From the 50 Yard Line

The Columbus International Film Festival is taking place this week. Somehow, I’ve never made it to the festival before; so this year I made every effort to get there. It probably helped that I have a personal interest in one of the screening films, a documentary called From the 50 Yard Line.

From the 50 Yard Line is a documentary on marching band. Primarily, it follows The Centerville Jazz Band (the marching band for Centerville High School in Centerville, OH) through their competitive season. Because, I grew up in Columbus and was very involved in marching band (and its big brother Drum Corps), I actually marched with/was instructed by several of the subjects of the film. That being said, I could go on and on about it, but I’ll try to be brief and objective.

First time director Doug Lantz, himself an alumnus of the Centerville Band program, was on hand to introduce the film. The film began with the marching band auditions at Easter and followed the band all the way through their culminating performance at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. The primary intent was to expose the often unrecognized impact of instrumental music education on the development of American high school students.

Stand out segments included deliberately understated interviews with politicians and academics on the unintended effects of “No Child Left Behind” on education, and a recurring man-on-the-street segment called “Bandology 101” which tested average people on their knowledge of marching band lingo. In what seemed like an attempt to even out the piece, the filmmakers spent some time with the Fairfax High School Marching Band (Hollywood, CA) which was restarted this year from an anonymous donation after an 18-year hiatus from instrumental music at the school. Perhaps analogous to the disparities in the programs’ budgets and community support, Centerville dominated the screen time 10:1.

During the Q&A following the film, Lantz acknowledged that “there is drama that happens in high school…but we made the decision that we really wanted to focus on the band experience.” By choosing to include several students (rather than following the more personal stories of one or two members) the film really does emphasize the communal experience. However, at some points these efforts were taken to the extreme: scenes from the “share session” at the end of band camp (in which each band member was given an opportunity to address the entire group) felt more like a lengthy emotional montage than an image of a group united by their goals. However, the film is still being edited giving it a chance to work out some of the “thematic sticking points”.

Most of all, I was impressed by the progress you could see in individuals. A rookie tuba player was featured at the beginning and end of the film with not only a noticeable improvement in his marching and playing skills, but a real transformation from an insecure high school freshman to a confident and coordinated young adult.

Aaron’s Pick:

From the 50 Yard Line

(4/5)

Wristcutters: A Love Story

I just got back from seeing Wristcutters: A Love Story at the Drexel Gateway with Brett. I was really looking forward to seeing this because ever since I saw Brick last year, I’ve been waiting for another quirky film to explode out of Sundance. And this year Wristcutters: A Love Story and Teeth seemed like the most likely candidates.

Wristcutters definitely had its share of quirk, but I have a feeling it’s not going to find the cult following that fuels an indie hit. I just don’t think it’s accessible enough.

The story follows Zia (Patrick Fugit) in his quest through a bizarre afterlife occupied only by suicides to find his ex-girlfriend, Desiree (Leslie Bibb). This was obviously a difficult and controversial premise to approach, and that may have been why I had such high hopes for it. To deal with the dark subject matter, director Goran Dukic necessarily took a comic approach. However, the humor imitated the stale ambience of the film’s setting. Although it had its moments, the audience I saw it with seemed to reach only sharp chuckles rather than roll-on-the-ground laughter.

It was difficult to judge performance when, as part of the films premise, the characters don’t smile. But I was impressed by newcomer Shannyn Sossamon who plays Mikal, a hitchhiker who joins Zia and his “sidekick” Eugene (Shea Whigham) on their odyssey.

Overall I did enjoy Wristcutters. I can’t say it was all that I hoped for though: as the story progressed it just got more bizarre where I thought it should grow funnier. The ending, however, was stellar. I don’t want to give it away, but I’ll just say that somehow in the last scene two characters poured out their souls without ever saying a word. If you can do this, as a filmmaker you must be doing something right.

Wristcutters: Not the breakout indie I was hoping for, but one of the most original films I’ve seen lately.

Aaron’s Pick:

Wristcutters: A Love Story
(3.5/5)

Gone Baby Gone

I was excited to see Ben Affleck’s first crack at being behind the camera and finally got around to seeing Gone Baby Gone on Friday. He made some smart decisions that led to a very fine first film: (1) He stayed behind the camera (2) He worked with a veteran writer and chose source material that was not only great but he had a personal connection to (Boston). Dennis Lehane wrote the novel on which the film was based and I’m a big fan of one of his previous adaptations: Mystic River (directed by Clint Eastwood). Based on this and my understanding of the plot from the trailer and reviews, I was expecting something similar to Mystic River. In some ways the films are similar, but they differed more than I expected. Gone Baby Gone was much more personal and much less stylized as compared to Eastwood's neo-mobster thriller.

Just a note: the marketing for this movie was very interesting. The trailer (see below) made the story seem much more straightforward than it actually was. The film revolves around the abduction of Amanda, the three year old daughter of coke-addict Helene (Amy Ryan), and the private investigators hired to augment the police investigation: Patrick (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend/business partner Angie (Michelle Monaghan). For the first half of the movie, it was a simple whodunit that had a sudden and premature “fake-out” ending. At this point, the story slipped into a strange purgatory focusing mostly on the dectective, Patrick. Then suddenly, it came back to Amanda’s case and we started to see that all the facts weren’t as they first seemed. There was a potential for losing the audience with the unconventional structure (and I should probably go see it again), but it paid off in the end.






As far as the portrayal of Bostonians, Ben Affleck was definitely going for “photo-realism”. It was clear that many of the incidental characters and extras were actually people from “the neighborhood”. My one complaint was for as real as the film felt, looked, and sounded, some of the plot points seemed a little outside of my suspension of disbelief: specifically, a sequence when Patrick executes an unarmed child molester after discovering a child’s body in his home and seems to bear no judicial recourse. Not that I’m defending the rights of child molesters, but I think that if something like that actually happened, the officer (or PI) involved would be looking at criminal charges or at the very least be arrested.


All in all this was a very strong ensemble cast and a tight story with a succinct theme of “black-and-white” morality. Gone Baby Gone was not just a strong start for an emerging filmmaker, but an extremely entertaining movie in general.

Gone Baby Gone

(4.5/5)

"Darjeeling" article in today's USA TODAY

Check out this article in today’s USA Today. It talks about the mysterious people and events in the film and their artistic interpretations.

The inclusion of plot elements open to each viewer’s interpretation is what really convinces me that this film will one day be labeled as one of Anderson’s “classics”. It’s these unformulated details that will make audiences revisit the piece over and over. (Look at Donnie Darko, a film full of open details, and how it still resonates with an audience.)

The Darjeeling Limited & Into The Wild

It was a good weekend for film. I’ve had a hell of a couple weeks at work and it’s been hard to keep caught up with my movie watching. However, because four films that I wanted to see went into wide release on Friday (or at least wide enough for me to see them in Ohio), I made time between work and a short film shoot to see get out to the theaters, twice. On Friday, I saw Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited and then on Saturday I made it to Sean Penn’s Into The Wild. (By the way the other two films I’m saving for later are: Lust Caution & Gone Baby Gone, so expect to see write ups for those coming soon).


I have to say I was very pleased with both films. I’m a big Wes Anderson fan—and like most of his “mainstream” fans I probably relate most to films like The Royal Tenenbaums and even Rushmore. 2004’s The Life Aquatic was a bit lost on me. Althouh, I have to say that I’ve come to enjoy the film more with time, at first it seemed like a cartoony, border-line indulgent sequel to The Royal Tenenbaums. And because of this, I had my doubts about The Darjeeling Limited.

I expected Anderson’s signature emotionally-damaged characters dealing with a complex family of clashing personalities. His characteristic sarcastic, dry humor was even more potent and polished. However, the principle cast of characters—the Whitman brothers, played by Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson and newcomer Adrien Brody—were a departure when compared to the menagerie of characters in his other films. The simplified bill, simplified plotline and simplified production style really made for a tighter and more accessible film that I suspect will one day be regarded as one of Anderson’s “classics”.


If you do check out the The Darjeeling Limited, go to www.hotelchevalier.com and check out the short film Hotel Chevalier. It is a standalone prequel to Darjeeling. It complements it well and gives necessary insight into one of the Whitman brothers. And oh yeah, it’s one of the finer short films I’ve seen in the past year.


While The Darjeeling Limited deals with the spiritual journey of three characters, Into The Wild follows just one man on his journey of self-discovery. Based on the Jon Krakauer novel by the same name, the film tells the real-life story of Chris McCandless’ (Emile Hirsch) bizarre journey across America and eventually to the Alaskan wilderness. What amazed me most about this film was that while touching on all sorts of heavy philosophical issues like: purpose, achievement, family, love and even religion; and making use of extensive voiceovers and quotations from writers like Tolstoy and Thoreau, it still manages not to be terribly pretentious. (But you’ll have to judge that for yourself.) I attribute this to the excellent writing and direction as well as Hirsch’s engaging performance. The themes (pretentiousness and all) were necessary pieces of the character.

I found as the character flipped between delusional and enlightened (and likewise gained and lost the audience’s sentiment) the story maintained an objective point of view. As you would expect from a story that takes place almost entirely in the wilderness, the cinematography was breathtaking. I was surprised by the spectrum of techniques that Penn and French cinematographer Eric Gautier used: the timbre changed frequently from handheld to steadicam to complex crane and aerial work. Much of the film was designed to feel extremely real, but during some of the more “turbulent” pieces of McCandless’ adventure, a much more impressionistic aesthetic was employed.

Into the Wild did move a bit slow at times, but I felt that the audience was always involved in McCandless’ progress and this kept us in the story. This, along with The Darjeeling Limited, represent two American directors at the top of their game.

The Darjeeling Limited

(4.5/5)

Into The Wild


(4/5)

Looking ahead...

It’s been difficult to post this week as I’ve been traveling for work and I literally have been on the jobsite for the past 24 hours. Sadly, I haven’t had time to see many movies (rented or theatrical) lately. And there are a few movies out that I do need to get to: especially 3:10 to Yuma.

So, with the Oscar push right around the corner there’s plenty of buzz about some movies coming out in the next few weeks. So, I’m going to pick a few movies that I’m really excited to see.

First, “Popcorn”. Ok, so these aren’t really “popcorn”; these films are the artsy side of the studios, strategically released a few months before the Oscars.

4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Brad Pitt (playing Jesse James) has been getting good reviews for his performance, but the real stand out seems to be Casey Affleck for his portrayal of Robert Ford. Looks like some more great Roger Deakins cinematography too.

3. Atonement
I haven’t read the book, but the trailer (and plot synopses that I’ve read) make the story look very intriguing. When it premiered at the Venice film festival several critics predicted that it would be an “instant classic”[i]. It may be too early to say that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this film does pretty well come February.

2. The Darjeeling Limited
It could have a fair shot at a Best Original Screenplay nomination. However, no critics seem to like this movie which is exactly why I think it will find an audience. Even though Wes Anderson has been criticized for revisiting the same themes in each of his films, they are all unique stories and have all found unique audiences.

1. No Country for Old Men
People are calling this one of the Coens’ best films ever. If that’s true—I shutter even thinking about it. Sounds like the Coens are coming out swinging for the Oscar and Tommy Lee Jones is in two films that could get him a nomination: No Country and In the Valley of Elah. (And oh yeah, Roger Deakins again).


"Indies". Two of the “Popcorn” titles (No Country for Old Men and The Darjeeling Limited) are probably considered independents; however, they are relatively mainstream and will no-doubt get wide releases in the Oscar push. The following, are truer independents that probably won’t get nominated, but will definitely push the artistic envelope.

3. Wristcutters: A Love Story
In case you are wondering what kind of movies I like, this looks like it. It’s the darkest of dark comedies that take place in a special purgatory reserved only for those who have taken their own lives. It’s gotten some buzz after premiering at Sundance, and from what I can tell, has some potential. However, it sounds like a concept that would be way too easy to botch. I’ll have to wait and see.

2. Margot at the Wedding
Initially, The Squid and the Whale (director Noah Baumbach’s first film) didn’t sound like a movie I would like. But when I finally saw it, it was a little hard to swallow but none-the-less a brilliant dramatic-comedy. Margot at the Wedding has a concept that I’m much more receptive to, so hopefully Baumbach will exceed my expectations.

1. Be Kind Rewind
Last year, I attended a lecture by Cinematographer Ellen Kuras at Ohio State in which she spoke about a film she had just wrapped with director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep) called Be Kind Rewind. I was excited about it then. Now, I can’t wait until its January 2008 release. Check out the trailer, it looks funny: like “Jack Black at his best”-funny. And Gondry is great at true comedies that avoid being trivial.


[i] Read Ray Bennett’s review at Reuters or IMDb’s Studio Briefing

Booze and Boosters

Two regular contributors to the Meister Boo blog were caught throwing back some cold ones at Miani's. See more here.