9-14-2005
Ladies and gentlemen, my lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me.
Staying fully awake and alert during screenings is getting increasingly
difficult, and my internal body clock has somehow adjusted itself to
allow me no more than about five hours of sleep a night. It appears
that I may have to crack open the fest’s complimentary can of
caffeine-heavy Sobé sooner than I thought.
Thankfully, my first film of the day was rather loud and spirited.
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (5/8), directed by Michel
Gondry and presented as a “work in progress,” chronicles the comedian’s
efforts to put together a hip-hop concert in a Brooklyn neighborhood.
It was kind of choppy and jumped all over the place (perhaps more
editing is still to be done), but was entertaining overall.
What was not so entertaining were the young Hollywood jerks who sat
next to me. In fact, the exact same guys sat next to me last night at
Bam Bam and Celeste. I know because I vividly recall the hipster
running shoes and complete disregard for personal space on the part of
the twit directly adjacent to me. These guys (and one girl) are totally
unable to speak at normal volume, presumably because they assume that
we all want to hear what exciting lives they lead, what fancy parties
they attended and which L.A. A-listers they work for. (One guy repeated
several times that he works for Plan B, Brad Pitt’s production
company.) We get it! You’re super important! Now shut yer pieholes and
watch the movie, or leave.
Movie #2 was Where the Truth Lies, the controversial new
film by Atom Egoyan about a 1950s entertainment twosome (Kevin Bacon
and Colin Firth), the mysterious death of a hotel employee (Rachel
Blanchard) they both knew, and the intrepid young reporter (Alison
Lohman) writing a book about the crime some 15 years later. Right about
now is when the Sleep Monster launched a sneak attack. I could barely
keep my eyes open for this film, and the only thing keeping me awake
was the INCESSANT COUGHING of the woman sitting directly behind me. I
regret to report that, between her coughing and my drowsiness, there
was no way I could complete my viewing of this film. I left after about
an hour. The movie just wasn't the right one to see at that moment.
My public service announcement: Folks, if you have pneumonia or malaria
or any other illness that results in loud, grotesque, unstoppable
hacking, do us all a favor and STAY HOME. Seriously. These theaters
aren’t roomy and you’re almost always shoulder to shoulder with your
fellow audience members. No one needs festival cooties! We’ll all get
sick on our own, thank you very much!
Speaking of getting sick, that’s part of the plot of the third movie I
saw, One Last Thing (5/8), which follows a terminally ill
teen (Michael Angarano), whose dying wish is to spend the weekend alone
with a supermodel (Sunny Mabrey). It’s a comedy (sort of) and is
directed by Alex Steyermark, who previously helmed Prey For Rock &
Roll. I was kind of torn over seeing this one – I knew it would be
sad and was hesitant about voluntarily submitting myself to the
possibility of embarrassing in-theater bawling. But I’m glad I went –
it was actually a very sweet movie with only mild whimpering on my
part.
Then I rushed home before my final film because I remembered I needed
to buy milk. So I did.
Last up was a German film called Summer in Berlin (5/8),
which centers on the friendship between two thirtysomething women
(Nadja Uhl, Inka Friedrich) as they cope with personal and professional
angst. There was no Q&A at this film, but I sure wish there had
been… because all through the movie, it seemed as if the women were in
love but suppressing their emotions. At one point, they’re even in bed
together, kissing. But that’s never really explored or addressed, so I
had no clue what we (the audience) were supposed to glean from the
story.
What I did glean, though, is that friendly film festival audience
members you don’t know will sometimes share their candy with you if
you’ve been having a good pre-screening conversation.
I swapped out my morning movie for tomorrow – I was going to see
Thumbsucker, but traded in my ticket for one to In Her
Shoes instead. And the weather is cooling back down to normal, so
audiences should be far less ripe than they have been these past few
days.
Celebrity Sightings: Kind of slim pickins today, with only Atom
Egoyan and Michael Angarano kicking around.
Roger Ebert Sightings: Whatever.
Line Buzz: Fairly consistent disappointment with the French film
Caché, but some good buzz for A Little Trip to Heaven.
