SIFF Report June 1st

SIFF is half over but there is still much to see. Here's what I've seen in the last two days, some of which will be repeating in the next week. Check out previous blogs for other options. B- or better is worth seeing.

SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH----------GRADE B-
I don't eat sushi, and thought I hadn't much interest in this documentary--much filmed in Japan, but there were some things to learn, and the big concern is that blue fin tuna will be completely fished out in the next 10-15 years, especially when sushi takes off in China in the next couple years, like it has in the USA in the past 10 years. The film does offer some hope, but greedy corporations and consumers stand in the way.

THE OFF HOURS-------------GRADE __XXX___
After 25 minutes, I left. The film was projected (or filmed?) in what seemed like near darkness---I COULDN'T SEE ANY OF THE ACTORS FACES, even in a few daylight scenes
that came later. I would hope that the film maker didn't do this intentionally, and that the projectionist just didn't know how to project it correctly. Unfortunately, I will not take that chance to see it again. Wasn't too compelling, what little I "listened" to.

BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER'S JOURNEY------------GRADE B
This documentary on Kevin Clash who brings Elmo to life on Sesame Street, was pleasant to watch, and older children might be amused. Will probably be shown a lot on PBS starting in a few months.

MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE-----------GRADE B+
Charming French film with a terrific performance by the great Gerard Depardeau as a simpleton who has an abusive mother. Still he charms his girlfriend and an older woman he meets occasionally at the park, who teaches him how to understand what he reads. This was a delightful surprise.

THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS-------GRADE B-
Recently restored by Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, this 1969 Egyptian film tells the story of a government employee who wants to stop the raiding of royal mummies for their priceless antiquities, only to find that his family has been deeply involved in this practice for many years. The film is lovely to look at, although as projected in digital format, it seemed a bit washed out on this screening, and often I wasn't sure who was doing what to whom, since many characters appear without much introduction or explanation.

MAGIC TRIP: KEN KESEY'S SEARCH FOR A KOOL PLACE----- GRADE B
A lot more fun than watching a well edited 107 minute long home-movie has any right to be. There are a lot of laughs and insight and culture (shock) packed into the story of how Kesey with Neal Cassady and other (sometimes famous) friends take an LSD road trip from California to the New York World Fair of 1964.

FLYING FISH-----------GRADE D
Slow, drawn out scenes with little or no dialogue or story line are lovely to look at, for a while, but this film from Sri Lanka had nearly half the audience out the door by the time the violent ending scenes(including murder, suicide and castration) take place.

HOT COFFEE--------GRADE A
Another cracker jack documentary, which starts off about the woman who spilled hot coffee in her lap and then sued McDonald's, but then shows what REALLY happened to the court system and our right to a day in court after that. To those who still think George W. Bush was a great president, this should scare some sense into them.

ROUTE IRISH-------GRADE B+
When a contractor is killed by "terrorists" while working in Iraq, his best friend becomes suspicious when the facts don't add up, and suspects he may have been murdered, in this political thriller by Ken Loach. This serious and angry film has strong British/Scottish/Irish accents that have been, thankfully, subtitled.

DETECTIVE DEE and the MYSTERY of the PHANTOM FLAME------GRADE B+
Extravagant, opulent looking Hong Kong martial arts film with a smart, easy to follow plot about a disgraced and imprisoned traitor who returns from prison to solve some strange deaths and protect the new empress. A lot of energetic fun.