. As is the case with Zellweger's plucky heroine, there's real grit and feeling beneath the sunny exterior of this film.
There aren't many projects Chris Rock takes on that I'm not interested in seeing, and his latest effort - "Good Hair" - is no exception. Rattled when his young daughter asks him why she doesn't have "good hair," Rock undertakes a journey through salons, beauty parlors and industrial chemical labs (gulp) across America to find out exactly what makes us so obsessed with our hair (or lack thereof). Rock's trademark humor and good-natured interview style lends itself deftly to the subject matter - he has the ability to shoot the breeze with the best of them in a barbershop, and so is able to capture candid conversations on film that others might miss. You'll learn more about weaves, chemical relaxers and the booming hair export industry in India than you ever thought you'd want to know - and you'll be both entertained and disturbed in the process.
I would've liked to see Rock kick down the door more on the root causes behind our hair obsession - he skates on the surface of some meaningful observations, like the pressure on African-American women to have "white hair" - but if anyone is posed to fully take on and explore those uncomfortable societal truths, it's Rock. Nonetheless, "Good Hair" is a funny, enlightening look at a subject matter that dominates far too much of our time and resources and far too little of our actual discussion.
Both "My One and Only" and "Good Hair" have two last screenings today at the State. For showtimes and ticket information, click here.
September 15, 2009 – 4:28 pm
TCFF founder Michael Moore will appear on The Jay Leno Show tonight at 10:00 p.m. on NBC to discuss his forthcoming film, "Capitalism: A Love Story." The film, which has been picking up rave reviews at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, goes wide October 2, when it will open at the State Theatre and at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay. Michael will be hosting a special premiere of the film this Saturday, September 19 in Bellaire. Two screenings are scheduled at 1:00 and 4:30 p.m. at the Bellaire Theater. There are also two parties at Lulu's, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., as well as an afterglow at Short's at 6:00 p.m.
To purchase tickets for any of the above, click here, call 231-533-6550, or just show up on Saturday. Check it out and let us know what you think!
September 13, 2009 – 1:31 pm
When it comes to love, there's something to be said for coyness and restraint. That first shy flirtation, the growing expectancy, the hidden impatience, the thrilling building hints of mutual desire - what would great love be, without these exhilarating beginning stages? And yet - what if you were completely inept in, even physically incapable of, exhibiting romantic nuance? What if entendres sailed blindly over your head? If you couldn't read facial expressions, or pick up on the subtext of tone of voice?
"Adam" is a love story about two attractive, New York twentysomethings - hardly an original premise in romantic comedy land. But just as Beth (Rose Byrne) meets Adam (Hugh Dancy) and goes from simply seeing a cute romantic prospect to realizing that something may be…off, so we quickly deduce that "Adam" is not going to be your typical romantic comedy. Â
It's not until a third of the way through the movie, when Adam asks Beth point blank in his living room whether a walk they shared "sexually excited" her, does the truth come out: Adam has Asperger's Syndrome. Essentially a high-functioning autistic, Adam has difficulty expressing emotion, making eye contact or intuiting what people are thinking. Naturally, this does not make him prime relationship material. And yet, enter a relationship they do, and their pairing makes for one of the most moving, genuine, romantic films I've seen all year.
Seeing the world through Adam's eyes is in some ways seeing it for the first time, which is part of the reason Beth falls in love with him. He's passionate about space and the universe, setting up a planetarium in his living room to explain the cosmos to Beth and rattling off space theory to overwhelmed guests at a cocktail party. There is real pathos and grace in the way Beth, a product of high education and upper class, navigates Adam's condition, resting her hand on his arm to let him know when he's talking too much or offering to role-play to prepare him for a job interview. She's not starry-eyed in her love for him, nor does the film glamorize their relationship. When Adam loses his temper in one scene, he becomes like a hysterical child, unable to control himself, and we see the fear and awareness dawn on Beth's face that she is dating someone who is not wholly adult.
There are many moments like this in the film - honest grace notes that deal frankly and beautifully with what this kind of relationship entails, for both parties. The soundtrack adds to the lushness, featuring hushed, lonely tracks from artists like Joshua Radin, The Weepies and Miranda Lee Richards. And the ending is pitch-perfect - intriguing, unresolved and full of hope. Adam would not beat around the bush, and nor will I: I absolutely loved this film. If you like your romance authentic, unique and full of moments both heartbreaking and heartwarming, "Adam" is one of the best you'll see this year.
"Adam" is playing now through Thursday at the State. For tickets and showtime information, click here.
September 8, 2009 – 2:23 pm
Two days. Two movies. Two reasons to see "The Brothers Bloom" and "Whatever Works" at the State Theatre: 1) Both are highly enjoyable films, and 2) Unless George Lucas picked out your home sound system and Ford Mustang made your living room furniture and a team of taste experts personally approved your microwave popcorn, you're guaranteed a better moviegoing experience at the State than in your home. It's just a fact, folks.
"The Brothers Bloom" is Rian Johnson's affectionate homage to old-world con movies - but with a quirky and thoroughly modern bent. The characters travel by train and steamboat and dress like they live in the '40s, but turn around and use cell phones and drive Lamborghinis, so it's impossible to define the era from which they hail. But maybe that's just another of Johnson's winking cons on the audience - one of many throughout the film. It's great to see Mark Ruffalo cut loose from his typical shoegazer roles to play a snappy, loveable scoundrel, and Rachel Weisz to trade in her normally restrained intellectualism for a sweetly manic eccentricity. The whole cast, really - rounded out by Adrien Brody and a fantastic Rinko Kikuchi ("Babel") - is flawless. The ending is surprisingly bittersweet, but everything leading up to it is rollicking fun.
"Whatever Works" treads some familiar territory if you're a Woody Allen fan - but if you're A Woody Allen fan, you know that's territory worth treading. As with so many Allen films, here again we have an aging misanthrope who ends up comically mismatched with a young ingénue, but this time around, Allen has passed off the misanthrope hat to someone who wears it with equally dry pizzazz: Larry David. Except for an amusing tendency to break the fourth wall (an Allen hallmark) and a soft spot for a Southern runaway (Evan Rachel Wood), there's not much to distinguish the Larry David of "Whatever Works" from the Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." But if you like Woody Allen and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," that's not a bad thing. Lots of great Woody one-liners here (when a straight character swaps breakup stories with a gay character, the former observes: "They all hurt you in the end, every woman - male or female"), while Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley, Jr make for a strong supporting cast. It may not be "Annie Hall" - and really, can any follow-up Allen movie ever be? - but if you're a Woody fan, "Whatever Works" is still a can't-miss.
See both "The Brothers Bloom" and "Whatever Works" this Wednesday and Thursday at the State Theatre. For tickets and showtime information, click here.
August 15, 2009 – 10:28 am
Still from "500 Days of Summer"
For years, we've watched the same movie over and over, repackaged under different titles and interchangeable shiny plastic stars. Call it "How to Lose a Guy at My Big Fat Alabama Runaway Wedding," starring American sweetheart Julia Kate Witherspoon and the dashing Matthew Hugh Gere. For years, we've watched these silicone queens and kings of Hollywood meet cute, fall in love, fight, stare forlornly from a rainy street at a happy couple kissing in the cafe window, realize they've made a terrible mistake, and finally - thrillingly - reunite. This film, watched on repeat ad nauseam (emphasis on the nauseam), has cinematically shaped and refined an entire generation's notion of romance - and in the process, royally effed us up.
"It's these cards," moans Tom, the heartbroken hero of the new "500 Days of Summer," of his company's schmaltzy greeting cards. "It's these cards, and the pop songs, and the movies. They are responsible for the lie." The lie in question is the one perpetuated by the formulaic rom-com described above - the one that says that love and romance, in its messy real-life incarnation, in any way resembles the sickly-sweet plotline of PG-13 movies.
Thank God "500 Days of Summer" is not your typical PG-13 movie.
Still from"500 Days of Summer"
Why it's taken so long for a film like this to break through to the mainstream is beyond me. I have seen a traumatic number of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey films, and I can say with conviction that there will never be a romantic plotline they star in that will in any way capture my experiences (or the experiences of anyone else living on Earth) in matters of love. Treasure hunters? Magazine exposes? Catfights over bridal veils? What planet are these people from?
"Annie Hall" is the first film I remember seeing that gave me hope for romantic veracity in cinema. "The Graduate" was close behind. More recently, self-aware twentysomethings longing for a spark of recognition in their romantic fare have had "Garden State," "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," and now, "500 Days of Summer." This last one is not, as some reviewers have suggested, "Annie Hall" for a modern generation - that title still belongs to "Annie Hall." But it does, as "Garden State" and "Nick & Norah" did, get closer than any of its genre peers to capturing the coffee-shop heartbreak, the pseudo-intellectual banter and dizzying excitement of young romance that's a seemingly inescapable rite of passage for the pre-marital set.
As the movie's opening narration attests, "500 Days of Summer" is not a love story. Or if it is, it is a story of (mostly) unrequited love. But therein lies the bite - that's everyone's love story. There won't be a male watching this movie who won't be reminded of some blithe ingénue of his youth, idealized in retrospection, who tormented him with the possibility of fulfillment before slipping inexorably away. There won't be a female watching who won't be reminded of some perfectly loveable guy, one who worshipped her every move, whom she casually brushed aside because the whole thing was too easy and boring and nice, and because she knew deep down that love that blind could not - should not - last.
Still from "500 Days of Summer"
Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are a perfect match for this kind of hyper-acute indie angst: he the Hollywood outsider starring in underground breakouts like "The Lookout" and "Brick," she the just-aloof-enough gamine who's mesmerized hipsters everywhere with her inscrutable smile and melancholy musical duets with M. Ward. The two dazzle on screen, skating through the script's witty exchanges and shuffled timeline with comfortable charisma. The narrator informs us that Levitt's Tom "grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one." (A belief, he adds, which "stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the movie 'The Graduate.'") Deschanel's Summer has no such enchantment with romance, responding incredulously to Tom's question about falling in love: "You believe in that?" (Defensive, Tom replies: "It's love. It's not Santa Clause.")
It's clear from the beginning these two will not live happily ever after. But, as with all memorable romances, it's the journey - not the destination - that makes their story compelling. It's hard not to adore a film whose characters meet over a shared love of the Smiths, who visit IKEA pretending to be a married couple living in the store's furnished rooms, who discuss architecture and Sid Vicious and romantic disillusionment with equal agility.
Screenwriters of Hollywood, take note: This is where the heart of intelligent twentysomething romance lies. Though studios may take a majority of this generation hostage with ridiculous confectionery banality, they can't get all of us. In spite of early attempts to wring every drop of creativity and individualism and amorous authenticity out of America's moviegoers, there are still stubborn insurgents who refuse to go down without a fight. And for those holding out for something better - for something honest - there are films like "500 Days of Summer."
See it with someone you love… if you dare.
"500 Days of Summer" is playing now through August 20. For ticket information and showtimes, click here.
Ah, post-film festival life. That heady time where you sleep for 22 hours straight, eat a proper meal for the first time in six days, and sort through a million photos you took over the week, many of which you have no recollection of taking. Then, somewhere on the other side of the fog, you remember it's been four days and you still haven't posted a recap of the last day of the festival on the blog. Aw-kward.
Sunday was something of a blur, but I do remember enjoying - and feeling immensely hungry during - our closing night film, "Julie & Julia." Amy Adams is one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses, and if there's a role Meryl Streep (who was spotted in TC last week, incidentally) can't knock out of the park, I haven't heard about it. The flick goes wide tomorrow - check it out if you get the chance.
After the movie, it was on to the Closing Night Party on the Historic Front Lawns at GT Commons. Closing Night is always a fun one, if for nothing else than the tired abandon with which everyone takes to the dance floor, and for the festival awards Michael & Co hand out. Here is the complete list of this year's winners:
- Founders Prize for Funniest Fiction Film: "In the Loop"
- Founders Prize for Best Foreign Fiction Film: "Eden is West"
- Founders Prize for a First Time Filmmaker: "Salt of This Sea"
- Founders Prize for Best Overall Documentary: "Rachel"
- Founders Prize for Best Comedy Documentary: "Winnebago Man"
- Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking, Fiction Film: Bob Byington for "Harmony and Me" and "Registered Sex Offender"
- Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking, Documentary: "Defamation"
- Best Fiction Film, Audience Award: "Departures"
- Best Fiction Film US, Jury Award: "The Greatest"
- Best Fiction Film Foreign, Jury Award: "Mary & Max"
- Special Jury Prize, First Narrative Feature Film: Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza for "Entre nos"
- Special Jury Prize, Human Spirit: "Everlasting Moments"
- Special Jury Prize for Original Storytelling: "O'Horten"
- Best Documentary, Audience Award: "Food, Inc."
- Best Documentary, Jury Award: "The Cove"
- Best Foreign Documentary, Jury Award: "The End of the Line"
- Special Jury Prize for Human Rights: "Which Way Home"
- Special Jury Prize for Environmental Documentary: "Crude"
- Special Jury Prize for a New Film Maker: Emily & Sarah Kunstler for "William Kunstler: Disturbing The Universe"
- Firefighter's Award for Best Comedy Film: "A Matter of Size"
- Michigan Prize: "Learning Gravity
It was great to hear everyone's memories of the week, including those of the filmmakers, who couldn't say enough good things about TCFF. Some of the Austin crew even delayed their flights so they could stay in TC a few extra days. And when news came in that we broke 96,000 admissions at this year's festival - 16,000 more than last year - it was the cherry on top of an already spectacular sundae (apologies for the decidedly regional metaphor).
The State was closed this week to prepare it for the transition back to day-to-day operations, but tomorrow we'll open the doors again with our new first-run film, "(500) Days of Summer." Coming off the heels of the best festival we've had to date, I can't wait to get back to the movies.
See you at the show!
Pop up a bucket of popcorn, dim the lights and push play to see these amazing videos from the Traverse City Film Festival!
While it can make walks between venues inconvenient, there's nothing better than seeing movies at the festival when it's raining like the return of the Great Flood. Saturday started in a wash of torrential downpours, making an afternoon screening of "Examined Life" at Old Town Playhouse even cozier and more inviting than it already had been.
The film - a riveting documentary featuring a series of conversations with the world's top thinkers and philosophers - couldn't have been a better fit for the weather. While its description may sound pedantic, the movie is anything but. Creative minds like Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer and Slavoj Zizek riff on everything from Plato to jazz to consumerism to ecology to the social isolation of the disabled in our society. It's really fascinating stuff. At a short 86 minutes, you'll want to watch it again as soon as you've finished it, then grab coffee with a good friend and discuss everything you've just seen. Far more so than the mindless romantic comedies that dominate theaters, this is the kind of movie that would be heralded as a perfect date flick in an ideal world.
Cornel West in "Examined Life"
When I walked out of the theater, the storm clouds had dissipated to make way for a perfectly beautiful Saturday evening. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed back to OTP for "A Sneak Preview with Jeff Garlin." Jeff's preview wound up being the first two episodes of the upcoming season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - conveniently, one of my favorite shows on television. Even night vision-wielding security ("If you glow, you go," they warned) couldn't somber the proceedings, with audience members laughing so loud a couple of the line readings were drowned out. Jeff told the crowd afterward that the main storyline of the new season will focus on a Seinfeld reunion - and that they actually got the old Seinfeld set back, shooting scenes that had all four main Seinfeld actors both in and out of character. He wouldn't elaborate on the context, but assured Seinfeld fans it is "a riot." To top it off, TCFF guest Paul Mazursky (who was at the screening) will appear in episode 7, which Jeff called his favorite episode. The season debuts on HBO September 20 - don't miss it!
Jeff Garlin at Sneak Preview Screening
During the Q&A, Jeff also confirmed a comedy fest is in the works for early next year in Traverse City (see previous post for more details). He humored the crowd with another Great Wolf Lodge rant ("Great Wolf: Terrifying for adults, joyful for children") and confided that when he becomes "rich," he plans to buy a summer home in Traverse City. "You know what's great about winter here?" he asked. "It keeps the a**holes out."
Post-screening, most of the crowd - including Jeff - headed downtown to watch the 5K Costume Run participants cross the finish line/red carpet in front of the State Theatre, then hit up the Filmmakers Party in the Wade Trim parking lot:
Team crossing the 5K finish line. This group
took second place in the costume contest.
Attendees at the Filmmakers Party
It was a riot to see flamboyant costumed runners mingle with party attendees dressed in their black tie finest under one big jubilant tent. Jeff took the microphone to announce the race winners, including the 5K Costume Run and the elite Golden Mile winners, as well as the winners of the Downtown Merchant Window Display Contest. Winners were as follows:
Golden Mile Winners
Men
1 - Rondell Ruff from Ann Arbor, MI - Time: 04:10
2 - Mike Hanlon from Ann Arbor, MI - Time: 04:12
3 - Josh Karanja from Ypsilanti, MI - Time: 04:15
4 - Sean Tully from Philadelphia, PA - Time: 04:18
5 -Â Caleb Kromm from Green Bay, WI - Time: 04:20
Rondell Ruff Crosses the Finish Line in the Men's Golden Mile
Women
1 - Nicole Edwards from Ann Arbor, MI - Time: 04:38
2 - Andrea Parker from Ann Arbor, MI - Time: 04:43
3 - Lisa Sienakeiwich from East Lansing, MI - Time: 04:44
4 - Sarah Price from Mankato, MN - Time: 04:50
5 - Breeda Willis from Stevens Point, WI - Time: 04:56
Costume 5K Winners
Curt Emsing & Family As The Incredibles
1 -Â Curt Emsing & Family - Costume: The Incredibles
2 - Emily Westerman & Group - Costume: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3 - Scott Knudstrop - Costume: Tobias Funke from Arrested Development
Downtown Merchant Window Display Contest
1 - Annie's
2 - Subway
It was a great night, with guests costumed and uncostumed enjoying wine, delicious food and live music until nearly midnight. It was an exuberant lead-in to the next day's Closing Night Party, which will be covered - along with an afternoon TCFF concert in the park, the closing night film "Julie & Julia" and the 2009 TCFF Awards - in our Day 6 recap. Look for it up shortly!
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