Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Angel-A
It does indeed sound like a crap movie. Wonder why they included it.
Because the MIFF is, among other things, "the East Coast launching pad for films on our release schedule" (Sony Pictures Classics spokesperson).
Oh. Well, that's an explanation. But then that unfortunately means the organizers of the MIFF are completely at the mercy of Sony in this.
Last edited by Chris Knipp; 03-06-2007 at 08:07 PM.
I think it's a good deal for the fest, as almost all SPC's releases are well worth seeing. I think other East Coast fests would jump at the opportunity.
Chris, I wonder if you missed the post at the end of last page.
I did miss it. Now I've seen it though.That's what I'd have thought. You picked the wrong one then.
. . .almost all SPC's releases are well worth seeing.
It was screened for the press before the fest started.
Official MIFF Press Release regarding yesterday's events. Reviews of Sounds of Sand and Hole will be forthcoming. Reviews of Alatriste and Dark Blue Almost Black have already been posted.
" The anticipation and enthusiasm was palpable last evening when LORD OF THE RINGS heartthrob Viggo Mortensen made his appearance on the Red Carpet just prior to the Gusman Premiere screening of the Spanish swashbuckler epic ALATRISTE. The actor’s fanatical fans, and lovers of the novels by Arturo Perez-Reverte that form the basis of the film, lined Flagler Street in front of the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, to catch a glimpse of the film’s lead Viggo Mortensen, co-stars Ariadna Gil and Eduard Fernández, and their directorAgustín Díaz Yanes in what was certainly a Festival highlight.
ALATRISTE was one of four Spanish films that premiered to great acclaim on Monday. Antonio Chavarrías’ CELIA’S LIVES, one of the top hits of the San Sebastian Film Festival, was an instant crowd pleaser, keeping audiences guessing till the very last moment as its intricately plotted twists and turns took their due course. HOLE, a provocative thriller by C. Martin Ferrera, was the subject of discussions that spilled out onto the street on Lincoln Road. DARK BLUE ALMOST BLACK, the winner of numerous prizes in its native Spain, had its second and final screening, with director Daniel Sánchez Arévalo visibly excited about the film’s strong reception in Miami.
While most of Miami was back to Monday-business-as-usual, the Festival continued in high gear with a full roster of well-attended film screenings. Just off the airplane, Issaka Sawadogo, lead actor in Marion Hansel’s SOUNDS OF SAND, gave an engaging and passionate Q&A to the 1,000+ audience at the Gusman."
Last edited by oscar jubis; 03-06-2007 at 08:49 PM.
Accident: An experimental documentary from Brazil.
After the Wedding: an Oscar-nominated drama from Denmark.
Good short reviews, Oscar. I think the one of Full Grown Men works better, because you give us something to focus on by describing the character for us first off, whereas the Bella description leans to strictly plot summary and it's harder to whip up any interest in reading it. But they seem manageable for you and us, and logical that they should be of this length given your (convincing) evaluations.
Thanks. My style derives from the fact that the first thing people ask me about a movie is: What is it about? Full Grown Men is completely centered on the unreal and dislikable Alby, so I started with him. Length of reviews vary according to what I think I need to say about a given film. Perhaps the longest reviews involve "borderline" films_with both strong assets and significant flaws, and heavily-plotted films (Alatriste and Jindabyne meet both criteria).
***
Almost two pages of reviews in Festival Coverage section have been posted. Reviews posted towards the bottom of a given page tend to get overlooked when a new page starts. So, I'm posting some negative reviews in the bottom of page 2. Among them this Colombian stinker: Bluff
***
Cristi went to the fest with friends. I'm happy to report she found Fiction to be "as good as any movie I've seen in years. But of course a few people didn't like it: no sex, no violence, no buried secrets, no melodrama, and some people assumed it was in Spanish because it was made in Spain". Screening was sold out, by the way, and many were turned away. Apparently, it was singled out as a "fest pick" by the Miami Herald critic.
Clever strategy--I guess.Reviews posted towards the bottom of a given page tend to get overlooked when a new page starts. So, I'm posting some negative reviews in the bottom of page 2. Among them this Colombian stinkerThat's not your style, that's your approach. But this isn't my point. Every review must tell the reader what the movie is about. But the trick is to do that in an engaging, original way, while also conveying your critical opinion, without having either the information or the opinion overwhelm the other.My style derives from the fact that the first thing people ask me about a movie is: What is it about?
That's right.
The Miami Herald critic is often infuriating. Perhaps I shouldn't care since the internet has given everyone easy access to reviews from everywhere. But one wishes the hometown daily would have a decent film critic, especially since the other arts critics are very good. My issue with Rene Rodriguez is not that he gave El Benny two stars (2 1/2 means "worth seeing" which is the grade I would give it) or that he doesn't attend festival press screenings (dvds are mailed to him). It's just that his low opinion of the Cuban film seems colored by strict political ideology. In one paragraph he complains that El Benny "follows a woefully similar blueprint to Walk the Line and Ray", which it does but those are the conventions of the genre and those two are enjoyable films. But then he writes: "What's worse, El Benny sports an entirely superfluous pro-Revolution subtext..." I wish I had attended the public screenings to confirm my suspicion that his is an extreme position and that audiences didn't find anything in the film overtly political.
Here's my review:El Benny
You're right, now that we have Internet access we don't have to read local reviews and I don't even read the San Francisco papers. I'd rather be challenged or uplifted by the best writers. On the other hand it is useful at least sometimes to read a whole bunch of reviews of a film to see the wide range of interpretations and levels of thinking and writing ability and the bad ones make one appreciate the good ones better, but why have a daily diet of the bad ones? Doesn't Miami have a lot of right wingers? The San Francisco-Berkeley area is of course very liberal so a reviewer like your local one probably wouldn't get hired in the first place. It is also possible with a secure writing position that requires a daily grinding out of a column means the guy goes stale and gets grumpy.
El Benny.
I didn't know the word aguardiente. It could have been poison, it could have been liquor. I guess for El Benny it was both. I looked it up and it said "liquor, brandy."
It might be interesting to compare this with the new one about Edith Piaf, La Môme (AKA "La Vie en Rose"), which was the opener for the Berlinale and the NY Rendez-Vous and I reviewed it. It also has a twisted chronology, which doesn't always seem to make much sense, but is, as you say of El Benny, elevated by the actors and by someone doing the voice who's almost indistinguishable from the original, for what that's worth.
The Miami Herald review is less favorable than yours certainly but doesn't complete shred the film -- he admits it has some redeeming features. I take your word for it that he is wrong is saying, "What's worse, El Benny sports a entirely superfluous pro-Revolution subtext that adds considerable running time to a movie that often requires three scenes to convey plot points that could have fit into one." One wonders how a "subtext" could add running time in the first place? The general tone suggests I'm right in thinking this guy is a grumpy burnout. He certainly doesn't bring your kind of sympathy to film writing. On the other hand, he does give mainstream readers what they usually want from a movie review: a vivid account of the contents and a strong evaluation. That the evaluation may be wrong is another matter. And I'm not saying he's a good movie reviewer either. There is something condescending in his tone that I don't like. I wouldn't expect anybody to write this way about La Môme. We'll see. But while La Môme got very high ratings in France according to Allociné, Cahiers du Cinema ripped it to shreds, and people do tend to be sick and tired of biopics and their mannerisms, sometimes.
Originally posted by Chris Knipp
It might be interesting to compare this with the new one about Edith Piaf, La Môme (AKA "La Vie en Rose")
Yes, it would be. It seems the films have a lot in common.
The Miami Herald is less favorable than yours but not quite as unfavorable as you made it sound
Right. My issue is "just that his low opinion of the Cuban film seems colored by strict political ideology" (OJ). Miami is as liberal as Ibiza or anywhere else when it comes to lifestyle/social issues. But the opposition to Castro and Chavez is headquartered here. Then again, the Cuban-American writers and academics who attended the press screening seem to like the film and made no mention in conversation of any political tract. My suspicion is that fest audiences also enjoyed the film but I wasn't there to confirm it. More than anything, I'm surprised that the youngish Miami-born Rodriguez concluded that "what's worse is the entirely superfluous pro-Revolution subtext". I didn't see any such thing. Perhaps he doesn't like Benny More because he refused to leave the island, like many other famous Cuban musicians who did. Beats me.
And now to something decidedly unconventional: LIFE CAN BE SO WONDERFUL
The audience to this film was very young. The fest has raised prices to $12 for regular audience members and reduced tickets to $7 for students. Perhaps they are taking advantage.
Last edited by oscar jubis; 03-10-2007 at 02:16 PM.
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