With Stalking Santa (which editor Ryan Miller gave rave reviews) at 3, Kooniklaster and The Page Turner at 4, and 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama at 5, deciding what to watch on the fourth day of the festival is rather like being forced to, well, make a difficult decision. Ultimately, the fact that I can watch the screening copy of Stalking Santa that Wendy gave New Times, combined with the fact that I knew everybody would probably rush out to watch 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama convinced me that Kooniklaster and The Page Turner were the (foreign) films for me!
I can't help but admire the way the scheduled films are so perfectly paired-not necesarily by theme or genre, so much as tone. Wine fanatics will tell you that the right, or wrong, wine can significantly effect the overall quality of a meal, and it makes equal sense that any two films can't be haphazardly thrown together without proving detrimental to the viewer's overall experience. Kooniklaster, a 17 minute Polish film about a young man who travels with his magician grandfather would be the perfect compliment to the 85 minute French film about a young, former pianist who becomes the page turner for a well-known concert pianist suffering from a personal crisis. But alas, the perfect pairing was not to be!
Upon my arrival at The Palm I was told something to the effect that The Page Turner had not arrived and, instead, we would be watching It Came From Outer Space, the 1950's, 3D, Bradbury, sci-fi flick. It's understandable that there might be minor difficulties over the course of an 11-day film festival, but I considered returning for a later show. 3D glasses are difficult to place over normal glasses and 3D tends to make me nauseous (as do sci-fi films, though for completely different reasons). None of the other atendees seemed all that bothered by the change in plans, and I stuck around.
Kooniklaster was absolutely beautiful-black and white with minimal dialogue (making the subtitles less distracting). Somehow everything about the film was poignant, even a shot of a boy shuffling his feet in mud. Once that brief and beautiful repast had concluded everyone put on their 3D glasses for 81 minutes of cheese. I did not really enjoy the film, but the rest of the audience seemed to, giggling at the dialogue and the lead female's incredible shrieking abilities.
I'm hoping for a better pairing tomorrow when I go to see the 8 p.m. showing of Suckerfish (a 20-minute documentary about homelessness in California and SLO), How to Train Your Pet (an 8-minute comedy shot in SLO) and The Lonely Boys (which was shot at the local Sunshine Donuts). Again, the only reason I was able to settle on these particular films is because I get to watch The Damnedest, Finest Ruins (which shows at 4) at home. The Damnedest, Finest Ruins comes complete with a Q&A with director James Dalessandro. This documentary is about the fall of "The Paris of the Pacific" (San Francisco) following the earthquake and fire of 1906. Using archival film, photographs, and interviews with historians, the film creates a portrait of the wealthy, libertine city, both before and after the earthquake. I highly reccomend this film, even if you have to lie to your employer in order to leave work early.
Here's hoping it's at least a month before I have the occasion to wear 3D glasses again!
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