2012 is 38 Days Away

The first quarter of the year has long been the busiest for me in terms of film festivals. The 2012 festival schedule has already been lined-up.

German Gems - January 14 at the Castro Theater and January 15 in Point Arenas
Noir City - January 20 to 29 at the Castro Theater
SF IndieFest - February 9 to 23 primarily at the Roxie
Cinequest - February 28 to March 11 primarily at the Camera 12 in San Jose
San Francisco Asian American Film Festival - March 8 to 18 in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose

If the Mostly British Film Festival stays on schedule, it should be held in early February at the Vogue Theater.

German Gems has cut back to one day at the Castro. Festival Founder Ingrid Eggers received a Goldies Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Bay Guardian. In the profile, the SFBG states "Her current film festival project — the smaller-scale German Gems — is set to screen for a third year in January 2012. After that, Eggers is not so sure. 'It's incredibly expensive to put on even such a small festival,' she admits ruefully..." To paraphrase Churchill, "Now this may not be the end. It may not even be the beginning of the end. But it is, most assuredly, the end of the beginning."

Noir City's December 14 kick-off double feature has been announced: Lady on a Train (1945) and Christmas Holiday (1944). Deanna Durbin is the common thread.

Also, there is a series currently at the PFA called Southern (Dis)comfort.

The South has never shaken its past. It sits like mist on the land, seeping into the drawl of the everyday. Secession, the cotton gin, a God-fearin’ people, slavery, pecans and poke salad, moonshine, hounds and possums, a big Rebel yell—there’s enough cultural ammo here to fight the Civil War all over again. Those munitions will never run dry as long as Southern artists (and a few carpetbaggers) plow the fertile fields of Dixie mythology, milling it into a genre all its own, the Southern Gothic. This genre wallows in the grotesque, prefers the randy to the restrained, knows Jim Crow isn’t the national bird, considers blood for an old debt paid, plunders the plantation, and imagines it all residing inside a delirious melodrama like one big corn mash-up.

I've seen a few of the films in the series at the PFA. Curator Steve Seid said that there were so many films that he and fellow curator Peter Conheim wanted to include in the series that they couldn't fit them all in at the PFA. A dozen of the overflow films will be screened at the Roxie in December. Neither PFA or the Roxie have announced the Roxie titles although Seid said they saved the more sleazy ones for the Roxie's run. I think he mentioned the Southern Fried exploitation classic, Two Thousand Maniacs! would get a screening at the Roxie.

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Since I haven't reported it in awhile, I have seen 371 films or film programs year-to-date. The cost is $3,144 but that's a little inaccurate. Some of the money was in the form of charitable donations which are tax deductible. On this date in 2010, I had seen 359 films so I'm running ahead of last year's pace.

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Another digression is that I've noticed that AMC has been showing John Wayne films on Saturdays. I've always been a fan of Wayne and having watched so many portions of his films the past few months, I can see why. In the 1950s and 1960s, Wayne didn't so much play an icon as poke fun at the icon he had become.

In particular, his Western films show Wayne blending his heroic persona with a fair amount of humor (occasionally at his own expense). Among the films of the era I enjoy are Rio Bravo, El Dorado, The Cowboys, The War Wagon, The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit. In these films, Wayne toyed with his own film persona which was firmly established by the time. I also note that Wayne certainly wasn't worried about being shadowed by his co-stars who include Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum & Kirk Douglas. There were also two outstanding films from his final decade and a half in which Wayne played his parts without much humor creeping into his performances: John Ford's classic, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence and Wayne's final, elegiac film, The Shootist.

All in all, the Duke made some entertaining films as he was winding down his career. I read that Quentin Tarantino asks his dates what they think of Rio Bravo. If they don't love it, he assumes they are not a good match. If I were a woman, I'd pass Tarantino's test which is appropriate because I have a man-crush on Tarantino based on his films.

Less than 4 Stars

For the past several years, I have gone to the Chinese American Film Festival at the 4 Star. At least twice (maybe three years running), the film I go to is not subtitled. I recall sitting through Ip Man and Shanghai Red without subtitles. So it was no surprise that I when I arrived at the 4 Star at Saturday to see Humble Soul and read a sign at the cashier's windows that stated Humble Soul was not subtitled. Actually, that's an improvement because in past years, I paid my admission and they didn't mention it. Perhaps they thought I spoke Mandarin.

The lineup for the 2011 Chinese American Film Festival didn't appeal to me. Humble Soul was the only one I planned to see. Since it was unsubtitled, I looked for an alternate. I tentatively set my sights on If You Are the One 2; mainly because Qi Shu starred in it. However, I couldn't get over to the 4 Star tonight so I missed the film and tonight is the final day of the festival.

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I did go the 4 Star a few weeks ago to see the latest Ip Man film.

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man starring Yu-Hang To; with Sammo Hung; Cantonese with subtitles; (2010)

For the second time in my life (that I can remember), I saw a film in the theater by myself. It was the 8 PM or 8:30 PM show on a Tuesday night. The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (aka Ip Man 3) played in the big theater at the 4 Star. That's an awfully large theater to sell one ticket for but that's what happened.

As for the film, Ip Man 3 is not officially affiliated with the Donnie Yen series. Neither Donnie Yen or director Wilson Yip was involved in the production of Ip Man 3. Sammo Hung who co-starred and choreographed Ip Man 2 returns, in a different role, in Ip Man 3. Suet Lam, who frequently appears Johnny To films, makes an appearance in Ip Man 3. Finally, Ip Man's actual son, 87 year old Ip Chun, appears as one of Ip Man's masters.

Recently, I've seen a number of Chinese films where the Japanese are the villains. That's been a staple of Chinese cinema for years but Ip Man 3 takes it to ridiculous extremes. A prequel set in early part of the 20th century, Ip Man 3 posits that the Japanese were placing sleeper agents in China in the form of kidnapped Japanese boys, smuggled into China, placed as orphans in prominent Chinese families and called to action as adults. If the movie is to be believed, Ip Man's "brother" is one of these Japanese sleeper agents.

Sammo plays Ip Man's Wing Chung master. He dies from natural causes fairly early in the film. Ip goes off to Hong Kong for university studies. While there, he encounters the ancient Leung Bik (Ip Chun) who teaches him a nonstandard (even sacrilegious) form of Wing Chung. When Ip Man returns to the Wing Chung school where his brother, Ip Tin-Chi (Fan Siu-wong), is now a respected master. Ip Man's deviant Wing Chung puts him at odds with his brother but by the end of the film, it's clear that Ip Tin-Chi is a tool of Japanese operatives.

Like any good kung fu film, Ip Man 3 goes through some motion to set up its fight scenes. Kenya Sawada and Bernice Liu play the Japanese father-daughter duo who look to take down Ip Man. They get in some of the best fight scenes (especially Liu).

Dennis Yu-Hang To plays Ip Man. He bears some resemblance to Donnie Yen and acquits himself satisfactorily. Having seen all the Ip Man films, I think the second one was my favorite; in no small part due to Sammo's choreography. Ip Man 3 is my least favorite but it's still not half bad. I've certainly seen worse Chinese kung fu flicks.

The German Ulysses and Biberkopf Fever

When I was in high school, my English Lit teacher announced to the class that she had never read James Joyce Ulysses. However, she promised herself and the class that she would do so before she died. I never followed up to see if she kept her promise. My encounters with Ulysses have left me empathetic. Joyce's steam-of-consciousness style leaves me bewildered. So it is with some trepidation that I checked out Alfred Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929). Referred to as the German Ulysses, I have not yet started the book. I am finishing up Don DeLillo's Running Dog about a fictitious search for a porno film with Hitler made in Berlin bunker as WWII ended.

My interest in the novel is spurred by recently seeing the film at PFA.

Berlin Alexanderplatz starring Günter Lamprecht; directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder; German with subtitles; (1980)

At 15½ hours long, Berlin Alexanderplatz was screened in four installments.

I'm not sure what to write about Berlin Alexanderplatz. It's so epic (in length and ambition) that a blog post seems particularly inadequate. The film follows its protagonist (Franz Bieberkopf) as he endures tribulations of biblical proportions. By the end of the film, Bieberkopf loses his true love, his kindred spirit, his right arm, his mind, etc.

Giving the briefest of synopses, Franz Biberkopf is released from prison in 1927 and reintegrates himself into his old neighborhood (the Alexanderplatz district of Berlin). In fact, Franz moves into his old flat...the same flat where he killed his lover/prostitute for which he was imprisoned. For the next 15 hours, a rogues gallery comes through the flat - whores, killers, deviants and the morally bankrupt. By comparison, Biberkopf is a saint although he does rape a woman in the first episode. Slowly but surely, Biberkopf is drawn into the moral quicksand.

Berlin Alexanderplatz focuses on the ups and downs of Biberkopf's life. Given the length of the film Fassbinder is able to show Biberkopf in many different moods. Günter Lamprecht as Franz Biberkopf gives an incredible performance if for nothing else sustaining Biberkopf for so long. The key relationship in Berlin Alexanderplatz is not between Franz and one of the number of women who share his bed but rather between Biberkopf and the stuttering Reinhold Hoffmann. Gottfried John's performance as Reinhold is stupendous. A truly pathetic character, Reinhold is more weak and cowardly than evil although the end results are the same. Despite bedding a steady stream of women, Reinhold is vaguely homosexual which is confirmed in the epilogue. This shades the Biberkopf/Reinhold relationship with a homo-eroticism which left me wondering if I was imagining it or it was deliberately included by Fassbinder.

There were 13 episodes and a dreamlike epilogue. Most of the episodes were 60 minutes long. I enjoyed all of it although the epilogue veered into the surreal as we see Franz's madness brought to screen. Fassbinder did a nice job recreating Weimar Germany. Fassbinder skills are on full display as he keeps the plot moving while accretively building a masterpiece. Scene by scene, Fassbinder and
Lamprecht flesh out Biberkopf and add nuance and insight into the character. At 15 hours, it is easy to say that Fassbinder could not help but develop a complex character. However, Fassbinder takes the audience for a roller coaster ride as we rise and fall with Franz Biberkopf. I cared for Franz, was frustrated with him, disappointed with him, et al.

At 15½ hours, many people will find Berlin Alexanderplatz plodding. There were time where I felt that way. If one commits to the film, I think it will be a rewarding experience.

Haight Sex and Hate Sex

I am so far behind in detailing the films I've seen. I've seen at least 30 films that I have not mentioned.

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I mentioned in the last post that Noir City is having a kick off event on December 14 at the Castro Theater. The Balboa Theater is hosting "a fundraising event on Tuesday, December 13... We will show photos of San Francisco theaters 'then and now,' expanding on Peter Hartlaub’s recent study. We’ll preview the holiday movies and their awards chances. And have a great auction of movie goodies and more."

"Peter Hartlaub's recent study" is an interesting series on SF Gate showing photos of old San Francisco movie theaters. I recall two installments on November 3 and November 10 in his SF Gate blog, The Big Event.

My favorite photo is this one. The caption reads "HAIGHT THEATRE (Aug. 8, 1964): The theater in the Haight/Ashbury District showed first-run movies for decades, then became a counter-culture haven. The protest in this photo was during a brief attempt as a gay cinema house. (John McBride / The Chronicle)"

I particularly like the dark haired boy holding a sign that reads "Down with the 'ladies' We want Walt Disney!!!!" Whereas as the other boys look vaguely amused, this boy looks despondent; not to mention androgynous. Nothing invokes old fashioned American values than children picketing while holding anti-gay signs and demanding movies from an reputed anti-Semite. Another interesting aspect of this photo is that I don't see any adults encouraging the boys. Nowadays you see children at protests but they seem to be there at the behest of their parents or for publicity reasons. This trio of boys seem self-motivated.

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After seeing Rita Moreno's performance last weekend, I walked a few blocks to the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas to see The Skin I Live In.

The Skin I Live In starring Antonio Banderas & Elena Anaya; directed by Pedro Almodóvar; Spanish with subtitles; 2011 - Official Website

I came away from the Castro Theater's August retrospective of Pedro Almodóvar's films with a greater appreciation for his work. Nothing I've seen prepared me for The Skin I Live In. Nominally a horror film, Almodóvar brings his considerable directorial skills to the genre. It progresses at its own pace and is told in non-linear fashion. It has the pacing and feel of Almodóvar best films but he brings a mad scientist to the plot this time. Antonio Banderas as Dr. Robert Legard (a plastic surgeon) suffers several tragedies as the film progresses and puts his medical skills to use.

I don't want to give away the plot twist but you don't realize until two thirds into the film how deranged the good doctor has become. The film implies that cloning of human cells is the extent of Legard's misbehavior but it goes much further than that. I guess the shapely woman, in the bodysuit, locked in a bedroom and constantly watched via close circuit television is an indication of Legard's insanity. The film kept me guessing about which twist was coming next. The only hint, I'll give is that in the end, Almodóvar remains true to his cinematic (and personal) roots. Actually, the blog title alludes to surprise also.

Antonio Banderas is getting old - he is 51. I'm not sure if he is aging gracefully but he is developing this craggy face which is well suited for the role. Banderas looks like he has been to hell and back which his character has been. He still retains a certain rugged handsomeness that masks (but not completely) the ugliness of Legard. Banderas seems much more capable an actor in Spanish than he did in any of his American films although I am a huge fan of Robert Rodriguez' Desperado.

Elena Anaya plays the woman in bodysuit. The character's name is Vera Cruz which provides insight into the plot. It is noted that Vera bears a resemblance to Legard's late wife and Almodóvar has fun developing that plot thread. Anaya played the pregnant wife in Point Blank. Vera Cruz is a bigger role. It's not a flashy role (until the end) but Anaya handles it satisfactorily.

Jan Cornet as Vincente has the best part in my opinion. He shows a wide range of emotions. As the film progresses Vincente's character is shaped into many dimensions and Cornet plays them all well. His is the pivotal role in the film but I won't say more.

Marisa Paredes, who has appeared in many of Almodóvar's film, shows up as the housekeeper in a small role but quietly impressive performance.

The Skin I Live In is not deeply satisfying but it is highly entertaining which can be said for many of Almodóvar's films. It feels a bit lightweight for Almodóvar who imbues his melodramas with a little bit extra. Still, The Skin I Live In is a film I can recommend without reservation.

Hart & Kaufman, Mamet & Muller, Moreno & Mom

In this post, I mentioned three stage performances I wanted to see. I was only able to see two out of three.

Once in a Lifetime was a comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman; the first of their eight collaborations. It was showing at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) on Geary. Premiering in 1930, Once in a Lifetime is partially set in Hollywood during the dawn of the talkie era. They screened clips of old-timey films between scenes. I recall one of Al Jolson singing. I was mild about Once in a Lifetime. It looked every bit of its 81 years and some of the plot devices have become tropes (assuming they were fresh in 1930).

I was more enthusiastic about David Mamet's Race which just closed at the ACT - I have a season subscription at ACT. Race premiered on Broadway in 2009 with James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas which is outstanding casting in my opinion. Spader seems perfect for the role of Jack Lawson.

Race tells the story of two partners at a law firm (one white and one black) and their African American associate attorney who become involved in the case of a wealthy white man accused of raping a black woman in a hotel room. Over the course of the 90 minute play, the four of them examine their attitudes towards race through their interactions. Lawson views the associate (Susan) through the prism of being attracted to the younger woman. Susan is more adept at navigating through the world The Man controls. Not militant but with just-under-the-surface black pride and white bigotry. Henry Brown, the African American partner, is the cynical one. Strickland, the accused, has a serious case of jungle fever but seems to be the least racist of them all despite his decades old derogatory comparison of tropical humidity and a black woman's genitalia.

If I had to give a thumbnail description of Race, I'd call it a sophisticated and racially charged Glengarry Glen Ross transplanted to the legal arena. The ACT production featured strong performances by Anthony Fusco and Chris Butler as Lawson and Brown, respectively.

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The Thrillpeddlers' production of Eddie Muller's three plays, collectively called Fear Over Frisco, closes this weekend. The final shows are sold out so I will not be able to see the production.

Speaking of Eddie Muller, Noir City has announced that Noir City 10 will be held January 20 to 29, 2012 at the Castro Theater. The film line-up will be announced December 14 at the Castro. If it's like last year, the December 14 announcement will be accompanied by a double feature.

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On the day before her show closed, I caught Rita Moreno's one woman show at Berkeley Rep. Titled Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, the "play" featured Ms. Moreno reminiscing, singing and dancing along photos and with clips from her films and television appearances. Actually, she claimed an injury so two male dancers did most of the dancing while she moved around a little. A month shy of 80 years old, Ms. Moreno looks incredible. From my seat in the audience, she could easily pass for 30 years younger.

The audience ate up every word that she said but I was largely familiar with he life story. I recall several of the details from a San Francisco Chronicle story earlier this year and one from (amazingly) seven years ago (I recall the portable CD incident).

For a woman who dated Brando for eight years and ended the relationship with her suicide attempt, Life Without Makeup is largely devoid of any hint of the churning emotions which must have played such a major role in her youth. I was left wondering how someone survived Brando could look and sound so good (in every sense of the word) 50 years later. I suspect Ms. Moreno was holding back some of the more intense memories and emotions. Her relationship with Brando merited less than three minutes of monologue. She sums up the relationship with a joke at Brando's expense. Indeed, she used humor exclusively. I thought the show could have benefited from some more raw emotions from Ms. Moreno. From the program notes, I suspect getting her to open up as much as she did was an accomplishment for director David Galligan and writer Tony Taccone.

However, Rita Moreno didn't win an Oscar, an Tony, two Emmys and a Grammy for no reason. If not a natural, she is a skilled raconteur. She has a knack for accents. Her comedic talents were on display for all to see so it was an enjoyable two and half hours.

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I've long been a fan of Rita Moreno but I couldn't point to a specific performance(s) that justified my outsized admiration. During Life Without Makeup, I had a eureka moment. Seeing her old photos and seeing her up on stage, it dawned on me that she bears a resemblance to my late mother. Born two years after my mother, both were petite and dark skinned. For the last 30 years of her life, my mother kept her hair short like Ms. Moreno wears it now. In fact, there is a famous Life magazine cover photo of Ms. Moreno that looks like photos of my mother from the era. I think Ms. Moreno looks a bit silly in it and I've never seen my mother in such a pose but the haircut reminds me of old photos of my mother.

It also struck me while watching a clip from The Electric Company that I watched the show as a child and still associate it with my childhood. Given the resemblance to my mother and her association with The Electric Company, I must unconsciously have transferred maternal (hopefully not oedipal) feelings towards her. They did show a clip from The Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956) with her in a swimsuit, doing a Marilyn Monroe impersonation, which resulted in decidedly non-maternal feelings towards her.

I miss my mother but without her around anymore, I guess Rita Moreno is the next best thing.

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This Saturday (November 19), the El Rey Theater celebrates its 80th Anniversary. It has been operating as a church for several years. I recall that the church at the El Rey was the subject of Audience of One, a documentary I saw at Indiefest a few years ago. They are screening The Smiling Lieutenant starring Maurice Chevalier on Saturday. That film was the first one screened at the El Rey in 1931.

The El Rey is located at 1970 Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. The one night event is limited to 400 seats. All proceeds go to the Geneva Car Barn and Power House. Buy tickets through the event website. There was also a recent SF Chronicle article on the event.

2011 San Francisco DocFest

I caught 10 programs at this year's DocFest. I bought a festival pass but Berlin Alexaderplatz, Taiwan Film Days and a bad cough kept me away from Doc Fest. It would have been more cost effective to get a 10 film voucher but I don't mind too much. I try to support the scrappy Jeff Ross and his crew as they put on three film festivals or six weeks of independent cinema programming every year.

DocFest screened some films at the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley but I went exclusively to the Roxie and Little Roxie. The festival ran from October 14 to 27.

The 10 feature documentary films I saw were:

Dirty Pictures; (2010) - Official Website
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story; (2011) - Official Website
The After Party; (2010) - Official Website
Back to the Garden; (2010) - Official Website
Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters; (2011) - Official Website
Holy Rollers; (2010) - Official Website
Left By the Ship; (2010) - Official Website
Peep Culture; (2011) - Official Website
Scenes of a Crime; (2011) - Official Website
Scrapper; (2010) - Official Website

In addition, I saw three short film documentaries.

The Love Police: Social Controls - YouTube
Pot Country; (2011) - Official Website
The Yodel Within; (2011)

I couldn't find an Official Website for The Yodel Within but I did find the YouTube video which inspired the film. Franzl Lang's performance in the video was the best part of The Yodel Within. I particularly like the hip-shaking action Franzl gives towards the middle of the video. You have to love the Germans. Where else to could a big, beefy, orthodontically-challenged, Fred Flintstone look-alike, yodeler make a video and be crowned the king of anything?

I didn't see as many films as I hoped for. I watched approximately a fourth of the programs screened. I was not too impressed although I don't think I saw enough films to have a valid sample size. However, this isn't a random draw. The films were selected by a programming committee so they should have represented the cream of the crop. As it was, I can only recommend two of the feature films.

Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters drew comparisons to The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a 2007 documentary about some master Donkey Kong players. At first glance, Ecstasy of Order seems to be to Tetris what The King of Kong is to Donkey Kong...right down to the designated bad guy and the use of a colon in the title. I enjoyed The King of Kong and looked forward to Ecstasy of Order. I was surprised by the sportsmanship exhibited by the Tetris players. Apparently there is more camaraderie between elite Tetris gamers than DK.

Ecstasy of Order follows a group of skilled Tetris players in the months before the 1st Annual World Tetris Championships in 2010. Somehow all the players know about each other despite never having met. They know each other by reputation like gunfighters in the Old West. The one that invokes the most awe is Thor Aackerlund who at the age of 13 won the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. Robin Mihara, who placed third in the 1990 NWC, is organizer of the World Tetris Championships and spends much of the film visiting elite Tetris players for the documentary (which largely doubles as a promotional video for the 2010 tournament). Throughout the first half of the film, Thor is presented as this mythical figure - unbeatable, mysterious and master of the "vibrating thumb" which is a technique used on the controller to move the Tetriminos faster than they could otherwise be moved.

However, when Thor shows up, he appears to be a man humbled by life. It turns out that Thor's video game earnings from tournaments and appearance engagements were his family's only earnings in some years. I believe his mother was seriously ill during his youth and the family had no health insurance. That's a lot of for a 13 year old to handle. Later, Thor had a car accident which seriously injured him. Thor's behavior leading up the 2010 tourney appear to be less mysterious and more reclusive. Indeed, Thor's presence among his fellow Tetris players seems to buoy his spirits.

Although Thor plays a pivotal role in the film, the spirit of the film lies with the effervescence of the gamers and their serious intonations of Level 30 and Kill Screens. These gamers are serious about Tetris but yet they seem to understand it's kind of silly or at least, they are viewed as kind of silly. They all are dead serious about winning the tournament though. Ecstasy of Order has a joie de vivre that I found very appealing.

A step below Ecstasy of Order is Holy Rollers. Not to be confused with the 2010 Jesse Eisenberg film by the same name, Indiefest's Holy Rollers is closer to 21. It's about a blackjack team made up of churchgoing folk. The subtitle to Holy Rollers is The True Story of Card Counting Christians. Several of the team members are pastors.

It may seem difficult to reconcile gambling and Christian morality...and it was. The team members seem to go to great lengths to rationalize their behavior. For example, they keep their winnings or working capital in cash - in the icebox, under the mattress, in a safe in the bedroom closet, etc. They hide the cash when they go through airport security on their way to a casino destination. They present it as part and parcel of their "business." I don't understand why they didn't deposit the money in a bank and withdraw it at their destination city instead of carrying it around in cash. One explanation could be that the "team" and/or "investors" weren't reporting the winnings on their income tax forms.

Like everyone else, the team is happy when winning but as they go through multiple losing steaks, they begin to turn on each other in unchristian ways. First, the team managers question if the team members are following the betting algorithms, so they test the team members. Later, one of the team members accuses another team member (conveniently the atheist on the team) of stealing money. The team operates on a lot of trust giving the team members significant quantities of cash and taking their word that they a) played blackjack and b) won or lost the amounts they claim. The accusation has divine providence though; the accuser claims God told him that his teammate was stealing.

Ultimately, the whole thing appears to crash around the two managers who are the de facto team captains. After a particularly disastrous trip to Southern California, you think the two have sworn off gambling for good. The next scene is the two of them essentially holding a blackjack team seminar. Frankly, Ben Crawford (one of the two team managers) seemed more like a internet salesman than a devout Christian; more of a huckster than a churchgoer. He seems like the type of guy that spends all his time trying to hit on something big instead of getting a steady job. Nothing wrong with that but it just doesn't jibe with being a devout Christian. There must be more to being a Christian than going to church and praying.

The two team managers, Crawford and Colin Jones, have Executive Producer credits on Holy Rollers which initially bothered me. I thought the film was biased because of their, presumably financial, involvement. After thinking about it, I thought the film portrayed them in a morally ambiguous light. Of course, the audience doesn't know what was left on the cutting room floor (that's figurative since the "film" was digital) which may have tipped the scales against Crawford and Jones. Leaving their characters' true nature inconclusive made for a better film. I left Holy Rollers with a confused case of spiteful glee. Them self-righteous Christians got what they deserved...except they weren't that self-righteous and they didn't quite get what they deserved.

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Other films which I can't completely dismiss include:

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story - almost a complete hagiography. I particularly liked the part where Stan Lee Media declares bankruptcy. The filmmakers completely absolve Lee of any wrongdoing (indeed he wasn't prosecuted by the SEC like some executives). To show that Lee is a such a great man, the film played an audio excerpt where Lee calls a fired employee and leaves a message on his answering machine telling him how sad he is that the guy has lost his job. Oddly, With Great Power is silent about he legal troubles Lee has subsequently had related Stan Lee Media. Still, it's tough to not like or admire Lee.

Scrappers - meth addicts and paranoid schizophrenics trespass on a US government bombing range to collect scrap metal from spent and unexploded ordnance. The only other people willing to risk their lives on the bombing range are coyotes smuggling people and drug runners. Categorize this as strange people doing strange things but not strange enough to hold my undivided interest.

Left By the Ship - surprisingly unaffecting documentary about orphans in the Philippines. Specifically, these people are the children of African American servicemen and Filipinas (in one case, a bar girl/prostitute). There was some law denying the kids US citizenship. As I recollect, this is not the case elsewhere but there was a specific law withholding citizenship for the children of US servicemen at Subic Bay and Clark Air Field. I recall reading somewhere that in every culture, the lighter skinned people are held up as the standard of beauty or that lighter skin is more desirable than darker skin. I wasn't expecting Left By the Ship to address the reasons but I will say that its odd that children of African Americans are discriminated against given how dark some native Filipinos are.

Back to the Garden - a bit of a bait and switch. The filmmaker filmed some isolated hippies in Washington state in the 1980s. He returns to interview them 20+ years later. The copy on the Indiefest program implied that the hippies had sold out or had dissension amongst themselves but with few exceptions the old guard were still fighting the good fight. The most notable exception was the woman who went from hippie to Microsoft employee. The second generation or the children of the hippies were more varied and interesting. My takeaway was that even if you could create heaven on earth, you still need to some interaction with the outside world and the kids born into this utopia will be anxious to see what lies beyond.

The other feature films left me bored or underwhelmed. The three short films I watched were interesting enough but, even the great Franzl Lang's performance in The Yodel Within is not enough to give it more than mild recommendation.

San Francisco Artifacts in the Richmond District

I stopped by the Balboa to see Tom Wyrsch's latest documentary.

Sutro's: The Palace at Lands End; directed by Tom Wyrsch; documentary; (2011) - Official Website

First, the Balboa & the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation (SFNTF) announced that SFNTF "has reached an agreement to lease the theatre to 2024 - thus securing the future of one of San Francisco's oldest operating cinemas." In his weekly newsletter, Gary Meyer characterized the announcement as "good news...But not good enough news to assure the theater can operate that long." On November 5, the Balboa Theater and SFNTF hosted an open house discussing topics such as "creating a realistic long-term plan for the future of the Balboa Theatre."

I was aware that SFNTF was interested in the Balboa three months ago. I'm not sure why it took so long to finalize the agreement. I did not attend the November 5 open house so I have no idea what was discussed. I've never seen a regular screening at the Vogue Theater, the theater SFNTF's currently owns and operates. My sense is that it is not well attended but for all I know, they are are packing them in every night. I'm more partial to the programming at the Balboa which is similar to the Vogue. They both program select general release films (with an eye towards their neighborhood's tastes) but the Balboa includes more special events or art house films from time to time. Of course, this programming has led the Balboa to the brink of closure so perhaps a change in programming is necessary "to assure the theater can operate."

To be honest, a 13 year lease on an 85 year old movie theater doesn't make much sense to me but bless SFNTF for taking the risk.

Now that the Balboa has "been saved," I wonder if a theater can close down in San Francisco again. Having pulled off this trick twice (with the Vogue & Balboa), I can't help but think that the SFNTF would be expected to save remaining movie theater's from the classic era such as the Clay, Bridge, Castro, 4 Star, Presidio and Marina.

The Red Vic (which closed in July) was formerly a furniture showroom as recently as the early 1990s. It didn't have the label of being a "movie palace" or "neighborhood theater." In other words, the building seems as important as the function. Buildings designed to be movie theaters need to be preserved as movie theaters to allow future San Franciscans to enjoy the unique pleasure of seeing a movie in a building designed to watch movies. At least, that's the line coming from movie theater preservationists.

Coincidentally, the Red Vic announced the next phase of its existence recently. The Alembic Bar (next door to the Red Vic) will expand into the lobby area. The actual theater will be split into a "marketplace" featuring "four to six food-related start-up entrepreneurs and retail businesses." They are also carving out space for a 49 seat screening room available for private rental.

Also, I recently saw a film at the 4 Star (in the larger screening room) where I was the only person in the audience on a weeknight screening (8:40 PM, I believe). That auditorium can probably seat approximately 200 people. That can't last for long. However, the Lees moved heaven and earth to "save" the 4 Star. I can't see them closing the theater after working so hard to abrogate the lease and purchase the building.

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Sutro's: The Palace at Lands End is directed by Tom Wyrsch who directed Remembering Playland at the Beach which I also saw at the Balboa. Sutro's is cut from the same cloth as Playland which is appropriate; Sutro Baths was just up the hill from Playland at the Beach and owned by the same person (George Whitney). Sutro Baths was originally built by Adoph Sutro in 1896, a San Francisco mayor who made his fortune in developing mining techniques for the Comstock Lode.

I called Playland a "barebones documentary." I recall thinking it was a little amateurish. Both documentaries relied on talking head interviews, still photos, home movies and minimal narration. However, Wyrsch seems to have upped his game as a documentarian. At nearly 90 minutes, Sutro's is twenty minutes longer than Playland but Wyrsch keeps the film moving much better. Whereas Playland felt like a substandard History Channel documentary, Sutro's has the look of one of those better made KQED documentaries.

That's not really very important though. Like Playland, Sutro's is targeted for people with an interest in San Francisco history. They'll lap up the photos and reminiscing. In addition, Sutro Baths seems more interesting than Playland. Sutro Baths was a impressive engineering feat and to this day, its ruins look like some Roman baths. The Playland site is now condominiums. Actually, epic plans for condos on the site of Sutro Baths was proposed after a fire destroyed the site but never came to fruition.

Wyrsch has set the table for a trilogy - Playland at the Beach, Sutro Baths and the natural finale could be a documentary on the Cliff House which still exists. I've always been interested in history and particularly San Francisco history so count me as a fan of Sutro's.