Hey folks, Harry here with a SXSW report from special agent Warren Peace! He's been flipping through the films like the pages of a Tolstoy novel, meaning quickly and carefully... picking up all the details, making note of all the characters and noting the passage of time... ahhhhhh, the Film Festival experience. Ain't it grand? Read on...
Hey Harry,
I've been attending SXSW this week and I've seen some amazing movies. I
was
originally planning to send you reviews of all of them, but I've been unable
to access a computer much. So I'm just going to review the ones I really
liked. Here you go:
Memento
This is definitely my favorite of the festival, and is already in the
running for my favorite movie of the year. I'm a real sucker for this kind
of movie (the non-chronological twisty-turny crime/noir genre), so I knew
I
would love it the first time I heard about it. For anyone who doesn't know
already, the movie is about an ex-insurance claims investigator named
Leonard (played by Guy Pearce) who suffers from short-term memory loss due
to a blow he received to the head from the man who raped and murdered his
wife. Since the accident, he is physically unable to make any new memories,
so he forgets everything about 15 minutes after it happens. He is searching
for the guy who killed his wife, so to help himself remember what he is
supposed to be doing he is constantly leaving himself messages, taking
polaroids of places he is supposed to go or people he knows, and tattooing
clues on his body. Just as a straight narrative, this story would be
interesting enough, but the writer and director, Christopher Nolan, adds
to
the coolness factor by telling the story in reverse. That's right, the
movie begins at the end and works its way backwards from there. Nolan also
comes up with a great way to give us background details about the story
by
having flashback scenes in between other scenes in which Leonard talks on
the phone to somebody, telling them all about his condition and how he is
organizing his search for the killer. The performances are great, and while
the plot moves rapidly, Nolan still gives us time to learn about the
characters. There is one scene in which Leonard hires a prostitute to
impersonate his wife that is just heartbreaking. Other performances are
good too, including Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano (the weaselly
traitor from The Matrix), but what's best is probably the ending. Since
you
see at the beginning how everything winds up, it's easy to think that you
know what's going to happen, but somehow, the ending of the movie still
manages to alter everything that came before (after?) and blow you away.
I
recommend this movie wholeheartedly, and I bet I'm going to have trouble
finding a movie to top this one in 2001.
Manna From Heaven
I heard some people criticizing this as something that you would see on
the
Family Channel. If only the Family Channel showed stuff of this quality.
It's rare that you see a good, clean family movie that actually is worth
watching. This movie has it all: a good plot, great characters and
performances, hilarious moments, and genuinely touching personal moments.
The plot is about a family who was surprised one day to find a huge amount
of money falling on their front lawn. They decided to divide it up amongst
themselves and use it to better their lives. Thirty or so years later,
one
of the family girls, who is now a nun, realizes that the money was not a
gift and they should repay it to whoever it was that lost it. She rounds
up
all the scattered family members, who have spent their shares without really
accomplishing much, and they decide to hold a fundraising benefit to raise
all the money back again. What follows are some hilariously funny actions
and reactions between the family members and anyone outside the family who
inadvertently gets involved, along with some surprisingly tender moments
in
which characters think about some of their forgotten dreams and missed
opportunities. I'm generally pretty cynical, but I still really enjoyed
this movie. I wish more good family movies like this came along.
Caesar's Park
There's something about documentaries that just draws me in. Maybe it's
the
reality of what is on the screen, knowing that this isn't some made up story
with actors faking their way through a scripted plot, but real people living
their lives. Whatever it is, it exists in spades in these three movies.
Caesar's Park is all about the inhabitants of a certain neighborhood in
Milwaukee. The director decided to get to know and interview several of
her
neighbors, and we discover some really amazing personalities during the
film. The movie isn't perfect; it lacks a good ending note and there is
a
scene about a house being torn down that could have been expanded upon,
but
some of the people really shine through as amazing personalities, especially
a foul-mouthed old Polish lady, and strange guy who photographs anything
and
everything he sees, and an unintelligible black guy who plays non-melodic
music on his guitars. It really makes you think about what kind of
interesting people might live next door to you that you have never even
met.
Pedal
Another documentary, this one about bicycle messengers in New York City.
There are some amazing scenes in this movie, mostly from the camerawork
which was done by a guy on a skateboard following messengers as they weave
in and out of traffic all over the city. But there's a lot more to it than
just cool shots. We get to know some of the messengers and see their
passion for what they do, even though many of them do not like it much and
wish to get into another line of work. We get to see other opionions of
them too, including those of taxi drivers and policemen. The whole is an
excellent, interesting look at a subculture which many of us will never
be a
part of.
Amato: A Love Affair With Opera
This is the best documentary I saw at SXSW. It tells the story of Tony and Sally Amato, an Italian couple in New York City who run the world's smallest opera theater. The theater is tiny (there are maybe 50 seats), but they really throw everything they've got into their productions. They make by hand all the props, costumes, and scenery. They choreograph every production and conduct the music with a small orchestra. It's amazing to see how much love and care goes into every show they put on. But we get to see even more than that. We are shown the background of Tony and Sally, what their childhoods were like and how they came to love opera. We see how they met, fell in love, and were married. We are told all about their troubles when they first started doing operas and how they eventually settled into running their own tiny theater. We hear how they have changed the lives of all the people they've worked with over the years. We worry with them about who is going to run the theater when they are too old.
Finally, we rejoice with them when they are given recognition by the city
for the amazing service they have performed over the fifty-year period that
their theater has been open. The final scene of the movie is a banquet
held
in their honor, and I was amazed to find tears in my eyes as Tony sang a
love song to Sally in front of the audience. I fell in love with these
people, and my bet is you will too.
The Zeros
This is an interesting take on a semi-generic plot, and it works
beautifully. Joe has a terminal illness, and before he dies he sets out
to
see the girl he once loved, having plenty of funny adventures along the
way.
It doesn't sound incredibly intriguing, but there are some great
performances and lots of quirky details. The movie takes place in the near
future, maybe five or six years from now (that's where the title comes
from), so there are some goofy but believable futuristic devices and
happenings. There are also some really funny characters, including a
fugitive from a religious cult, an amateur stripper, and a ventriloquist
author whose dummy dies a hilarious death. I really recommend this one.
It's funny and enjoyable. You'll leave the theater laughing.
Passing Stones
Another movie that has a semi-generic plotline (buried treasure), but is great fun due to hilarious performances and goofy details. There was already a good review on AICN, and I don't have much to add other than to say I loved it. I talked to the director after the movie and told him that he had a twisted mind, but I loved the movie.
Well, that about sums it up for the movies I really liked. There were a few others that I liked, including Bartleby, Amores Perros, TLV, Risk, Okie Noodling, and Ginger Snaps, and a few that I didn't especially like (Gibtown, The Slow Business of Going), so maybe I'll get around to sending you reviews of some of those. I'm going to see Memento again tonight, and there are still a few others, including Blow, that I want to see in the next couple days. Take it easy Harry.
Warren Peace
