Film Fest Day Four

On the final day of the festival I did not volunteer. I simply attended films with friends. Again, after sleeping until 10am, I was ready for a final day of movie going.

Vodka Lemon (why don’t all films have good web sites?). This was a film I was excited about seeing but was bored while watching. It is the story of a small Armenian village in late winter. The characters are all very poor and quirky. Sounds good, right? The landscape, clothes and behavior were all fascinating to see. However, the pace of the film was incredibly slow. There was an emptiness to the story line and characters that made it difficult to watch. Also, while the film was depicting the poverty, it still had a feeling of being on a film set. I was disappointed by this film.

Kontroll - Wow! The best film I saw at the festival. Possibly the best film I’ve seen in the past year. The story of a misfit gang of ticket takers on the Budapest subway system. Fantastic! It was dark, funny, endearing. It had great pacing, wonderful visuals and a fun soundtrack. I enjoyed the whole ride. Hopefully it will be back for a wider release in the states. If you see it listed in your town run out and watch it.

Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea was a documentary about a man-made inland sea in southern California which has now turned into a large scale natural disaster. It had an amateur quality to the entire piece, from the hand held DV camera work to the low budget information graphics. I’m a firm believer that quality can come out of low budget work, and this film was rolling along, making good points, showing good interviews but the wrap-up was non-existent. The film makers never made a point, never reached a conclusion. Sure I learned about the Salton Sea but I didn’t feel like I was lead to any new ideas or visions of the future.