Into the Wild

I hadn't read the book and I hadn't ever heard of Christopher McCandless, so I went in with no expectations. Basic plot: college grad empties his bank account (and gives it to charity), takes off toward the west and finds himself in Alaska. As it progressed, the whole thing felt a little too good to be true. Too sweet, too easy, the sunsets too beautiful and the life lessons too piquant.

I think my biggest Hurdle for Appreciation (HfA™) was that most of the characters were two-dimensional. They embodied exactly the right imperfections to teach Chris what he needed at the precise moment he needed to learn. Trés Hallmark. This certainly happens in real life sometimes, but not chance meeting, after chance meeting after chance meeting. Chris himself feels too good. I know this film is a homage to him and his story, but I think a little darkness would have made me want to know him more.

On the other hand, characters like the awesome Thomas from Denmark and his naked river rat girlfriend sharing their hot dogs on the shore basically saved the movie for me with their unexpected and entertaining, if brief, appearance. Well, them and the end of the film when it became apparent that the whole thing had actually happened. For a few brief moments, I was more sympathetic to whatever storyteller had taken the facts and woven this yarn...then I realized it was Sean Penn and I felt less so.

(I don't hate Sean Penn, but I don't think he should direct films. And acting? 21 Grams, Sweet and Lowdown, Before Night Falls and Fast Times and Ridgemont High were great...too bad the only represent 9% of the movie's he's been in.)

Interesting connection: Pearl Jam gave the organization I work for a nice donation last year and by "nice" I mean really amazingly generous. Jeff Ament is a big fan of 826 Seattle and has kept us in his sights over the years since we opened. Recently their publicist offered Teri an advance-screening ticket to see this film for which Eddie Vedder did the original soundtrack. Teri couldn't make it, so I got the ticket. The music...it was pearl-jammy. With an acoustic bent. Sad and jangly.

Belle Tourjours

The sequel is a completely different movie. More of a character study of the "villain" of the previous film, than anything, this look at Séverine and Husson 40 years later has some very amazing moments and interesting direction. It is short (only about an hour) and there are several really long shots, so the resulting tone is that of a dream, or a fantasy (perhaps parts of it are a fantasy of Husson, who has access to information and objects that he wouldn't necessarily have in reality.) Bizarre symbolism and very uncomfortable pacing make this a nice homage to Buñuel, but more importantly, a nice homage to his characters who, after 40 years are still intriguing.

Belle de Jour

Luis Buñuel's iconic masterpiece was actually much stranger and more bizarre than I thought it would be. Whipping back and forth between fantasy and reality, this is, from what I gather, another variation on the common themes of Buñuel. Catherine Deneuve (who can forget her in The Hunger as the hot hot hot Miriam Blaylock?) as the frigid housewife who turns tricks during the day was stunning -- all at once aloof and rigid, curious and deviant. It was the whole Madonna/whore dichotomy wrapped into an intriguing package.

A few interesting notes about this movie for me: Buñuel has said he has a foot fetish and there are lots of shots of Deneuve's feet in this movie. Secondly, there is much speculation about what is in the Asian John's wooden box. My theory is that it is mystery left to us by the cunning Buñuel who hopes that our imaginations will take over.

We saw this as a double feature with Belle Toujours, the sequel where Séverine and Henri meet some 40 years later.

King of Kong

We missed this at SIFF, but were so excited to see it. The Holubs recommended it and we had seen some pretty incredible previews. The premise is a documentary about a showdown between two Donkey Kong players who are battling for the world record score on the old-school video game. But, as in the retelling of most great duels, this story is not about the fight itself, but about the people involved. Who knew there is an authority which tracks these scores (all-volunteer, of course) and they are trusted to verify that no rules were broken, no video game computer chips were tinkered with etc. ? Yes, they do sit and watch video taped games -- by the boxful. Wow. Oh yeah, and the founder is a folk singing, transcendental mediation guru who lives in Iowa. The hero of this story lives in Redmond, which gives this a little home town flair. I am so glad someone thought to put a camera on these guys.

Bamako

A mock trial is going on in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Some judges and lawyers are debating if the World Bank and the IMF are guilty of crimes against the people of Africa by disregarding their dignity as humans and willfully suppressing them through debt.

The daily life of the citizens there goes on, some are called as witnesses, others just pass through (like the adorable little boy wearing squeaky shoes and the "Heppiness U" shirt). We see a few other story lines criss-cross: sickness, trade, corruption, crime and a movie within the movie so keeping track of who is who and what is going on can be a little confusing, but the point is well taken and the movie has a musical fluidity to it which, while somewhat slow, was engaging.

A man from Jubilee USA came and spoke at the beginning of the film about a 30 day fast and a paper plate-based letter campaign to congress to end the strangulation of impoverished nations through debt relief.

No End in Sight

Jon and I have, in our circle of friends, a reputation as gluttons for punishment when it comes to watching really *hard* movies and then saying, "Ouch, that was really hard." You need not look further than here, here or here to see that we go to our fair share (and then some!) of difficult films. When it's hard to watch, it asks you to think and pushes your personal comfort zone a little and makes you react emotionally. This one was actually quite exhausting in its hopelessness.

A documentary about all the mind-boggling fuck-ups that lead to the mess that is Iraq? It's called No End in Sight? Sounds great!

It was a sunny day outside and we watched this instead.