Final weekend SIFF 2012---Plus BEST OF SIFF 2012

Last weekend of SIFF 2012 was full of choice offerings.

THE SOURCE family blossomed in the early seventies at the helm of the charismatic leader Jim Baker, and this fascinating and engrossing documentary tells of that rise and fall that attracted many into the "family".  Fortunately, one family member was a professional photographer and film maker, so the pictures and film are very well done.      GRADE-------A-

From Czech Republic comes the new film by Jan Hrebejk (COSY DENS 1998, and DIVIDED WE FALL 2000).  A troubled, delusional 14 year old girl accuses a well liked doctor of  sexual impropriety in INNOCENCEwhich throws his family into anguish and anger.  Even as the true events come to light, the film-maker throws at us another twist that leaves all we've seen in troubled turmoil.  This is an intelligent, dark thriller that demands a second viewing--it had audiences talking......GRADE------A-

A strong feature from Iran (again--see also GOODBYE and A CUBE OF SUGAR),  MOURNING features a young boy whose parents have run off in the night after a fight, then get themselves killed in an horrific traffic accident.  His aunt and uncle, both of whom are deaf, drive him back to the big city, discussing (in sign language) what they think might be good for him, unaware that he knows signing and can also read lips!  It's a very intriguing set-up, pregnant with political satires and potshots, yet it works so well on a humanistic level also.  It's a small gem.      GRADE-----A-

Much better than the awkward, amateurish-looking preview would have you believe, GAYBY is a very witty story of a woman and her long time best gay male friend who decided to conceive a baby, the "old-fashioned way"---with sex instead of the turkey baster......Things get complicated when they each try to have a love life outside of their baby-making activities.  Some of it is pretty funny, and the actors are all game.     GRADE------B+

A late addition to the schedule is THE BIG PICTURE from France, which tells the story of a rising lawyer who loses his wife to a neighbor man and is about to inherit a busy law firm because his partner is dying of cancer.  On top of that, he's just accidentally killed the neighbor man.  Time for a big career make-over.  It's an engrossing story, full of irony and some improbabilities, as well but slickly entertaining.       GRADE-----B

From France comes A CHECKOUT GIRL'S BIG ADVENTURES, an overblown good idea gone flat, as the plot lumbers along with unbelievable plot turns that include a check out clerk whose blogging about retail workers becomes all the rage in Paris--oh really?--and who meets the man of her dreams in the middle of the snowy street.  They both seem to fall in love after this 30 second encounter and spend the next 90 minutes searching for each other again.  Yawn......I was one full step ahead of this piddle the whole time, and the supporting characters are even duller.     GRADE-------C

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BEST OF SIFF 2012

In no particular order with possible release dates

Moonrise Kingdom (now playing)
Liberal Arts (fall)
Starbuck (fall)
Lipstikka
Three Quarter Moon (fall)
Tey
Nosilatiaj.Beauty
Oslo, 31 August (now playing)
Las Acacias
Elena (July)
Eye Of Storm (fall)
Innocence
Mourning
Cube of Sugar


Best Documentaries

Story of Film : An Odyssey ( dvd in December--possible screening in fall)
Winter Nomads (August)
The Source
High Ground
Chasing Ice
Diana Freeland: Eye Has to Travel
Free Throw

Above features were rated A or A-
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Best of the rest  (rated B+, B, and B-)

4 Days in May, Any Day Now, Beast of the Southern Wild, Big Picture, Breathing, British Guide to Showing Off, Can, Cloudburst, Crown Jewels,  Cracks in the Shell, Cloudburst, Can,Coteau Rouge, Countdown,ls, Do-Deca Pentathlon, Dreams of a Life, Eden, Empty Home, Fat Kid Rules the World, The First Time, Gayby, Goodbye, Guilty, Hello I Must Be Going, Hunky Dory, Impostor, Keep the Lights On, Lost in Paradise,  Mirror Never Lies, The Monk, My Brother the Devil, North Sea Texas, My Dad is Baryshnikov, Overheard 2, Otelo Burning, People Like Us, Polisse, Policeman, Recalled, Sacrifice, Safety Not Guaranteed, Sex of Angels, Simon and the Oaks, Sleepwalk With Me, The Standbys, Tall Man, Teddy Bear, Under African Skies, Unforgivable, Unit 7, Wetlands, White Camellias, Woman in the Fifth, Xingu.

BEST SURPRISES----Any Day Now, Beasts of Southern Wild,  Cube of Sugar, Gayby, The First Time, Guilty, Hunky Dory, Keep the Lights On, My Brother the Devil,  North Sea Texas, The Standbys, Winter Nomads----these films really exceeded expectations!!!!!!!!!!


Favorite reissue------the fabulous looking, witty TWO FOR THE ROAD
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Worst of SIFF 2012   (rated D+ or less)

170HZ, Everything and Everyone, Hail, Keyhole, Long Ride Home, Most Fun I've Ever Had w/Pants On, Remington and Curse of Zombadings, Wuthering Heights, Cousinhood