SXSW - Day One
SXSW - Day Two
SXSW - Day Three
SXSW - Day Four
And yet again, I've taken for-fucking-ever to post the next in my series of SXSW blogs. By the time I'm done with these, it'll probably be SXSW time again. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. There's only three more after this! We can do it! You just gotta believe!
Enough excuses, here's blog five!
The Films
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TINY FURNITURE
In earlier installments of this blog series, I had said that Cyrus was my favorite film from the festival. Well, honestly, I don't know if that's necessarily true and it's only because of this film right here.
Tiny Furniture tells the story of a young woman named Aura, played by the film's writer/director Lena Dunham, fresh out of college and who has moved back to New York City to live with her mother and sister. She went to school in Ohio for film and has had moderate YouTube success with one video. She's lost and doesn't know where to go from here.
What I love right off the bat is that this is a film about this woman who isn't necessarily drop dead gorgeous (though she is cute), isn't really looking for a relationship, and is trying to figure out the next step in her life. It's really feminist in that regard. The next step isn't to find a man who could possibly figure it all out for her like many movies with female leads showcase. It's about her taking control of her emotions and desires. It's an amazing character piece in that regard.
Every character in her life is fully realized and the actors playing them are brilliant, especially the mother and sister played by Dunham's own family members. There's a chemistry there that couldn't be present if it were not for them being related. The other characters represent different parts of Aura's life and give layers to the emotions represented. It's just an all around great cast who know how to mix the drama and comedy really well.
For this only being Lena Dunham's second feature, she has a hell of a future ahead of her that I'm currently really jealous of. Her film was a huge inspiration for me and I hope to have similar success.
I give the film a 10 out of 10.
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NARRATIVE SHORTS 3
These two flicks are the ones that really stick out in my mind from this section of shorts.
CIGARETTE CANDY
A soldier returns home from Iraq with a lot of weight on his shoulders...obviously. His family is throwing him a little cook-out to celebrate his return. He's haunted by this beautiful teenage girl who keeps giving him seductive glances and his father who's pushing for him to give a speech on the good things they're doing in the war that aren't true. Seeing the inner struggle of the lead character is fascinating and the actor playing him is top notch.
KELP
The story of a man who leaves his wife and family for kelp. Yes, the strange plant found in large masses of water and yes, it's pretty hilarious.-----------------------------------------
LE DONK AND SCOR-ZAY-ZEE
I was really looking forward to this mocumentary starring Edgar Wright regular Paddy Considine. However and disappointingly, it was only moderately funny. There's a lot of potential here, but it doesn't quite get there for me. It's not one to skip entirely, but it's certainly not bursting at the seems with laughs.
I give the film a 7 out of 10.
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PASSENGER PIGEONS
This is going to be a film I remember for a very long time. Not really because of the film itself, but because of the circumstances I saw the film in.Imagine you're a filmmaker who has had some success. You've made a few iconic films others look to for inspiration. Now, imagine you're sitting in the audience of a film that's largely influenced by your style. Wouldn't that be trippy and surreal? Well, that's sort of what happened in this film.
Passenger Pigeons is a film largely influenced by the work of David Gordon Green. The southern style, the slow burn storytelling, the multiple storylines converging...all felt like a lesser piece of Green's work. And I'm sure you can guess by now that David Gordon Green was in the audience a few rows ahead of me. I really wanted to pick his brain after the screening just to see what he thought. That would be hella weird for me as a filmmaker, personally. Though, I can admit, I hope to have this experience someday.
The film itself was okay. The acting and story was a bit dry and the sound wasn't really that great, but it was somewhat engaging. It's probably my least favorite David Gordon Green flick. Oh...wait...
I give the film a 6 out of 10.
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SKATELAND
Skateland was a film that got a hell of a reception at SXSW. The filmmaker behind it was from Austin, so all his friends came to the screening and hooted and hollered throughout. It was a tad annoying, but I could feel the excitement in the air for their friend and I could respect it.
The film, however, was only okay. A lot of people have been praising it as a modern Dazed and Confused. I couldn't really shake the feeling that it was nothing more than a Dazed and Confused rip-off. I mean, it was pretty good, but I've already seen the film once and done way better by Linklater. Plus, the lead guy was pretty awful. I couldn't really stand him.
I like the work that went into making it feel like the 70s, I liked the story for the most part, and the side characters could be entertaining. I would just rather watch Dazed, though.
I give the film a 7 out of 10.
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THE LOVED ONES
Now, here's a movie that took it's love for a certain type of film and genre and made something new out of it. The Loved Ones is a horror flick that tells the story of a boy who refuses to go to prom with the weird girl in school and the crazy hell he has to pay for doing so.
This flick, lovingly crafted in Australia, really took me by surprise. I knew nothing about it, honestly, and when I was in the middle of it, I couldn't help but smile the whole time. It's one of those horror films that doesn't take itself too seriously, but still provides something extremely fucked up and cringe-worthy. There's laughs, there's tension, there's gore, and there's a badass ending. What more could you ask for from an awesome flick like this?
I give the film a 9 out of 10.
And day five is a wrap!
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