9-9-2004
The first day of the film festival is a bit like the first day back at
school. Tonight, I had my shiny new (and delightfully compact!)
knapsack laden with supplies, my schedule all printed out and my
stomach a little fluttery with the butterflies of anticipation. I
wasn’t sure who’d I meet or what I’d learn or kind of adventures lay
ahead as I queued up in my inaugural line of the year... I just knew/know
that it’s going to be another wild ride and, by the time it’s over,
I’ll have dozens of stories to tell.
This is the first year where I’ve actually seen a movie on opening day
(mainly because, in years past, fest organizers didn’t actually program
very many for the first Thursday). Tonight’s film was Días de
Santiago, a compelling drama from Peru about a young veteran (of
the Peruvian-Ecuadorian war of the late 1990s) as he returns home from
battle and attempts to reintegrate into everyday life. The soldier is
Santiago (Pietro Sibille), a quiet guy prone to sudden violent
outbursts which no doubt come as a result of some kind of
post-traumatic stress. His family life is in a shambles and he can’t
get a job, so he tries to carve out some kind of future for himself by
going to school and hanging out with a quartet of teenage girls, but
even that proves challenging. Writer-director Josué Mendéz makes his
feature-film debut with a stirring and wholly universal story of life
after war for countless veterans. In the post-screening Q&A (which was
rather long but informative), Mendéz revealed that the film is based on
the experiences of a real-life soldier he met, and one who wound up
participating heavily in the film’s production. It was a nice way for
me to kick off the fest—seeing a good film instead of seeing
something crappy—even though we were kept in line far too long in the
increasingly warm hallway outside the Varsity.
Tonight’s screening also provided me with yet another DON’T to add to
my list: if you’re going to a festival movie, please refrain from
wearing loud, jingly-jangly jewelry... especially if you plan on rifling
through your pockets or a handbag repeatedly during the film. That’s
just needlessly annoying. Leave the bling at home or take it off before
the lights go down.
Thanks.
Oh, by the way, the opening night film was Being Julia starring
Annette Bening (sigh) and Jeremy Irons. More interesting than the film,
though, is what the red-carpet interviews (that I’m watching as I type
this) revealed:
1. Man, Warren Beatty is looking olllllllllllllllllld these
days!
2. Annette Bening, meanwhile, looks divine, as usual.
3. Is one of the Corr sisters (of the musical group The Corrs) trying
to tell us something? ‘Cause some reporter just asked her what she
thought of the May-December liplock (between Bening and much-younger
co-star Shaun Evans), and she replied, “I’m jealous! I want to
kiss Annette Bening!” I think she and Evans are a couple, but stilll:
hmmm… ;-)
Press-conference coverage starts tomorrow. I can only hope that the
weaselly little moderator is back, just so I can roll my eyes at him.
I’ll also have my first screening at the Paramount tomorrow, which
should be interesting. For the uninitiated: it’s a giant, loud,
obnoxious multiplex theater downtown and the antithesis of a festival
venue. Seeing a festival film there is a bit like going to Disney World
to watch a Chekov play.
Roger Ebert Sightings: None yet.
Celebrity Sightings: Nope.
Line Buzz: Seems I’m not the only one who thought When Will I Be Loved was stinky.
