CineBlog

Cinequest: A Guide to San Jose's Maverick Film Festival

Whatever your angle, if you're interested in independent film Cinequest is well worth checking out. Below are brief guides for some of the many sorts of folks who might enjoy attending. Be sure to check the Films and Events listings at www.cinequest.org to confirm times, check out new additions, and buy tickets.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:
* Unless you buy the Elite Pass, which gets you into the express line, be sure to show up early for films. This reviewer usually plans to show up at least 30 minutes ahead of time, pass in hand.
* There are plenty of places to eat downtown, though many of them are a bit pricey. Remember to schedule time to eat if you're planning to see a lot of movies in a row, even if you just stick a granola bar in your pocket. Water is also important -- most venues will allow bottles of water with sports tops.
* The events and forums can sell out, so unless you want to depend on rush tickets, get your tickets as far in advance as you can.
* Parking is usually scarce and pricey during Cinequest, so if at all possible, take public transit. There are park-and-ride lots at man light rail stations, and light rail you drop you off right in the heart of the festival. Save money, time, and the environment!
* Unless you're attending screenings and events all at the same building, wear comfy shoes for walking. It's farther from the Camera 12 Cinemas to the California Theater than you probably think!
* Not sure what to see or what to avoid? Check out www.ealasaid.com/cineblog for reviews. New ones are posted frequently.

FILM LOVER
You're sort of person who makes up such a big portion of Cinequest's attendees that there's a special pass just for you. It will get you into any film screening (provided you are early enough in line that they don't run out of space) without having to buy tickets.
Planning: Check out the list of films at http://cinequest.org/films.php and the reviews at www.ealasaid.com/cineblog to make a list of films you're interested in seeing, then cross-check them with the evenings you're available on the schedule at http://cinequest.org/schedule.php If you like short films, don't miss the 48 Hour Film Project screenings, Friday February 29 and Saturday March 1.
Tickets: If you're going to see more than 12 films, get a Film Lover Pass ($125.00) to get the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, the bundle of ten tickets for $75 or individual tickets for $10 are the way to go.

FILM MAKER
Love movies, and love learning about making them? You'll want to see as many movies as you can as well as attending the forums.
Planning: Mark off the next two Friday-Saturday pairs in your calendar and plan to spend them downtown. The forums run all day Friday February 29, Saturday March 1, Friday March 7, and Saturday March 8. You can attend individual sections of the forums if you can't make the full day. Also take a look at the film schedule to see what you can take in -- after all, you need to see what sort of things are being done to get ideas and learn what to avoid!
Tickets: For movie tickets, see Film Lover above. The forums are $15/day. If you're planning to attend all the forums and a bunch of movies, consider the Films and Forums pass ($135), which will get you into any films and into all the film and technology forums.

FILM FANATIC
Love movies and anybody who makes them? You won't want to miss the movies OR the Maverick Spirit Events, where filmmakers like Danny Glover, Michael Keaton, and Michael Arndt talk about their experiences. Also be sure to make it to the parties if you can, where the creators of films showing at Cinequest will be milling around, happy to talk about their movies.
Planning: See Film Lover, above, and look at the events schedule at http://cinequest.org/special_events.php
Tickets: Individual events are $10-$15, and if you're planning to attend a lot of films as well as the events, take a look at the Premier Pass ($195). It covers the Maverick Spirit Events, Film Forums, and all the film screenings.

FESTIVAL JUNKIE
Don't want to miss a single thing at Cinequest? Forums, films, events, parties, even the VIP lounge? Well, there's a special angle just for you, if you have the time and money.
Planning: Schedule a vacation from work and look through the entire schedule online at http://cinequest.org/schedule.php to see what all you want to attend.
Tickets: The Elite Pass ($500) is the way to go. It gets you into everything, plus express entry so you don't have to show up as early or wait in line as long.

The Call of Cthulhu

Screenings: March 4, 4:45pm (Cam12); March 8, 12:30pm (Cam12)

The HP Lovecraft Historical Society brings us an unusual adaptation of one of the author's most popular stories, "The Call of Cthulhu." This tale of widespread cult activity, ancient god-aliens from beyond the stars, and horror rising from the depths of the ocean is brought to life in the form of a silent film. While modern technology brings a smoothness and a grayscale palette to the film that will ring false to any fan of silent films, the makeup, costuming, set design, and even depth of focus give the piece the feel of a film from the silent era. Although it has a very short runtime, it stays true to the story, with its nested flashbacks, peculiar events, and disjointed narrative style. This is a must-see for those interested in experimental film, Lovecraft, or silent movies.

Official Site: www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie

Eden Court - Opening Night Film

Screening: Opening Night only, February 27, 7pm (Cal).

Schroeder Duncan (Thomas Lennon, "Reno 911!") is turning 30 and has realized he is not living the life he dreamed of when he was a young ballplayer with a hundred-mile-an-hour fastball. He married his high school sweetheart, but they live in a trailer park, she always wants to talk about having babies, and he mows the grass at the local ballpark instead of playing there. Shroeder drags himself into action, preparing his van for a cross-country drive and planning to buy land in Australia and move there to start over.

"Eden Court" is a close-up look at Shroeder's life and the lives of his friends and neighbors, all of whom are not exactly living the American Dream. Good performances, writing filled with both with and pathos, and sharp cinematography all make this a solid film. Its hopeful, optimistic theme makes it the perfect kick off to this year's Cinequest.

At the IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt0475259/

Shorts Program 1: Pas De Deux

Screenings: March 6, 6:45pm (Cam12); March 7, 4pm (Cam 12)

This collection of short films looks at the relationships between pairs of people -- strangers, long-married folks, and even one man and himself. It includes a wide range of styles, from the Beckett and Pinter inspired "Folly of Two," about a pair of criminals who meet up in a playground and wind up trapped in a sort of purgatory, to "Hirsute," in which a man trying to invent time travel is visited by his future self, with unexpected results. There's also the peculiar "Personal Spectator," in which a young woman finds herself offered a peculiar service, and "Quincey & Althea," in which an aged couple face up to the realities of life after Hurricaine Katrina.

D-Tour: A Tenacious Documentary

Screenings: March 1, 10:15pm (Rep); March 2, 7pm (Cal).

Plenty of folks know Jack Black is an actor, but his musical career as half of the acoustic heavy metal satire duo Tenacious D was known only to the band's cult following -- until their film, "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" reached a somewhat larger audience. "D-Tour" is a documentary chronicling the tour Jack Black and his musical partner Kyle Gass went on to promote the film and its accompanying album.

The behind-the-scenes footage of tour preparation, rehearsals, and song writing is wonderful, and it is fun to see Black and Gass roaming the globe, their friends and family in tow. Things get stressful when "Pick of Destiny" opens to poor box office returns, but the D rallies and put on the rest of the tour anyway, working through the strain of their biggest tour to date and Black's massive popularity. This is an up close and personal look behind the stage personas of the Princes of Hell.

Take

Screening: Closing Night, March 9 7:30pm (Cal)

"Take" is a wrenchingly well-made film. Ana and Saul met momentarily, and disastrously, a few years ago. Now Ana is traveling to witness Saul's execution, hoping for closure, while Saul meets with a priest, hoping for salvation. Flashbacks tell their stories on the day of their meeting -- Ana's difficulties with her active son, Saul's desperation in the face of rising debt and his unsympathetic employer. The closer Ana gets to Saul's prison, the more we learn about the event that twined their lives together irrevocably. Eventually the two are face to face once again, and their confrontation provides food for thought that will last well beyond the ending credits. Minnie Driver and Jeremy Renner put in phenomenal performances in this mostly quiet but sometimes explosive tale. This is a movie that rewards the audience's attention with layer upon layer of detail and meaning. It's an excellent choice for the closing night screening.

Official Site: www.takethemovie.com

Student Shorts

Screenings: February 28, 7:30 pm (Cam 12); March 2, 10:30 am (Cam 12).

This collection of films springs from the minds of young filmmakers, and ranges from the fanciful to the brutally real in styles ranging from spare animation to lush dreamscapes to documentary. There's "My First Taste of Death," a strange tale written by a 12-year-old and directed by her 35-year-old self. The documentary "Bullet Proof Vest" looks at what life is like for a couple of young children in Richmond, California -- the 11th most dangerous city in the country. A balloon brings the courage to reach for their dreams to a series of people in "Dreams," and the man in the moon visits earth in "Mondmann."

Suspension

Screenings: March 7, 9:30pm (Cam 12); March 8, 9:30pm (Cam 12); March 9, 10:30pm (Cam 12)

"Suspension" revolves around a man, Daniel, and a woman, Sarah, who lose their families in the same car accident. As Daniel recovers from his injuries, he rebuilds his son's video camera and discovers that it now possesses a strange ability: it can pause time, allowing its wielder to walk around past paused people and motionless objects. Daniel experiments with it and soon starts using it to watch over and help Sarah, who is having financial troubles because her husband was at fault in the accident. As the old adage goes, though, power corrupts, and soon Daniel is being warped by his grief and his new powers. This is an unusual film but an interesting one for fans of science fiction.

Official Site: http://www.suspension-movie.com/

El Camino

Screenings: February 29, 9:30pm (Rep); March 2, 9pm (Rep); March 4, 4:30pm (Rep)

Elliott is a product of the foster system, with no family. When his childhood friend Matt dies, he goes to the funeral and overhears one of Matt's friends and Matt's ex-girlfriend planning to take some of Matt's ashes to Mexico. Elliott insists on joining them, and the three set out on an odyssey. This is a fairly typical independent film in many ways, with those failings. One character drops out of the film with little or not explanation. the logistics of the ending are completely unexplored. However, it's very different in tone from the usual Hollywood fare, which makes it a nice change for those who don't mind its rather loose plotting.

Official Site

Who is KK Downey?

Screenings: March 6, 7pm (Cam 12); March 8, 7:15pm (Cam 12); March 9, 3pm (Cam 12)

I don't know how to class this film. It's a drama, with a strong streak of black comedy. Or maybe it's a black comedy with a strong streak of drama. A black dramedy? Whatever it is, it's a trip. Terrence and Theo are lifelong friends, but also failures. Their band is going nowhere, in large part because of Terrence's drug binges and rants. Theo is unable to sell his novel, "Truckstop Hustler," because he is a pudgy white kid from the suburbs, and (according to a potential publisher) nobody wants to read anything by a guy like him. They come up with a scheme: Terrence will impersonate the main character of Theo's novel, KK Downey, and they'll re-present it as a memoir. Things go wonderfully, with KK hailed as his generation's Dylan, until a suspicious journalist starts sniffing around, determined to debunk the new folk hero.

This film exhibits one of my favorite traits in independent movies: I may have an idea of where it's going, but I can't be sure I'm right -- or be sure of how it's going to get there if I am. My one complaint is the unevenness of the characters. Many are so over-the-top and caricatured that they seem like cartoons brought to life, but some of them are not, and it gives the film an unbalanced feel. But perhaps that's what the filmmakers were going for.

Official Site: http://www.whoiskkdowney.com/

Around the Bay

Screenings: March 1, 7:45pm (Rep); March 4, 4:15pm (Cam 12); March 8, 7:45pm (Rep)

This is one of those slow, character-driven films that only works if you resonate with the characters somehow. I did not, and so it felt more like a long, slow eavesdropping on other people's lives. Daisy is a young woman with an ordinary life. Her estranged father, Wyatt, whose girlfriend has just left him, calls her up to ask for her help: he has a five-year-old son, Noah, who needs someone to look over him while Wyatt works. Daisy agrees to help and finds herself living in a beautiful house with her phenomenally difficult half-brother while her father is away all day. He's essentially away all night as well, as he has no real idea of how to interact with her or his son. Wyatt seems to hope that having Daisy there will help him reassemble the shards of his life, but she is not a miracle worker. This largely-improvised film is a good fit for fans of the experimental art-house movie, but not for folks who like action, character development, or much dialog.

Official Site: http://www.aroundthebaymovie.com/

Disfigured: A Movie About Women and Weight

Screenings: February 28, 6:30pm (Cam 12); February 29, 9:30pm (Cam 12); March 2, 1:30pm (Cam 12)

The opening scenes of "Disfigured" ring so true that they feel like a documentary. It quickly becomes clear that this is not, in fact, a documentary -- but it often feels as if it were.

"Disfigured" tells the story of two women: Lydia, a fat woman trying to maintain her identity as a human and struggling with body image while living in appearance-obsessed Venice Beach, and Darcy, a recovering anorexic struggling with body image from the other side of the coin. The two meet when Darcy tries to join a fat acceptance group Lydia is in (after all, Darcy sees herself as horribly fat, so shouldn't fat acceptance be helpful?). The group rejects Darcy, but Lydia protests and the two women wind up cautiously becoming friends. Their experiences as women struggling with food and weight issues are very different, yet on the same wavelength, and the deeper their friendship gets, the more clear that becomes -- especially when Lydia, desperate to lose weight, asks Darcy for anorexia lessons. As Darcy leads Lydia into her world, both women find themselves changing.

This is a film about issues for which there are no easy solutions, which is why it is an important movie to see. The writing, direction, and acting are all very good in that invisible way that lets you simply enter the world of the film and ride along with these two amazing women as their lives are irrevocably changed. The world needs more movies like this one.

Official Site: http://www.disfiguredmovie.com/

Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood

Screenings: March 2, 4:30pm (Cam 12); March 4, 9pm (Cam 12); March 7, 4:30pm (Rep)

Mardik Martin wrote or co-wrote some of the seminal films of the 70s and (early) 80s: "Mean Streets" was one of his early screenplays, and "Raging Bull" was his last. Since then he has taught other screenwriters his craft. With "Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood," Martin's story is brought to the viewing public, from his early days in Baghdad (chronicled with photographs, interviews, and lively cartoons), through his time in school, to his career in Hollywood, and beyond to his teaching. There are extensive interviews with Martin, but also with his students, friends, and collaborators (including long-time collaborator Martin Scorcese). This film is a must-see for anyone interested in screen writing, Hollywood, or recent film history.

Official Site: http://mardikmartin.blogspot.com/

Young, Single and Angry

Screenings: March 6, 9:15pm (Cam 12); March 7, 4:15pm (Cam 12)

Taylor is no longer young, but she's still single and wondering why she can't seem to find a decent guy and get the wedding she dreamed of when she was a girl. Her friends, the mildly predatory alcoholic Dot, winsome and promiscuous Katy, and the recently dumped nice guy Greg, are likewise single. As the foursome try to make their way through the LA dating pool they find themselves surrounded by deviants, addicts, and other charmers. Eventually, their searches lead them to happiness, but not where they expected to find it.

"Young, Single, and Angry" is a rather sweet romantic comedy, with many -- but not all! -- the failings of that genre. It earned bonus points with this reviewer for showing that stalkery behavior is not, in fact, romantic, and that women don't necessarily all need a guy to be happy with themselves.

Official site: http://www.youngsingleandangry.com/