The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival officially announced its 33rd run this morning. Probably the largest of all the "identity film festivals" in the area, it will play five venues around the Bay Area from July 25 through August 12. This year's theme, "Life through a Jew(ish) lens," raises two questions: What does that mean … Continue reading San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
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Nail-biting Laughter: My Blu-ray review of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!
Even Alfred Hitchcock never mastered that delicate balance between comedy and suspense as perfectly as silent comedian Harold Lloyd. Learning his craft carefully and consciously, he discovered that scaring the audience put them in an emotional pressure cooker, intensifying their reaction to a good gag. When the two effects were mixed expertly, by someone who … Continue reading Nail-biting Laughter: My Blu-ray review of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!
SFIFF: The Festival Closes with Before Midnight
Thursday night, this year's San Francisco International Film Festival ended at the Castro with the local premiere of Before Midnight, Richard Linklater's threequel to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. (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 … Continue reading SFIFF: The Festival Closes with Before Midnight
Cambodia, India, and the Cloud: SFIFF Documentary Sunday
I saw three films at the San Francisco International Film Festival on Sunday--all documentaries. That wasn't planned. It just worked out that way. 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 … Continue reading Cambodia, India, and the Cloud: SFIFF Documentary Sunday
SFIFF Saturday: Koreans in Japan, Geek Nostalgia, and a Surreal Documentary
Here's what I saw Saturday at the San Francisco International Film Festival B Our Homeland For second-generation ethnic Koreans living in Japan, going "home" was once very important--even though "home" was the living nightmare of North Korea. In this calmly heart-breaking drama, a man in his early 40s who migrated to a Korea he'd never … Continue reading SFIFF Saturday: Koreans in Japan, Geek Nostalgia, and a Surreal Documentary
SFIFF The Rest of Saturday. A French Bad Marriage and American Shakespeare
I caught two pictures yesterday after Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address. Both were shown in the Kabuki's large main theater. I liked both. B+ Thérèse In the late 1920s, Thérèse (Audrey Tautou of Amélie) marries the rich and conservative Bernard, who cares mostly about money and family honor. It's a good match economically, … Continue reading SFIFF The Rest of Saturday. A French Bad Marriage and American Shakespeare
Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address
Steven Soderbergh talks very fast. Trying to take notes, I found myself trying to remember what he said three sentences back. He talked primarily about how the industry works, and why it's getting harder and harder to make cinema, which he described as work with a real, unique point of view. This is as opposed … Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address
Friday Night Report: Rare Hitchcock and New Studio Ghibli
I caught two very different movies at two very different theaters, Friday night. Both films were very much worth catching. The Wrong Man The Pacific Film Archive has been running its Alfred Hitchcock series since January, but it took me until Friday to actually get to one of the screenings. I'm really glad I went. … Continue reading Friday Night Report: Rare Hitchcock and New Studio Ghibli
On the Road
B+ Drama Written by Jose Rivera, from the novel by Jack Kerouac Directed by Walter Salles Note: I wrote this review last summer, after a screening prior to the Mill Valley Film Festival. When I was told that the film would open in the Bay Area on January 18, I set this review to go … Continue reading On the Road
Blu-ray Review: Rashomon
As I watched Criterion's beautiful new Blu-ray edition of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, I noticed how patterns of three ripple through this masterpiece. You have, of course, the love triangle (well, more like a lust and violence triangle) that centers the story. But you also have the three men under the Rashomon gate. And the three … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Rashomon
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