SIFF--one week in

5/27/11

SIFF continues, as does the parade of good movies. Granted, there have been a few not-so-good ones too, but TVOR will try to steer you away from those if she can. And let's face it, we don't all have the same taste, so my big dud can be someone else's favorite. Although that person would be wrong.

Here are some films with upcoming screenings:

Small Town Murder Songs--one of TVOR's favorites of the festival so far. A little gem, a story of a flawed man trying to be a better man. And it has a wonderful soundtrack. See it.

Page One: Inside the New York Times--the documentarians were in the newsroom of the New York Times for a year, spending most of their time on the Media desk. If you're interested in how we get information and the quality and accuracy of that information, you should see this. Fascinating and very well done.

Steam of Life--another good documentary, this one from Finland. It's basically a lot of naked Finnish men of various shapes and sizes sitting in saunas of various shapes and sizes, talking about a lot of personal stuff. Amazingly, it's interesting and affecting and worth a look.

Killing Bono--first of all, no Bonos were injured during the making of this film. It's not a documentary--it's a narrative film based on the real story of a guy who went to school with Bono, and then spent years trying to have his (Bono's) life. Which is not easy if you have a knack for seizing defeat from the jaws of victory. Amusing and entertaining.

Treatment--fairly amusing Hollywood satire of the mumblecore genre. As most of us have no trouble believing that Hollywood is an insane place, there aren't a lot of surprises here. But it's not a bad way to spend 84 minutes.

Lesson Plan--a documentary about an experiment done in a Palo Alto high school in the 1960's, which basically turned a classroom of kids into fascists in less than a week. Not a great film, but an interesting subject. Worth a look.

Letters from the Big Man--the story of a girl, a sasquatch, and the forests of Oregon. First of all, TVOR must fess up: against all odds, she kind of liked this movie. Many others didn't. It's ridiculous in many ways--there's a guy in a furry suit after all--but for some reason TVOR enjoyed watching it. Even though it's not a particularly good movie. The scenery is nice, however.

The Rescuers--a documentary about a number of diplomats who saved Jews from the Nazis, often against the official policies of their countries. Not a good film, though--there's a Rwanda story which doesn't really fit in the structure of the movie, there are bad recreations of events, and an irritating score. If you can get past the film itself and focus on the information, it's interesting, though.

Viva Riva!--a movie from the Congo that may convince you (if you weren't already convinced) that things are a mess in the Congo, crime and corruption are rampant, there's little hope for progress, and you never want to go there. It's actually a fairly well put-together film, but it's filled with bad people doing bad things to each other. Be warned.

Now go to the movies!