The Sapphires & 2013 DocFest Venues

The Sapphires played at this year's Mostly British Film Festival and Cinequest.  At the time, I knew that Landmark Theaters would exhibit the film sometime in 2013 so I skipped the film festival screenings.  Casual conversations with festival goers revealed that it was well liked by the audiences.

A couple weeks ago, I drove to Palo Alto to see the film at the Landmark Aquarius.  The man in front of me at the box office was compelled to tell the cashier that he had seen the film the day before and liked it so much that he was bringing his wife & granddaughter.

The Sapphires is a film that would probably have screened at a Landmark screen in SF but since the closure of the Lumiere and Bridge, the chain has 30% fewer screens in SF.  I had to go to the East Bay or South Bay to see The Sapphires.  Given that it is on its 4th or 5th week at the Aquarius, it must be popular with the audiences.  There were probably 30 or 40 people at my screening.

The Sapphires starring Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens & Miranda Tapsell; directed by Wayne Blair; (2012) - Official Facebook

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Speaking of the Aquarius, I noted that the upcoming DocFest (June 6 to 23) is venturing to the South Bay for the first time in my memory.  The Aquarius is hosting DocFest from June 9 to 11.  In addition, the New Parkway in Oakland is hosting DocFest from June 14-16 and the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz is playing host from June 21 to 23.  The main venue is the Roxie from June 6 to 20 but there are also San Francisco screenings at the Balboa from June 7 to 9.

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The Sapphires is an Australian production which premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival.  It was #1 at the box office when it opened in wide theatrical release in Australia last year.

Based on a true story involving the mother of one of the screenwriters, The Sapphires is set in 1968 Australia.  The film opens in the Outback where the three McCrae sisters sing country music.  There is the eldest sister Gail (Deborah Mailman) who is the leader of the group, both on and off the stage.  The second sister is Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) whose character was least developed in the film.  Youngest sister is Julie (Jessica Mauboy) who has the best voice, is the most ambitious about her singing career and has a son born out of wedlock during a time when that was still scandalous.  It should be noted tha the three girls are Aboriginal Australians.

While competing in a local bar's amateur night contest (which they lose due to racism), they meet the drunken emcee/house pianist Dave Loveless (Chris O'Dowd).  He protests the decision with the bar manager and is fired for his troubles.  Loveless (who is an Irish immigrant) approaches Gail about teaming up with the girls as their manager/pianist/musical director.  The three girls have seen an advertisement looking for singing groups to play in front of US servicemen in Vietnam and are considering auditioning for the gig in Melbourne.  Loveless advises them to ditch the C&W music and become a R&B/Soul group as that will play better in front of the American.  In addition, Loveless may be pasty white on the outside but he is Motown black on the inside.

In Melbourne they pick up the fourth Sapphire, their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens) who is light-skinned enough to pass for white.  Tired of passing herself off as something she is not, as well as the tedious Tupperware parties, Kay sees the trip to Vietnam as exciting and a way to reconnect with her cousins whom she has been separated from for many years.

Loveless whips them into shapes with matching costumes, synchronized choreography, rehearsed Motown standards and by forcing Gail to cede lead vocals to Julie.  Jessica Mauboy actually sang on the soundtrack whereas the other three were dubbed.  I still wasn't "wowed" by on-screen Sapphires but I like Motown music more than most.  Among the numbers I can recall them performing were I'll Take You There, I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch.  Anyway, they get the job and go to Vietnam where long-simmering issues flare up between the girls.

First, Dave & Gail continue to bump heads over leadership of the group.  As any moviegoer knows, four times out of five, this means they are actually attracted to each other.  The Sapphires doesn't goes against the odds.  The two begin a relationship although Dave's drinking and the fact he is married puts some strain on the relationship.

Additionally, Gail & Kay have longstanding issues.  According to the film, the Australian government would take Aboriginal children from their parents and raise them "white."  I recall reading this somewhere before.  Anyway, this happened to Kay as a child.  Being the oldest, Gail was supposed to hide the children when the government agents came but on one such raid, Kay was taken.  Gail has felt guilt ever since and Kay has an identity crisis since she has been raised to disdain the Aboriginal ways and everyone assumes she is white.

Anyway, the five of them tour Vietnam as tensions and passions rise.  It culminates with the five of them having to cross a combat zone without military escort in order to play the biggest show of the tour.    By this point, The Sapphires has descended into melodrama but not to worry, there is a happy ending.  I won't recount the final part of the film except all the issues between the group members are resolved.

Although predictable, there is something winsome about The Sapphires.  Mailman and O'Dowd do have a chemistry and they don't look like typical Hollywood actors.  The film presents a new angle on a familiar plot.  How many films about Aboriginal girl bands have you seen?  Finally, the costumes they wear are 60's chic, at times reminding me of a Bob Hope USO show or a Supremes concert.

The Master Ginger & Rosa On the Road

I saw three well regarded films during the last week of March.  I thought highly of all three.

The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix & Philip Seymour Hoffman; directed by Paul Thomas Anderson; (2012) - Official Website
Ginger & Rosa starring Elle Fanning, Alessandro Nivola & Alice Englert; with Christina Hendricks, Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt & Annette Benning; directed by Sally Potter; (2012) - Official Facebook
On the Road starring Sam Riley & Garrett Hedlund; with Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams & Kirsten Dunst; directed by Walter Salles; (2012) - Official Website

I saw The Master at the Castro in 70 mm.  I saw the other two films at the Landmark Embarcadero.  I have noticed that since Landmark closed the Lumiere, I have been going to the Embarcadero more than the Opera Plaza.  I have also noticed some films don't even open in San Francisco proper anymore.  The Sapphires opened at the Landmark Aquarius in Palo Alto without ever playing in SF.

Ginger & Rosa was the opening night film at the 2013 Cinequest.

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What can I really add about The Master that has not already been written?  I could point out that Philip Seymour Hoffman has been in all of PT Anderson's feature films except There Will Be Blood.  Hoffman seems comfortable on screen under Anderson's direction; perhaps as a result of their long partnership.  However, Hoffman always seems comfortable on screen.  Although I may not always like his films, I always like his performances.  Chameleon-like in his ability to adapt to the needs of whatever role he is playing, I have always impressed with Hoffman...and then forget he was in the film.  I forgot his, albeit small, role in The Big Lebowski.  I forgot about his role as Ben Stiller's sidekick in Along Came Polly.  I had to be reminded he was Art Howe in Moneyball.  Hoffman has this odd ability to create memorable supporting characters who fade into the background after my memory of the film recedes.  I remember Steve Buscemi from Lebowski, Alec Baldwin from Polly and...not too much Moneyball but that's a different matter.

Anyway, I like the period costumes from The Master.  Joaquin Phoenix frequently mumbled his lines making them unintelligible; his character seemed to have a harelip.  There is a great set piece where Hoffman, Phoenix and Amy Adams are in a humongous, high-ceilinged office the size of a basketball court.  Actually, the film is full of memorable scenes.  Hoffman sings this toe-tapping bawdy song and either he and/or Phoenix imagine all the women in the room naked.  In another scene Hoffman rapid fires questions to Phoenix as part of the process of indoctrination.  To be honest, there is a fair amount of homoerotic undertones in the relationship between Hoffman's Lancaster Dodd & Phoenix's Freddie Quell.

Is The Master about a cult?  Yes.  Is it a thinly veiled jab at Scientology?  I don't enough about Scientology to answer.  At the core of the film is the relationship between Dodd & Quell which is open to multiple interpretations.

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Ginger & Rosa is set during during the Cuban Missile Crisis in London.  Ginger (Elle Fanning) and Rosa (Alice Englert who is Jane Campion's daughter) are best friends and inseparable in the way 16 year old girls can be.  Ginger's home life is strained as her father (Alessandro Nivola) and mother (Christina Hendricks) separate and Ginger decides to live with her leftist father who politics are more in keeping with her own.  Ginger is one of those idealistic young women who thinks she can change the world or at least has a moral obligation to try to change the world. Rosa's interest are less political.  In fact, soon after the separation, Rosa's main interest is Ginger's father with whom she begins an affair.

Understandably, this puts a strain on Ginger which her best friend and father seem oblivious of.  Combined with the tension about the Cuban blockade, Ginger cracks under the strain.  That scene and lead up to it are showcases for Fanning's talents.  Fanning's performance in Ginger & Rosa is exceptional considering she was only 13 or 14 when the film was made.  Nivola as her father is quite effective as Ginger's selfish and self-rationalizing father.

Annette Bening, Oliver Platt & Timothy Spall show up as leftist colleagues of Ginger's father.

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On the Road is based on Jack Kerouac's autobiographical novel of the same name.  It has been over 20 years since I read that book so I cannot recall how closely the film follows the novel.  Although I enjoyed the film, I am ultimately conflicted about it.  I feel compelled to compare the film to my memories of the book and my preconceived notions going into the film.  I guess when they tackle a literary icon like On the Road, expectations are unrealistically high.

Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) & Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) are pseudonyms for Jack Kerouac & Neal Cassady, respectively.  As the title implies, they hit the highways travelling from New York to Denver and San Francisco and Mexico.  Moriarty is quite the marrying man and his two wives have the juiciest roles in the film.  Kristen Stewart is Marylou, Moriarty's teenage first wife.  After getting an annulment, he marries Camille (Kristin Dunst) who is a thinly disguised Carolyn Cassady, Neal's long-time wife.  Viggo Mortensen shows up as William Burroughs with Amy Adams as his ill-fated wife.

Like Sal Paradise, I'm having writer's block on this film.  I can't quite figure out how I felt about it and writing about it is not clarifying my thoughts.  I liked it but there is more I want to say but I cannot articulate.  Actually, I'm not even sure I can conceptualize it.  I guess that is appropriate for a film based on a seminal work of the Beat Generation writers.  Maybe a road trip would help me find my voice.

2013 Cinequest (Part 2 of 2)

Let's jump right into the films of the 2013 Cinequest.

Two films I was interested in but skipped were Emperor and The Sapphires.  I was aware that both films were going to be play at Landmark Theaters.  The Sapphires is currently playing at the Aquarius in Palo Alto and Camera 7 Pruneyard.  Emperor, which I subsequently saw at the Embarcadero Center Cinemas, has come and gone from Landmark Theaters in the Bay Area but is still  playing at CinéArts Theaters in Mill Valley & Pleasant Hill.

Hard pressed to name my favorite film of th festival, I offer the folowing dozen as my favorites.

Solace - structured like a three act play, this dialogue heavy drama explored the relationship between three pairs.  1) a WASPish middle aged guy setting up a murder-for-hire with a black guy who sounds like Chris Rock, 2) a wealthy married couple with a troubled marriage and 3) a young woman and a hit man in an abandoned building.  The film ties all three segment together but chemistry & dialog between the actors is incredible - funny, dramatic, painful, hopeful, etc.  The six actors were all tremendous.

One Small Hitch - a contrived romantic comedy about a man pretending to marry his best friend's younger sister in order to satisfy his dying father's final wish to attend his son's wedding.  Despite the predictability of the plot, the actors played their roles perfectly.  I am reminded of Vince Lombardi's comments on the Green Bay Packers Power Sweep.  He said that even when the defense knew it was coming, they couldn't stop it.  Same with this film, even though I knew where the plot was going, I couldn't stop from laughing.  Nice performance by Shane McRae & Aubrey Dollar as the faux couple and Heidi Johanningmeier as the "other woman."

Sweet Talk - another film that looked more like a play.  Natalie Zea plays a phone sex operator who connects with Jeffrey Vincent Parise, a writer with a severe case of writer's block.  As they banter back & forth, they both discover the person on the other side of the stereotype.  She discovers her long repressed romantic tendencies and he regains his creativity.  Much of the film consists of Zea & Parise portraying their characters' fantasy characters so part of the film is a Zhivago-esque romance.

Molly Maxwell - this film reminded me of Anna Pacquin's Margeret.  Lola Tash is the title character, a likeable 16 year old in a progressive school.  An infatuation with one of her teachers (Charlie Carrick) leads to a crush to romance to statutory rape.  The film has a gentleness to it so the creepiness of the relationship is never front and center.  I actually came to sympathize with the teacher who deluded hmself into thinking Molly was as emotionally mature as she pretended.  Krista Bridges & Rob Stewart as Molly's parents provided solid supporting acting. Nominally a comedy, Molly Maxwell deftly explores teenage angst, confusion and sexuality.

Aftermath - Chris Penn's memorable final role, the film follows the escalating feud between construction mogul Anthony Michael Hall (looking unrecognizable from his youth) and ex-convict Penn.  Darkly humorous, violent, stylish, full of memorable supporting roles including Leo Burmester as a dyspeptic sheriff and Tony Danza as a tough talking candy ass gun dealer.

The Hunt - Mads Mikkelsen is incredible as a school teacher falsely accused of molesting his best friend's daughter in a small Danish town.  The film provides a textbook case of how easily a vague and hesitant accusation can snowball into criminal charges and ruination.  The film presents the criminal charges as secondary to the hostility and sense of betrayal Mikkelsen encounters by his former colleagues and friends.  I can't say enough of Mikkelsen's performance.

The Scar - I had a little difficulty sorting out the three timelines in the film but once I figured out they were the same person at the three different junctures, I was engrossed by this tale of childhood bullying and its long term impacts.  Marc Béland delivers a powerful turn as the bearer of the titular scar.  The Scar was a disturbing film.

Eden - Jamie Chung shines as a Korean American teenager who is kidnapped, held captive and forced into prostitution.  Over the course of years, she survives by become the "bottom bitch" (I learned that from Iceberg Slim's book).  Her character goes from frightened victim to helping exploit the other women to hard fought freedom.  Matt O'Leary is memorable as her captor/savior/pseudo-boyfriend.  Based on a true story.

Chaos - outlandish French tale of revenge is redeemed by great performances by Sonia Rolland as bored concert pianist forced to live a small town, Isaach De Bankolé as her school teacher husband and Niels Schneider as one of his troubled students.  Rolland is spectacular as a woman wrecked by guilt and passion.

Mon Ami - I missed this at Another Hole in the Head so I was glad to see it on the schedule.  Mike Kovac and Scott Wallis are a pair of knuckleheads who hatch a kidnap-for-ransom scheme involving their boss' daughter.  Things go horribly wrong from there.  A severed toe scene is particularly memorable.  Honorable mention for having "bromance sensibilities" brush up against homoeroticism at times.

The Almost Man - Henrik (Henrik Rafaelsen) is an immature man who feels dissatisfied with his life which is includes his pregnant live-in girlfriend.  Trying to behave as an adult, Henrik can't let go of his frat boy and juvenile ways but comes to realize he can't continue them either.  A funny & sad portrait of a man belatedly trying to learn to be a man.  Rafaelsen shines in the lead role.

In the Shadow - set in 1953 Prague, Police Inspector Hakl (Ivan Trojan) investigates a robbery which runs him afoul of the state security apparatus.  Trojan is terrific as a cop trying to navigate the uncertainty of the Communist regime, secret police and threats against his family.  While keeping the narrative personal and interesting, this film is a damning indictment of the totalitarian regimes of the Eastern Bloc.

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The following films were quite good if not as entertaining, memorable or moving as the aforementioned films.

Welcome Home - Lila returns to Brussels after an extended and, from her boyfriend's perspective, unexplained absence.  The action shifts from Lila & her boyfriend arguing, Lila helping an Iranian visitor explore the city of his youth and Lila and her bike confronting young, wealthy multinationals.

White Lies - a young writer plot revenge against his mentor, an author who plagiarized the younger man's work.  His girlfriend and the older man's wife get in the way of his plan.  Olivia Ross as the girlfriend and Belinda Lowe as the wife were memorable.

Leave of Absence - in some ways a companion piece to The Almost Man, Jason Thompson is man who gets a 30 day disability leave of absence.  He plans to use the time to redirect his life but his aimlessness, lack of ambition and immaturity threaten to wreck his life instead.

Twenty Million People - Michael Ferrell (who sounds just like Seth Myers) is a bored barista who loses his job and the girl he might love if he can bring himself to admit it.  A sharp edged romantic comedy, Twenty Million People serves double duty as a critique on modern slacker mentality.

Detonator - despite a mumblecore pedigree, this film seemed more tightly scripted.  Lawrence Michael Levine is Sully, a former punk rocker who has gone legit with a wife and son.  He can't quite let go of his youthful dreams so when an ex-bandmate (Michael Ellis Fine in a great performance) turns up, Sully unexpectedly finds himself pulled back into a wild night.

Girl Shaped Love Drug - a difficult to characterize love story.  The characters don't even get names.  Him (Sacha Dhawan) and Her (Rachel Austin) are strangers who meet on the streets of Manchester, England.  They fall in love over the course of a day.  I recall one remarkable exchange between Dhawan and Dean Andrews as Her's Father.

Made in China - The Mexican owner of a Chinese restaurant takes a road trip (from Mexico City to Monterrey, I believe) to attend the wedding of a long lost love.  One of his workers tags along to escape the Chinese Mafia (there is Chinese Mafia in Mexico?).  This lighthearted film is part buddy film, part road trip movie & part farce.

Old Stock - Stock, a young man in his early 20s retreats from life by living in his father's retirement home.  Circumstances force him to leave the old folks home and confront the woman who was paralyzed in a car accident while he was driving.  Innovative & quirky comedy with moments of seriousness.

Offline - Rudy (Wim Willaert) is fresh out of prison and wants to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Anemone Valcke).  Since she is unwilling to meet him, Rudy decides to contact her at work.  However, she works as sex worker on a chat and video-on-demand website.  Rudy assumes an alias in order to interact with her and he quickly becomes her favorite client.

Goldfish Go Home - fairy tale like story set in modern Japan about a Brazilian boy who captures a magical gold fish.  Nice comedic performances by Kana Mikura as the kind hearted bureaucrat and Takashi Sasano as the corrupt mayor.

The Dead Man and Being Happy - a minimalist tale of an Argentinean hitman (Jose Sacristan) dying of cancer who picks up a 40something woman for road trip.  Some literal narration provides irony and a pastiche of scenes maintained my interest despite the lack of narrative.

Oh Boy - evocative of 1960s films, Tom Schilling is a college dropout who drifts from one comic encounter to another in Berlin.  Nice performance by Schilling and the episodic nature of the scenes make for a breezy comedy.

The Playback Singer - an Indian man visits his daughter and her husband in Los Angeles.  Intending to start a US singing tour, Ashok (Piyush Mishra) finds he has been cheated and encamps at his daughter's house to much consternation from his son-in-law Ray (Ross Partridge).  Ashok's presence exposes tensions in the marriage of Priya (Navi Rawa) and Ray.  The Playback Singer is an amusing film that entertained me more than it probably should have.  Nice performances by the three leads.

Habanastation - Mayito (Ernesto Escalona)  is a 12 year old from a wealthy family in Cuba.  He is doted upon by his parents.  On May Day, he takes the wrong bus and ends up far from home in a slum.  He encounters Carlos (Andy Fornaris), one of his classmates.  Carlos goes to Mayito's prestigious school on scholarship and is picked upon by his classmates and made to feel small because of his social status.  As the day progresses, the two boys form a friendship in the shanytown that they could never form at school.  The title is a portmanteau of Habana and Playstation which Mayito possesses and Carlos is ignorant of.  This was the most heartwarming of films at this year's Cinequest.

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I can recommend the 26 films I've mentioned so far.  Most of the rest of the films I saw Cinequest were more uneven or in some cases boring.  In several cases, my opinion did not agree with the audience balloting.

An Inaccurate Memoir - a Chinese action film about a plot to kidnap the Japanese Emperor's brother during WWII.  Like many Chinese action films, there were a few too many plot twists for this films own good.

Dose of Reality - an audience favorite.  Nice performance by Fairuza Balk.  I thought the plot tipped its hand too early such that the premise was called into question from the very start.  I just didn't think it was as clever as it took itself or as other Cinequesters.

The Pretty Time Bomb - rambling, nonsensical Japanese absurdist comedy.

Sparks - superhero story adapted from a comic book; low budget but it never caught my interest and I ended falling asleep for much of the film.

Congratulations! - another audience favorite.  This absurdist comedy about a "missing" child that would have worked well as a 20 minute short film but overstayed its welcome at 90 minutes.

The Kitchen - Laura Preppon is turning 30 and her housemates throw her a birthday party.  The party turns into a comedy of errors and emotional confrontations.  The sound was bad at the sceening I attended (the director apologized for it during the Q&A) so maybe I missed some of the jokes but I didn't laugh much throughout the film.

The Believers - the best of the "also rans."  This documentary about cold fusion has a fascinating topic and compelling subjects in Fleischmann & Pons, the University of Utah researchers who flamed out after making the startling announcement about cold fusion in 1989.  It seemed like the directors were biased towards the "believers" because considerable data against it exists.

We Went to War - a follow-up to Michael Grisby's 1970 documentary I Was a Soldier.  Director Rebekah Tolley reconnects with the subjects and family of the original film with unsurprising and uninteresting results.

Mystery - a Chinese love triangle that had a few surprises and interesting moments but ultimately couldn't sustain its energy throughout the film.

Loveless Zorista - another audience favorite.  A sometimes amusing comedy about a Serbian woman who is cursed to inadvertently kill the men who love her.  It had its moments but it was far from satisfying.

2013 Cinequest (Part 1 of 2)

This year's Cinequest ran from February 26 to March 10 in San Jose.  I saw 36 programs (same as last year).  Unlike past years, the last few days of the 2013 Cinequest did not conflict with the first weekend of the 2013 SF Asian American Film Festival (now called CAAMFest).

As has been the case for the past several years, the primary venues were the Camera 12 Cinemas, the California Theater and the San Jose Rep.  I saw 25 programs at the Camera 12, seven at the California and four at the Rep.  I thought the attendance was down slightly but a press release stated over 100,000 attended this year (compared to > 90,000 last year).

Welcome Home starring Manah De Pauw; directed by Tom Heene; French, English & Dutch with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
An Inaccurate Memoir starring Xiaoming Huang & Yi Zhang; directed by Shu-peng Yang; Mandarin & Japanese with subtites; (2012)
Dose of Reality starring Fairuza Balk, Rick Ravanello & Ryan Merriman; directed by Christopher Glatis; (2013) - Official Website
White Lie starring David Birkin, Olivia Ross, Paul Bandey & Belinda Low; directed by Nyima Cartier; (2013)
Leave of Absence starring Jason Thompson & Heather Case Miller; directed by Jeff Prugh & Jason Thompson; (2013) - Official Website
The Pretty Time Bomb starring Bunngyou Dann, Minoru Teruya & Tomoko Hatori; directed by Shigekazu Shibamoto; Japanese with subtitles; (2012)
Sparks starring Chase Williamson & Ashley Bell; directed by Christopher Folino & Todd Burrows; (2013) - Official Website
Solace starring Rhoda Griffis, Ric Reitz, Robert Pralgo, Russell Comegys, Dupree Lewis Jr. & Dixie Light; directed by Vandon Gibbs; (2013) - Official Website
Congratulations! starring John Curran; directed by Mike Brune; (2013) - Official Website
The Kitchen starring Laura Prepon; directed by Ishai Setton; (2012) - Official Website
One Small Hitch starring Shane McRae & Aubrey Dollar; directed by John Burgess; (2012) - Official Website
The Believers; directed by Clayton Brown & Monica Long Ross; documentary; (2012) - Official Website
We Went to War; directed by Michael Grigsby & Rebekah Tolley; documentary; (2013) - Official Website
Chaos starring Isaach De Bankolé, Sonia Rolland & Niels Schneider; directed by Etienne Faure; French with subtitles; (2012) - Official Facebook
Twenty Million People starring Michael Ferrell & Devin Sanchez; directed by Michael Ferrell; (2013) - Official Website
Sweet Talk starring Jeffrey Vincent Parise & Natalie Zea; directed by Terri Hanauer; (2012) - Official Website
Detonator starring Lawrence Michael Levine & Benjamin Ellis Fine; directed by Damon Malucci & Keir Politz; (2013) - Official Website
Molly Maxwell starring Lola Tash & Charlie Carrick; directed by Sara St. Onge; (2013) - Official Facebook
Aftermath starring Anthony Michael Hall & Chris Penn; with Tony Danza, Leo Burmester & Elisabeth Röhm; directed by Thomas Farone; (2013)
Girl Shaped Love Drug starring Sacha Dhawan & Rachel Austin; directed by Simon Powell;
Made in China starring Odiseo Bichir & Victor Hernandez; directed by Gabriel Guzmán; Spanish with subitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Scar starring Marc Béland & Patrick Goyette; directed by Jimmy Larouche; French with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Hunt starring Mads Mikkelsen; directed by Thomas Vinterberg; Danish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Old Stock starring Noah Reid; directed by James Genn; (2012) - Official Facebook
Eden starring Jaime Chung; with Matt O'Leary & Beau Bridges; directed by Megan Griffiths; (2012) - Official Website
Offline starring Wim Willaert & Anemone Valcke; directed by Peter Monsaert; Dutch & French with subtites; (2012)
Mystery starring Lei Hao & Xi Qi; directed by Ye Lou; Mandarin with subtitles; (2012)
Goldfish Go Home starring Takeshi Nagata; directed by Shohei Shiozaki; Japanese and Portuguese with subtitles; (2012)
The Dead Man and Being Happy starring José Sacristán; directed by Javier Rebollo; Spanish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Mon Ami starring Mike Kovac & Scott Wallis; directed by Rob Grant; (2012) - Official Website
Oh Boy starring Tom Schilling; directed by Jan Ole Gerster; German with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Almost Man starring Henrik Rafaelsen & Janne Heltberg Haarseth; directed by Marin Lund; Norwegian with subtitles; (2012)
In the Shadow starring Ivan Trojan; directed by David Ondricek; Czech with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Playback Singer starring Ross Partrdige, Piyush Mishra & Navi Rawata; directed by Suju Vijayan; some Hindi with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Habanastation starring Ernesto Escalona & Andy Fornanis; directed by Ian Padrón; Spanish with subtitles; (2011)
Loveless Zoritsa starring Ljuma Penov; directed by Hristina Hatziharalabous & Radoslav Pavkovic; Serbian with subtitles; (2012)

I did not see any short film programs but several short films preceded features.  In the listing below, PTP stands for Picture the Possibilities, a Cinequest initiative to "to empower creativity and innovation that improves lives and communities worldwide."  "Empower," "creativity" and "innovation" are words which are used freqeuntly at Cinequest and the Silicon Valley.  Frankly, they have fallen into ubiquity and lost their resonance with me.

Wild Geese starring Barb Rossmeis; directed by Brittany Ballard & Jamil Walker Smith; 6 minutes; (2012)
Couch starring Perry Silver; directed by Ian Gelfand; 6 minutes; (2013)
The Great Journey (PTP); Watch Video
Better Than a C (PTP); Watch Video
No Rest for the Wicked: A Basil & Moebius Adventure starring Zachary Levi & Ray Park; with Malcolm McDowell; directed by Ryan Schifrin; 17 minutes; (2011) - Official Website
The Global Citizen (PTP); Watch Video
David Sedaris' The Learning Curve starring Matthew Gray Gubler; directed by Phil McCarty; 16 minutes; (2012) - Official Website
Where We Are Safe (PTP); Watch Video
Fish Tale: Secret Life of Plankton; documentary; directed by Christian Sardet, Noe Sardet & Sharif Mirshak; 6 minutes; (2012)
Examination starring Joe Peers; directed by Beryl Richards; 10 minutes; (2012) - Official Website
Jack's Not Sick Anymore starring Lauren Ashley Carter & Kristin Malko; directed by Chloe Domont; 13 minutes; (2012)
Right Here Among Us (PTP); Watch Video

Kill No Evil was supposed to play before An Inaccurate Memoir. I believe that was the only exception to the schedule.

I wanted to see the feature film She Doesn't Want to Sleep Alone but it was pulled from the lineup at the last minute.


As usual, there was a myriad of great films at Cinequest.  Cinequest has easily become my favorite film festival in the Bay Area.  I am beginning to believe it is the concentration of venues in the downtown San Jose area which elevates the festival.  They screen six films roughly simultaneously.  They stagger the start times somewhat but the combination of cafes, bars, casual eateries and Cinequest sponsored social events creates synergies and excitement during the festival.  Cinequest achieves this better than any other festival I attend.  It helps that Cinequest has the effective monopoly on San Jose film festivals.

I finally made it over to La Victoria Taqueria (La Vic) to try their famous "orange sauce."  It's quite tasty; apparently the secret to the color and flavor is chorizo.

During the festival, Pauly's Famous Franks n Fries opened on Third Street.  The Mexico City dog was very good.


For the past few years, I have seen so many films at Cinequest that I need to split the post up.  More on the films tomorrow.