9-15-2005
Today, boys and girls, we’re going to learn a lesson about why adopting
a friendly, conversational approach to fest-going can land you a world
of rewards!
This morning, as I queued up for my first film, In Her
Shoes, I met a lovely older woman from Santa Barbara (by way of
NYC), and we had a very nice chat about the festival, which movies we’d
seen, what we’d loved and hated, and whether the odd man screaming at
passersby across the street would come over to us at some point. During
the course of our discourse, she said that today was her final festival
day, and that this film was her last. She went on to say that, because
she was heading home, she just GAVE AWAY her Festival Pass to someone
she met before a movie yesterday.
GAVE IT AWAY.
FOR FREE!
This is a pass that’s worth several hundred dollars, and with a good
two and a half days of festivalling yet to fill!
She said that she’d been sitting next to a young college student who’d
been lamenting about the price of fest tickets making attending the
event somewhat cost prohibitive. So, the SB lady took this girl’s phone
number, then called her that night and said, “I’ve left an envelope for
you at the front desk of my hotel. Enjoy!”
So this girl can now see a good ten to twelve movies (or more,
depending on her stamina) for free!
And the nice SB woman said her son had done the exact same thing a day
earlier. The way they see it, the pass is already paid for, so why not
let someone else enjoy it?
That, friends, is why I *love* TIFF audiences! (For the most part, I
mean. I don’t love the ones who are rude, inconsiderate or smelly.)
Back to the movie…
In Her Shoes (6/8) tells the story of sisters Rose (Toni
Collette) and Maggie (Cameron Diaz), who are vastly different on every
level – social, professional, economic and aesthetic. When screw-up
Maggie screws up once too often, she high-tails it outta town and heads
to Miami to find their long-lost grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). What
follows is the story of how each sister reorganizes and improves her
life, and how their broken relationship is slowly mended. I enjoyed the
film very much, and thought Toni Collette was superb, as usual.
But remember the coughing woman who sat behind me yesterday for
Where the Truth Lies? Well, she sat down right behind me AGAIN
this morning. This time, she excused herself from the theater whenever
her incessant hacking became too much for her (and us) to bear.
Next up was the impressive basketball documentary The Heart of
the Game (6/8), which chronicles seven years in the lives of
the members of a Seattle-area girls’ high-school basketball team.
Tracking several team members and their struggles on and off the court,
the film is sort of like a Hoop Dreams for women that’s as
inspiring as it is poignant and frustrating. Director Ward Serrill and
the coach from the film, Bill Resler, were in attendance, and said
they’d only finished the final cut of the film two weeks ago.
But because the film started a little late, and the Q&A session ran a
little long, I didn’t have much time between that screening and the
next – Noah Baumbach’s “yuppies and their kids” drama The Squid &
the Whale. I weighed my options: run like mad across town to try to
make it to the film, or head home for a good, two-hour food-and-rest
break.
I opted for the latter. There’s nothing like a good, sit-down,
real-food dinner to re-energize and revitalize a weary filmgoer as she
creeps up on movie #26!
Sadly, not even the heartiest of meals would have given me enough
energy to get through my last film of the day. Frankie is
a French drama starring Diane Kruger as a model who’s convalescing in
some kind of psychiatric hospital and reflecting on her career. Shot in
a hazy, dreamy, increasingly frustrating fashion, the film played out
like an extended Calvin Klein ad…with some American Apparel or
Ambercrombie & Fitch thrown in for good (or, in this case, bad)
measure.
I was BORED SILLY. As I sat there in the near-empty theater (there
couldn’t have been more than 50 or 60 of us in there) and tried my best
to stay awake, I asked myself how long I’d sit there before leaving. I
decided to give it until the 45-minute mark, simply out of respect for
the director, who was sitting a few rows up. At about minute 39, the
first person to walk out of the movie walked out. Then another. Then
another. Then another. By the time I got to my (apparently) generous
cut-off time, at least eight other people had already packed it in
before me.
There’s nothing like a symphony of seats flipping up to get the ball
rolling on a mass exodus, I tell ya.
As the final two days of the fest approach, I’m very near to hitting
the wall. My eyes are struggling to stay open during most movies, and I
find myself tuning out as I very nearly drift off to sleep. I’m hoping
that my comparatively early night tonight will give me a chance to
catch up on some much-needed rest. If not, I may have to start bringing
a pillow to screenings.
Celebrity Sightings: Director Curtis Hanson appeared briefly to
introduce In Her Shoes, but that’s about it.
Roger Ebert Sightings: The management regrets to inform you that
Mr. Ebert was not available today.
Line Buzz: More crapping all over Caché, good buzz for
Richard E. Grant’s Wah-Wah, huge amounts of praise for the
Indian telemarketing documentary John & Jane, and some thumbs
down for the Thai film, The Masseur.
