the telluride film festival recap, or how i stole a picture from mr. stewart

I half believed I would return to autumn. The nights are cooler, indeed, but the midday humidity still sucks my already tight shirts to the ol' ma'ams and draws negative attention in yet another long line of interviews. I've stooped low, kiddies, and am no longer envisioning grand things for myself (aka, trying out for the big jobs), but am instead subverting myself to the double interview process strangely drawn upon by the fast food-chain-owned coffee house in town (camped out conveniently and awkwardly in said fast food chain's parking lot). The stern interviewer cracked when I said I'd like to be a mountaineer if I could.

But this isn't about that. Nor about that old feces (read: thesis) that's due in something like five weeks (of which I really have yet to start). No, this is to brag about the cool nights in Telluride, and the brilliant days (most of which I actually missed as I couldn't pull myself away from the silver screen). This year I had the great fortune to travel to the Telluride Film Fest with three excellent comrades, Bill, Joe, and Andrew, all from ol' Neeeeebraska. I also was lucky in my first foray into the couchsurfing world. Mr. Brown was a delightful host, if not mostly absent, and we shared some good chuckles and convo over Chinese food. I was able to watch twelve films between my ushering shifts at the theatre and the shows I watched like all the regular not-so-regular passholders, in long queues, braving cold and heat, and those blasted line cutters. Here's a run down of some of the highlights, many of which, I suppose, will be the big films of the awards season. Bear with me if this is 1) long, 2) tedious, 3) obnoxious, 4) more awesome than you could imagine.

Todd Haynes's "I'm Not There," USA
This is the new Dylan biopic, sorta, or rather, a postmodern tale tracing Dylan's various personas, from the folk revivalist to the electric guitar dissenter to Billy the Kid and French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Yeah, weird. To further highlight Dylan's transformative nature (always "becoming" never just "being"), the story follows not only these different facets of his personality but plays them out with different actors and actresses. It's crazy. But it's also stunningly beautiful, and a brilliant concept. Unfortunately, the film drags, its parallels sometimes unclear, and its focus redirected too many times. Haynes is likely making a point here. It's not easy to understand Dylan, and thus spectator alienation is not so out of step with Dylan's real life. But . . . Anyway, see it for the music, and for the few moments of brilliance, and for the breathtaking cinematography. And cause it's Dylan, for pete's sake.

Werner Herzog's "Encounters at the End of the World," Germany
I've misunderstood Herzog since "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," and loved him desperately since "Stroszek." He has a brilliance, a beauty, and a hilarity that are unique, and it was my great pleasure to see his new film on Antarctica (and to see HIM as well as he was present to introduce his film). As always, he seeks not normalcy, and asks questions like "are penguins ever deranged or insane?" In one of the most genius moments of the film, he documents one penguin that has apparently left the pack (do penguins live in packs?), wandering not toward the feeding area, nor toward the mating area, but taking off alone toward the mountains. Herzog later asks why monkeys that are intelligent beings don't subjugate lower life forms--like kidnapping goats and riding them into the distance. There are grim moments in the film, as well--the general scientific sense that humanity, like the dinosaurs, won't survive, without offering any positive "what you can do to save the world" list. The film, though, is mostly about the characters he meets (what strange and wonderful people decide to flee here), and his sharp commentary interspersed. This was my favorite film of the festival.

Sean Penn's "Into the Wild," USA
Both Penn and author John Krakauer were present for the film. The prior walking around with a cigarette in his mouth, filling all Galaxy Theatre staff with terror. The crackle over the headsets went as such: "Ummm, who wants to tell Mr. Penn that he can't smoke on the theatre property?" Yikes. The floor manager and I exchanged glances at several tedious and over-saccharine moments in the film. Still, the idea of fleeing all, burning money and identification and social security cards, and running off to Alaska, via Kansas, Mexico, and California, inspires. But the film felt too heavyhanded, falling too easily into typical Hollywood machinations. Ultimately, too hyped.

Marco Ferreri's "Dillinger is Dead," Italy
A little treasure from 1969, recently restored and distributed by the old tendertroves at the Criterion Collection. A film about time, space, and cinema, I suppose. A film about patience (on a spectator level). For the duration, one follows a man in a kitchen, cooking, disassembling a gun, soaking its parts in olive oil, reassembling it, painting it red with white polka dots, all while changing restlessly between radio stations. This and a honey-dipped mistress. And super 8 footage that he interacts with (for a longer period of time than you'd expect). It really is genius, but again, must be seen. One of my favorites. Copy and paste into your netflix queue: Dillinger is dead.

Eran Kolirin's "The Band's Visit," Israel
The bright spot of a festival dominated by dark storylines. This brilliant film follows the misadventures of an Egyptian police band lost and stranded in a small town in Israel. Bill and I waited in a long line at the Palm theatre, cynical about humanity and the poor behaviors mob tension brings out. But we left wanting to dance, peel oranges, and love people. The film was simple story-wise and cinematographically. There were rarely cuts, and thus action and comedy had to spill out into the screen instead of being cut into. Kolirin delivered complex expression through simple means--colors, framing, facial pathos. The Q&A afterward revealed some interesting insight, including the undercurrent of politics. The film, he said, is a tribute to the Egyptian romance films on the TV of Israel's youth (Israel now looks west, not east, for models of love). When asked about the comedic moments in the film, he said he saw the film as an incredibly sad story. I had a hard time believing him, as I reflected on a scene in a skating rink, delivering raw comedy in a way I have rarely seen it.

Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding"
I am a f-a-n of this ol' chap, and was looking forward to this film--a story about the tensions between two sisters as one decides to marry an absolute dingleberry, played by Jack Black, to give you an idea of the dingleberry potential involved. As always, Mr. Baumbach develops great authenticity in his characters, and the exchanges between characters are sharp and delightfully real (despite his perhaps over-pretentious rendering of adolescent dialogue). All I can say is this: great, great performances, but a little lacking story-wise. These characters, though well-delivered, I couldn't, nor wanted to associate with.

Jason Reitman's "Juno"
This film is based off of a screenplay written by Diabolo Cody, who was discovered through her blog. It follows at 16-year-old girl (played brilliantly by Ellen Page) who gets pregnant, and thus shops around for adoptive parents. Her dialogue is sharp throughout, in a Veronica Mars sort of way--a witty comment on hand for any occasion. It is continuously funny, and, as one of the sneak previews at the festival, it was a welcome change from the usual fare of genocide and suffering presented at the festival. This will be a big one in the fall, I'm sure.

Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis"
Persepolis is an animation, based off of the comic book history of Satrapi's childhood. The animation is beautifully done, and the story well executed. It follows a young girl growing up in Iran under the oppressive Shah, and follows her through the revolution, the Shah's overthrow, the war with Iraq, and the "freedom" post war. As it is told through her perspective, it is surprisingly comical at times, heartwrenching at others. A great gem on female coming-of-age. And a good historical update on life in Iran. Very impressive.

So as not to weigh you down with all descriptions, shoot me an E-mail me if you're interested, and I'll tell you all the films I saw and provide you with some better commentary.

Go film! Whoot!