#21 ·
I figured I’d toss in my own quick take on the films and the festival.
The festival itself was actually pretty charming and totally fine by me. The organization was surprisingly decent, aside from that last-minute blunder where the concert overlapped with a screening. But hey, whatever. I didn't have massive expectations going in, and it turned out to be quite solid. Most of the crowd was local, which made the atmosphere feel much more comfortable and way less pretentious than what you get at a big fest in Boston.
Anyway, here’s the short version of the movies I caught:
"Destination Unknown" – An American indie about two guys trying to drive to the coast in their grandad's old car without a map. It felt like the filmmakers just got high and spent an hour cracking jokes—most of which were either terrible or clearly inside jokes—and then decided, "Yeah, let's turn this into a movie." Truly awful. The jury gave it special praise, though I honestly have no clue why.
"Concert" – A comedic melodrama about a conductor from a better orchestra who gets demoted to a janitor during the USSR era, only to get a shot at reuniting his old crew (who are all working blue-collar jobs now) to perform a concert in Paris. Even though the theme sounds heavy, it plays out like one of those light Hollywood fluff pieces—just a breezy comedy. The Russians are likable enough, but nothing special. Plus, it stars that intense Jewish woman from Inglourious Basterds.
"Honey" – I actually really liked this one. It’s slow, so it requires some patience and focus, but the acting is top-notch (that kid is a legend!), the visuals are gorgeous, and the story itself is great. At the center is this little Turkish boy, maybe seven years old, who’s shy and stutters, living in a small town with his beekeeper father and stay-at-home mother. The kid's struggles—like having to read aloud in front of the class or fighting for that honor roll medal the teacher hands out—run parallel to the depiction of his relationship with his parents and the looming misfortune heading toward their family.
Short films – I watched "Libertango," "Yellow Moon" (again), "WAGs," and "Everything I Want to Be, I Already Am." "Yellow Moon" deserved its award; it was a very solid little film. "Libertango" is about two pretentious lesbians on the verge of breaking up who keep dropping these deep, heavy lines, but unfortunately, the film lacks any sense of ironic distance from them. 😬 "WAGs" is just a mediocre flick about soccer players' wives, and I honestly couldn't wrap my head around that last American film. I truly didn't understand the characters' behavior or even the reason why half of them existed in the script in the first place.
So, yeah. That's about it.
The festival itself was actually pretty charming and totally fine by me. The organization was surprisingly decent, aside from that last-minute blunder where the concert overlapped with a screening. But hey, whatever. I didn't have massive expectations going in, and it turned out to be quite solid. Most of the crowd was local, which made the atmosphere feel much more comfortable and way less pretentious than what you get at a big fest in Boston.
Anyway, here’s the short version of the movies I caught:
"Destination Unknown" – An American indie about two guys trying to drive to the coast in their grandad's old car without a map. It felt like the filmmakers just got high and spent an hour cracking jokes—most of which were either terrible or clearly inside jokes—and then decided, "Yeah, let's turn this into a movie." Truly awful. The jury gave it special praise, though I honestly have no clue why.
"Concert" – A comedic melodrama about a conductor from a better orchestra who gets demoted to a janitor during the USSR era, only to get a shot at reuniting his old crew (who are all working blue-collar jobs now) to perform a concert in Paris. Even though the theme sounds heavy, it plays out like one of those light Hollywood fluff pieces—just a breezy comedy. The Russians are likable enough, but nothing special. Plus, it stars that intense Jewish woman from Inglourious Basterds.
"Honey" – I actually really liked this one. It’s slow, so it requires some patience and focus, but the acting is top-notch (that kid is a legend!), the visuals are gorgeous, and the story itself is great. At the center is this little Turkish boy, maybe seven years old, who’s shy and stutters, living in a small town with his beekeeper father and stay-at-home mother. The kid's struggles—like having to read aloud in front of the class or fighting for that honor roll medal the teacher hands out—run parallel to the depiction of his relationship with his parents and the looming misfortune heading toward their family.
Short films – I watched "Libertango," "Yellow Moon" (again), "WAGs," and "Everything I Want to Be, I Already Am." "Yellow Moon" deserved its award; it was a very solid little film. "Libertango" is about two pretentious lesbians on the verge of breaking up who keep dropping these deep, heavy lines, but unfortunately, the film lacks any sense of ironic distance from them. 😬 "WAGs" is just a mediocre flick about soccer players' wives, and I honestly couldn't wrap my head around that last American film. I truly didn't understand the characters' behavior or even the reason why half of them existed in the script in the first place.
So, yeah. That's about it.