It was exciting to go to the historic Castro Theater and see what was planned for “the best two weeks of the year.” Member’s Night is when the program for the Festival is revealed to members.
Some of the programming highlights of 2019: Opening Night will be a screening of Armistead Maupin’s new Netfix series: Tales Of the City. Q Ball is a documentary on the San Quentin basketball team that was produced by the Warrior’s Kevin Durant. The Castro will show a documentary about the music scene in Laurel Canyon. It will be followed by a performance by Jakob Dylan.
This year there will be tributes to Claire Denis, Laura Dern, Laura Linney and John C. Reilly. There will be documentaries on Dinosaurs, Weiwei, Miles Davis and Rock photographer Jim Marshall. There are numerous other events. Much of what I see is a matter of chance because of my work schedule. This usually works out good.
The Festival is spread out over eleven venues this year. Most of them are in San Francisco. There are screenings at BAMPFA in Berkeley and at the Grand Lake in Oakland. The lounge will be at the 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco. “We’re trying something new.” The lounge will be open to the public this year. The Opening Night Party was at the Regency on Van Ness.
Here’s what I saw:
Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith. Stuart A. Staples, UK 2016. Smith was a pioneer in filming through a microscope: “micro-cinema.” The film is fifty-five minutes of one celled organisms fighting for survival and plants growing in slow motion. Some of the footage looked familiar. It was used in the science films shown in schools in the Fifties and Sixties. There was not a word of narration. Director Stuart Staples is a member of the group Tindersticks, and the group supplies the original dreamy soundtrack.
The SFFilm program describes the film as a “hypnotic ode to the beauty of nature.” It opens with footage of one celled predators trying to consume their prey. It’s a jungle down there. There was some familiar Botany footage. We watch gyrations of plants growing in stop motion. It’s a bit psychedelic. I had a very odd, dreamy feeling after the film. I might have relaxed for a short time.
The Seer and the Unseen. Sara Dosa. USA/Iceland. This screening was a rare chance to get inside the Dolby Sound Laboratory. It’s rarely open to the public. There’s no food or drink allowed inside. This is a laboratory! We entered under the watchful eyes of security looking for contraband movie treats. A mind blowing trailer shows off the advanced technology of the theater.
Ragnhildur “Ragga” Jónsdóttir has seen and communicated with elves, trolls and other “hidden people” since she was a child. Now about seventy she consults with people planning construction projects on their property. No one wants to incur the wrath of the hidden people. They can cause “accidents” and other mischief. There are stunning views of Iceland.
Iceland went through a severe recession when the real estate boom melted down. Now “progress” has resumed. The government isn’t concerned with the wrath of the hidden people. There are plans to put a road through a lava bed that is sacred ground. The hidden people contact Ragga in her dreams. It is up to Ragga to stop the destruction. There are demonstrations and arrests, but the road does get built. As a compromise a large lava rock especially sacred to the hidden people is saved and moved.
Ragga, her husband and many of the crew are in the audience! It must be great to see their film in the Dolby theater. During the Q&A Ragga is asked if she will attempt to communicate with the spirits of the Bay Area. She says they plan to visit Muir woods and see what happens.
We Believe in Dinosaurs. Clayton Brown. Monica Long Ross. Producer and director.
Ken Hamm bankrolled the building of The Creation Museum, which told the real story of Genesis. Now he’s built a scale model replica of Noah’s Ark. All the plans and specifics are right there in the Bible. The theme park will finally lay to rest the foolish ideas of the Evolutionists. Those misguided souls believe that the history of the universe goes back millions, maybe billions of years. Those who study the Bible know better. Creation took place in six days, just like the Good Book told us. This has to be true. It’s in the Bible!
A very scary film. The town of Williamstown, Kentucky is chosen as the site for the theme park. The town gives the developers land that is practically free and allow huge tax breaks. They hope the visiting Creationists will revitalize the town’s failing economy.
Not all the townspeople approve. One crusader fights the tax breaks. All employees of “The Ark Encounter” must pledge they believe in Creationism. The line between church and state is blurred. A geologist and a former Creationist are interviewed, but they are in the minority.
We see some of the construction of the huge Ark. “The Ark Encounter” is designed by veteran designers of the Disney and Universal Studios theme parks. A huge crowd shows up for Opening Day including some of its critics. There are demonstrators and counter demonstrators.
The children of Creationists are often confronted with many who doubt their beliefs. They are taught to respond with, “How do you know? Where you there?” We’re treated to frightening scenes of classrooms repeating this catch phrase over and over. Yes. A scary film.
And what about the dinosaurs? How do Creationists reconcile their existence with the literal interpretation of the Bible? It’s simple: Dinosaurs were on earth during the entire six thousand years of the universe. They were on the ark! It turns out Noah was a smart guy, even for someone six hundred years old. He took juveniles and eggs on the Ark. They didn’t have to make room for a full size, adult Tyrannosaurus Rex or Brontosaurus! The dinosaurs went extinct after getting off the Ark. There are exhibits on the replica Ark that show juvenile dinosaurs in little cages. Definite proof!
There are so many ways to go with this one. The scale model Ark is impressive and gives me a perverse desire to see it. The “Ark Encounter” is very successful and there are plans to expand it with more exhibits about Bible stories. A Tower of Babel is in the works!
The town doesn’t fare as well. Busses take most of the Ark’s visitors from the nearby Cincinnati airport directly to the theme park. Guess what? There are amenities for them at the Ark Encounter, and there’s no need to go into Williamstown. Downtown businesses close.
The producer and director are here for a Q&A. Clayton Brown and Monica Long Ross. One thing that surprised them was that many Creationists are intelligent, rational people. They really believe what they believe. They have rationales, reasons and “proof.” They didn’t want to portray Creationists as fanatic buffoons. “We wanted some balance.”
During the Q&A a young women reminded us that we in the Bay Area live in a bubble. “It’s a good bubble, but...” She was lonely in Houston. When she went to see Michael Moore’s latest film she was the only one in audience.
Before the credits roll we’re informed that a Gallup Poll says 38% of Americans believe in Creationism.
Show Me the Picture: The Jim Marshall Story. Alfred George Bailey. Amelia Edwards. UK/USA.
There was a long wait to get into the Phyllis Wattis Theater at the Museum of Modern Art. It seemed like most of the people in the audience knew each other. It was a very talkative, chatty crowd. Many of the cast and crew of this documentary were in the audience.
Before the film Alfred George Bailey asked the audience to pose for a photograph. It’s a nod to Marshall’s photo of Johnny Cash giving a vehement middle finger to the camera. Bailey wants us all to flip him off for a group picture. We gladly cooperate. I wonder how the photo turned out.
I overheard someone in the crowd: “Everybody has a Jim Marshall story.” Marshall certainly wasn’t the faceless photographer who faded into the background. He had a great eye. He carried a camera with him wherever he went.
Jim Marshall came from a Syrian Catholic family. “Maybe that explains it,” someone cracks during the film. He took many of the iconic Rock photos of the Sixties. Bob Dylan. Hendrix playing in the Panhandle during the glory days of the Haight. Monterey Pop. The group shot of all the big San Francisco bands gathered during the Summer of Love. Johnny Cash at Folsom prison. Hendrix at Woodstock. The Who. The Grateful Dead on Haight Street. The Rolling Stones on tour. This guy always seemed to be there for the big, historic gigs.
He became famous for Rock photographs, but he started in early Sixties taking pictures of Jazz icons. His shots of a pensive John Coltrane gained even Miles Davis’ trust.
Marshall was on another assignment when he started taking pictures of the Deep South during the early days of the civil rights struggle. He lived with and photographed miners in the Appalachian mountains.
It was a time when photographers didn’t have to get security clearance. He just went up to the stage and started shooting. Band members were pleased to be getting the attention.
Marshall took the photo of Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg and Michael McClure hanging out in the alley next to Vesuvio’s. This means he probably got kicked out of Tosca’s with them. He was there for a historic North Beach night.
Marshall was known to be difficult. The word “irascible” kept coming up. He had three obsessions: Photography, fast cars and guns. Oh yeah, and drugs.
He was hired by Life magazine to photograph The Rolling Stones 1972 tour. “A tour that was fueled by tequila and cocaine.” “People forget what a big deal Life magazine was back then.” Marshall more than held his own with the likes of Keith Richards. He also picked up a powerful coke addiction.
Marshall was at Altamont and took many photos. Even he got scared there and left in a hurry. He lost the film he shot that day! Despite a desperate search they have never been found.
People interviewed for the documentary told some wild stories about him. He usually carried a gun, which can complicate things sometimes. The threat was usually there. Marshall was banned from all Bill Graham events after a fracas at the Day on the Green featuring Fleetwood Mac. His ex-wife and friends try to explain how they were drawn to him. Most eventually lost their patience with him. There was a “good side” to Jim Marshall, but it’s just not as interesting.
The producer of the film, Amelia Edwards, was Marshall’s personal assistant for years. She kept things together during his coke binges. When he passed away he left his archives and rights to her with the stipulation that she defend them.
She joins Bailey onstage for a Q&A after the film. Alfred George Bailey tells us that there are so many cuts in the film that it’s used by a film school as an example of editing. There is a long list of thank yous including people who appeared in the documentary and that are in the audience tonight. His ex-wife is there. She had some gut wrenching scenes in the film. Marshall once locked her in a closet to keep her from leaving him. The documentary certainly shows Marshall “warts and all.” He was strange, passionate and brilliant.
This is “the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak” year. It was 4/20 Saturday. Getting around The City was problematic. There were many events going on. I got to The Castro just in time to see the introduction of Loro, “a fictionalized portrait of Silvio Berlusconi.” Directed by Paolo Sorrentino.
Programmer Tod Armstrong says that the critics were sharply divided on this one. The Film Festival decided to screen it, “And let you decide.”
Sergio Morreta is the son of an Italian business tycoon. He’s more of a hustler than his Dad. He’s not above using prostitutes and big parties to influence business decisions. He throws huge parties with bikini clad girls and cocaine!
The film is set in the Eighties, but it’s very Seventies. An older gentleman at the party says that cocaine is “old fashioned.” “I haven’t done it in years!” That doesn’t stop him from joining in. Maybe it was because I just saw the Jim Marshall documentary, but cocaine seems to be a theme this year.
I was starting to drift when Iggy Pop’s song “Down on the Street” blasted. The old Castro Theater does have great sound. The Iggy song got my attention and blood pressure going again.
Morreta rents a villa and throws a huge bash to impress his neighbor Silvio Berlusconi. The young character of Sergio disappears for most of the second half of the film and the focus switches to Berlusconi, played by Toni Servillo. It’s like two separate movies. I learned later that the film was divided and released in two separate parts in Italy.
We get a look at the other half in Italy. Many scenes are in villas and palatial mansions on the coast. Berlusconi has an artificial volcano built on his property. It must be good to be Prime Minister.
But Berlusconi gets ousted from office. Even in his villa he’s bored and frustrated. Political retirement isn’t agreeing with him. A colleague suggests he get back in the game. He only needs to get a few of those votes back! There are political machinations.
There really are some Felliniesque scenes. It’s not just because they’re speaking in Italian with subtitles. At 150 minutes maybe it was a bit too long. Maybe it should have been a television series.
All of my shifts are with the Schools at the Festival program (SAF) at The Castro Theater. I would get to the theater about nine in the morning when only a few of the regular staff were around. It was cool to be in the almost empty, historic theater. Even when the place was packed with students I still enjoyed the Art Deco surroundings.
The kids oohed and aahed as they entered the theater. They stared up at the ornate ceiling. During screenings tourists from around the world would stick their head in the lobby. They had read or heard about the theater and wanted to take a look.
The place is a remnant from a lost time. It’s hard to believe that it almost became a parking lot. One volunteer commented that the theater itself was like another member of the staff. “It’s like being around another person.”
The Load. (‘Teret’) Serbia and Croatia. Directed by Ognjen Glavonic.
I visited Serbia in 2016 so I jumped at the chance of seeing a film from Serbia. The film touches on disturbing events that are more closely examined in Glavonic’s 2016 documentary Depth Two. The Load is set in 1999 Kosovo and Serbia. The Civil War is raging.
A gruff truck driver (Leon Lucev) is hired to take a cargo that he knows is very suspicious. It will be a big payday for him. The truck is locked. The truck driver is stoic and seems resigned to his fate. The other Serbians in the film act that way too. Serbia has seen much tragedy.
The bridge to Belgrade has been destroyed by bombing. Our driver tries to maneuver around burning vehicles, but he’ll have to take side roads. He stops at a ferry crossing and asks for directions.
A young guy offers to guide him to Belgrade in exchange for a ride. The driver blows him off, “Some other time kid.” The kid sneaks onto the back of the truck and gets a ride anyway. It turns out he doesn’t know the way to Belgrade either.
The truck rattles through gray Serbia. No one looks too happy. They stop at some kind of roadside resort. A wedding party breaks out. Our driver has a keepsake ring stolen out of his truck by juvenile delinquents.
A cop pulls him over. What’s in the truck? Open up. The truck driver’s answer: “I’m not allowed to.” That quickly leads to, “License and registration.” The driver shows the officer a document. The cop hands it back and apologizes, and the driver is free to go.
One scene is a close up of a piece of concrete. It’s gray. There are scuff marks and chips. The camera pans on it for a couple of minutes. It’s like Serbia. Gray. Damaged. Solid.
The driver makes the delivery, but he learns he’s involved in some very evil stuff.
Best quote: “Your grandfather went to war when he was 19. A real war. Not this video game war.”
The last day of the Festival. I’ll work a shift at The Castro, see two films and go to The Staff Party. It’s a marathon day for me these days.
After my shift it’s over to the Roxie Theater to see Monos.
“Colombia/Argentina/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden/Uruguay.” 2019. 102 min. Alejandro Landes.
It’s a “loose adaptation” of The Lord of the Flies. Teenage guerillas are at a training camp up in the mountains. Their assignment is to guard an American hostage. (Julianne Nicholson) They all have nicknames: Rambo, Dog, Wolf, Bigfoot. Little Bigfoot. Smurf.
Someone has lent a cow to the cause. Milk is important for growing teens. The cow must be returned unharmed, “as it was.” As soon as you hear that you know the cow is dead.
There is a painful looking birthday ritual beating. The hostage is goaded into joining in. They do have a teacher/mentor, but he’s called to nearby battles. This leaves them without adult supervision. Teenagers and automatic weapons are a recipe for disaster. They love shooting live ammunition into the air, and there’s no one to stop them. The cow is killed by stray gunfire. To make matters worse, the hostage escapes. This is very bad.
Everyone fears the consequences from “The Organization.” Is it a death sentence? They go into the jungle. If they don’t recapture the hostage they probably shouldn’t bother coming back.
Before they leave, there is a last gift from the cow. There are mushrooms in the cow’s last stool. Magic mushrooms. Now it’s the Lord of the Flies meets Apocalypse Now. There are some great jungle scenes.
Rojo. Benjamin Naishtat. Argentina/Belgium/Brazil/Germany/France/Switzerland. 2018. 110 min.
It’s Argentina in 1975. The first scene shows an abandoned suburban house that is being quietly looted. The inhabitants have “disappeared.” People calmly walk in and out. They take out furniture and other household items. They don’t expect the residents to return. Peron is still in power.
Claudio is a lawyer. He’s at a table in a restaurant waiting for his wife. An ominous guy waiting for a table complains. Is he some kind of government agent? He insists on getting Claudio’s table. He sure seems intimidating and sure of himself.
Claudio gives in. “Do you want the table?” Then he verbally humiliates the impatient guy. Everyone in the restaurant stops as Claudio describes what a low form of life he’s given the table to. He ends with, “This never would have happened if my wife wasn’t always late.”
The wife finally shows up. After dinner the weird government agent guy confronts Claudio outside the restaurant. Then he shoots himself! Claudio dumps the body in the desert. Guess he doesn’t trust the justice system he knows so well as a lawyer.
There are many Noir twists and turns. Some grim Fargoesque humor. A great eclipse scene.
Another Film Festival in the books. The camaraderie is still there. It’s always an amazing experience. “The best two weeks of the year!”
