SIFF 2007: It’s Over
There, I resisted saying, “it’s a wrap!”
This year’s SIFF sort of came and went. Seems like everyone I talked to said, “it’s over already?” But I guess that’s because we always seem to be super busy around this time… I miss those days when I actually had time to see 29 films (2005) while also planning a wedding!
Anyway some quick recaps… I expected more of a roudy crowd for Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls, for being a local film and all. But it was a pretty tame audience (except for the presence of Skeletora), maybe because it was the second showing. The film was fun as expected, but a little lacking in terms of the “story” element that a lot of the documentaries these days have. The filmmakers seemed content in just filming and having the rollergirls talk about themselves, and no compelling characters or plots emerged. Maybe that’s disingenious to expect from a documentary — what? That’s what a fiction is for? But if you want to tell an engaging story, you can’t just string together interviews no matter how interesting you think those people are. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film and I liked the people in it — maybe that’s the problem… There was no villain!
Molière was cute, witty, funny, and touching at the same time. It’s a fictional account of early part of Molière‘s life, and it speculates as to how he became considered to be one of the greatest comedic playwrights in his time. The director Laurent Tirard introduced the film by saying he hopes that more people will learn about the playwright’s work because of the movie. I feel that he succeeded, because the movie was very approachable, and made both Lucretia and myself curious about the kind of work he produced. Not that we’re jumping on Amazon to buy his plays, but if we came across one someday we might pick it up to read it.
Cinerama was a great choice for the closing night venue. It was grand enough to mirror the spectacle of the opening night — and it’s just a damn great movie theater. We skipped the party, though — I wish we knew more friends who have enough money and time to enjoy SIFF (being pretty much free, it’s easier for us).
