You haven’t seen anything like a Guy Maddin film, unless you’ve seen another Guy Maddin film. At the simplest level, the Canadian filmmaker makes elliptical experimental films using the language and iconography of Golden Age Cinema. His last film, “Keyhole,” was a cryptic take on gangster noir, while his most famous, 2004’s “The Saddest Music in the World,” was a parody of the musicals of yesteryear.
It’s fitting that the ninth annual Beloit International Film Festival begins on Valentine’s Day, since the annual festival is such a love letter to film, made in Wisconsin and everywhere. While the Wisconsin Film Festival in Madison and the Milwaukee Film Festival may draw more attention, BIFF holds its own with 120 films screened over 10 days.
I mentioned on Monday that the latest Sundance Screening Room calendar had been set for February and March. And now I have more good news — Sundance Cinemas and I have scheduled post-show chats after two of the more intriguing movies on the bill.
This isn’t one of those articles where I pretend that I had some personal connection or insight into Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died Sunday of a heroin overdose in a tragedy that has saddened and mystified so many. His death, alone in a bathroom with a needle in his arm, doesn’t seem to square with either the brilliant artist we know from movies and the stage, or the jovial-sounding father who could be seen biking his kids to public school in Greenwich Village.
It’s been a long winter’s nap for the Sundance Cinemas Screening Room schedule, which devotes a screen at the west side cinema to independent, foreign and documentary films. The series typically takes a late-autumn break so Sundance can have the big Oscar contenders pumping on all six screens.
But with the Oscar nominees all set and everything pretty much out, it’s time for the series to fire up again. Fittingly, it starts this Friday, Feb. 7 with screenings of all the Oscar nominated short films — live action, animated and short documentaries. It’s a rare and welcome chance to see short film programming at Sundance — I’ll have reviews later this week, but the animated films are especially good this year.
When Jill Soloway was a girl, she and her friends used to put on plays in the courtyard of their street, and charge their parents and neighbors 50 cents to watch. One day, a neighbor lady balked; why should she pay 50 cents to see a play she can watch for free from her living room window?
It was the Kleenex that saved me. I’m sure of it.
I had an early flight to Park City this morning, and my beautiful, fantastic girlfriend (sorry, but she’s way better than your girlfriend) was kind enough to drive me to the airport. I arrived in plenty of time for my flight, which would head west to Detroit for a tight layover of under an hour before I was able to wing it westward for Salt Lake City.
There are independent movies and independent movies. As one writer observed, if “Inside Llewyn Davis” has the budget to take out a full-page ad in the New York Times just to reprint part of one of A.O. Scott’s tweets, maybe it’s a little too big to be included in the Independent Spirit Awards.
I’ve got some pretty exciting news this week — I’m going to Park City, Utah to cover the Sundance Film Festival!
I got confirmation just before Christmas that I had been approved for general press credentials, so I’ll be sloshing around in the snow at Park City covering movies for the Madison Movie blog (and may be writing some articles as well for the Cap Times — TBD). I had a great time covering Sundance for the Cap Times from 2010-2012, and since I missed last year, I’m very excited to go back.
I have my eye on a few movies I’d like to see while I’m there, but let’s face it, it’s largely a crapshoot what I get into. Sundance has both public screenings and special press/industry screenings, but both are mobbed on the festival’s opening weekend, which means picking the right line and getting in it early. (My low point at Sundance was one year where I spent Saturday going all over the city, getting into line after line only to never quite make it in the door, and the first movie I actually saw that day didn’t started until 9:30 p.m.)
But that’s part of the fun of it, I keep telling myself, and at least some of the lines are indoors or in heated tents. And you do really get in some great conversations with other moviegoers in those lines — I’m always amazed how many folks from Wisconsin I come across while in line or on the many shuttle buses that criss-cross Park City.
So anyway, here are some of the movies I’d certainly like to see while I’m there. If you’ve heard about any others that should be on my radar, let me know in comments. We’ll see what I actually get to see!
“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter” — The premise of this film is irresistible to me. A lonely Japanese woman (Rinko Kikuchi) travels to Minnesota to try and find the money that Steve Buscemi hid at the end of “Fargo.” I’m sure that ice scraper’s still there, right?
“A Most Wanted Man” — One of the big prestige films at Sundance this year is Anton Corbijn’s (“The American”) adaptation of the John le Carre novel, starring Rachel McAdams and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Let’s be blunt — I don’t have a shot in hell of getting into this one.
“Life Itself” — As Indiegogo backer #1106, I’m extra excited to see Steve “Hoop Dreams” James’ documentary based on Roger Ebert’s terrific memoir. (James is also showing a 20th-anniversary screening of “Hoop Dreams” at Sundance this year.)
“The Ivory Tower” — Of special note to Madison residents is this documentary from the “Page One: Inside the New York Times” about the high cost of higher education.
“The Trip to Italy” — I loved “The Trip,” the riotous comedy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves touring restaurants in Cornwall, so I can’t wait to see the follow-up.
“Appropriate Behavior” — I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about this comedy about an Iranian-American teenage girl dealing with pressures at both home and among her New York City friends.
“Land Ho!” — I loved actor Paul Eenhoorn in “This is Martin Bonner” at the Wisconsin Film Festival, so I’m very interested in this next film, a comedy where he travels to Iceland.
“Drunktown’s Finest” — Lots of buzz surrounding this Sundance Lab-generated low-budget drama about a Navajo transgender teen.
“God Help the Girl” — Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian wrote and directed this musical, which likely means Belle & Sebastian will be playing a secret show while in Park City, and I will probably not be able to get into that either.
“To be Takei” — Yes, I’m a “Star Trek” buff, but I think George Takei’s journey in the last 40 years has been fascinating even if you’re not a Trekkie.
Now that we’ve had a couple of weeks to digest all the holiday movies we got there, Madison theaters are relaunching their classic movie series this week. Point and Eastgate Cinemas are going big, while Sundance Cinemas is going “Big.”
Madison Movie 