Other than that, not much going on that I can tell you about.

A- What Maisie Knew, Embarcadero, Albany, opens Friday. This family drama follows the aftereffects of a very angry, messy, and vindictive divorce–as seen through the eyes of the bickering couple’s  young daughter. We see nothing that she doesn’t see, or hear anything she doesn’t hear. Of course we realize, even if she doesn’t, that both of her parents are jerks. Julianne Moore plays Maisie’s monster of a mother, an aging rock star incapable of relating to another human being as anything other than an extension of herself. Maisie’s art dealer father (Steve Coogan) fights for joint custody not out of love but revenge. Luckily for her, there are better adults in her life, but they may not be enough to make up for her lousy parents. Read my full review.

A King Kong, New Parkway, Sunday, 6:00. The first effects-laden adventure film of the sound era still holds up. It’s not just Willis O’Brien’s breathtaking special effects–technically crude by today’s standards but still awe-inspiring. It’s the intelligent script by Ruth Rose, the evocative score by Max Steiner, and the wonderful cast headed by Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong. But most of all, it’s the title character. Kong is the stuff of nightmares, utterly terrifying as he grinds people into the ground or bites them to death, but also confused, loving, majestic, and ultimately doomed. Pretty good for an 18-inch model covered with rabbit fur. Sure, the story is silly, but so are dreams. This Thrillville Theater presentation will be hosted by Lord Blood-Rah, and no, I have no idea who that is.

B Valley of the Giants, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 7:30. This story of good loggers vs. evil loggers is simple, lurid, yet well-done melodrama, and highly out-of-date by today’s more environmentally-enlightened standards. (Someone must have liked it, though; this is one of three film versions.) But never mind the story; the action sequences are as thrilling and suspenseful as any you’re likely to see. The location photography, shot near Eureka before that area was, well, ruined by loggers, makes The Valley of the Giants terrific eye candy. Accompanied by Judy Rosenberg at the piano.

B Something in the Air, Roxie, opens Friday. Youthful innocence takes strange forms. For Gilles, a French high school student in 1971, it takes the forms of radical activism and artistic ambitions. Sometimes those drives support each other in Olivier Assayas’ loose tale, and at other times they conflict. Something in the Air doesn’t grab you like a great film; you often have to force yourself to stay involved. But the effort is worthwhile. As Gilles grows beyond his radical idealism–even if he never quite renounces it–you’ll find yourself appreciating how we all mature and find ourselves. And yes, the esoteric Marxist arguments are intended to sound ridiculous. Read my full review.

A- Family drama

• Written by Nancy Doyne & Carroll Cartwright
• Based on the novel by Henry James
• Directed by Scott McGehee & David Siegel

Full disclosure: I’m inclined to go easy on movies where a very likeable, good-looking, and essentially decent character has the first name Lincoln. Those of you named Bob or John probably won’t understand.

What Maisie Knew follows the aftereffects of a very angry, messy, and vindictive divorce between two selfish jerks who deserve each other. But their young daughter, Maisie (Onata Aprile), deserves and requires something much better than either of them.

As the title suggests, the film tells its story from Maisie’s point of view. We see nothing that she doesn’t see, or hear anything she doesn’t hear. Of course, we understand what’s going on better than she does. But the subjective style allows us to further empathize with this innocent human being so utterly devoid of power.

Julianne Moore plays Maisie’s monster of a mother. An aging rock star who has probably seen better days, she’s incapable of relating to another human being as anything other than an extension of herself. She acts out her love for her daughter–in the opening scene she sings her to sleep–but she ripples with jealousy if the girl bonds with anyone else. She verbally abuses her husband within earshot of their child.

The makeup and costume department did everything they could to age Moore. Gone is the still-beautiful middle-aged mother of The Kids are All Right. Here, Moore looks old and worn out, as if she’d taken too many drugs, smoked too many cigarettes, and allowed her fear and anger to wear her down.

Maisie’s art dealer father (Steve Coogan) seems almost as bad as her mother. Perhaps he’s just as horrible, but he has less screen time  in which to make a bad impression. He’s certainly selfish and self-centered. One suspects that he fights for joint custody not so much out of love for his daughter as punishment for his ex-wife.

Both mother and father marry younger lovers, not so much on a rebound as to give them greater leverage in court. The father marries Maisie’s nanny (Joanna Vanderham), which is a step in the right direction. After all, she already has a close and loving relationship with Maisie, and she has considerable childcare skills.

But it’s the mother’s new husband, the aforementioned Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgård), who has the most interesting and positive character arc. A bartender who improbably finds himself married to a rock star, he’s initially uninterested in his new stepdaughter. But as his irresponsible wife leaves him with more and more of the parenting responsibilities, he grows into the role, becoming the loving adult that Maisie so desperately needs.

Everyone in the cast is spot on, but I’d be unfair not to offer specific praise for the young star. At no point was I reminded that Onata Aprile was a child performer. She was, quite simply, a little girl caught between very bad parents, finding joy wherever she could. She carried the film.

The ending wraps things up a little too neatly, but that’s really my only complaint. This should be seen by everyone contemplating parenthood.

I saw What Maisie Knew at a press screening prior to its Bay Area premiere at the 2013 San Francisco International Film Festival.

Or does it?

The Festival runs May 31 – June 2.

Set on a particularly dramatic spot on the Northern California coast, Mendocino combines dramatic scenery, art galleries, quaint architecture, a great health food store, and the near-constant sound of ocean meeting land. You can spend all day exploring the nooks and crannies of the seashore, and never be too far from the center of town.

Much of what they’re showing is familiar. They’re showing Chasing Ice, Searching for Sugar Man, and The Intouchables (see my review), plus some documentaries that have been making the festival rounds lately, such as God Loves Uganda and Rebels with a Cause. They’ve got Buster Keaton classics, as well: The General and a trio of shorts. These will be accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra.

Mendocino doesn’t actually have a movie theater. They’ll be erecting a large tent for screenings (probably the same one they use for the Music Festival). They’ll also use the high school theater for some screenings. And they will screen films in theaters not located in Mendocino (although they’re all in Mendocino county).

One venue is quite far away, in Willits. That’s an hour’s drive according to Google Maps. However, that appears to be used only for opening night. That should give you time for the drive.

Speaking of driving time, I won’t be including this festival in the Current Festivals section of my Blogroll, or listing it in my newsletter. Mendocino is too far away to call it part of the Bay Area.

Tempting as it sounds, I won’t be attending. Not only can I not spare the time (or the money), but I suspect I’d feel awfully conflicted. I wouldn’t know whether to go inside for a movie or outside to enjoy the view.

And this week, the Balboa starts Popcorn Palace, a series of kiddie matinees every Saturday at 10:00am. The series starts with a collection of independent, child-friendly, animated shorts.

B Something in the Air, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. Youthful innocence takes strange forms. For Gilles, a French high school student in 1971, it takes the forms of radical activism and artistic ambitions. Sometimes those drives support each other in Olivier Assayas’ loose tale, and at other times they conflict. Something in the Air doesn’t grab you like a great film; you often have to force yourself to stay involved. But the effort is worthwhile. As Gilles grows beyond his radical idealism–even if he never quite renounces it–you’ll find yourself appreciating how we all mature and find ourselves. And yes, the esoteric Marxist arguments are intended to look ridiculous. Read my full review.

C+ Cleopatra (1963 version), Shattuck, Wednesday. New digital restoration. At 243 minutes, this widescreen epic clocks in as the longest single theatrical release by a major American studio. And at an estimated 40 million 1963 dollars, it’s probably the most expensive. It’s also very dependent on a large screen and a large format to work (it was shot in Todd-AO and originally screened in 70mm). In most theaters and with most projectors, the first half (Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar) is mildly entertaining, and the second half (Richard Burton as Mark Antony), unbearably boring. But with a large enough screen and a good enough print (or DCP), the movie’s spectacle makes it much more fun. The first half becomes spectacular entertainment and the second…well, not quite as boring. Frankly, I can’t imagine any screen in the Shattuck doing it justice.

A+ Rear Window, Castro, Saturday. Alfred Hitchcock at his absolute best. James Stewart is riveting as a news photographer temporarily confined to his apartment and a wheelchair, amusing himself by spying on his neighbors (none of whom he knows) and guessing at the details of their lives. Then he begins to suspect that one of them committed murder. As he and his girlfriend (Grace Kelly) begin to investigate, it slowly begins to dawn on us that they’re getting into some pretty dangerous territory (something they don’t realize until it’s almost too late). Hitchcock uses this story to examine voyeurism, urban alienation, and the institution of marriage, as well as to treat his audience to a great entertainment. On a double bill with Body Double, which I haven’t seen.

A Sweet Smell of Success, Roxie, Saturday. Burt Lancaster risked his career to produce this exploration of the seamy side of fame. He plays New York gossip columnist J. J. Hunsecker–a truly repellent and despicable character who happily bathes in the adulation and fear of the people around him. Tonight’s main victim: a whinny Broadway press agent (Tony Curtis belying his reputation as a bad actor), terrified that his career will collapse if Hunsecker doesn’t praise the right client. In addition to everything else, Hunsecker–who’s based loosely on the actual Walter Winchell–has a rather too-close relationship with his kid sister. From a script by Clifford Odets and Ernest (North by Northwest) Lehman. On a double bill with All Night Long, which I haven’t seen. Part of the I Wake Up Dreaming series.

A+ The Godfather Trilogy, New Parkway, Sunday, 11:00am. The A+ goes to the first two films. Francis Coppola, taking the job simply because he needed the money, turned Mario Puzo’s potboiler into the Great American Crime Epic. Marlon Brando may have top billing, but Al Pacino owns the film (and became a star) as Michael Corleone, the respectable son inevitably and reluctantly pulled into a life of crime he doesn’t want but fits him like a glove. Great as The Godfather is, the sequel (which is also a prequel) tops it. By juxtaposing the rise of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando in the first film, a young Robert De Niro here) with the moral fall of his son Michael (Al Pacino again), Puzo and Coppola show us how the decision a seemingly good man makes to care for his family will eventually destroy the very people he loves. I recommend you leave before Part III starts.

A Shadow of a Doubt, Castro, Tuesday. In Alfred Hitchcock’s first great American film, a serial killer (Joseph Cotton at his most charming) returns to his small-town roots. When his favorite niece (Teresa Wright) begins to suspect that all is not right with her beloved Uncle Charlie, her own life is in danger. Cotton’s performance makes the movie. Most of the time he’s warm, friendly, and relaxed. But he can turn brooding and dark, and say things that no well-adjusted person could possibly say. Written in part by Our Town playwright Thorton Wilder. The locations were shot in Santa Rosa. On a double bill with Stoker, which I haven’t seen.

A- Milk, Castro, Wednesday. Yep, I’m always a sucker for a historical epic, and it’s such a rare treat to see one set in a time and place where I actually lived. Sprawling but never boring, and inspiring without preaching, Milk tells the story of America’s first openly gay elected official, from his closeted time in New York to his Castro activism, his all-to-brief service in City Hall, and his untimely assassination. I’ve always known that Sean Penn was a great actor; it’s nice to know that he can do “happy” as well as more tragic emotions. James Franco is also very good as what in a more conventional film would be called the "chick" part.

B+ Black Swan, Castro, Thursday. Natalie Portman loses her grip on reality (and wins an Oscar) in this over-the-top psychological melodrama set in the world of ballet. Between her dominating mother, the artistic director trying to awaken her suppressed sexuality for the sake of art (yeah, right), and the other ballerinas who may be friends or enemies, she has a lot on her mind. No wonder she has a hard time holding on to it. Deliciously fun entertainment. Not to be confused with the 1942 Tyrone Power pirate movie, The Black Swan, which is also deliciously fun entertainment. On a double-bill with Dancer in the Dark.

A+ Raiders of the Lost Ark, Clay, Friday and Saturday, midnight. Steven Spielberg directed it, and the bad guys are Nazis, but it’s as far from Schindler’s List as a great movie can get. But then, it’s great in an entirely different way. There’s absolutely nothing to take seriously in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and no message to help uplift you. The story is fundamentally preposterous, and the hero, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no more an archeologist than I am a butterfly. But the energy is so high, the action scenes so brilliantly choreographed and edited, and the whole story told with such enthusiasm and wit, that the rest of it just doesn’t matter. If you object to mindless, escapist action flicks on principle, you won’t see it anyway. If you don’t, you probably already love it.

B+ Bridge on the River Kwai, Stanford, Friday. The longer it’s been since you’ve seen David Lean’s World War II adventure, the better it gets in your  memory. That’s because the brilliant story of an over-proud British POW whose actions become arguably treasonable (Alec Guinness) sticks in the mind. But to see the actual movie again is to be reminded that Guinness’ tale is just a subplot (the actor received third billing). The bulk of Kwai is a very well made but conventional action movie with some uncomfortably Hollywoodish elements. Remember the Burmese porters who all just happen to all be beautiful young women? In one way, Kwai is like sex: When it’s good, it’s fantastic, and when it’s bad, it’s at least entertaining. Read my Blu-ray review.

B Period drama

• Written and directed by Olivier Assayas

Youthful innocence takes strange forms. For many in 1971, it took the conflicting forms of sex-and-drugs hedonism and radical leftwing activism. They didn’t always work well together.

In Olivier Assayas’ loose tale of French youth, the characters spend much of their time fighting the establishment and arguing esoteric bits of Marxist dogma. (In this world, Trotskyists and Maoists hate each other like Protestants and Catholics in the 16th century.) They’re also, to one degree or another, artists, and their artistic instincts don’t always mix with their political beliefs. Of course, because they’re young, they fall easily in and out of love, as well. That doesn’t always match their political theories, either.

The story centers on Gilles (Clément Métayer), a high school radical and a budding painter and want-to-be filmmaker. He seems quiet and shy, a watcher, although he’s actually quite active. He sells a radical newspaper to other students. He takes part in a protest that becomes a police riot, and then, with comrades, commits a couple of very serious acts of vandalism. After a security guard is seriously injured, Gilles and his companions decide it’s best to spend the summer laying low.

The rest of the film follows his wanderings, and that of a handful of his friends. He falls in love. They travel a bit with a Communist filmmaking collective. He sells some of his work. He visits an ex-girlfriend in England who has slid into a dangerously hedonistic lifestyle. He works for his father–a more commercial and conventional filmmaker.

Something in the Air doesn’t grab you like a great film (or even like an entertaining movie). You often have to force yourself to stay involved. But the effort is worthwhile. As Gilles grows beyond his radical idealism–even if he never quite renounces it–you’ll find yourself appreciating how we all mature and find ourselves.

Like Gilles, I was in high school in 1971. My idealism ran more in the hippy artist direction, but I had plenty of friends who proudly carried their little red books. The political arguments in Something in the Air ring very true for the time. Yet the film wisely avoids nostalgia. There’s plenty about the early ’70s to be nostalgic about; spray painting schools and arguing Marxism aren’t among them.

I saw Something in the Air on a screener DVD before it’s showing at the 2013 San Francisco International Film Festival.

(It wasn’t actually the festival’s end.  Six other films screened at various theaters after Before Midnight began. The last one, Il Futuro, started at the Pacific Film Archive at 8:50; Before Midnight was over by then.)

Although I came in skeptical about the whole idea of an art house threequel, Before Midnight won be over. I easily give it an A.

This time around, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) have been living together for nine years, and they might as well be married. They have twins, a life together, and bodies transitioning into middle age. Like the previous films, this one takes place in a single day, but they don’t spend it walking around a city. They’re on vacation in Greece, and they drive, share a talkative dinner with six other people, and spend considerable time in a hotel room. And they fight. Hard. They still love ach other, but you’re not sure if the relationship will last. The result is both sad and sexy.

The film was written by Delpy, Hawke, and director Richard Linklater. After the movie, Delpy and Linklater came onstage for Q&A (Hawke was unable to attend). Some highlights:

• Linklater: The decision to do the second [move] was scary… Somewhere we realized that Jesse and Celine were still alive and we had to see what they’re doing. But this one was more difficult.
• Linklater, on a big dinner scene where they interact with three other couples: We couldn’t do the same thing again. We had to see them in their lives. And that included other people.
• Delpy: I come from a musical background. I remember all the training. Same thing with acting. The goal is to feel like you just stepped in and did it. But it takes tons of rehearsal.
• Delpy, on exposing her breasts for the first time in this series: We knew we needed to go that far. You don’t have sex with a bra. [To Linklater] Maybe you do.
• Linklater, talking about the choice to give them twins: I have identical twins. Those two kids [the child actors, not his own twins] in the back seat were wonderful in that 13-minute take.
• Delpy, on the big argument scene: You get to write the arguments, and that’s great. It’s your dream argument. I wish I could have arguments like that.

After the Q&A, I made my way to the Closing Night Party at Ruby Skye, a downtown club I’d never before visited. It was large enough to be comfortable. The music was loud enough to enjoy, but not so loud as to block conversation. Food booths around the place, each run by a different caterer, offered a wide variety of tasty but mostly unhealthy fare.

It was a nice way to end the festival, and I regretted having to leave early.

And then there are these:

A+ Powell & Pressburger Technicolor Double Bill: The Red Shoes & The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Castro, Sunday. The A+ goes to Colonel Blimp, which follows a career soldier in His Majesty’s army through four decades and three wars, from his dashing youth to a somewhat foolish old age. Along the way, filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger provide warmth, heartbreak, laughs, and several viewpoints on what it means to be a soldier, a patriot, a young man, an old man, and a decent human being. The Red Shows, set in the world of ballet, examines what it takes to be an artist. The cast and characters are all excellent, but the final hour weighs down with more melodrama than even a well-acted film can bear. On the other hand—and this is why The Red Shoes holds on to its classic status—the 20-minute ballet at the center is a masterpiece of filmed dance, and no other picture used three-strip Technicolor this expressively. I discuss Colonel Blimp in more detail in this article and this Blu-ray review; and The Red Shoes here.

Balboa History Night, Balboa, Tuesday. I know virtually nothing about this. But there’s a trailer.

A- The Master, Castro, Tuesday. Presented in 70mm! Paul Thomas Anderson loosely based The Master on Scientology and it’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard. But this is no more a critique of Hubbard’s cult than Citizen Kane is an attack on Hearst newspapers. The story is really about an alcoholic drifter (Joaquin Phoenix) who finds himself in the circle of a charismatic cult leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Neither man is trustworthy; one steals from his hosts, the other runs what he may or may not consciously realize is a scam. Amy Adams gives The Master’s third great performance, as the "great" man’s wife–sweet on the outside but inwardly hard as nails. The film suffers from a weak third act. Shot in the 70mm format. For more on the film and the format, see The Master, by a Master, in Masterly 70mm and When You Least Expect It: The Return of 70mm,

B+ The Source Family, Rafael, opens Friday. Not what you’d expect from a documentary about an early 70s LA-based cult and hippy commune. Told almost entirely from the point of view of former commune members, the film paints a largely nostalgic picture of early new age spirituality and anti-materialistic idealism. But while it presents leader Jim Baker as a truly holy man whose insights improved the lives of his followers, it also shows how his megalomania and his libido compromised and hurt the family. Read my full review. Note: When I first wrote about this film last year, it was called The Source.

A+ Jaws, United Artists Berkeley, Thursday, 9:00. People associate Jaws with three men in a boat, but the picture is more than half over before the shark chase really starts. For that first half, it’s a suspenseful, witty variation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, An Enemy of the People, but with a central character more conflicted and less noble (Roy Scheider). Then the three men board the boat and the picture turns into Moby Dick. Jaws‘ phenomenal success changed how Hollywood operates, creating the summer blockbusters which are now all that the major studios care about. Yet by today’s standards, it’s practically an art film, albeit one that could scare the living eyeballs out of you. For more on Jaws, see my Blu-ray review and Book vs. Movie article.

B+ Bridge on the River Kwai, Stanford, Thursday and next Friday. The longer it’s been since you’ve seen David Lean’s World War II adventure, the better it gets in your  memory. That’s because the brilliant story of an over-proud British POW (Alec Guinness) sticks in the mind. But to see the actual movie again is to be reminded that Guinness’ tale is just a subplot (the actor only received third billing). The bulk of Kwai is a very well made but conventional action movie with some uncomfortably Hollywoodish elements. Remember the Burmese porters who all just happen to all be beautiful young women? In one way, Kwai is like sex: When it’s good, it’s fantastic, and when it’s bad, it’s at least entertaining. Read my Blu-ray review.

B- Blazing Saddles, Kabuki and various CineMark Theaters, Wednesday. The most beloved western comedy of all time doesn’t do all that much for me. Sure, it has moments of great laughter as it lampoons everything from the clichés of the genre to institutional racism to the clichés of every other genre. But for every joke that hits home, two are killed by Mel Brooks’ over-the-top, beat-the-audience-over-the-head directing style. If you’re looking for western laughs, Paleface, Son of Paleface, Support Your Local Sherriff, and Shanghai Noon all beat Blazing Saddles.

This makes sense both culturally and financially. The event, always held at the Castro, attracts both silent film fans and fans of the musicians. The two groups mingle, and each is exposed to something new. And more people buy tickets, as well.

At least that’s the theory. Sometimes it works beautifully. Other times it doesn’t work at all.

Tuesday night, it worked beautifully. Let’s start with the movie:

With its exaggerated visuals and strong horror elements, Waxworks is German expressionism through and through. Directed by Paul Leni in 1924, it’s the only film I’ve seen with both major stars from the period: Emil Jannings and Conrad Veidt. Unfortunately, they have no scenes together. (Leni, Jannings, and Veidt all moved to Hollywood before the decade ended. Jannings and Veidt returned to Germany when sound came in. Veidt left for good after Hitler came to power. Jannings, to his immortal shame, did not.)

This anthology feature uses a simple framework to tell three different dark and demented stories. A young writer takes a job in a wax museum, coming up with stories for the exhibits. Most of the film is made up of two such stories. The first stars Jannings as a sultan out to take a baker’s wife. The second stars Veidt (easily one of the best heavies cinema ever had) as the most evil Ivan the Terrible you can imagine. The third story, about Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss) is nothing more than a chase.

Like all anthology movies, it’s uneven. But I enjoyed it.

The music helped considerably. I know nothing about the musicians that took the stage–Mike Patton, Scott Amendola, Matthias Bossi, and William Winant–I can’t even tell you if they play together regularly.  Their music–harsh, percussion-heavy, and usually without melody–would probably drive me crazy under any other circumstance. But it suited the film perfectly, adding to the creepy feel. They found plenty of ways to produce the sounds they wanted, including scat singing and rubbing a balloon. At home point, when Veidt rhythmically claps as wedding guests dance (only Veidt could make that threatening), one of the musicians beat two wooden sticks together for each clap.

The Festival got a hold a beautiful, tinted, 35mm print from Cineteca di Bologna. Some scenes were both tinted and toned–creating a two-color effect that until last night I had never seen on the big screen. There were a few scratches and a couple of moments of nitrate decomposition, but it was still a joy to watch. Although it was a German film and the print came from an Italian archive, the intertitles were in French. The Castro projected English translations as supertitles.

All told, a wonderful evening.

After an introduction by Ted Hope, and clip reels honoring the recently-deceased donor George Gund III and, of course, Harrison Ford, David Darcy came onstage to lead the discussion. He introduced Ford, who received a standing ovation.

Ford was relaxed and funny. He was clearly enjoying the experience. Some highlights of their discussion and the Q&A with the audience:

• “I'm not really a leading man anymore. That's my former job. I'm happy to now play supporting parts, character parts.”
• On how the business has changed: “I think films are more sophisticated today than 20 years ago. I find complex to characters that I didn't see twenty years ago, and in the kind of movies that need a leading man.”
• “I'm sorry that people don't watch movies in theaters as much as they used to. Movies are best seem with strangers, in the dark. [Then the lights come up and] you're with people you've gone on an emotional journey with.”
• One audience member asked if Ford would name his soon-to-be-born son. He declined.
• When asked about whether he's involved with Disney's upcoming Star Wars sequel: “I'm not at liberty to discuss it. Either Star Wars or the incident with Lady Gaga.”
• About Indiana Jones: “I felt we needed to learn something new about Jones every time. I'd still like to do one. I'd like to see what happens when he can't run that fast. And when he doesn't like hitting people or getting hit. I think we should do that in the next five years or so.”

After the talk, enough people left to allow me to get a good seat for The Fugitive.

It was digitally projected, and looked like the kind of presentation that gives digital cinema a bad name. There was little detail. Everything was a bit soft. I don't know what it was projected off of, but if it was a DCP, it was a really bad transfer. If it was a Blu-ray, it was still a bad transfer. I just checked Blu-ray.com's review, and they described the transfer as “mostly abysmal.” I agree.

But the movie itself holds up (I hadn't seen it since it was new). In a very Hitchcockian plot (adapted from a 60's TV show), Ford plays a doctor arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. He escapes, and spends the rest of the film running from a US Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones in a career-defining role) while trying to solve the mystery. The movie sports some great action set pieces (including a train wreck), but is built mostly around the twin mysteries and the characters driving them. The final sequence goes on a little too long, but overall very good.

Let me put it this way: If you love North by Northwest, you'll like The Fugitive.

B+ A River Changes Course
Kalyanee Mam’s ethnographic documentary follows three struggling families in modern-day Cambodia. And while no river literally changes course, the modern world forces the film’s protagonists to severely alter their lifestyles. Corporations are chopping down the forests, fishermen are getting smaller catches, and young people leave for the city in a futile hope of raising their families out of poverty. Visually striking and deeply sad.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before Mam’s post-screening Q&A.

A River Changes Course will not play the festival again. However, it is on the list of files that "have secured U.S. distribution or are in negotiations with a U.S distributor," so you may get a chance to see it.

B Salma
This is in no way a well-made documentary. It’s poorly shot, and often leaves you confused about many details. But the basic story is so strong you can forgive it almost anything. Salma, a Muslim woman born in a small Indian village, was effectively under house arrest for 25 years–first by her parents and then by the husband she was forced to marry. Her crime? Being female and passed puberty. But while imprisoned, she became a famous poet, and then a successful politician, fighting (not surprisingly) for women’s rights. It was only after she was elected that her husband let her out of the house. I would love to see this story better told.

Salma won’t screen again this festival. I’m not sure if you’ll ever have a chance to see this film.

A Google and the World Brain
In this wonderfully entertaining documentary, Ben Lewis takes us through Google’s attempt to scan every book in every library, and the copyright lawsuits that at least for now have derailed it. Along the way it covers privacy issues, other digital archives, and the magic of an old-fashioned, paper-based library. Among the people interviewed are Wired’s Kevin Kelly (who gave the Festival’s 2008 State of the Cinema Address), an executive from Google Spain (the American headquarters refused to cooperate), an angry Japanese author, and a French librarian who seems to personify every annoying stereotype of the snooty Gallic intellectual.

The film manages a light, snappy feel despite the serious undertones. Computer-generated cityscapes, a server farm built into what appears to be a medieval cathedral, and animated interview subjects keep it visually lively.

Lewis is clearly worried about Google’s growing power and willingness to violate your privacy. But Google and the World Brain is no simple piece of propaganda. Both sides in this issue are treated fairly.

Lewis was unable to attend the screening (he lives in England and he has a new baby), but he was interviewed afterwards via Skype. Some highlights:

"Three or four years ago, I became interested in a study of the Internet, around issues of monopoly, free market, and privacy. I was looking for a story."

He considered a story about music piracy, but "Nobody sympathizes with musicians. We assume they don’t make any money."

"Just as we’re entering this knowledge economy, the people who are making this knowledge are told that we’ll give it away for free."

"Google makes money from what we produce."

On Google’s response to the film: "They didn’t want to take part in it. After it came out, they said they were deeply disappointed by the tone of the film."

I saw the last festival screening of Google and the World Brain. It’s not on the likely-to-be-released list, which surprised me. With it’s lively and funny presentation, immediate subject matter, and reasonably happy editing, this is about as commercial as a documentary gets.