I just caught Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans. It’s a basic, PBS-style documentary without anything truly creative or exciting technically or artistically. But the subject matter--an integrated New Orleans neighborhood which might have been the largest community of free Blacks in the pre-Civil War south. It follows the neighborhood through it’s … Continue reading SFIFF: Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans

Having missed it in theaters, I took home a press screener DVD of Shadows in the Palace and watched it last night with my wife. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I can’t recommend it, but I wouldn’t want to sit through it again. A mystery set in the Korean royal court at … Continue reading SFIFF: Shadows in the Palace

Wonderful Town has nothing to do with the 1953 Broadway musical of the same name, although a few songs would liven it up. Allegedly, this Thai drama examines the long-term psychological aftereffects of the devastating 2004 tsunami. The story concerns a young architect who comes to a small coastal town on a job involving the … Continue reading SFIFF: Wonderful Town

I started this afternoon with State of Kevin Kelly’s State of Cinema Address, but I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I want to talk about The Art of Negative Thinking, a Norwegian comedy/drama that’s just surpassed Forbidden Lie$ as the best film I’ve seen at the festival. The picture is brutal, terrifying, and … Continue reading SFIFF: The Art of Negative Thinking

I just saw Orz Boyz, a Taiwanese comedy about young boys with a lively fantasy life that helps them (and hinders them) in dealing with their harsh realities. Very disjointed, and occasionally difficult to follow in ways that I suspect have more to do with my ignorance of Taiwanese culture than actual problems with the … Continue reading SFIFF: Orz Boyz

A man and woman wake up together, hung over and embarrassed (they don't even know each others' names). In the course of 24 hours, they flirt and fight, run errants together, and visit some of the sites of San Francisco. But will they become a couple? One could describe Medicine for Melancholy as the African-American … Continue reading SFIFF: Medicine for Melancholy

I missed Ice People at the Kabuki Saturday, but I borrowed a DVD from the press library and just watched it. I'm glad I did. Anne Aghion's narration-free documentary observes the people living in the most remote place on Earth (at least on dry land), Antarctica. To be precise, the scientists, undergrads, and support staff … Continue reading SFIFF: Ice People

I spent Sunday at the Pacific Film Archive, watching the East Bay edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival. I caught three films, two great, one lousy. Oddly, the two great ones both centered around women who could reasonably be described as sociopaths. One problem with the PFA: Since food and drink are banned … Continue reading SFIFF: Sunday at the PFA