A controversial film that can't LEGALLY be shown. Todd Haynes' classic biopic that tackles the American Celebrity, anorexia, beauty, and how parents can be utter dicks.  We talk about why it should be on the Registry, and touch on the concept of Forbidden Films. 

You can view it at https://vimeo.com/344856

I had the honor of Judging the San Jose 48 Hour Film Project again this year. I love the energy these teams being to creating films over the course of a weekend, and while the films tended towards the weak in the days when folks were submitting them en masse to Cinequest (2004 or so), the quality now rivals a lot of what we see in festival short programs. This year, we got a set of films that were phenomenal, and I'm going to be writing a few of them up. 

The winner of Best Film was Stonewood. It's one of those films that is genre, but in a way that you only slowly wake up to. It's a horror film. Or maybe a science fiction film. Or perhaps a party film. Or maybe it's a drama. From the first first frame, there's a disquieting sense of off-ness about it, something is strange, even in the rather simple party that's going on. When I watched it for the 5 time, I started to note the way the camera lingers, maybe only an inch off of center, producing shots that are weighted to one side or another. That is such a simple trick, and one that gives the film a heft. 

And then there's Dana Morgan. 

The winner of Best Actress, she drives this film by going from being Mrs. Dalloway to Jamie Leigh Curtis in Halloween in the blink of an eye. It's amazing how she portrays her fear, terror, and perhaps her revoltion of being trapped. You'll understand when you watch what I mean. She powers this film into the meat, and her performance is genre excellence!

There are inherent dangers in 48 Hour films. Sometimes, to fit in the required elements, there's a crowbarring that happens. Some filmmakers make this work for them (mostly in the comedies), and if I have to look up what the elements are afterwards because they were so seamlessly integrated, that's a great sign, and that's what happened here. There's the length, for one thing. Short by both necessity and rule, these films sometimes have to rush through material to make it happen. Luckily, here the turn happens quickly, hitting hard, though leaving less time for impact. It barely matters because what we get is a combination of precise editing, intelligent shooting, great acting, a smart script, and just a good, simple, genre storytelling. The perfect 48 Film Project project!

It would be easy to say all sorts of things about the production of Superstar, about how it's been one of those films that hard core film geeks talk about, about how it presaged Haynes' major themes throughout his career, about how it was one of the most significant films held back from public view, about bootleg culture, about so many things, but I'm  more interested in taking it as a message, delivered by a filmmaker working within a strange format. 

The story is told only partly through the use of Barbie dolls. The story of pop music superstar Karen Carpenter is dark, heavy, and very painful to watch, and by simplifying it down to words delivered by plastic toys not only drives home the point about the superficiality of the entertainment business, and about American standards of beauty, but also that it really doesn't matter if these 'characters' are acted by humans or simple playthings. This is a story that requires no expression, merely the story, boiled down to syrup. The pathos is enough to carry us through. The really important parts are shot simply, or recorded versions of television ads, Brady Bunch episodes, shots of suburbia, and most importantly, discussion and text describing anorexia, specific events in Karen's life, and other elements that set her story in context. This alone makes the film into a near-masterpiece. It is an avant garde re-telling of actual events within a container that is not meant to be easily carried. This is a film that owes much more to art films of the 1960s than to the biopic or documentary. 

Of course, after a series of lawsuits by Richard Carpenter, all the known copies were destroyed. There are bootlegs, and the one I watched was on Vimeo, and there's one in the collection of the MoMA that can't be screened. It was a major happening in 1987 when it appeared, and those who got to see it back then have all said that it was an important film because it was so experimental in so many different dimensions. The film is not easy viewing; the footage is dark, the titles often unreadable, and the cutting more designed for jarring emphasis that clarity of story-telling. Still, all of that only adds to the impression it makes: a heavy impression. 

The Red Umbrella Diaries - David Kornfield
The only ting I can say is wow. This is a project documenting a project that is amazing, important, and beautiful. It's basically the Sex Workers' version of the The Moth, where they would take over a venue and tell stories, and in some cases confessions. The event was important, and powerful, and the documentary is so perfectly constructed, telling the stories of both the Red Umbrella Diaries and the storytellers themselves using the night of performances as a framing device, but also giving us the performance, which is where we see the reality of the individuals away from the stage and the stage persona.. The camera is precise, the editing wise, the hand of director David Kornfield deft at every corner. It is a magnificent movie, and you should find out more at http://redumbrellaproject.org about the project and the documentary. 

Bridgebuilders - Jordan Blazak & Alan Dembek
There is a kind of story that I have found myself a part of many, many times. I will whole-heartedly believe something, and then be presented with the appearance of something so completely contrary to that belief that I have no measured reaction. Bridgebuilders presents that scenario fairly well, with exceptional cinematography, and simple choices made to heighten the story of a barkeep living in remarkably strange times. These kinds of stories are made on the backs of actors, and while the reactions of our lead come off as fairly stiff, the setting of that flawed stone is strong. The editing, camerawork, set directions, and especially on-set lighting effects, all make an impression. A fun, well-paced film that will certainly appeal to the Conspiracy Theorists among us. And they are among us...

Help! - Mahnaz Yazdazi
There are few films that better criticize my life than Help!. The story is simple: a guy hangs off the ledge of his apartment building, but instead of helping him, folks take pictures, which leads to a funny situation. This Iranian minute-long comedy really hits home. It's easy to watch and claim you're "documenting" a scenario, but more often than not, what's needed is action, and in Help!, no one wants to miss out on what's going on, but also, no one is impelled towards taking what could be hugely significant, life-saving action. This recent journey of reviewing shorts has brought me a much greater appreciation for films coming out of Iran these days, and this tiny miracle is a really fun short. 

The Last Line - Beverly Tan
​Poetry. It is difficult, I believe, to tell a story poetically, though poetry, without relying on the experimentation that comes with the exploration of extremity. The bigger problem, of course, is how to keep from being pretentious when your main character is a poet, and the entire structure of your short relies on her delivering her poem. Last Line does this so well, being almost entirely a film where a poem is read in voice-over across images of a bartender's relationship with a woman, a talented woman. Every aspect of production, with the exception of one hiccup in the sound mix, is phenomenal, and it all heightens the impact of the poem, the performance, the passion. When we come to the eponymous last line of the poem, and we are greeted with a beautifully ambiguous (though strongly hinted at) truth, it both stings and draws you into yourself. In this short, as in love, as in faith, as in loss, as in memory, things are not what they say they are.

Domingo - Erika Oregel
The most exciting thing about programming film festivals is getting to see filmmakers before they break. I have no doubt that the name Erika Oregel will be gigantic in her native Mexico, and quite possibly beyond. Her first narrative short, Domingo, is a lyrical masterpiece, full of grace and compassion that flows from every frame. This film is sparse, and deliberate, but it's also quite affecting. Oregel brings us the story of two women preparing to hear Mass, and the preparations that requires for them. The story could easily have turned emotionally manipulative, but this is far more powerful for the fact that it never demands we feel a certain way. It is a painting, full of creams, beiges, whites, and bone. It is a film that announces a bold new voice to narrative filmmaking, and one that I hope we hear much more from. 

L'été Indien - Yanie Dupont-Hébert
Let me get it out of the way - Moonrise Kingdom is one of my favorite film. From the very beginning, L'été Indiene made me feel as if I was watching what would happen is Wes Anderson had been French (well, Quebecois...) and decided to make a film about a tortured childhood saved by another tortured childhood. Mike learns that he is adopted and is actually a Micmac and has to go into the forest to explore his heritage. Mirka is a romantic artist whose parent's divorce is crashing her world down around her. This is so Andersonian as to be nearly criminal, but director Yanie Dupont-Hebert manages to make so much more commentary in her piece that it feels more like the kind of cinema you'd see in a Cineclub of the 1960s and 70s. Mike has to reconnect with his roots, but has no clue what that means beyond the Westerns he's such a gigantic fan of. Mirka wants to give in to love fully, but is too young to truly understand what that means. It is a difficult position both these children are in, and they see their recent circumstances as the call to grow-up, but really, it's just a difficult moment they need to get through as children. That is a theme much more complex than anything Anderson has ever tackled, and it is so well-done, that I would say the next disaffected youth film I see is Dupont-Herbertian. 

Lack of Cockery - Josh Mitchell
There are movies that are not made for certain people, that could not be appreciated no matter how good they are for one reason or another. There are other films that no matter how bad they are, you're gonna love 'em. Lack of Cockery is a film with a lot of problems, chief among them the pacing is weird, and some of the performances are rough, but the script is fun, the view of the LA and-or Silicon Valley lifestyle so in-tune with my personal experience, and the shooting is strong. Perhaps the scene that hit me the hardest was a stand-up bit in the first five minutes or so. It was delivered by a woman with a huge nasal accent, who had a certain quirky charm, talking about her lack of sexual experience. If you've been around the comedy world, especially among the post-Dane Cook era, you'll understand just how painfully accurate this performance is, and the line "I'm no Dr. Ruth, but I fantasize about bangin' her" is balls-out awesome. If you approach this cold, without the knowledge of that world, without having hung around with the Venture Capital set, without knowing the post-Factory indy art world, without having been to life/work/party spaces, you might not take it in, but for me, this was a film that perfectly captured those worlds. The fact they apparently made this for fifty grand when it looks like a million dollar picture is more impressive, but shooting with Black Magic'll do that for ya. You can learn more at http://www.breezewayproductions.com/index.html

Speedwriting - Michael Russnow
Sometimes, a joke runs thin. That's the case in a lot of short films that just don't understand pacing. Sometimes, they come back, and once in a while, a thin joke is made funnier by the fact that it's a thin joke that a smart director knows what to do with. I'd say that's what Michael Russnow has done with Speedwriting. It's a get-rich-quick scheme comedy in which a young guy (played very smartly by Santa Cruz County's own Michael Beardsley) develops a 'system' to write and sell screenplays. It's not a real system, of course, it's barely an idea, but they play with it really well, and the scene where he's constantly stopping a pitch, sometimes to give completely contradictory information, is really funny. It's not a comedy that goes a lot of places, but it's one that delivers on the places that it DOES go, and one that had me laughing. 

Jobless - Alessio Colia
The economic downturn hit everywhere, and Italy actually got it worst than most. This story, of an experienced guy being sacked and pushed aside for lesser employees, then trying desperately to get something new, is a classic, and the way writer/director Colia handles the material is clean and smart, in a sort-of neo-modernist fashion with touches of Bergman. It's a powerful film, and a descent into madness, but not an entirely internalistic one. Perhaps Jobless is best viewed as a document for the descent of the international job market and economy into madness and infinite peril. Either way, it's a film I really enjoyed seeing more than once. 
​

Dead Sharks - Nic Barker
If you're going to open with a Woody Allen quote, you better bring your A-game... unless it's from a court transcript. Either way, it sets a table, and you need to be able to deliver quality that matches up. Nic Barker's well-made, often hilarious, and gringingly-real life film Dead Sharks not only works in the 1990s-Allen vein, but he manages to out-mine him as well. The segments are perfectly timed, immaculately-paced, and just smart, and there's a certain comedy to it that might be coming from my own personal experiences. The opener, where we are greeted to a series of voice messages being left, ala Swingers (only with a far more real feel, and far more personally familiar) and it's super-funny, while also moving a story along.Fiona Norman as Paige is just note-for-note perfection, and sets up the rest of the film so well. It's situationally hilarious, and very dramatic, much like any good (or completely failing...) relationship. It reminded me of one of my favorite shorts, Insomniacs, and I can't fault a single aspect of the production. I really wish this would become a feature.

El Tambor y La Sombra - David Bisbano
A re-telling of a folk story in computer animated form will usually work if the filmmaker has any sort of talent with the writing and a certain reverence for the material. David Bisbano does a remarkable job telling us the story of a healer who duels with a shadow-spirit. This is a compact film, making perfect use of all four-and-a-half minutes, and the animation is strongly stylized, yet still accessible. This is exactly the kind of film that should be powering through the festival circuit these days. 

Cows: A Moosical - Sandra Boynton
I'll admit it - a large part of why I programmed Cows in the Animated Worlds program at Cinequest was the fact that my twins love her board books. Also, I'm a big fan of cows. This lovely little three minute music video is just plain fun. It's a MOOOOOOOOsical, and it's simple, and sweet. It's also the first film I know, for a fact, my youngest boy Benjamin ever watched. He adored it, and it may just be that it was the first thing he ever saw flashing across a screen that wasn't a heart-rate monitor, but he smiled and laughed. So, thanks, Sandra Boynton, for making the first movie I could share with my little guys!

You make impressions by being striking from the first moment. If you can walk away from the first 30 seconds of a movie and know exactly why you're going to be writing a positive review, the filmmaker has done something extraordinary. In Josephine Doe, we are treated to a moment that moved me hard - a sign that says Do Not Touch, being touched. That alone would have kept me watching, but the undeniable power of the cinematography, glorious black-and-white, the marvelous acting, with the script that moved perfectly to highlight the path a character takes towards... well, that's the thing, innit? What are characters moving towards is what defines all but the most abstract of films, right?  

Claire is on less of a journey than going through a series of self-diagnostics. She's running checks on how her code has been developed, and finding faults, flaws, flat-out errors. She makes a friend, Josephine, who is, in some ways, the path of least resistance. She seems confident, ready, willing, and able to make her impulses come to life. A magnificent scene where the pair breaks into an empty roller skating rink and enjoy themselves. There is so much joy in the scene, and when it all comes crashing down, it's not with a hail of bullets, or any emotion at all really, it's the quiet standing silence with seething bitterness underneath. 

It also reveals the central matter with the film - Claire may have issues. Or she might not. It's awkward.

The themes are powerful - family issues, mental health questions, how we pass through the end-stop grief, and how we manage the on-going grief and the difficulties of making things work long-run. Josephine isn't who or what she seems, but neither is Claire, and that fact alone is disturbing. We see illusions shattered throughout the film, both within our characters, and in their views on the world. This can be a tricky thing to make work as an actor, but in the capable hands of Erin Cippoletti, Claire is a remarkable performance. The natural inclination is to wallow, to play the depression as withdrawn, the darkness as instability. She avoids that, and beautifully, instead giving us something more akin to reality within a world where we're not sure what is helpful fantasy and what might be harmful fantasy. 

As Josephine, a role that could fall anywhere between Tyler Durden to Drop Dead Fred, we have the electric Emma Griffin. She does so well, and I was drawn to her reactions to the existence of her own questionable existence. When the natural comparisons arise between Josephine and so many other examples of similar characters, I see the difference immediately - she's not the answer, but instead, she is the central question of Josephine Doe itself. 

Maybe that's why they named the movie after her...

You can find out more at http://www.josephinedoe.com

The Hunt - Miranda Schrade
Simplicity. It's a good thing. In all reality, it is a positive concept to pare a thing down to the bare-bones and work with only the skeleton. Short films often work in that mode, and in The Hunt, we find a competent little picture of a young woman on a sort of scavenger hunt. It's nicely done, if a bit simple, and the story is clear, but it's also a bit messy, as if the story being told is something more than the story we're seeing. Still, it makes good use of less than three minutes. 

Nothing Without God - Keenan J. Robinson
This story is an absolute mess. I could barely follow it, I was lost, I was confused, I g​ot angry. And I also didn't care. This is an excellent example of what 1990s' film movements like Dogme95 have brought to the mainstream of cinema. The way it was shot, and the way the actors played within the frame and their characters, really made this feel like something special. There's a lot here that speaks of the future of underground, or at least regional, cinema. Films like this HAVE an audience out there, and while I'm not always in that audience, I can appreciate that this film will inspire some, and infuriate others. Me? I certainly thought that this was a film that gave me hope in a new voice for cinema. You can learn more at http://www.inspirationallifefilms.com/

Strings - 
Italian Science Fiction. Yeah, in the past, it's been rough. Some of the worst SciFi movies of all-time were made, or at least re-dubbed, in Roma, and it still burns having seen so many of them on Creature Features when I was a kid. Strings is far from those days. In fact, it's one of the more thoughtful and masterfully done science fiction films in decades. The idea is a classic: a mysterious orb gives the user the power to transfer between Earths. David, our hero, knows he shouldn't be tampering with the forces he's playing with, and yet, he has to. The script is incredibly well written, with the acting being some of the finest you're likely to find in SF today. This is a phenomenal film, one that you should actively seek out because it will reward multiple viewings!

Prairie Dog - 
Horror and I have issues. Smart horror films - I love 'em. Prairie Dog  plays out more like a small town family drama with elements of horror than as a horror film, but hold out for a  smart movie, incredibly well-made, exactly the kind of film you might find in a multiplex. It's well-acted, though never over-the-top in that respect, and it's clean. I found the movement a bit thatched, as it would move well, and build strongly towards what I found to be a satisfying, yet somewhat clouded ending. I really enjoyed it and hope this one goes far! You can find more at https://www.facebook.com/PrairieDogMovie

The Micro-Budget SciFi film is a tradition dating back decades. On one hand, you have films like Plan 9 from Outer Space and The Milpitas Monster, and on the other you classics like Pi. I'm happy to report that the wonderful short Kaalchakra is much closer to Pi than Plan 9. 

Professor Bakshi is dying, and he's single-mindedly rushing towards developing time-travel. His assistant, Veena, has just gotten accepted to a NASA internship. Knowing his time is exceptionally short, the Prof puts together a party for Time-Travelers, which will only be announced after it has happened. 

Of course, someone shows up, and that's where the fun begins. 

There is a movement today to create films, not just YouTube videos but Festival-worthy shorts, that are created on the easiest, most accessible cameras in the world today: smartphones. This new Cinema du iPhone has led to some exceptionally fun movies, and real dogs, but ultimately it is a promise that was made when the first consumer cameras hit the market - anyone can make a movie; anyone can be a filmmaker. Kaalchakra was made for about 100 US dollars, and it does not show at all. In fact, I'd say they made some pretty ballsy moves considering the budget. Professor Bakshi is old, and instead of finding an older actor, they made-up a younger guy, and maybe it's the black-and-white cinematography, but I had trouble telling. The cast doubled as the crew, and while you'd never mistake it for Star Wars, it delivered with competence in all the technical aspects. 

The story was strong, and though a couple of scenes ran a touch long, it never felt as if it was lagging. When a potential time-traveller shows up at the party, things get funny, and after that, it gets dramatic, and after that, it gets heart-warming, and then funny again. It plays with the emotional tone, and that was my favorite part. 

Taken as a whole, there are few filmmakers in the world who could pull off such a great film with so little in the way of equipment and money, and even those with access to all their heart desired, few could make a science fiction film that felt so breath-takingly in love with the world. 

Native Immigration - Eric Romero
There is a concept called "Punching Down" that basically equates to mocking those of a disadvantaged class if you are of an advantaged class. It's a tough idea, actually, but it also makes sense. Native Immigration is an interesting piece, funny, and very detailed, but I worried at times that the filmmakers were punching down. At the same time, I was laughing at the finely crafted gags. Presented as a BBC-style expose of Britons who were only now discovering that they were, in fact, immigrants, it's got all sorts of things to enjoy, from posters in the background, to humorous sub-titles and graphics. There are a few points where I looked side-ways at a gag, wondering if that was offensive in the UK, and realising that there is a significant difference between our countries when it comes to race, and especially class, issues. The film's funny, and a lot of fun. The 'interviews' in the mockumentary are strong, and funny, especially the Kenyan who is a devout racist (and it works on so many levels right now, what with the frequent calls of 'Reverse Racism' leveled at various groups) and the Spaniard who thought he was Scottish. There were various points that if I heard that joke on the streets of San Jose, I would be uncomfortable. Well-made, maybe a couple of minutes longer than the material it presented warranted, and while it made me question my own attitudes, it also presented a powerful form of satire, a near-perfect send-up of the television issue documentary. You can see it at ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZNP7L-brT8

Elsewhere - Misan Akuya
This story of a racer who broke both his legs and now has to deal with his regular life is a pretty picture, one that understands the goal of the film, but also takes a bit of a round-about way to get there. There's a lot to like, from the well-seasoned cinematography to the well-considered sound design. The acting is solid, and the characters and the script work hard. The problem is it doesn't hold you all the way through, and lost me at least twice, though both times managed to bring me back. The thing that brought me back - Dianna Cruz. Her magnetic performance and charm is contagious, and when she comes on screen, you really can't help but dial back in. 

You can find more at https://misanakuya.wordpress.com/

The Device - George Wroe
Science fiction has markers. From the very get-go, you know The Device is going to be a science fiction film, and a time-travel short as well. It's the story of a father and son who develop a device that allows them to go back in time. The Father has a plan, but doesn't share it with his son, not fully at least. They manage to go back, but face a minor set-back. The film has a couple of effects, which is nice, but the most important part has to be the fact that they manage to create a family dynamic that I bought into. If you can accomplish that, the science fiction elements become far less important, and the language of the characters is precise, and that part of the script is strong and ultimately is what pushes the film into its best presence. The production values are strong, and the set and prop work isn't flashy, which adds a layer of believability; if a father-son super-science team was working without a government research grants, everything would be kinda slap-dash! That's a really nice touch. 

All The Better - Rebecca & Thomas Haffey 
This is a tiny, one minute take on the Little Red Riding Hood story. It's a microshort, just one minute, and it doesn't really show too much, just a girl walking, a smash to black, a scream, and a return. That's it, with a lovely and original score from Debbie Allen that I found to be the most memorable portion of the film. At one minute, you can't really do much, but I think what they gave was well-done and I really wanted a little more of this, as I think they could easily handle the material and give us the same story, over two minutes, and be clearer, with a stronger hit. The cinematography is solid, and the forest, and young Ella Haffey, both take to the camera well, and made me want more. Still, that soundtrack alone makes All the Better ​worth it, as it's still running through my head. Also, and I rarely do this, but the design of the poster is incredible. I mean, look at it! You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8-NqaaPN58 

Fruit of the Fungus - Josh Mitchell
The "Un-understood Map" is a wonderful trope of the Adventure genre. Fruit of the Fungus isn't an adventure film, but it uses it to great effect. The script is smart and funny, though things move a bit jumpily, and the delivery of lines ain't quite there, but there is so much fun to be had, you won't hardly notice. I loved the concept, and the way it unfolded was nice, though the pacing seemed a bit off at points, which was a touch frustrating because when it picked up, it was really good, but it would slow again, and so on. The technical aspects were all clean, especially the editing, and it was funny, which was enough for me to give it every chance. The ending was patently ridiculous, but it actually fit in with the oddness of the rest of the short. I don't feel like it failed in doing what it set out to do, not at all, but I do feel like it could have been tightened up a touch. 

Hope - Fabio Ballisco
This short has little to it. A woman, left at the base of a set of mysterious pillars, follows the sound of a hammer contacting an anvil to watch appears to be a forge house in the woods. 

After that, it gets weird. 

This is such a simple story (and we're told that it's a trilogy) that I wondered where things were going. It wrapped up so quickly, with little given to us but a base hint. That's important as we're assuming that this is a linear narrative, that the things shown are connected, but at the same time, we have no certain hook for hanging that assumption on, which leaves us guessing. While it may be easy to see where our minds SHOULD be going, it is also not 100% certain that that is where our minds MUST go, and that sort of thing will drive some crazy. Me? I like ambiguity, and though there wasn't enough to this film for my tastes, I have to say it got me thinking by the end. You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/JaborandiMovies/timeline

Nightfall of Eden - Daina Papadaki
This is a highly allegorical film dealing with the descent of humanity into war and hatred. We are presented Eden, populated by nymphs wearing only  leaves, who frolic about being all sweet and adorable. The scenario then changes to one where projections of war and death occupy what was once an idyllic garden. We are then taken to Heaven, and then things get metaphysical. The production is beautiful, stunningly so, and the joy of those first shots is improbably effective. The metaphysical portion of the film is beautifully done, though it had a strong scent of Lord of the Rings visually. I enjoyed the message, and particularly the beauty of much of the short, and while I can certainly understand those who might say the message beats out everything else, I do not agree. Still, I am anxious to see more from Daina Papadaki, as her eyes is certainly well-trained. You can find more at https://dainapapadaki.wordpress.com