Selfies: 2014 SBIFF

Here are some of the favorite pics and selfies I took during last month's Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Top pic: The crowd gathering outside of Metro Theaters in Downtown Santa Barbara.

2nd pic: Swiss filmmaker Elena Hazanov and her son Sasha Guerreiro who was the lead star in her movie, "Sam".

3rd pic: My selfie
with Czech filmmaker and the director of my favorite movie at the festival, "Clownwise"



4th pic: My selfie with Hollywood actor Scott Speedman after the world premiere of his latest film, "Barefoot."

5th pic: My selfie with Anne Heche outside Metro Theater. We chatted for a little bit about Philip Seymour Hoffman who died unexpectedly that day.

XXX
Raymond Lo

Movies: February 2014 List

I started the year going to a couple of film festivals in January and that continued throughout February.

During the first weekend of February, I drove some 100 miles north to the beautiful seaside town of Santa Barbara to attend their annual film festival. I saw some great movies and several bad ones during my two-day excursion. The most memorable for me was the Czech film "Clownwise" (dir. Victor Taus) which brought me tears for its poignant story of enduring friendship and the spiritual healing true forgiveness brings to all of us. 

I also liked the Swiss film "Sam" (dir. Elena Hazanov) and the powerful Lithuanian drama "The Gambler" (dir. Ignas Jonynas). I felt so lucky to have met many filmmakers and actors during the two days I was there. I chatted with Anne Heche and Scott Speedman after the screening of Scott's latest film, the romantic-drama "Barefoot". I had several selfies taken with the directors of "Clownwise" and "Sam", too!

During the month, I also decided to finally watch several DVDs that a good friend loaned to me and some that I have owned for sometime now.

I watched a '60s Cuban film called "Los Dias Del Agua" but it had not subtitles, hence the "Qualified Rating" --- I liked the imagery and I think I was able to follow the story somewhat which has some resemblance to the classic Filipino movie "Himala" (dir. Ishmael Bernal.)

Here are the movies that took so much time from me during the month of February 2014.

Mount Joy (US) - 3 Stars

Sam (Switzerland) - 4 Stars

Cold Eyes (Korea) - 4 Stars

Night Has Settled (US) - 2 Stars

The Gambler (Lithuania) - 5 Stars

Barefoot (US) - 3 Stars

Clownwise (Czech Republic) - 5 Stars

Late Spring (Korea) - 2 Stars

Algunas Chicas (Argentina) - 1 Star

Short Term 12 (US) DVD - 4 Stars

Enough Said (US) DVD - 3 Stars

A Hijacking (Denmark) DVD - 5 Stars

Philomena (UK) - 5 Stars

Los Dias Del Agua (Cuba) DVD - Qualified Rating

The Imposter (UK) DVD - 5 Stars

Don Jon (US) DVD - 3 1/2 Stars 

Enemy (US/Canada) - 5 Stars

The Breakfast Club (US) Streaming - 4 Stars

Bona (Philippines) DVD - 5 Stars

The Lone Ranger (US) DVD - 2 Stars

The Counselor (US) DVD - 2 Stars

My favorite movie this month is "Clownwise." I loved the filmmaking and the measured approach to the storytelling. I was also impressed by the brave artistic decision not to resort to the lazy storytelling trick of inserting flashback scenes to a conversation. Amazing film! 

My other favorites this month include "The Gambler" --- my good friend and super film buff, Georges, and I debated lengthily on what the final scene meant. I took it as a good one while he picked the opposite. We were not able to arrive at a common conclusion but we both loved the movie. Our debate proves that a good film can have many meanings to a truly invested audience. 

"Enemy' --- the bewildering new film from Canadian filmmaker Denis Villenueve and "A Hijacking" --- a suspenseful, truly riveting film from Denmark, a much better movie than "Captain Phillips" - not that I should compare any movies at all, complete my runner-up list.

XXX

Raymond Lo

SBIFF Diary: Anne Heche and Scott Speedman

When i took this, i was trying to get a sweeping view of the crowd outside the Metro Theater in Santa Barbara during the SBIFF held early this month... When i reviewed the video, look who i captured? Anne Heche and Scott Speedman. This was after the screening of Scott's new movie "Barefoot" which opens in theaters this Friday, February 21, 2014. I remember chatting with Anne and Scott about the untimely death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman which was a breaking story the day "Barefoot" had its world premiere...



XXX

Raymond Lo

SBIFF Diary. Film Review: "Clownwise"

CLOWNWISE

I saw 9 movies last weekend at the ongoing Santa Barbara International Film Festival and I saw several great films and one truly memorable and moving film.

I was not planning on writing a full review but i thought the movie warranted it.

"Clownwise" is a little tricky to describe without revealing much of the structure that makes the movie so compelling and so powerful.

Let me try. The film is a story of a famous clown trio whose friendship was abruptly and inexplicably broken by a fight that  only they know. The movie begins thirty years after their group disbanded. Their most famous member, Oskar, has decided to return to Prague for a farewell show before he finally retires. He appears on a TV talk show to promote his show but was ambushed by the host with inquiries into what really caused their group's break-up thirty years before.

The cause of their break-up will not be revealed until the final minutes of the movie and before the audience gets there, the movie will introduce us to the two other members of the trio and the starkly different lives they lead in the present. Max is a sixtysomething father of two young kids and husband to a pretty wife three decades his junior.

Viktor meantime is busy making a living as a mime instructor and taking care of his wife Sylvie, who is suffering from dementia. How their lives will be reconnected and how their old conflicts will be resolved are some of the journey that the audience will be taking along with the characters.

One of the biggest reasons why i so loved this movie is what it didn't do in telling us the shared history of the three former friends. There were so many instances in the movie when the director could have easily used the oft-used flashback trick as an exposition devise but surprised me by bravely avoiding it. (The director later explained why he didn't utilize this narrative trick during the Q&A but i will not reveal it here so as not to spoil the movie any further.)

I love to cry in the movies and suffice it to say that i shed many tears while watching this movie. There's one particularly poignant scene when Max's son hugged his dad after an unfortunate incident caused an embarrassing spill and exposed his father's delicate condition. The lady next to me started sniffing at the scene while i was already sobbing quietly.

Viktor Taus, the talented director, revealed that the movie was his tribute to his mentors but he accomplished more than that. He has crafted an emotionally moving film that also celebrates the lasting bonds of true friendship that may be broken by a decades-old conflict but can still survive when the heart finally decides to recognize what it truly feels and starts to forgive and forget the past.

The conflicts of the past plays a trick with all of us. We can try to run away from it but we all have to face it eventually. The three friends waited thirty years, but they got to it eventually. And when they do, it's as if the anger they harbored towards one another never existed at all. I wish i could reveal the plot surprise here but i will not.

"Clownwise" is anchored by great performances from two legendary Czech comedians: Oldrich Kaiser and Jiri Labus. The rest of the impressive cast include Didier Flamand, Kati Outinen, Julie Ferrier and Eva Jenickova.

Rating: 5 stars!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Festival Diary: SBIFF 2014

SBIFF or Santa Barbara International Film Festival (http://sbiff.org/) kicked off yesterday and will run until February 9th. It is the 29th edition of the festival. Yay! I am driving tomorrow morning to the seaside town and spend the next two days traveling the world again with the filmmakers as my guide.

Oscar frontrunner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) will be feted tomorrow night and I hope I can make it. Filipino festival favorite "Transit" (dir. Hannah Espia) will be screened during the festival along with Singapore's acclaimed film "Ilo Ilo" (dir. Anthony Chen). Fun times ahead.

Below are the movies that i have penciled and hope to catch during my two day trip.

29th SBIFF Screen Grab.

Saturday:

Eastern Boys (8:30 AM)
Mount Joy (10:20 AM)
Sam (1:00 PM)
Cold Eyes (4:40 PM)
Night Has Settled (7:00 PM)
The Gambler (10:10 PM)

Sunday:

Barefoot (11:00 AM)

Clownwise (1:20 PM)

Late Spring (4:00 PM)

Warren (7:00 PM)

Don't ask me anything about the movies as I haven't seen the program yet. I hope they are all good! I am particularly looking forward to watching "Barefoot" - it stars Evan Rachel Wood who, i think, is a remarkably underrated actress!

XXX
Raymond Lo