Saw these at CineQuest (always a solid program). I’m constantly amazed at what a small group of people can pull off in a weekend—the teams in this competition get a character name/occupation, a genre, a prop, and a line that must appear in the film on Friday night, and by Sunday evening they each have a finished film.
Film
In which your writer, though still enamored of the celluloid media, must confess to a certain exhaustion at the thought of another dark theater and the ever-present smell of old popcorn. Nevertheless, she soldiers on, and it’s a good thing too, otherwise she would have missed:
Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley
Wow. Like many people, I had heard of Jeff Buckley more than I had heard him, in spite of owning a copy of Grace, his first album (which I had apparently never listened to). This movie showed me the light, and what a light— Buckley was a phenomenal talent, and this film does a brisk but thorough job of proving it and giving some clues as to why. Consider me now a fan.
Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth
The short preceding the Buckley film, another brief look into the musician’s life. In this case, the musician is one of the architects of funk, and the film is a tribute to Worrell while also a somewhat sad illustration of how his talent has been underappreciated.
The Works
Excellent comedy, gentle and whimsical. What might happen if you put Harold and Maude, Office Space, and Brazil in a blender and added a dash of the Coen brothers. I hope this one gets a theatrical release someday—it didn’t hit a single false note for me.
Woo hoo! Double-feature after work, and more shorts! It really doesn’t get better, except that in addition, tonight’s films were all documentaries.
Grin.
Back to work, only one movie today. Blah.
Dulhan, Made in USA
After seeing so many Bollywood movies about marriages (arranged and otherwise), it was an interesting change of pace to see something that hit a little closer to home, literally. The bulk of this movie is set in the busy non-resident Indian subculture of the Bay Area, and I recognized many of my fellow citizens, at least in type. Bonus points for filming the big dance number in the banquet room of one of my favorite restaurants.