SIFF Musings - Final week

Some final thoughts regarding my experience at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival.

·         It amazes me after all these years that there are people who have lived in Seattle for a while and have still never attended even one film at the festival. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how many folks I meet each year that are attending their first festival. And you can ALWAYS TELL the newbies – they’re the ones that are surprised at the long lines and perturbed that they have to sit in the front row because they didn’t arrive at the venue until 10 minutes before the movie was scheduled to start.

·         My friend Ross and I kept are “Spain streak” alive! For probably the ninth or tenth year in a row I’ve seen at least one film from Spain at the festival. That country almost never disappoints, and this year was no exception; Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed was one of my favorites from this festival’s offerings.

·         I really lucked out this festival or perhaps have developed a more discerning eye because, I ranked almost all of the films I caught this festival with at least a “4”.

·         I didn’t see nearly as many documentaries as I usually do each SIFF [only two]. This doesn’t bode well for me for next year’s Oscar Death Race™.

·         This was also one of the first SIFFs in some time where there were at least 5 movies that I really wanted to see, but was unable to, due to schedule conflicts etc. I’ve been lucky in the past to catch almost everything I wanted. I really hope I’ll get my chance in the coming weeks/months at SIFF Cinema. (I’m looking at you – “Shake The Dust”, Not My Type, Boyhood, Yves Saint Laurent, Family United, and To Fool A Thief)

And the last of my reviews for the year:

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared – Sweden

A fantastical tale, done in what I call “Forrest Gump” style, where the protagonist unwittingly gets involved with and/or influences various famous events and people in history. This was a fun comedy involving a wily centenarian who through circumstances, accidentally makes off with 50 million in drug money. A hilarious road trip movie featuring a cast of characters like no other. I wasn’t expecting the movie to be narrated in English, but that was a nice touch. 

Boys – Netherlands

This is a very sweet coming-of-age story about first-time summer love. It tells the story of 15 yr old Sieger, who with his best friend Stef is training for the National Relay Track and Field Championships. Their coach sets up Sieger and Stef with his two other best runners, and Sieger struggles with his feelings and emotions once he realizes that he is falling for teammate Marc, a free-spirited outgoing teen who doesn’t hide the fact that he has the same feelings for Sieger. It makes me smile to think that young gay teens have movies like this available to them.

Final Recipe – South Korea, Thailand, Singapore

A story about a Chinese teen who hopes to save his grandfather’s struggling restaurant in Singapore by competing on a popular “Iron Chef-style” televised cooking competition. Starring Korean pop idol Henry Lau in his acting debut. This movie was cheeseball corny and predictable; but so enjoyable that you just didn’t care. I can imagine this coming to Netflix within the next few months, and would recommend it if you want something that cute and great for the whole family.

Creep – USA

I ended this year’s festival with an unnerving but fairly well-done film from multi-hyphenate indie darling Mark Duplass. In it he plays a terminally ill man who puts an ad online looking for someone to film a last testament that he wants to leave for his unborn child. Struggling videographer Aaron answers the ad and heads to the dying man’s remote Northern California cabin where bizarre and nasty surprises await him. Eh, I think I was too tired to actually appreciate this movie fully. And although I did get a chance to make eye contact and smile at Mark Duplass, who was in attendance, I did not stick around for the Q&A afterwards because I was falling asleep and new episodes of Orange Is The New Black were waiting for me at home.

 

 

 

SIFF 2014 Reflections and Reviews: Week 2 May 27th - May 31st

The middle week of SIFF is always my favorite. I usually am in my groove by this midway point; seeing about a film a day, often recognizing other festival goers/members from other screenings and striking up nice conversations and discussions regarding the films we've enjoyed (or not enjoyed) so far.

This halfway point of the festival is also typically when I find myself attending the festival movies solo. There's something about experiencing these films by myself that becomes a form of therapy. The ultimate "me" time. That's not to say that I don't also love going to SIFF with friends - I was lucky to have both experiences this year.

Starred Up - U.K.
Talk about intense. This powerful and gritty drama is set in a Northern Ireland prison and pits son against father. We meet Eric Love, an angry teen prone to explosive fits of rage set off by the slightest action. He's been transferred or "starred up" to an adult prison and within the first 5 minutes of the movie he's already making shanks out of toothbrushes, expertly hiding them in light fixtures, and setting up his bottles of baby oil on a shelf for the purpose of fighting. Eric also preps for meeting his father (played by the always brilliant Ben Mendelsohn) who has been one of the kings of the prison for over a decade. Things just blow up from there. I felt like I was clutching my gut muscles the entire 100 minutes of this film. Not for folks who can't handle seeing grown men get punched within an inch of their lives, but well worth the watch.

Free Range: Ballad on Approving of the World - Estonia
Omigod, this fucking thing. I HATED THIS MOVIE. This goes down as the only SIFF film that I've ever walked out of; I left with about 20 min left because I couldn't stand this self-indulgent piece of crap any longer. One of the reasons I'm so angry is because I feel like I was duped by the SIFF staff programmers. Just take a look at the description:
This stylish Estonian joy ride follows slacker Fred, who struggles with feelings of nihilism after getting fired for writing an unfavorable review of Terrence Malick’s film Tree of Life. Finland’s official OSCAR® submission for Best Foreign Language Film.
That sounds like it would be a pretty good movie, right? You guys, when I say that nothing happens in the first hour of this turd, except for scenes where this dumbass Fred kid just drinks with his weirdo friends and ignores his dumb girlfriend, I'm actually overstating how engaging it was. IT WAS ANNOYING. And I can't believe that Finland had the nerve to submit this for Oscar consideration. What a joke! There is not one redeemable character in this film. When I finally figured out about 90 min in that the waste-oid loser old man who literally lives in a 300 sq ft space filled entirely with books, who Fred confides in was actually his father, and not some misguided bachelor mentor guy, I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted my money and my time back.

Sam and Amira - USA
Thank god I was able to follow up the bad taste that the Estonian crap-fest left in my mouth with this touching and poignant love story. This film traces the relationship between Sam, an American soldier just back from two tours of duty, and Amira, a young Iraqi illegal immigrant on the brink of deportation. Set in NYC in 2008, we follow these two kindred souls find love and support in each other as their families and the city around them fight them at every turn. This was a really beautiful film. I can't believe it is director Sean Mullin's debut feature. And you guys, Martin Starr, yes THAT Martin Starr, was amazing as Sam. Both Starr and Dina Shihabi who played Amira were at the screening I attended. I got a chance to privately talk to them before the official Q&A and tell them how great I thought they both were in the film. They were both very gracious and sweet. And seemed pretty close, like maybe dating close. I hope that Starr is a big enough name that this movie will get a wide release because everyone should see it.

SIFF Reflections and Reviews Week 1: May 20 - May 26

I've fallen way behind in my SIFF 2014 reviews over these past couple of weeks. I've seen some amazing films and I hope they come your way in a small art-house theater or on Netflix in the near future.

3 Mile Limit - New Zealand
A sweet film set in 1965 New Zealand that tells the true story of Radio Hauraki, the pirate radio station that was started by a handful of dedicated friends and rock-n-roll fans who fought the New Zealand government who controlled the airwaves with an iron fist at that time. I was totally unfamiliar with this story and found the film quite delightful.

We Are The Best - Sweden
Set in 1982 Stockholm, the awesome coming-of-age story of three teenage outcast girls who form an all-girl punk band and whose friendship bonds them as family. Uplifting and exhilarating; every girl between the age of 12 and 82 should see this movie. The three young leads are amazing.

Mystery Road - Australia
A dark, moody, well done murder mystery, tackling the tough subject of racial tensions in modern-day Queensland. Combining aspects of a classic Western with a police procedural, this tight thriller keeps you engaged. The first of 3 films this festival for me that featured Hugo Weaving in a major role. He's having a good SIFF. Aboriginal actor Aaron Pedersen in the lead role as Detective Jay Swan was a revelation. Where has this tall drink of water been all my life?!

Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed - Spain
Hands down, one of my favorite films of this year's festival. This is a heartwarming, lovely comedy set in 1966 southern Spain. It tells the story of Antonio, a high-school English teacher in Madrid who uses lyrics from Beatles' songs to teach his kids and considers himself somewhat of a super-fan. When Antonio finds out that John Lennon is filming a movie in the coastal town of Almeria, Antonio sets out in his little Fiat to meet his hero and tell him just how much his music has made an impact on his students. Along the way he picks up two different hitchhikers, a young pregnant woman, and a runaway teen boy. This is one of those films that sums up why I bother going to SIFF every year - I would never be exposed to a wonderful film like this otherwise. Fingers crossed that Netflix eventually picks it up.

International Male - Various countries
A collection of short films focusing on gay men, ranging in subject, content, genre, and quality. My faves were probably the US "Dragula" featuring an unrecognizable and wonderful Barry Bostwick as an aging LA drag queen, and the Iranian "Aban + Khorsid" a heartbreaking story of a gay couple killed because of their love.

The Turning - Australia
An ambitious, groundbreaking, spectacle - 18 different short stories that are woven together into this staggering piece of work. Featuring pretty much every Australian actor working in the industry today. Hugo Weaving (drink!), Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts...a million others. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it. This will definitely be coming to your local art-house theater this summer.

The Amazing Catfish - Mexico
A touching family drama introducing us to Claudia a lonely young woman without any family who is hospitalized for appendicitis and there meets Martha, a single mother of 4 in her mid-forties who is dying of AIDS. A fast friendship and a close maternal bond forms between Martha and Claudia, with Martha recognizing that Claudia needs her family, and that Claudia may be the solution that they need to go on making it as a family after Martha dies. I had a hard time connecting emotionally to this film, although it had all of the ingredients to hook me, it just never did. I'd still recommend it though.

Remote Control - Mongolia
Every year, I try to see at least one SIFF film from a country that I've never seen a film from. This year, one of these entries was this drama about a young man who runs away from his rural village and attempts to eek out an existence in the big city. The description in the SIFF catalog did not at all accurately describe this movie's story. I'm still on the fence about it. My friend Ross really liked it; and we managed to discuss it for like 40 minutes afterwards in a coffee shop, so maybe that's what good film is all about.

I Am Big Bird: The Carrol Spivey Story - USA
Unlike previous years, this SIFF I've only seen 2 documentaries. This one about the puppeteer for Oscar the Grouch and the man who has worn the Big Bird framed costume for almost 5 decades was a real gem. Carroll Spivey attended the screening with his lovely wife and was so entertaining. AND he brought Oscar!! It was so great to see my favorite "Sesame Street" character up close. Yes, of course Oscar the Grouch is my favorite. Have you met me?

The Healing - Australia
Completing my Hugo Weaving SIFF trifecta was this moody little movie about a prisoner who learns about redemption and rehabilitation from taking care of birds at a minimum security prison in Melbourne. Everyone in my audience seemed to enjoy this film more than I did. It wasn't terrible; it was just "fine".

SIFF 2014 - SIFF musings: Opening weekend

SIFF 2014 Musings and Reviews –

May 16, 2014 was the start to this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. As usual I forwent the

Opening Night Gala and began my festival on the first Friday by seeing two films. I only made it to one

documentary on Saturday (I do have a life beyond SIFF!), and rounded out my weekend with two very

different comic dramas on Sunday.


Everything We Loved – New Zealand

Proof that sometimes a trailer and a description of a film can be VERY misleading. This was one moody

little nub of a movie. I was not engaged with any of the characters at all. I just waited for the two leads

to get caught for their crime for the entire 100 minutes, and even when that happened, it wasn’t a

satisfying feeling. Wasted potential here.


Attila Marcel – France

The first live-action film from director Sylvain Chomet who has thrilled us previously with animated

gems, The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist. This movie was a visually stunning, quirky, whimsical

musical treat! Like a darker, slightly edgier “Amelie”. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.


Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory – USA

My first documentary of the festival was this enjoyable look at how music can be used as a treatment

for the care of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Really remarkably touching.


In Order of Disappearance – Norway

Norwegian “Fargo” y’all! A dark comic thriller that was so damn enjoyable, it may end up being my

favorite film of the festival and it’s only opening weekend! Starring the always great, Stellan Skarsgard

as a Swedish émigré snow-plow driver living in a small northern Norwegian town. His quaint, idyllic life

is turned upside down when his son his murdered and he sets out to avenge his son’s death. Please look

for this film at your local arthouse theaters – it is a gem!


The Double – U.K.

Do you like the movie Brazil, but wish it were more boring and starred Jesse Eisenberg instead of
Jonathan Pryce? Then “The Double” is for you. Adapted from a Dostoyevsky novella by actor-turned-
director Richard Ayoade. I really liked Ayoade’s first film “Submarine” from 2010. I wish this one had
been better.

SIFF 2013 - The Final Round Up

The 2013 Seattle International Film Festival finished up yesterday, June 9, 2013. I saw over 20 films which is my typical amount, but for some reason felt like more of an accomplishment this year than in the past. The theme for me this year was definitely "Documentaries". I saw eight in total and they were all amazing in their own unique ways.

As in years past, my picks for what was great at SIFF do not jibe with my fellow audience members. Did we see the same movies? That Nixon thing for best documentary? The hell? Totally don't get it.
Anyway, here are my reviews of the films I saw in the last week of the festival.

Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth -
Wow. Was there a lot I didn't know about one of my favorite authors. Walker's life has been fascinating. And who knew about her weird daughter totally cutting Walker out of her life recently. Bonus: Alice Walker was there and I got to shake her hand. I had this weird moment when she was holding my hand that my mother was watching; I started to tear up. I hope she didn't notice, or that if she did she just thought that I was some weird super fan and just dismissed me. I'd rather that than have to explain that Alice Walker was weirdly giving off "mom vibes" to me?

Twenty Feet from Stardom -
One of the few documentaries that I saw that will definitely be getting a wide release distribution nationally. Meaning that most of y'all will be able to see it at some point this summer and you definitely should. Spanning the past 50 years, this doc profiles the oft-forgotten/ignored back-up singer, and how backing vocals became really important and sort of defined the sound of pop music in the 60s and 70s. You will feel in turns anger, sorrow, amusement, hope, despair, irony, and elation while watching the struggles and success of these, mostly female, singers.

The Otherside -
Another fantastic documentary; I really lucked out in that department this SIFF. This one focused on the emerging and flourishing Seattle hip-hop music scene. With the success of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis a new spotlight is being thrown on a thriving music culture that many of us have been tuned into for years. Macklemore wasn't at the packed, sold-out screening I attended but all of the guys from Blue Scholars, and Physics were, along with other local acts. I'm not going to lie, while I enjoyed the hell out of the film, most of the annoying Seattle 20-somethings that showed up for it were annoying as fuck. Most had clearly never been to a SIFF film before and didn't understand any of the rules about getting there early (it's not like a regular movie venue), standing in two separate lines (pass holders vs. ticket holders), having physical tickets vs Will Call, parking permits - ALL of these details were confusing, or ignored by these kids who were super obnoxious about everything. But even this couldn't ruin my enjoyment of the evening.

Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer story -
Yet ANOTHER great documentary that I never would have got to see anywhere else but SIFF. Did you guys ever read, or have read to you the children's books "Moon Man", "Adelaide", "The Three Robbers", "Flat Stanley" or any of the Mellops books? Or have you recently read to your own children the award winning "Otto: The Autobiography of a Teddy Bear"? These were all written and more importantly illustrated by the crazy and brilliant Tomi Ungerer. At 83 years of age he's still vibrant, crazy, and a genius that I want to have coffee with, and take long walks along the green valleys of his West Cork property in Ireland. His life was crazy. Little did I know about all of the controversy that was stirred up in the early 70s from his work in erotica. I guess my parents were even bigger radicals than I thought by sharing his work with me. Heartbreaking to see Maurice Sendak last interviews in this film. He was one of Tomi's closest friends and considered him a mentor. A truly great biography of a genius.

Prince Avalanche -
Every year SIFF seems to offer up a dud of a film. That one movie in my mix that seems promising and then UTTERLY DISAPPOINTS. This year I made it into the final days of the festival before encountering my dud. And surprisingly it starred Paul Rudd!? Paul Rudd! A man that can do no wrong in my eyes. And to be honest, Rudd was the only decent-ish part of this movie. The plot is...um...yeah, I don't fucking know. Emile Hirsch was baffling as usual; I want to like this guy - I can see he has talent - and yet he always ends up bugging the crap out of me. But seriously Hirsch and Rudd weren't the problem. The convulted story, the pacing (dear God the pacing!), the direction, the ending? it was all such rubbish. I definitely expected better from director/writer David Gordon Green. Seriously, WTF?!

The Girl with Nine Wigs -
I loved loved loved this movie based on a memoir, about a young girl struggling with a rare form of lung cancer. The movie changed the location and nationality of the heroine to Germany (the real young lady was from Amsterdam) but kept the heart and emotional pull that only true events can give a story. It has a happy ending, but I cried anyway. Once again, because it's a festival we were privileged to have the star of the film Lisa Tomoschewsky and the real-life Sophie, author Sophie Van der stop in attendance for a Q&A. It's films like this that I wish everyone could see, yet I doubt will get distribution in the states.

Love Is In the Air -
Another breezy, romantic French comedy. Nothing more to say than that. Very enjoyable. Strange that I ended up seeing two movies during the festival that featured lead Nicolas Bedos; he's I guess supposed to be handsome? His mouth is too weird for me. Seriously, his mouth is HUGE.

Bitch Hug -
My final film of the festival was a touching and charming coming-of-age drama from Sweden about ambitious, recent high school grad Kristin who has dreams of leaving her small Swedish town behind and making it big in New York City as a writer. It was nice to end the festival on this high note.

SIFF 2013 Weeks 2 and 3

My SIFF has continued over the last week and a half with a nary a dud in the bunch. I don't want to jinx anything, but this is the first time in years that I haven't been truly disappointed in at least one film.
That's not to say that I've loved everything; I haven't. But so far it has been a successful festival filled with some truly delightful film experiences.

Some reviews -

C.O.G. : On paper, this movie checked all of my boxes - Based on a David Sedaris short story, and the first time Sedaris has ever sanctioned and licensed an official adaptation of his work (check); starring the dreamy musical theater heartthrob Jonathan Groff (CHECK), with my boyfriend Corey Stoll, Denis O'Hare, and Casey Wilson in supporting roles (check); filmed on location in a part of Oregon that I'm familiar with (check); I thought that I would unequivocally love this movie. And I did love the acting performances. I just felt like the direction could've been stronger and that it let down the story a little. But given that this was only 29 yr old director Kyle Alvarez's second film, I'll grant him some slack. Also a travesty - neither Jonathan Groff nor Denis O'Hare (Tony award-winning musical theater geniuses)  got to truly sing; a missed opportunity of grave proportions.

The Punk Singer: An eye-opening and honest documentary about the life (or at least the past 25 years of it) of Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, punk Riot Grrrl pioneer, wife of Adam "Ad Rock" Horovitz, and general kick-ass activist/feminist. Who knew about the true nature of her "fight" with Courtney Love all those years ago, or that she's been suffering from a debilitating form of Lyme disease for the past decade. A great archive of music history.
Bonus! - I was inspired to dig out my old Le Tigre cds. So damn good.

Atraco!: Set in Franco's Spain in the mid 1950s, this darkest of comedies from writer/director and Almodavar disciple Eduard Cortes, was just the type of Spanish film that I enjoy. The film is a fictional "what if?" telling of the events leading up to, and following the real-life theft of Eva Peron's jewels from Madrid in 1955. I thought this movie was so clever. I loved the twist on historical events.

Touchy Feely: The latest Lynn Shelton film. I personally liked her previous movie Your Sister's Sister more, but some of the performances in this one, especially from Josh Pais and Scoot McNairy, were great. It was filmed in the Capitol Hill, CD, and Madrona neighborhoods of Seattle where I live, so it was fun spotting the streets and houses that I knew.

Cutie and the Boxer: I'm not sure I can find the words to describe how much I loved this documentary about married Japanese artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Director Zachary Heinzerling, who won the Directing award this year at Sundance, explores Ushio and Noriko's complicated, co-dependent relationship that is as complicated as it has been nurturing for their art careers. The doc focuses on Ushio, who at 80 years old is trying for one more successful show to seal his artistic legacy, while the 59-year-old Noriko is finally making a name for herself with her "Cutie" series of R. Crumb-like illustrations depicting her relationship with Ushio and his earlier struggles with alcoholism. Through vérité camerawork, archival footage, and animated sequences of Noriko's drawings, Cutie and the Boxer is an intimate, funny, uncompromising portrait of the Shinoharas's unique, and unconventional love story. GO SEE THIS MOVIE if you can.

Flight of the Storks: French director Jan Kounen has ambitiously brought Jean-Christophe Grangé's famous novel to the big screen. People have tried for years to adapt this mystery thriller from page to film and have never succeeded because it's hard to cut the content down to fit a movie's acceptable length. Kounen had tried to adapt the book a decade ago and could never figure out how to cut it down under 3 hours, and when he was approached by producers 10 years later to try again, he said he'd do it only if he could do it as a mini-series; but secretly dreamed of showing it on the big screen. The mini-series played on TV in France earlier this year, but SIFF got the world premier of it as a feature film. I must say that it didn't feel overly long, per se, but it was super distracting having all of the people sitting around me in the theater constantly getting up and going to the bathroom. I would love for HBO to buy the distribution rights for this so that I could watch it again in the comfort of my living room. I enjoyed the heck out of it. Especially loved Harry Treadway (Helloooooo twin brother of hottie actor Luke Treadaway) in the lead role.

Two Weddings and A Funeral: Like a wackier, Korean version of the gay classic "The Wedding Banquet". It was cute, but not that memorable.

 A Band Called Death: You guys. This documentary may have changed my life. I loved it so very much. It tells the story of the Hackney brothers David, Bobby, and Dannis who in the early 1970s started a band in their native Detroit that might have been the birth of punk rock. I can't recommend renting/buying/downloading this movie as soon as you can. Especially if you're a fan of rock music. Or family. Or a human being. Excellent.

Zaytoun:  Um, you guys? I may have voted for Stephen Dorff for Best Actor for the SIFF Audience awards. He was AMAZING in this film. He made me cry. I know, I'm just as surprised as you. The setting is war-torn Beirut in 1982. Dorff plays a downed Israeli fighter pilot who makes a deal with one of his capturers, a 12-yr old Palestinian boy named Fahed, that he will smuggle Fahed across the border and take him to his former Palestinian home if the boy helps him escape Lebanon. This movie! I had a lot of emotions about it! I don't get how Dorff can make such awful dreck for years, and do dumb commercials for electric cigarettes, and then turn around and give a performance like this. Flabbergasting.

Thérèse: Damn, this movie bugged me. Again, on paper this film should've been right up my alley. Famous filmmaker Claude Miller's last film (yes!); starring Audrey Tautou, who I've loved since her breakout turn in Amelie (Yes!); adapted from the François Mauriac's legendary 1927 novel about French provincial life (YES!). Instead, from the very first 5 minutes I was annoyed. The movie's plot takes place between 1922 and 1931, yet there were clothes, and items like bicycles and boats that seemed anachronistically out of place - I said out loud more than once "Is this supposed to be 1928 or 1958?" - that I found so irksome and it was hard for me to enjoy anything. Also, Audrey, sweetie, I love you dearly, but as gorgeous as you are, and you're beautiful, you are too long in the tooth to be playing a young lady of 21. It was almost laughable in scenes when you could see her wrinkles. Again, no hard feelings! I'm old too! I love her, but damn, come ON! Gorgeously shot though. It made me want to fly to southern France and Bordeaux immediately.

SIFF 2013 - Week 1 (so far...)

This year, the festival got off to a late start for me because I was enjoying the heck out of an impromptu vacation on the Oregon coast. But as soon as I got back into town, in fact within hours of being back in Seattle city limits, I was at the SIFF Uptown theater to see my first film of the festival, a Turkish drama called Jin. Sort of like "Run, Lola, Run", but with a 17yr old Kurdish freedom fighter. This was a sad and beautifully shot movie with "magical realism" qualities blended with some seriously brutish storytelling.
I'm glad I saw it but I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

Next up was the DELIGHTFUL French romantic comedy Populaire. You guys, I seriously love the French actress Déborah François. She's enchanting. I was first introduced to her last year at SIFF in another great romantic comedy, Les Tribulations d'une Caissière. Why the hell can't America make a good romantic comedy anymore?! Please take note American screenwriters and film studios - it is possible! Anyway, "Populaire" is set in Normandy in 1959, when being a secretary was all the rage! The movie centers around an International Speed Typing contest, and...You know what? It doesn't matter what it's about - I was charmed out of my pants! I haven't heard that much clapping or seen that many smiles on audience members' faces in years.

My third film in three days was the Spanish dark comedy Bypass. I can't have a SIFF where I don't see at least 2 films from Spain, and this seemed fun. It was just ok.


The last movie I saw as of this blog posting was a true gem from the Philippines. Bwakaw is a sweet, yet sad film starring the great Eddie Garcia as Rene, a curmudgeonly gay man in his late 70s, living in a suburb of Manila, who has nothing to do in his retirement except meticulously plan his death and rewrite his will on a daily basis. His best friend is his dog, the titular Bwakaw. When she gets sick, Rene's life gets turned upside down. You guys? Everyone was crying in the audience. BUT this is truly not a depressing movie. I wish everyone could see this film; the SIFF guide describes it as "life-affirming" and they got it right. This is the kind of movie that I count on SIFF exposing me to every year.