Recapping the NYFF at 50
BY MATEO MORENO
The 50th Annual New York Film Festival (sponsored by the Film Societyof Lincoln Center) kicked off on September 28th and I, along with my festival cohort Matthew Cody Lang, have seen a large variety of films and it’s JUST the beginning (the festival continues to run through Oct. 14th). The NYFF offers a wide range of films, from the indie to the big budget, director’s perspectives, and reunions of classic films (hello The Princess Bride!). Periodically, Lang and I will check in on what has been on our radar, from the Must see’s, the Should see’s, and the ones to “skip.” Let’s dive in.
MATEO’S PICKS:
MUST SEE
Frances Ha (currently unrated, recently picked up by IFC films, release date: unknown). Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Greenberg) continues his exploration into the odd and unique with Frances Ha, the current “highlight” of the festival for me. It centers around a young woman named Frances (co-writer Greta Gerwig of Inglorious Basterds) and her best friend played by Mickey Sumner. Frances is a young Brooklyn-ite dancer who loves spending every single moment with her bestie, sometimes to the chagrin of men she dates. Throughout the course of the film, we watch Frances deal with becoming the second most important person in her best friends life, apartment hopping, flying to France on a whim, and learning what it means to begin to “grow up.” Baumbach has, along with his creative partner Gerwig, created a less obnoxious Girls (and this comes from someone who watches the HBO hipster hit), and at times the black and white beauty of a film reminds you of a Brooklyn version of Woody Allen’s Manhattan. The direction is precise and spot on; the script crackles, and the acting (especially Gerwig and Sumner) pull you in and give you people you can both relate and like.
Life of Pi (Rated: PG-13, “ release date: November 21st, 2012) is a stunner of a film, especially if you see it in 3D (which you most DEFINITELY should). It’s based on the novel by Yann Martel and follows a young boy, nicknamed “Pi,” whose family owns a Zoo. Early on as a child, he’s fascinated with a beautiful Bengal Tiger, which his father is quick to point out is “not his friend.” When the family decide to sell the zoo, they pack all the animals and head to the sea where they are met by a whopper of a storm. It destroys the ship and leaves Pi shipwreacked on a life boat, alone with that same Bengal Tiger. From there he must learn to survive not just the elements, but survive being next to a hungry Tiger. Fans of the book (myself included) have long thought this novel was “unfilmmable” but Director Ang Lee has made a stunningly glorious film here. True, it’s not quite as deep as the novel is, and some of the lyrical poetry may be lost a bit, but it’s a different medium, and through that shift change the beauty is transferred to the visual. I myself lost my breath a few times simply by the beauty of it all. Lead actor Suraj Sharma turns in a brave and focused performance as Pi. Just wait until the flying fish sequence or any of the underwater shots. It’s simply gorgeous.
SHOULD SEE
The Paperboy (Rated: R, Millennium Films, Release Date: 10/5/12) is director Lee Daniels follow up to Precious and it’s sure to stir up quite a mixed reaction. It centers around 20 year old Jack (Zac Efron) who falls in love with a woman named Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), a death row junkie who falls for a manshe’s never met (Hillary Van Wetter, played by John Cusack). Jack’s brother Ward Jensen (Matthew McConaughey) is drafted to defend Hillary and through his investigation starts to uncover a dirty pool of corruption in 1960’s Florida. It’s a throwback film, for sure, thrown back to the 1970’s both in visual style and storytelling. Daniels recreates it here pretty vividly and audiences so far have been radically divided on the finished result. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s a film unlike any out right now, so see it and decide for yourself. Deceptive Practice (currently unrated, seeking distribution, release date: unknown) is a new documentary following magician/actor Ricky Jay over the spread of his career thus far. It showcases his influences, his mentors, and enlightens you on a magician who has remained in the public eye for years but hasn’t really had anything delving into his past. Jay’s participation sheds a very interesting light on his own upbringing and the ghosts of magican’s past. Finally there’s The Bay (Rated R, Release date: November 2nd, 2012) Barry Levison’s (Diner, Rain Man) new “found footage” eco-thriller. It tells the “unknown” tale of a small town which was wiped from the map due to a deadly outbreak instantly hushed up by the government. Levison directs the film (with mostly unknown actors) with a solid footing into both storytelling and pulsing build. Though the film peeters off towards the end, it is still a worthwhile smart entry into a genre that doesn’t normally think farther than scaring the audience. Then there’s Camille redouble (Camille Rewinds) (now out in France, US release date unknown), a French remake of Peggy Sue Got Married and follows the story pretty closely. Camille is an unhappy actress who falls down, hitting her head, and awakes as herself back in High School. She looks the same but everyone else is much younger. Though the film adds a few unique and interesting touches, it ends up feeling a bit like leftovers, but it does have a great lead in actress/director Noémie Lvovsky. Not that leftovers are bad, because these are often quite funny and charming, and changes things just enough to add some spice.
SKIP IT
Three titles have stuck out like a sore thumb in the barrage of films passing through, and not in a good way. Brian DePalma’s Passion (US release date unknown) stars Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is a remake of the French Film Love Crime and starts as a corporate dirty dealings guilty pleasure and true to its promise, it entertains. For the first hour that is. McAdams runs an ad agency in NY and Rapace is her fastest rising star. What follows I won’t spoil because, just in case you do see it, it’s the only worthwile part of the film. Halfway through things take a turn for the murderous thriller kind, and DePalma attempts to channel Hitchock but mostly in the theatre I was in, channeled unintentional laughter. It’s a shame because it does start strong and McAdams is great here. The film however is far from it. Aquí y allá (Here and There) (US release date unknown) is the latest entry into the “dogma” style, meaning just leaving the cameras rolling in an almost “documentary style” realness and casting mostly non actors in the roles. It follows a man returning to his family in Mexico after working in the US and… well that’s about it. Nothing really happens in the film, and there’s nothing interesting happening here either. The acting is below subpar but can’t be really called terrible because most of the time they’re just staring off into the distance. La guerra dei vulcani (The War of the Volcanos) (US release date unknown) is documentary with a really interesting story but a documentarian with no idea how to successfully tell it. It’s far too short for all the juicy Hollywood tidbits it needs to tell (running time is around 50 minutes) and instead of telling us the story of two feuding “Volcano” projects in the Golden Age of Hollywood involving Ingrid Bergman, Anna Magnani, & Roberto Rossellini, it opts to mostly use dialogue from the films themselves, which gets old fast and doesn't successfully tell the story like it should. Do yourself a favor and skip the film but read about the drama that ensued this period of history. You're welcome.
THE 50TH ANNUAL NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL IS RUNNING THROUGH OCTOBER 14TH, 2012 at FILM SOCIETY LINCOLN CENTER, NYC. FOR FULL SCHEDULE INFORMATION VISIT http://www.filminc.com