Spirit Awards 2011 Nominations

For me the film awards season has officially begun. Although I missed the actual online announcement, this morning Film Independent presented the nominees for the 2011 Spirit Awards. The reason why this is my official start of the film awards season, is that I actually get to vote for the Spirit Awards. There will be screenings and screeners to be viewed – always a pleasure. The awards ceremony will take place during the afternoon of Saturday 26 February 2011 on the beach in Santa Monica, California. On that day I most likely will be at the Official Spirit Awards Viewing Party comfortably situated in a hotel with libations, and well yeah, some food. If you would like to be eligible to vote for the 2011 Spirit Awards, you have until Friday 3 December 2010 to join Film Independent. So which of the nominated films have you seen (no comment from me)? The nominees are:

2011 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)

127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik - Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell - Rabbit Hole

BEST SCREENPLAY

Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini - Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener - Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire - Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz - Life During Wartime

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Everything Strange and New
Get Low
Night Catches Us
The Last Exorcism
Tiny Furniture

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Diane Bell - Obselidia
Lena Dunham - Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler - Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini - Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener - Monogamy

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed

Daddy Longlegs
Lbs.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia
The Exploding Girl

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig - Greenberg
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

BEST MALE LEAD

Ronald Bronstein - Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
James Franco - 127 Hours
John C. Reilly - Cyrus
Ben Stiller - Greenberg

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Ashley Bell - The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey - Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney - Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega - Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts - Mother and Child

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

John Hawkes - Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson - Mother and Child
Bill Murray - Get Low
John Ortiz - Jack Goes Boa
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Adam Kimmel - Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique - Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes - Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough - Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides - Greenberg

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)

Kisses
(Ireland)
Mademoiselle Chambon
(France)
Of Gods and Men
(Morocco)
The King’s Speech(United Kingdom)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
(Thailand)

ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 17th annual Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Acura.

Hossein Keshavarz - Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate - The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott - Littlerock

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 14th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

In-Ah Lee - Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski - The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani - Meek’s Cutoff

AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 16th annual AVEENO® Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by AVEENO®.

Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor - Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg - Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker - Summer Pasture

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD - (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele

Image is of the Spirit Awards Nominations Announcement poster

Patriots Redown: November 2010

Game 8 – Sunday 7 November 2010 – Patriots lost - Away

New England Patriots: 0 7 0 7 - 14
Cleveland Browns: 10 7 7 10 - 34

Total game points equal 48. Patriots 29.17% of the points. Browns 70.83% of the points.


Game 9 – Sunday 14 November 2010 – Patriots won – Away

New England Patriots: 10 0 13 16 - 39
Pittsburgh Steelers: 0 3 0 23 - 26

Total game points equal 65. Patriots 60.00% of the points. Steelers 40.00% of the points


Game 10 – Sunday 21 November 2010 – Patriots won – Home

New England Patriots: 7 14 7 3 - 31
Indianapolis Colts: 0 14 0 14 - 28

Total game points equal 59. Patriots 52.54% of the points. Colts 47.46% of the points.


Game 11 – Thursday 25 November 2010 – Patriots won - Away

New England Patriots: 3 7 14 21 - 45
Detroit Lions: 7 10 7 0 - 24

Total game points equal 69. Patriots 65.22% of the points. Lions 34.78% of the points.

New England Patriots logo is from the website wikipedia.org

Patriots Versus Lions: Happy Thanksgiving Again (And More) New England!

It’s not the traditional Thanksgiving of my childhood, but being at the New England bar, Sonny McLean’s, is the closest I can come to the celebration in Southern California. Since the Pats rarely play on Thanksgiving, it’s a special treat to watching them play the Detroit Lions this early morning. The last time the New England Patriots played on Thanksgiving was Thursday 28 November 2002 also against the Lions at Detroit and the Pats were victorious by a score of 20 to 12. Looking for a repeat. A number of people go away for Thanksgiving, so Sonny’s is not really crowded for the 9:30 a.m. kickoff and over the course of the game no one asks to sit at my table and there is no one in the darts area - it’s that empty. Jenny and Lauren are working, along with some other people I don’t know. Well anyway, Rich, a fellow regular is here and I talk to him for a while. He already has Christmas in mind and is planning on buying a new television for himself. There’s certainly a temperature feel to the holiday season as we both remark on how cold it is in the bar – brrr! Later today Rich will be spending Thanksgiving with John’s (another Sonny’s regular) family. My plans are to stay for Sonny’s Thanksgiving meal (of course subject to change). However, I am enjoying the Sonny’s Breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, tomato, wheat toast, and fruit) as game time arrives and play begins. Happily, the Patriots score first, but the Lions come back and take the lead. This matchup will prove to be a back-and-forth affair with the lead changing several times and the score tied twice. At the end of the third quarter the score is 24 to 24, but in the fourth quarter New England completely shuts down Detroit and vaults ahead with three unanswered touchdowns! The final score is Patriots 45 and the Lions 24. It is indeed another Happy New England Thanksgiving! As a time for Sonny’s Thanksgiving meal was not yet set and it was still very cold in the bar, I decided I would return home for the rest of the day and let the victory sustain me and keep me warm (as will my apartment!). No, it’s not the Thanksgiving of my youth, but one that is never-the-less happy with great touches of New England in it.


New England Patriots logo is from wikipedia.org

Chatting With Jaana

This morning I had an unexpected conversation with my friend Jaana. Via that all-encompassing and time-consuming social network know as Facebook, I in Southern California was able to talk to Jaana in Southern France using written words on its online Chat.

Of course the technology of Chat is nothing new, but since I rarely use it, I feel it is worth noting. Jaana and her family recently moved to a new home in France, but they may move back to Belgium (where Jaana and I met) in a few years because her husband’s business is based there and I’m sure the constant travel between Belgium and France must be tough and tiring for him. Jaana is happy that she will be skiing on the French Alps this winter. I only Nordic skied once in my life and I’m amazed I completed the trail!

Agree with Jaana that living in France is wonderful and I hope to do so again someday. There is no place quite like Paris! Regret the lack of traveling since I’ve been back – only to San Francisco. As I have some free time lately, I’m doing more writing, especially for this blog. Perhaps I’m improving? Also I’m planning on gaining more technical knowledge by taking a website building course in January.

Alas technology is not always perfect and our Chat session abruptly ended before I was able to ask about the children; but at least we connected and I’m glad to know she’s happy and healthy. The chat was a nice surprise to start my day! I’ll have to do that more often. So who wants to chat?


Images:
Left: California map is from the website geology.com
Center: “Adrean chats, Jaana chats” graphic created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: France map is from the website upload.wikimedia.org

Reel Rewind: “Pink Saris”

English title – “Pink Saris” / Hindi language title – “Gulābī Sāṛī” (“गुलाबी साड़ी”)

The setting of this documentary, “Pink Saris”, is a rural area of Uttar Pradesh, North India where one woman, Sampat Pal Devi, leads a group of women, known as the Gulābī Gang (Pink Gang) in creating change in the lives of India’s lower caste women. In this place females are forced into marriages when they are still children, suffer physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their husbands and in-laws, and have few recourses for justice. Enter Sampat and the women in pink.

Even if it is just one woman at a time, Sampat works to change their plight in life. For example, marriage for a pregnant untouchable woman (who would have been put to death) to her higher caste lover; justice for a woman raped by her father-in-law; and protection for a runaway wife beaten by her husband. These and several other women’s stories are put forth in the film. Direct confrontation with the offender and the legal system (i.e. police) is the style of this group of courageous women who fight (sometimes with the lathi) for the improvement of women in India.

We learn that Sampat was a child wife, who eventually left her husband and who now lives with a man from the highest caste. In addition to her social movement environment, we see Sampat in her domestic environment - sweeping the floor and comforting a violence refugee in her home. As part of her quest, Sampat does try to negotiate better conditions for the women who return to their husbands’ family. Success on this front is limited. But Sampat and the gang keep trying to bring a new way of being for women throughout India. Sampat may not be perfect (she returns the runaway the wife of one of her husband’s relatives in order to keep peace with her husband’s family), she is a strong voice for change in India and, with many others in pink, will have a definite impact as time progresses.

Film Facts: Director/Cinematogrpher: Kim Longinotto, Editor: Ollie Huddleston, Musician: Midival Punditz, Producers: Amber Latiff, Girjashanker Vohra, Production Company: Women Make Movies

Film Type: Documentary, Drama, Cast: Renu Devi, Sampat Pal Devi, Niranjan Pal, Rekha Paswan, Shiv Devi Patel, Rampataree Yadav, Length: 96’, Language: Hindi, Country: United Kingdom, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
No United States release date set as of this post.


Images:
Left: Sampat Pal Devi and members of the Gulābī Gang from the website blog.afi.com
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Pink Saris” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: Sampat Pal Devi from the website viceland.com

Reel Rewind: “Submarino”

For two brothers the road to redemption is paved with sorrow, alcoholism, drug abuse, jail, and a namesake. In “Submarino”, a film whose physical atmosphere is an overcast of grays and dinginess, the adult lives of two Danish brothers emotionally personify the atmosphere with their own overhanging cloud of despair. For Nick and his little brother (hereafter, LB), the road they traveled began in their childhood with a constantly drunk mother and a newborn baby brother. Though Nick had already begun drinking before the tragedy, it no doubt led him to becoming an alcoholic and LB to becoming a drug addict. The guilt they felt would overwhelm them throughout their lives.

But now their mother died and her funeral brings them together after years apart. It is after this event that we follow Nick’s current life – still drinking and living in a half-way house after serving a jail sentence for assault. – and then, over that same time range, from LB’s current life – still shooting up and living with his young son. Nick’s world consists of a stark apartment, a woman to whom he is sexually attached, but emotionally detached, and the very disturbed brother of the woman he loved (and still does) when he was sent to jail. For me the most unsettling aspect was Nick’s neglect of his self-inflicted injured hand – the deliberately unhealed wound to go along with the always raw emotional one. For LB, a social services worker and a daily fix control his life, with the nutritional needs of his son suffering as a consequence. LB loves his son, but trying to provide for him by becoming a drug dealer is such a bad decision that will take him from his son’s life forever.

I don’t have a problem viewing an alternatively presented film, if I know beforehand that it has a story structure of a different nature – makes the viewing easier. I’m not sure that “Submarno” benefits from a dual storyline – the brothers’ lives are not that divergent. Both are clearly suffering from their childhood demon, though they both have loved. But if the reasoning behind the structure is to present the brothers one at a time to the viewer for a better understanding of each brother, then that’s fine. There is very little in this film that is pleasant – most of it is disturbing and destructive – but I did say this was a road to redemption and so at the end there is the beginning of a second chance, though only for one brother.

Film Facts: Director/Writer: Thomas Vinterberg, Writer: Tobias Lindholm, Novelist: Jonas T. Bengtsson, Cinematographer: Charlotte Bruus Christensen, Editors: Valdis Óskarsdóttir, Andri Steinn, Musician: Kristian Eidnes Andersen, Producers: Birgitte Hald, Morten Kaufmann, Production Companies: Nimbus Film Production, TV2 Danmark, Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB, The Match Factory, Swedish Television, Canal+, Nordisk Film ShortCut, Kameraudlejningen, Lysudlejningen, Mainstream, Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond

Film Type: Drama, Cast: Jakob Cedergren (Nick Torp), Peter Plaugborg (Nicks lillebror), Gustav Fischer Kjaerulff (Martin Torp), Patricia Schumann (Sofie), Helene Reingaard Neumann (Mona), Morten Rose (Ivan), Kate Kjelbye (Ana), Lisbeth H. Pedersen (Sagsbehandler), Dar Salim (Goran), Henrik Strobe (Jimmy Gule), Elias Ehlers (Karsten), Sebastian Bull Sarning (Nick Torp som ung), Mads Broe Andersen (Nicks lillebror som ung), Finn Bergh (Fængselsbetjent), Length: 105’, Language: Danish, Countries: Denmark, Sweden, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
Denmark release date Thursday 25 March 2010
United States release date not set as of this post


Images:
Lest: Jakob Cedergren as Nick Torp and Peter Plaugborg as lillebror from the website outnow.ch
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Submarino” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Submarino” poster from the website kinobank.org

Patriots Can’t Catch In Cleveland: Browns Bring Win To And On CBS

The only interesting aspect of this NFL football game is the different scoring symmetries for the two teams – the alternating New England Patriots (0, 7, 0, 7) and the mirroring Cleveland Browns (10, 7, 7, 10). I suppose I should clarify and say it is the only interesting aspect this Patriots fan could find today; I’m sure a Browns fan has a different perspective. It’s Sunday morning and not surprisingly I’m at Sonny McLean’s along with a fair number of other people watching this disappointment of a game. Not as crowded as the last time I was here, but a nice number of people anyway. Once again, not really any familiar faces among the patrons this morning. It seems that only people I know are Andrew and Lauren, who actually are working. And Steve, who is working later tonight, is nice enough to come by and chat with me for a while. As for the game, the Patriots are displaying their fumble fingers and seemingly have forgotten how to catch a spiraling, oval-shaped sphere. This condition is being exhibited throughout the team – no one is immune. Such is the level of play today, that the Browns’ quarterback scores a touchdown – sigh. I’m sure the Pats are glad to leave Cleveland. Despite the morning’s loss, New England is tied for first place with the New York Jets in the AFC East – Yeah!


New England Patriots logo is from wikipedia.org

Reel Rewind: “Boy”

“Welcome to my interesting world!” From these introductory words in "Boy", we enter the life of a pre-adolescent male named Boy, who is a professed Michael Jackson (of “Thriller” fame) fan and is possessed of an out there imagination, especially when it comes to his father (of no fame). It’s Waihau Bay, New Zealand in November 1984 and Boy is about to face the reality of his not so well-known father, who is not quite the master carver, deep sea treasure diver, and soldier of Boy’s imaginings. Also included in Boy’s life are his “powerful” younger brother Rocky, the girl for whom he dances (a la Jackson), Chardonnay, and the inevitable older school bullies.

During the time Boy, Rocky, and several cousins are on their own while their grandmother attends a funeral miles away, Boy’s and Rocky’s father, Alamein appears one night in the company of two friends from jail looking for Alamein’s mother (the grandmother). Now the fun begins - from the serving of tea to the three men in the car, to the giving out of obviously stolen “presents”, to getting to know the father Boy barely remember and Rocky never did. Between Alamein’s stories, antics and playing as the Incredible Hulk and a Samurai Warrior, Boy and Rocky are entertained by their father before the real reason for Alamein’s homecoming come to the fore.

And what is that reason? To retrieve a stash of stolen money that Alamein buried in a field before going off to jail. He and his two friends are digging up the field and Boy joins in the game of “buried treasure” and bringing Alamein aromatic plants from a neighbor’s field. However Boy soon becomes disillusioned with Alamein when he doesn’t want Boy to call him Dad because “it’s weird”; the disastrous result of Boy’s finding the money, and the realization that Alamein won’t take Boy with him when he leaves. There is a confrontation and later a reconciliation between Boy, Rocky, and Alamein at the gravesite of Boy’s and Rocky’s mother, who had died giving birth to Rocky. In the end perhaps Boy realizes that Alamein is some version of the Samurai that Alamein wants to be and describes as “someone who lives outside the law, but they’re still cool”. Well this film is cool, funny, a joy to watch, and with a little growing up included.

Stayed for the Q&A session with the multi-functional (director, writer, actor), Taika Waititi. “Boy” was five years in the making – Taika wrote a first draft in 2005 and the second one in 2008. I think “Boy” is a reflection of Taika’s life in New Zealand in that era of Michael Jackson and Shõgun. Note: At the end of the AFI Fest, “Boy” won the Audience Award in the category of World Cinema. Excellent!

Film Facts: Director/Writer: Taika Waititi, Cinematographer: Adam Clark, Editors: Yana Gorskaya, Chris Plummer, Musician: The Phoenix Foundation, Producers: Georgina Allison, Cliff Curtis, Richard Fletcher, Ainsley Gardiner, Emanuel Michael, Merata Mita, Production Companies: New Zealand Film Commission, Unison Films, Whenua Films

Film Type: Comedy, Drama, Cast: James Rolleston (Boy), RickyLee Waipuka-Russell (Chardonnay), Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu (Rocky), Taika Waititi (Alamein – Boy’s and Rocky’s Father), Ei Kuro Albert (Chardonnay’s Friend), Maakariini Butler (Murray), Manaia Callaghan (Miria), Tainui Callaghan (Kiko), Ngapaki Emery (Mum), Rajvinder Eria (Tane), Darcy Ray Flavell-Hudson (Holden), Craig Hall (Mr. Langston), Pana Hema Taylor (Juju), Wairangi Herewini (Kingi’s Friend), Cohen Holloway (Chuppa), Waimihi Hotere (Teacher), Rachel House (Aunt Gracey), Cherilee Martin (Kelly), Length: 87’, Language: English, Country: New Zealand, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
New Zealand release date Thursday 25 March 2010
No United States release date set as of this post

Images:
Left: Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu as Rocky, James Rolleston as Boy, Taika Waititi as Alamein from the website thecia.com.au
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Boy” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Boy” poster from the website news.tangatawhenau.com

Reel Rewind: “Pulsar”

My impetus for seeing “Pulsar” was that it is a Belgian film in the Dutch language. Since the majority of the films produced in Belgium are in French, it is a rare opportunity to experience one in that country’s other major language. And of course the film’s storyline did intrigue me as well.

Samuel (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Mireille (Tine Van den Wyngaert) are separated lovers – Sam remains in Brussels delivering pharmaceuticals for the Pharmacie Madou, while Mireille is in New York City interning at an architecture firm. It is because of Sam’s fear of being surrounded by tall buildings (there’s a lack of skyscrapers in central Brussels) that he did not go with Mireille. But Sam has no fear of technology and its instruments (webcam, e-mail, cell phone) which will keep the lovers emotionally connected even if they can’t be physically connected – or will it?

At first everything is working fine and Sam and Mireille are in frequent communication. Then slowly the technology breaks down – Sam is unable to logoff his computer’s WiFi network because someone else is on it, then someone locks him out of his network, and his e-mail account is taken over by someone. Who is this unknown someone deliberately interfering with Sam’s life and its consequential disruption with Mireille.? Must be someone close by; after all how far is Sam’s network’s range? Sam brings in IT specialists and covers his walls with a paint that blocks radio waves, all to no avail.

During this ordeal, Sam begins his own personal breakdown. Everyone is a suspect – his friends, his neighbors – who is it? Of course the “distance” between him and Mireille increases – less communication, perhaps Mireille is finding someone else of interest. Is this the outcome of a long-distance relationship helped along by an outside force or would it have happened on its own? Sam even has a physical altercation with a neighbor in his building who he thinks is responsible for the disconnection. But is it really the neighbor? Is it really any outside person? Or is it Sam’s emotional state gone haywire and his subsequent mental breakdown? When all else fails, there’s still the non-digital, non-computer ways of connecting/communicating. No radio wave blocking paint needed.

I like the cautionary tale of the effects of computer hacking/cyber problems on our lives/mental state (there have been times when I wanted to shake the laptop on which I’m writing this to within a byte of its CPU life), but the presentation of the story was a bit slow and did not always keep my attention. I suppose the slow pace was intentional to convey a gradual and not an immediate breakdown – both of the computer and of Sam. There was a Q&A session with the director, Alex Stockman, but I had to leave right after the end of “Pulsar” to wait in line for another film. Such is the film festival life.



Film Facts: Director/Writer/Producer: Alex Stockman, Cinematographer: Sébastien Koeppel, Editor: Nico Leunen, Musician: Kobe Proesmans, Producer: Kaat Camerlynck, Production Company: Corridor

Film Type: Drama, Cast: Sien Eggers (Mevrouw Luyckx), Vincent Lecuyer (Kirku), Matthias Schoenaerts (Samuel), Nico Sturm (Mark), Tine Van den Wyngaert (Mireille), Gordon Wilson (John Everts), Stefan Perceval (Upstairs Neighbor), Length: 91’, Language: Dutch, Country: Belgium, Year: 2010
No United States release date set as of this post


Images:
Left: Matthias Schoenaerts as Samuel from the website filmguide.afifest.com
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Pulsar” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Pulsar” poster from the website imdb.com

Reel Rewind: “The Human Resources Manager”

English language title - “The Human Resources Manager” / Hebrew title – “שליחותו של הממונה על משאבי אנוש “

A journey. An actual journey from one location to another, as well as one of personal discovery. That is the underlying theme of “The Human Resources Manager”. We meet the HR Manager as a work day is ending, but an emergency request from his boss, the Widow, has him investigating the allegations of a reporter regarding the death of one of the bakery’s employees. A woman has been killed in Jerusalem by a suicide bomber and she has been in the morgue, unclaimed, for a week or so and among her affects was a paycheck from the bakery. The reporter, the Weasel, threatens to write a story about the uncaring indifference of the bakery towards the death of one of its foreign workers.

The HR Manager has problems of his own – a divorce and a not-so-good relationship with his daughter, to whom he can’t keep his promises. And this inconvenient search into the circumstances surrounding the deceased woman determines that she had worked for the bakery as a cleaner on the night shift; she was fired by her night shift manager lover, but kept on the payroll by him; she was Romanian; she was actually an engineer; she had no family in Israel; and she was named Yulia. With no other recourse than to accompany the body back to Romania for return to her family and burial, the HR Manager and the reporter – the Weasel – begin the unexpected journey.

Road trip in Romania – the amusing and absurd part of the film. After arriving in Romania and finding Yulia’s ex-husband and her minor, unsocial (a kind description) son who are not legally allowed to identify her, a van full of people take Yulia’s coffin to her mother who lives days away in the mountain region of the country. The trip includes the HR Manager (who will not make it back to Jerusalem in time to take his daughter on a school trip), the Weasel (who still is negative towards the HR Manager and the bakery and who is the object of several unsuccessful ditching attempts throughout the mission), the Israeli Vice Consul (whose wife is the Consul and who goes along to be of official aide during the trip), the driver (whose license expired decades ago), and the son (who is trouble and troubled).

Although they don’t go over any rivers or through any woods to get to the grandmother’s house, obstacles of bureaucratic and mechanical natures cross the traveling party’s path. Despite the loss of the driver and an almost premature burial, the troupe eventually arrives at their destination. One positive along the way was that the HR Manager was able to establish a connection with Yulia’s son (if he could only do the same with his daughter). The grandmother appreciates the return of her daughter, but tells the HR Manager that he has made an error. So, in a different sort of vehicle, the HR Manager and Yulia begin the journey to rectify the mistake. Oh, and after one final attempt to leave him behind, it is fitting that the ever present Weasel joins in the correcting of the error.

“The Human Resources” entertains as it raises the question of where “home” really is for any individual and why some connections are made and other are not. And as much as money is a good thing to have, it may not always be the right thing to give. The film’s journey may not have any concrete conclusions, but it is the journey itself that provides the right questions to ponder.

There was a Q&A session after the screening and the participants were the director, Eran Riklis (who flew twenty hours to be at the screening) and the HR manager, Mark Ivanir (who lives in Los Angeles – wonder if his drive seemed as long as Eran’s flight?). “The Human Resources Manager” was filmed in Israel and Romania and Riklis said that being in the small Romania village, the “depression grew on them”, but it was a real human experience. The film is based on the novel A Woman in Jerusalem by Abraham B. Jehoshua and two main differences between the film and the book are, that in the book, the HR Manager’s boss is a man and Yulia’s home country is Russia. Riklis’ next project is the film “Playoff”, scheduled for release in 2011.

Film Facts: Director: Eran Riklis, Writer: Noah Stollman, Novelist: Abraham B. Jehoshua, Cinematographer: Rainer Klausmann, Editor: Tova Asher, Musician: Cyril Morin, Producers: Leon Edery, Moshe Edery, Keinan Eldar, Tudor Giurgiu, Thanassis Karathanos, Talia Kleinhendler, Haim Mecklberg, Elie Meirovitz, Yogal Mogarbi, Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, Meinoff Zurhorst, Production Companies: 2-Team Productions, EZ Films, Pie Films

Film Type: Drama, Cast: Mark Ivanir (the Human Resources Manager), Gila Almagor (Widow), Reymond Amsalem (The Divorcee), Guri Alfi (Weasel), Noah Silver (The Boy), Julian Negulesco (The Vice Consul), Bogdan E. Stanoevitch (The Ex-Husband), Irina Petrescu (The Grandmother), Papil Panduru (The Driver), Danna Semo (The Secretary), Sylwia Drori (The Nun), Ofir Weil (The Morgue Worker), Roni Koren (The Daughter), Length: 103’, Languages: Hebrew, English, Romanian, Countries: Israel, Germany, France, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
Israel release date Thursday 7 October 2010
No United States release date set as of this post.


Images:
Left: Mark Ivanir as the Human Resources Manager from the website cinemotions.com
Center: Graphic interpretation of “The Human Resources Manager” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “The Human Resources Manager” poster from the website smellslikescreenspirit.com

AFI Fest 2010

Although the American Film Institute has been involved with providing a film festival since 1971 under various names and in different formats and locations, it was as AFI Film Fest that I first started attending the festival. The last time I went to the festival when it was AFI Film Fest was in June/July 1994 where, over fifteen days, it was held at Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica, California. During the festival I saw fourteen films, five sets of short films, and attended one seminar titled “Special Effects Seminar: The Creative Process”. Although the ticket price was $7.50, I bought a booklet of twenty vouchers for $100, which I exchanged for tickets; thus the tickets actually cost me $5 - a savings of 33%. Among the films I saw that year were: “Mannen På Balkongen” (“The Man On The Balcony”), “Après L’amour” (Love After Love), “The Wedding Gift”, “Der Gudene Er Døde” (“Where Gods Are Dead”), and “It’ll Have Blinking Eyes And A Moving Mouth”.

Fast forward ten years to 2004 and, sometime in the intervening years, the film festival has become simply AFI Fest. The American Film Institute has partnered with the American Film Market and the festival is now presented in November and the location of 2004’s eleven days of film is the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, California. Attending the festival for the first time in a decade, I see five films and the ticket price is $11. Those five films are: “Matia Apo Nichta” (“Eyes Of Night”), “Tell Them Who You Are”, “Duck Season”, “Crimen Ferpecto” (“Ferpect Crime”), and “Erbsen Auf Halb 6” (Peas At 5:30”).

Now it is 2010 and the AFI Fest begins today primarily at the Mann’s Chinese Theatres (other venues – Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Egyptian Theatre, and the Roosevelt Hotel) in Hollywood, California and goes through Thursday 11 November. I will see five films over the eight-day run and the tickets are free! The five films are:

“The Human Resources Manager”

“Pulsar”

“Boy”

“Submarino”

“Pink Saris”

This is the second year that AFI Fest has been free and located at Mann’s Chinese Theatres. I definitely enjoy the free tickets part, though I could do without the crowds and craziness of Hollywood Boulevard. Although the festival may never return further West again, I’m sure I’ll venture out to experience it as long as I’m in the neighborhood.


Image is of the AFI Fest 2010 e-mail banner

Reel Rewind: “Un Balcon Sur La Mer”

French title – “Un Balcon Sur La Mer” / English language title – “A View Of Love”
The translation of the French title into English would be “A Balcony Overlooking The Sea” and the English language title would be “En Vue De L’amour” in French. After seeing the film, my choice for the French title would be “En Vue De L’amour”, with “A View Of Love” for the English language title.

Although my invitation to see the World Premiere of “Un Balcon Sur La Mer” is from the French Consulate of Los Angeles, the film is actually one of the screenings for the first day of the 2010 American Film Market. Of course I didn’t discover this until my arrival at the AMC Criterion theatre in Santa Monica. The AFM is an annual event in Santa Monica for industry buyers/players from around the globe. Since I am only tenuously connected to the film industry, I am pleased to attend the Market, even if I am not a potential buyer and it is just for one screening.

Well, this World Premiere is not getting off to a good start – some of the lights in the theatre are not turning off, but they go ahead and start the film. However, a few minutes into the showing of “Un Balcon Sur La Mer”, the film stops. All the lights come up and a man announces, in French and English, that they are going to start over again. This time all the lights turn off and the film is projected from the beginning without any further problems.

Real estate agent Marc enjoys working with his father-in-law and happily lives in Southern France with his wife and daughter. However, the past arrives one day, upsets his present and changes his future. The past is a girl named Cathy who Marc loved during his childhood in Algeria, before the country achieved independence. The return of Cathy into his life disrupts Marc’s domesticity and brings back memories of life in Oran before his family’s abrupt departure to escape the violence. Allowing himself to fulfill his childhood love for Cathy, Marc irrevocably changes the future for himself and his family. Perhaps it is the lack of closure in his youth that propels Marc towards this life changing behavior.

But all is not completely right. Although a number of memories of Algeria are recounted, some memories for Marc and Cathy are not shared/same ones and they should be. Has time diminished or distorted them? When Marc questions his mother about Algeria and his friend Cathy, she reveals some disturbing information that he can’t believe – won’t believe about this woman who has reentered his life. What is the truth and will Marc be able to see it through the love? Marc searches for answers and in so doing uncovers a real estate scam from inside the agency and Cathy’s role in the deception. He is able to prevent the completion of the scam and although Cathy’s complicity is undeniable, Marc chooses to be with her. She is a part of his life whose ending left a space in his heart and no matter what the reality, for Marc, now only she can give him back his first feelings of love for the girl Cathy.

Though the film does not go in the direction I thought it would (more straightforward, more anguish about his wife and daughter, rejection of the deception), “Un Balcon Sur La Mer” nevertheless provokes one’s thinking of the struggle for independence, aspects of life that still remain open, how perceptions can change, but maybe not so much. The films starts out in a calm morning in Algeria and ends in a rainy night in France and in between is the life of the boy Marc and the man Marc coming to a resolution for love. So I ask, what needs resolution in your life? Better still, what needs resolution in my life?


Film Facts: Director/Writer: Nicole Garcia, Writers: Frédéric Bélier-Garcia, Natalie Carter, Jacques Fieschi, Cinematographer: Jean-Marc Fabre, Producers: Xavier Amblard, Alain Attal, Gaëtan David, André Logie, Frantz Richard, Production Companies: Europa Corp, France 3 Cinéma, Les Productions des Trésor

Film Type: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Cast: Jean Dujardin (Marc), Marie-Josée Croze (Cathy), Claudia Cardinale (Marc’s Mother), Toni Servillo (Marc’s Colleague), Sandrine Kiberlain (Marc’s Wife), Michel Aumont (Marc’s Father-in-law), Jean-François Malet (Le gardien), Philippe Napias (Thierry), Length: 105’, Language: French, Country: France, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
France release date Wednesday 15 December 2010
No United States release date set as of this post


Images:
Left: Jean Dujardin as Marc from the website lyricis.fr
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Un Balcon Sur La Mer” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Un Balcon Sur La Mer” poster from the website cinemotions.com

Zócalo: “Do Artists Have A Moral Responsibility In War?”

This was not my first time at a Zócalo event, though the venue itself, the Petersen Automotive Museum, was a first time experience for me. Although I am a museum goer, I really didn’t have much interest in this automotive museum as I don’t drive and know nothing about cars. But after checking in with the people from Zócalo and having time before they would let us into the actual space for the Alan Riding talk, I wandered around the first floor of exhibits. In addition to the beginning history of automobiles, there were also auxiliary aspects related to passenger cars – gas station, streetcar, design studio – and a clearly marked definite order in which to view the exhibits. Very helpful. As I was just walking around the floor to pass the time, I didn’t engage in the exhibits as I normally do in an art museum. But there were visually interesting vehicles, so I took pleasure in looking at them. At least I could admire the cars aesthetically if not from an engineering perspective.

Finally, fifteen minutes before the talk was to begin, people were allowed to take the escalator to the second floor - but only if you had received a wristband at the check in table (these days it’s all on the wrist). The seating was black, cushioned folding chairs and I settled in as comfortably as I could and prepared for the lecture. Alan Riding is actually on a book tour for his new non-fiction title And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris. I was drawn to this talk by the question of morality presented, especially in combination with culture and Paris during a conflictive time in France’s history. I know that I would simply answer the lecture’s title as YES and ask a different question – “What Are The Moral Responsibilities Of Artists During War?”

Riding began by commenting on the United States/United Kingdom level of moral response by artists and writers to the two current wars. It is hardly a blip, except perhaps for Hollywood stars and Riding doesn’t believe real attention is paid to them – after all what do they know? Because of the social and political stature they enjoyed by being close to the institutes/people in power, there is more of a tradition of artists taking a stand in Latin America when things become ugly. The usual choices were – stay and endorse military regimes, stay and remain silent, stay and take up arms against the regime, or leave and campaign against a regime abroad – few did the former, many did the later (among them Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Ariel Dorfman, Isabel Allende).

The occupation in France produced similar categories into which artists, writers, intellectuals made their choice – stay and support the Nazis and (for a time, Communists), which Riding calls “true believers” (one of them was Louis-Ferdinand Destouches, known as Céline); stay and remain silent (although he could have left Paris, Pablo Picasso chose to continue working while avoiding contact with Germans); stay and fight (Albert Camus joined the Résistance); and leave (many moved to unoccupied France, as well as other countries). During the occupation performers performed (Édith Piaf, Danielle Darrieux, Maurice Chevalier) because of the need to work and writers wrote, sometimes clandestinely, because of the need to keep publishing in existence. After the war, accusations of collaboration were leveled against some of the artists and writers and the degree of interaction someone had with the Germans determined their fate. Showing moral guidance was important even if everyone was just trying to survive the occupation.

After the lecture and Q&A there was a reception for Alan Riding at another port of the second floor, but I decided to skip it. I liked the lecture and I thought of what I would do in the same situation. Would I be brave enough to risk expressing my position, even with taking precautions or would I try to stay out of the limelight? Such were the questions I pondered on the bus ride home. Will have to read Riding’s book to learn more about this time of Parisian life.

Images:
Left: Alan Riding from the website zocalopublicsquare.org
Center: Zócalo email header
Right: Front cover of And The Show Went On: Cultural Life In Nazi-Occupied Paris from the website and the showwenton.com