NYFF 2004

[pmw]

Here is the lineup for the NY Film Festival, Oct 1 - Oct 17:


Opening Night:
LOOK AT ME, agnès Jaoui, France, 110m. 2004. Sony Pictures Classics.

Centerpiece:
BAD EDUCATION, Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 110m. 2004. Sony Pictures Classics.

Closing Night:
SIDEWAYS, Alexander Payne, USA, 124m. 2004. Fox Searchlight.

Festival Body:
THE 10TH DISTRICT COURT: JUDICIAL HEARINGS, Raymond Depardon, France, 105m. 2004.

THE BIG RED ONE, Samuel Fuller, USA, 158m. 1980 (restored 2004). Warner Brothers.

CAFE LUMIERE, Hou Hsou-hsien, Japan/Taiwan, 104m. 2004.

THE GATE OF THE SUN, Yousry Nasrallah, France/Egypt, 278m. 2004.

THE HOLY GIRL, Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 106m. 2004. HBO Films.

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, Zhang Yimou, China, 119m. 2004. Sony Pictures Classics.

IN THE BATTLEFIELDS, Danielle Arbid, Lebanon/France, 88m. 2004.

KEANE, Lodge Kerrigan, USA, 90m. 2004.

KINGS AND QUEEN, Arnaud Desplechin, France, 150m. 2004.

MOOLAADE, Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 124m. 2004. New Yorker Films.

NOTRE MUSIQUE, Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland/France, 80m. 2004. Wellspring.

OR (MY TREASURE), Keren Yedaya, Israel, 100m. 2004.

PALINDROMES, Todd Solondz, USA, 100m. 2004.

ROLLING FAMILY, Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 103m. 2004.

SARABAND, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 107m. 2004. Sony Pictures Classics.

TARNATION, Jonathan Caouette, USA, 88m. 2004. Wellspring.

TRIPLE AGENT, Eric Rohmer, France, 115m. 2004.

TROPICAL MALADY, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand, 118m. 2004. Strand Releasing.

UNDERTOW, David Gordon Green, USA, 107m. 2004. United Artists.

VERA DRAKE, Mike Leigh, UK, 125m. 2004. Fine Line Features.

WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN, Hong Sang-soo, South Korea/France, 88m. 2004.

THE WORLD, Jia Zhangke, China, 133m. 2004.


Special Screenings:
INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, Hong Kong. 2002-03. Running times: 1: 98m; 2: 119m; 3: 117m. Walter Reade Theater.

MACUNAIMA, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, Brazil, 110m.1969 (restored 2004). Walter Reade Theater.

MILES ELECTRIC: A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLUE, murray Lerner, USA, 87m. 2004. Walter Reade Theater.

SELLING DEMOCRACY: FILMS OF THE MARSHALL PLAN, 1947-55, Walter Reade Theater and Alice Tully Hall.

ELEGANCE, PASSION, AND COLD HARD STEEL: A TRIBUTE TO SHAW BROTHERS STUDIOS, Walter Reade Theater. (Details in separate release.)

UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON,

Ken Burns, USA, 210m. 2004. Walter Reade Theater.

VIEWS FROM THE AVANT-GARDE. Experimental works by various filmmakers.

Special Tribute:
VIVA PEDRO! A screening of career highlights and one-on-one conversation with Pedro Almodóvar, with appearances by special guests. Alice Tully Hall.

There will be a short film program and some special discussions scheduled as well.

[arsaib4]

Official schedule is now available:

http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004.htm

[oscar jubis]

Strong lineup. I don't know about you but at festivals I concentrate on promising films that don't have distribution and the rare special screenings like the restored Sam Fuller.
The one to avoid seems to be Woman is the future of Man, early reviews indicate is inferior to the director's last, Turning Gate.

[arsaib4]

It's rare for a NYFF lineup to have so many films already distributed but it's a good sign (and no Miramax) so i won't bitch as much.

I talked about Woman is the Future of Man in the dvd section, certainly not one of the better efforts from Hang-soo. I have a feeling that strong reviews from both Kent Jones and the editor Gavin Smith in 'film comment' is part of reason that film is in the lineup. I'd be very surprised if gets picked up.

[Chris Knipp]

It certainly looks like they're showing a lot of good stuff. There seems to be little point in seeing something that you know will be distributed unless it will have only very limited distribution.

[Chris Knipp]

The Venice Film Festival is beginning. I'd appreciate any comments on the lineup of films, which you can find here:

Films in and out of competition:

http://www.repubblica.it/speciale/2004/venezia/inconcorso.html

The schedule day by day:

http://www.repubblica.it/speciale/2004/venezia/0109.html.

[pmw]

Nice replies. I agree Oscar that Turning Gate was a disappointment. Here's hoping that the latest is better.

As for festivals and distributed/undistributed films, I will certainly make it a point to try and catch the unidistributed. I think as far as NY is concerned the purpose of the film festival is to bring together what the committee feels are among the strongest films of the year and offer them to the public. In other words, to build some visibility around a strong body of film (distributed or otherwise). In doing that, there is that line one needs to walk between putting out some crowd pleasers (to attract audiences) and ramming the tougher films down the audience's throats (the ones they wouldn't see if they had been able to get tickets to the crowd pleasers). It's a little bit of educational psychology at work, and last year's festival was not amazingly successful...

I am so looking forward to:
TROPICAL MALADY, TRIPLE AGENT, LOOK AT ME, THE WORLD and CAFE LUMIERE. Not to mention another cut of Sideways, which I think is one of the best two or three American films this year....

Cant wait!
P

PS anyone else thinking of attending ??

[oscar jubis]

Actually I liked Turning Gate and the bulk of the reviews conclude that the new film is inferior. I'd say if you didn't like Turning Gate, Woman is... may be one to avoid.

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
The Venice Film Festival is beginning.

Actually I posted the lineup not long ago in this forum, may be you wanna talk about it there.

http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=999

[Chris Knipp]

I thought you might like to comment on the general outlines of the Venice vs. others such as New York, the prestige and personality of the festival, the quality and personality of the programs. I was appealing to the expertise of others. I have no comments but would welcome yours, if you have any. Thanks.

[arsaib4]

oops, i thought you wanted to talk about the lineup itself.......

Anyways, i'm no expert on the history of these two even though i have attended both in the past. Venice is the oldest festival around (to the best of my knowledge), about 5 years older than Cannes. I started following the festivals a few years ago and Venice to me had taken a backseat to Toronto ever since Toronto has emerged as the 'the festival' later in the year, partly due to their vast lineup and easy accessibility. Toronto has also become the favorite destination of most stars. But in the last couple of years, as Cannes has slipped a bit (they have no one else to blame but themselves), Venice programmers have taken advantage of it by inviting the ignored filmmakers and going with a more challenging lineup as they are not obligated to have a certain amount of glitz in the competition. One distinct advantage Venice has over Toronto is their prestigious award (the Golden Lion) and unless Toronto (and NY) start main competitions, in the eyes of the programmers and filmmakers they will always be second best.

NY is very unique and as pmw pointed out earlier, it's basically a showcase, some years they do manage to walk the tightrope between the crowd pleasers and auteur driven films like they did in 2002.

[Chris Knipp]

oops, i thought you wanted to talk about the lineup itself.......


It's not a complete either/or, since the nature of a fest can be read in it's lineup, don't you think? and it's interesting to do that, but some of you know more of the directors represented or know the directors (like Claire Denis, say) in more depth than I do, to comment on how shrewd or fortunate a certain current choice might be -- such as Hang Soo the cirector of Turning Gate and Woman Is the Future of Man, of which I know nothing, though the former sounds like I might like it from a DVD site summary I read.

Thanks for these comments though.

This is very helpful. And wouldn't Venice relate to Cannes naturally because it comes after Cannes and is also in a glamorous touristic part of Europe? I get the picture that Toronto stands out, but New York also is of interest. There are lots more film fests than we've talked about, though, aren't there? Some of them are little and local, likd the Jewish Film Festival in the SF Bay Area, or the Marin Film Festival also in this area. And Sundance which you've not mentioned is both loved and hated by inde directors and critics. I've gotten some information about the fests from reading Jonathan Rosenbaum because he has attended them faithfully and been influenced by what he's seen there and written about that.

If anybody knows a website where there's a survey of all the international film festivals and a discussion of their different personalities and relative merits that would be very helpful.

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp

I've gotten some information about the fests from reading Jonathan Rosenbaum because he has attended them faithfully and been influenced by what he's seen there and written about that.

Then maybe you need to tell us a few things.

[Chris Knipp]

I'm sure you know as much about Sundance and Miramax (which latter is a main focus of Rosenbaum's Movies as Poloitics) as I do--no, more than I do, from what I gather, and you've talked about Miramax elsewhere on this site. The main thing I was thinking of, I guess, was Rosenbaum's Movie Wars: How Hollywood and the Media Limit What Movies We Can See, "Chapter Nine: Trafficking in Movies (Festival-Hopping in the Nineties)". He isn't the only one to talk about the commercialization of Sundance--is that a fair term? and the dominance of Harvey and Bob. But Rosenbaum's only extensive discussion of the changes in the personality of a particular festival in Chapter Nine of Movie Wars is the "Cannes, 1995-95" section, and "Why I've Never Attended Sundance and Telluride." Rosenbaum lists the festivals he's been to and how many times he's been to each in the first page of the chapter. New York ("countless times") and Toronto (20 times) win, with Rotterdam (13) and Chicago (12) next. Frequency of visit constitutes a scoring system of a sort for Rosenbaum, though Chicago's "rating "close to Rotterdam may have something to do with his living there.

I was particularly interested in one paragraph which I can copy out for you in the section of Chapter Nine headed "Problems of Access: On the Trail of Some Festival Films and Filmmakers:"
"Festival film": a mainly pejorative term in the film business, especially in North America. It generally refers to a film destined to be seen by professionals, specialists, or cultists but not by the general public because some of these professionals decide it won't or can't be sufficiently profitable to warrant distribution. Whether these professonals are distributors, exhibitors, programmers, publicists, or critics is a secondary issue, particularly because these functions are increasingly viewed today as overlapping, and sometimes even as interchangeable.

The two types of critic one sees at festivals are those (the majority) who want to see the films that will soon be distributed in their own territories, and those who want to see the films that they'll otherwise never get to see. . . Btecause I gbelong to the second group I generally prefer as a filmgoer festivals such as Rotterdam and Vienna, where business is kept to a relative minimum, to festivals like Cannes and Berlin, where business of one kind or another becomes the main focus. In recent years, sad to say, Toronto has gradually become more like Cannes and Berlin and less like Rotterdam, and this year Rotterdam was threatening to become a little more like Toronto....I'm pretty sure Rosenbaum also talks a bit about festivals in Movies as Politics, as well as elsewhere, but I don't have time to track down all the references and summarize them now, sorry. I was hoping anybody here would be willing to characterize specific festivals.

What about Moscow? Not mentioned in Movie Wars, apparently.

[arsaib4]

I agree with his assessment for the most part, Rotterdam is certainly a favorite among critics. From what i've read few others have acquired prestige as the quality of native films have improved, chief among them is Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (nicknamed BA FICI) along with Istanbul and Fajr (Tehran) film festivals.

[Chris Knipp]

One has to be quite the globe trotter to make it to all these. . .are you a globe trotter, arsaib4?

I have to admit that I don't even go to the festivals that are nearby in this area. I'm going to Venice and I'm just missing the Venice one. But I'm beginning to wonder. I don't want to be like a Siskel rather than an Ebert, as Rosenbaum explains the difference between the two critics.

I begin to grasp that if you are a good critic you must be an arbiter of taste, you must be a bellwether for the cinema industry -- is that the right word? -- and so you must know films that others do not yet know, and tell them about treasures that they must discover but will miss if you don't bring the good news.

[arsaib4]

I was once i guess, but lately i've paid more attention of my studies thus limiting myself mostly to Toronto. I certainly try to catch these little showcases in NY like the French rendezvous or the Open roads: Italian cinema, it's a good way to catch new works from a particular country.

I would cetainly be interested in detail what Rosenbaum had to say about the two. Also it seems like Rosenbaum interests you quite a bit even though you don't hold him as high as some others.

I agree with your analization of what a good critic should be or what he must do, but one has to wonder how good their judgements are looking at so many films in a short time span. But still most do a decent job and ever since Gavin Smith has become the editor at 'Film Comment', they have devoted more time covering films not available here and it's also nice to hear different point of views of collaberating critics.

[Chris Knipp]

Sounds like you're doing just fine; those "little showcases" can be extremely enlightening. So you're in Toronto--well, I've always heard that that's a great film city, and I guess it's handy enough to NYC too. About me and Rosenbaum: I hadn't even read him, his books anyway, till recently. He seemed to be possibly excessively idolized as in that IMDb thread I posted the link to, and several other IMDb threads, as well as by several contributors to FilmWurld. But I could see right away that some smart people were doing the "idolizing," especialy "jiankevin," the cybername of Kevin Lee, a young filmmaker in New York (who makes clear that he no longer "idolizes" Rosenbaum, though he respects him enough to field questions for him. I was suspicious at first, and thought Rosenbaum might be too academic or too stuffy, but I hardly think that now after reading three of his books. As I said, I think he's best in short straightforward reviews and in his polemical or informative pieces; I tend to doze off a bit during his lengthy pieces for Film Comment. Whatever; I want to read more. His strength is not only his extensive knowledge, informed by years spent in London and Paris as well as a movie house owner family and extensive viewing and reviewing, so much as his independence of commercial interests or pressures to popularize or dumb down his points of view.

The schedules of film festivals seem grueling to me. Even if you manage to remember all that you've seen, as you suggest might be hard, seeing all those films at once could be awfully hard work. But being a film critic is a job and the problem no doubt has been that some of the more visible critics haven't been willing to go the distance to know more than the average denizen of the cineplexes.

[arsaib4]

What i meant by "limiting myself mostly to Toronto" was that's the only festival I've been attending recently, I don't actually live there. My permanent residence is near NYC.

Film criticism has become stale, almost all the voices here have started sounding the same to me so when I do read something fresh it leaves an impression. Olaf Moller is a German critic based in Cologne who's been writing for 'Film Comment' a lot more recently as the editors at the mag have recognized the energy and the originality his reviews have. I am simply amazed at his knowledge ranging from exiled Iranian directors to Straub-Huillet, from Cipri & Maresco to Bollywood Giant Mani Ratnam. It's a true pleasure reading him as he's not afraid to put something down when need be.

[oscar jubis]

The projectors at Toronto are working daily from 9 a.m. until 2 a.m. One day there I saw five films, but three daily is my preference. It's important to make sure you get enough sleep and not too much food and alcohol. I average two films per day at local fests because I have other responsibilities (and they are not as large as Toronto's). It's helped me to jot down impressions after each film to "get it out of my head" a bit before the next film. I've liked the lineups at recent Chicago IFF and I hear it's "buff friendly" but I don't know from experience.

[oscar jubis]

I've just about given up on finding Straub-Huillet films with English subs. ars?

[arsaib4]

I've seen atleast five films from them, their much acclaimed Sicilia! (Sicily!) and deservingly so most recently at a festival. Moses und Aron (Moses and Aron) I saw on a Secam vhs, no subs. Three are available in Canada on vhs with subs, two features, the challenging Othon (1969) and the wonderful biography of Bach's life narrated by his wife called Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach/1968), also a short is available starring who else but Fassbinder himself with whom the two are often assoiciated with, the sequential Brautigam, Die Komodiantin Und Der Zuhalter, Der (The Bridegroom, The Comedian And The Pimp/1968)

[arsaib4]

I just wanna mention that tickets are still available for these films, and perhaps for a few others if anyone is interested in going:

Ousmane Sembene's MOOLADE
Wed Oct 13: 6:00 pm; Thu Oct 14: 9:00 pm

Lucrecia Martel's THE HOLY GIRL
Mon Oct 11: 9:15 pm

Jia Zhangke's THE WORLD
Mon. Oct. 11, 6:00 pm; Tue. Oct. 12, 9:00 pm

Keren Yedaya's OR
Tue Oct 5: 6:00 pm; Wed Oct 6: 9:30 pm

[pmw]

I heard that its 90% sold out and it hasn't even started yet...really think they should do more screenings if the goal is to publicize these films...

By the way, I will be posting reviews from the festival here. Look forward to any other reviews and/or comments on the films.
P

First up:
Fuller's The Big Red One
and the new Godard film

[arsaib4]

They definitely do need to make changes to the schedule. NYFF not only need to add more screenings but they also need to open the festival just a little more, perhaps go up to 50 films, but some of places where films are screened aren't the most desirable either.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Big Red One. As you probably know, Kent Jones raved about it in 'Film Comment' recently, putting it on top of both Spielberg's and Malick's war films. I tried to watch a little bit when it was on a cable channel the other day, but it did seem chopped up, not to mention full screen and all so I didn't finish it. I want to wait for the 3 hr version, hopefully it'll be on dvd soon.

[arsaib4]

The film being presented at NYFF on Oct 6/7 now has a U.S distributer. Wellspring purchesed the U.S rights for the film and it will be released in 2005. Directed by Arnaud Desplechin, the film stars Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric and Catherine Deneuve.

[arsaib4]

NYFF is one event covered better than no one else other than the NYTimes. Unfortunately, this can't be said about other retrospectives/showcases that play in NY throughout the year where Village Voice leads the way.

Times has a section of their site devoted to the festival.

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/movies/moviesspecial/index.html

Voice critics (Hoberman and co.) have previewed/reviewed the films on one page.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0439/nyff.php

[pmw]

and for those of you with access to the NY Sun, there is daily coverage planned for the next two weeks!

www.nysun.com (think you might need a password to access it...).

P

[arsaib4]

Here's a well written and informative article on the festival and it's orphans by Anthony Kaufman of indiewire.

http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_041006nyff.html

[arsaib4]

One more film from the fest has now found a home. Controversial director Todd Solondz's Palindromes was acquired by Wellspring yesterday. The film will be released in April next year. Now will someone finally buy films from Jia and Hou......

[arsaib4]

So, did anyone catch anything interesting at the fest this year? pmw?

[pmw]

Hey, sorry to be so off the page for the past few weeks. Yes, saw some great great things at the NYFF this year. Here's a starter list and Ill follow up with some comments a bit later on:

Samuel Fuller's the Big Red One - a great recutting of a classic. I really enjoyed the deliberate pacing. There wasn't all of the sensationalism that we've come to expect from Hollywood war films. But no less exciting. Really great.

Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady - awesome

Sideways by Alexander Paine - In theaters now and a must see

Agnes Jaoui's latest, Look at Me - so so

The suprise hit of the fest (for me) - Lucretia Martel's "The Holy Girl" - dizzyingly wonderful.

Cafe Lumiere (Hou Hsia Hsien) - Delicate, understated, refreshingly reserved, and beautiful. Art with a capital A.

And that's all I saw actually...wanted to see more but work responsibilities won out. Id be interested to hear if anyone else has seen any of these. Of the ones in theaters now, Sideways is an absolute must.


P

[arsaib4]

Thanks for posting your comments.

Can't wait to see both The Big Red One and Payne's Sideways. I was hoping that the films from Hou and Jia will get picked up but nothing so far. I'm afraid if nothing happens in the next couple of months then it might be a while.

Lucrecia Martel is an immensely talented director who we can expect to deliver in the upcoming years. Her debut feature La Cienaga was a revelation. She just might be the most talented among the new wave of Argentinian filmmakers although couple more aren't far behind.

Was Tropical Malady even more difficult than Blissfully Yours? How does it compare?

[Chris Knipp]

Have never seen Samuel Fuller's 1980 The Big Red One; what does the recutting involve, though?

I see you meant La Nina Santa by Argentinian Lucretia Martel. Making rounds at festivals, its favorable mentions arouse curiosity. Now showing in London FF. Distribution here?

Sideways: I'm hoping I'll like it way better than About Schmidt, to which I had an allergic reaction. It will open here (SF Bay Area)some time soon; is having limited openings over the next few weeks with a "national rollout" November 24. I can say the same about David Gordon Green's Undertow; Green has left me underwhelmed, but I want to like him and it looks like Dermot Mulroney (who's better than you'd think) is well cast in it for a change in a strong seious role, so I'm hoping Undertow is going to turn me into a Greenista. Presently showing at San Francisco's Lumiere Theater.

Very much want to see more of Hou Hsiao Hsien's films and am sorry he isn't getting US distribution. Tyranny of Miramax again?

Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady (Sud Pralad) is to be released by Strand Releasing in 2005 -- I get this info from an article about distribution of NYFF films http://movies.yahoo.com/news/iw/20041006/109708512000.htmlfor IndieWire by Anthony Kaufman. A good list here of what is and isn't getting distrbution out of the NYFF:
About 10 NYFF films still remain without a home in North America, from the work of Asian masters (Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Cafe Lumiere," Hong Sang soo's "Woman is the Future of Man," Jia Zhang-ke's "The World") to Middle Eastern newcomers (Keren Yedaya's "Or," Danielle Arbid's "In the Battlefields," Yousry Nasrallah's "The Gate of the Sun") to that of foreign auteurs, young and old (Pablo Trapero's "Rolling Family," Eric Rohmer's "Triple Agent"). In other words, if I read this right, the others did get distributers (slightly more than half), and so does this mean the NYFF is not a showcase for the best unseen new films but more like a Sundance for foreign films?

Looking at the list again, I'd have very much liked to have seen: Todd Solodz's Palindromes, Eric Rohmer's Triple Agent, Tsing-ming Liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn (shown at a theater in NYC; due Wellspring distribution?). Marco Bellocchio's Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, notte) I have on a dvd I bought in Italy and will review eventually. Agreed, Agnes Jaoui is a lightweight, but a good entertainer, this one too, from the sound of it.

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Have never seen Samuel Fuller's 1980 The Big Red One; what does the recutting involve, though?

There was an article about this in 'Film Comment' a few months back. Apparently 'Time' mag's critic and documentarian Richard Schickel went to work with a studio exec and ended up locating many reels of sound and video in some warehouse in kansas or someplace. Sam Fuller original cut was around 3 hrs while the 2 hr version was released in 1980. A few new battle scenes are said to be added along with the character of a German officer which is now explored with more depth; I'm sure Pmw will expand on this.

Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady (Sud Pralad) is to be released by Strand Releasing in 2005 -- I get this info from an article about distribution of NYFF films

It's a nice article, I posted it earlier in the thread I think.

In other words, if I read this right, the others did get distributers (slightly more than half), and so does this mean the NYFF is not a showcase for the best unseen new films but more like a Sundance for foreign films?

Nope, no word on any new deals since Palindromes which got picked up during the fest. The programmers always try to squeeze in a few films w/out any deals but still it's a prestigious event with big names for the NY crowd (NY critics have complained in the past since they've seen most of them at Cannes, Venice or Toronto).

Tsing-ming Liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn (shown at a theater in NYC; due Wellspring distribution?).

It's still playing at one location in NY after a month and a half, will expand slightly though but mostly special screenings.

http://www.wellspring.com/movies/in_theaters.html?page=in_theaters&movie_id=47

Marco Bellocchio's Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, notte) I have on a dvd I bought in Italy and will review eventually.

Great film which I saw at an Italian showcase, I believe I mentioned this before. Wellspring also has this film, too bad the dvd didn't have english subs.

[Chris Knipp]

If you referred to the Kaufman article I missed it while I was away, but my link above doesn't work. Here is the article again:

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/iw/20041006/109708512000p.html



In other words, if I read this right, the others did get distributers (slightly more than half), and so does this mean the NYFF is not a showcase for the best unseen new films but more like a Sundance for foreign films?

Nope, no word on any new deals since Palindromes which got picked up during the fest. The programmers always try to squeeze in a few films w/out any deals but still it's a prestigious event with big names for the NY crowd (NY critics have complained in the past since they've seen most of them at Cannes, Venice or Toronto).

We seem to be speaking at cross purposes, maybe I set up a false dichotomy, between "a showcase for the best unseen new films" and "a Sundance for foreign films." Why couldn't it be both? Or it could be neither. That's what I'm trying to find out. You know about distributions, I really don't. Kaufman seemed to be saying that NYC is an important venue for foreign films seeking distribution, as well as (with various disadvantages and advantages in this) the last stop after the main European film festivals. Kaufman's title's "International Gateway: NYFF A Crucial Destination for World Cinema Seeking Distribution."

Kaufman wrote "About 10 NYFF films still remain without a home in North America," there were 23, right? So that implied that about 13 did get a home in North America, i.e., found distribution. But did they already have it before the NYFF? Than that makes Kaurman's title kind of lame.

NY critics complain of repetition, yet they seem to have reviewed very few of the previously unseen films, again according to the Kaufman article.

"Will expand slightly" for Tsing-ming Liang's Goodbye Dragon Inn is tantalizing, but since the Bay Area gets most small distributions, I assume it will get here, if only briefly.

You did mention the Italian showcase and we had a couple of exchanges about it, but I can't remember the films you said you saw--though I guess I can look them up at the series site. Believe me, and as I'm sure you know, there are loads of new Italian not to mention French films we don't know aything about, and I just had to grab a few because they were new or I already liked the directors. Now I wish I'd gotten more. But time was limited and so was money. Some were not cheap; for example, Buongiorno, notte was 25 euros -- $30.

This Big Red One recut sounds very different. An hour is a lot to leave out.

[arsaib4]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
We seem to be speaking at cross purposes, maybe I set up a false dichotomy, between "a showcase for the best unseen new films" and "a Sundance for foreign films." Why couldn't it be both? Or it could be neither. That's what I'm trying to find out. You know about distributions, I really don't. Kaufman seemed to be saying that NYC is an important venue for foreign films seeking distribution, as well as (with various disadvantages and advantages in this) the last stop after the main European film festivals. Kaufman's title's "International Gateway: NYFF A Crucial Destination for World Cinema Seeking Distribution." Kaufman wrote "About 10 NYFF films still remain without a home in North America," there were 23, right? So that implied that about 13 did get a home in North America, i.e., found distribution. But did they already have it before the NYFF? Than that makes Kaurman's title kind of lame.

Reading back on what I wrote, I should've been more analytical. As we discussed earlier in this thread and as Kaufman wrote, NYC is undoubtedly essential when it comes to distribution of foreign films but I'm not certain if NYFF is the proper locus for such activity. At this time of the year most distributers are trying to position their films for the fall release hoping to catch the critical eye. So they're not actively seeking new films unless they want to get a head start for next year and as we know most smaller companies can't afford to do that. Desplechin's Kings and Queen is the only foreign film to have recieved a distribution deal (Wellspring) so far - during or since the festival ended. Smaller events such as the different showcases (French, Italian, Spanish, etc...) and other screeings orgainized by 'Film Comment' or 'Village Voice' earlier in the year seem to serve that purpose better as there is no pressure to have an "event" such as an Almodovar retro or something similar. So the title of the article perhaps is not totally accurate although he's right about this event as the last one of the year.

NY critics complain of repetition, yet they seem to have reviewed very few of the previously unseen films, again according to the Kaufman article.

I thought 'NY Times' did a good job reviewing every film shown in the main line-up; Kaufman's article came during the fest.


Believe me, and as I'm sure you know, there are loads of new Italian not to mention French films we don't know aything about, and I just had to grab a few because they were new or I already liked the directors. Now I wish I'd gotten more. But time was limited and so was money. Some were not cheap; for example, Buongiorno, notte was 25 euros -- $30.

Absolutely, but atleast you got the opportunity to be exposed to such films, I know you favoribly mentioned Matteo Garrone's L' Imbalsamatore once and his new film Primo Amore came out recently on dvd (with subs!). I was tempted to go for it but not knowing too much about it prevented me along with the price, this is what a member wrote at imdb,


I was one of those people very impressed with 'The embalmer' and i was waiting with anxiety for the second effort by Garrone. Now that the movie is out i'm not disappointed at all. This is a very dark story (probably is better to watch the movie alone!) but if you get connected (and i mean 'really and deeply' connected) with the characters you will be truly moved. Garrone is for sure the most interesting filmmaker now working in Italy and i truly hope he can pursue his personal way of seeing cinema. He's so original that he need no comparison with other great filmmakers to be appreciated and he also always choose very well his actors. Trevisan and Cescon are in fact very effective in their roles and this make us italian movie lovers very happy because we can see some different face on the screen (not the usual ten italian actors or so practically working in every movie!). Now i can't wait to see another movie from Garrone and i also hope he keep collaborating with Banda Osiris! (The soundtrack of 'First love' is simply great).

I'd love to hear about some of the films even if you don't get a chance to fully review them.

[Chris Knipp]

First of all, thanks for your interest and I think actually I am going to be able to fully review all the films I saw in Paris and Rome, and the ones I got Italian dvd's of too. In the case of the ones seen in Paris, my memories may not be as detailed as I would like, but I find I can research them on the Internet to supplement that. There are often good reviews in French or Italian, and even viewers' comments, though less so, seemingly, in the French sites than the Italian ones (fewer viewers' comments, that is). Does anybody know a French website that gives lots of viewers' comments, like FilmUp in Italy?

I don't want to harp on Kaufman's article any more, but I think I was somewhat misled by it. I get your point about the timie of year not being ideal for new films to find distribution in the NYFF. You have clarified things quite a bit this time, thanks! I guess Kaufman was suggesting the Times neglected films from the NYFF NOT in the main lineup, but the smaller, less known ones that could be looking for distribution. That said, though, I know the Times is pretty good about reviewing even very small films, covering most of what opens in the city as well as the Festival. And their festival reviews often hold up well once the films are in general release.

I just missed a chance to see Primo Amore for free a week or so ago in the ongoing UC Berkeley Italian Students' film series. I have read about it in detail. It sounds like very odd, edgy material. My Italian teacher said I didn't miss anything! But she is probably more in search of the upbeat than I am. I found L'Imbalsamatore quite fresh and throught-provoking. What a contrast to Muccino! Garrone seems to me to have things in common with Pupi Avati, including the focus on the provincial outlook in Italy, how it limits and defines people. I want to see the rest of Amelio's output too because Le chiave di casa impresssed me a lot. I've got one other one by Gabriele Salvatores among the dvd's I bought in Florence. I've got a couple of Pupi Avati's.

My regret is that I don't have the wherewithal to see these guys' whole body of work, so I can't generalize about them without faking it -- something you've justifiably chided me for doing in the past!

[arsaib4]

I use 'FilmUp' quite a bit also, even though I don't understand Italian I've gotten used to it enough to find the release dates and other info necessary but for reviews and such I use my translation software. I tend to favor the official reviews as sometimes users do end up revealing certain plot points etc,. so I try to just glance over them. Try allocine.fr for french info, it's a great site with ratings from both presse and spectateurs along with plethora of other valuable information.

I think it's hard of find all of Avati's work even in Italy, especially on dvd so not many have seen his output other than at a retrospective perhaps. Having said that I found his latest? called Il Cuove Altrove hard to sit through, it's almost painfully simple-minded. It did get a U.S release recently. Garrone does sounds like someone to keep an eye on.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks for the tip. I have seen Allocine, and it's clearly a big site; I'll start making more use of it. Interesting that you also use FilmUp. But I like to read the viewer comments there and anywhere, because it gives me a picture of what the audience is like and how they express themselves. "Ordinary" viewers, such as the cross section on IMDb, sometimes come up with observations that elude the professional reviewers.

I've noticed that Pupi Avati's output is only partly available. I didn't like Il cuore altrove either; it seemed manipulative (the main character doesn't have a chance), something I never like, and that was my first view of Avati. But I'm beginning to be intrigued by his odd, rather insular point of view. Garrone though, despite his off-center topics, seems more in touch with the rest of the world.

P.s. I have a chance to see Ermanno Olmi's 2003 Cantando dietro i paraventi this week. Apropos of a revival of Tree of the Wooden Clogs a few years ago the Guardian wrote "No other Italian film-maker of world stature has been as neglected as Ermanno Olmi, " and he's made almost sixty films, but we've seen few of them in this country.

[arsaib4]

Ermanno Olmi has certainly been out of the spotlight in recent years but perhaps that's the way he wants it. I read a postive review of Cantando dietro i paraventi coming out of Berlin Festival from a german critic where he wrote that Olmi has begun on a new path where he wants to be free, doing whatever he wants to do and this is perhaps a prime example of it (a costume drama shot in China with Bud Spencer). His previous Il Mestiere delle armi is one of my favorites among Italian films. Both films are coming out on dvd this week, in Italy.

[Chris Knipp]

I read somewhere today that one of the reasons he's out of the spotlight is he's been ill. And he's old. This one is related to Il mestiere delle armi; both are anti-war allegories. Funnily enough since it came out at the same time as Kill Bill: Vol. 1 in Italy, they were occasionally spoken of together, as twin western orientalist flicks. It's in the hands of Miramax/Mikado as of Oct. 2003, so I guess they're sitting on it http://print.google.com/print/doc?articleid=pcpoAOctGf1.? Isn't 98 minutes a bit short for them? The Guardian wrote in April "Olmi is riding high on the back of his Berlin festival hit Singing Behind the Screens"; will he ride high to the front of US screens?

[arsaib4]

Ahhh...., "twin western oriental flicks," I wonder however what Olmi would say about all the red stuff in Kill Bill.

I'd love to see the link to the article, if you can re-post it. I wasn't aware that Cantando dietro i paraventi (Singing Behind the Screens) had a distributer. This just might prevent me from going for the Italian disc which is said to have subtitles.

[Chris Knipp]

I'm sorry the link got fouled up --it was a Google website listing (not just found via Google). I can't seem to find it now, but it was a copy of an article from Variety. Probably it was the one I'll paste in below,which I just found via KeepMedia (http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Variety/2003/10/27/?extID=10026). Miramax is mentioned elsewhere, for instance in a thumbnail review of the movie on the NYTimes website (http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=296795).

SINGING BEHIND SCREENS (CANTANDO DIETRO I PARAVENTI)


by JAY WEISSBERG | Oct 27 '03 [Variety]


(ITALY-U.K.-FRANCE)

A Mikado/01 Distribution (in Italy)/Miramax (in U.S.) release of a Cinema 11 Undici, RAI Cinema (Italy)/Lakeshore Entertainment (U.K.)/Pierre Grise Prods. (France) production, in association with Sky. (International sales: Lakeshore Intl., Los Angeles.) Produced by Luigi Musini, Roberto Cicutto. Executive producer, Alessandro Calosci.

Directed, written by Ermanno Olmi. Camera (color, Panavision widescreen), Fabio Olmi; editor, Paolo Cottignola; music, Han Yong; production designer, Luigi Marchione; art director, Pasquale Germano; costume designer, Francesca Sartori; sound (Dolby Digital), Armando Trivellini; choreographer, Yang Yu-lin; assistant director, Gaia Gorrini; casting, Andrea Marrari. Reviewed at International Recording preview theater, Rome, Oct. 22, 2003. Running time: 99 MIN.

Old Captain ..... Bud Spencer

Widow Ching ..... Jun Ichikawa

Confidante ..... Sally Ming Zeo Ni

Nostromo ..... Camillo Grassi

Admiral Ching ..... Makoto Kobayashi

Supreme Admiral

Kwo Lang ..... Xiang Yang Li

Imperial Dignitary ..... Guang Wen Li

Imperial Emissary ..... Ruohao Chen

Unwitting Client

in Brothel ..... Davide Dragonetti

Military Client ..... Alberto Capone

Mary Read ..... Carlene Ko

Prince Thin Kwei ..... Sultan Temir Omarov

Little Guiady ..... Bellino Zheng

Old Emperor ..... Xuwu Chen

Jettisoning all traces of his realist style, veteran helmer Ermanno Olmi has crafted his most complex and sumptuous work to date with "Singing Behind Screens." This Chinese folktale, partly staged in a brothel, is the product of a mature director confident with the range of techniques at his command. Arthouse auds familiar with the Olmi name and sympathetic to Chinese period tales may help to defray, or even cover, pic's 10 million euro pricetag. Stateside, Miramax has already picked up pic as part of a package deal.

Olmi himself sees the film as a follow-up to his anti-war "The Profession of Arms," but the multi-layered construction and ravishing imagery combine to make it more like a fairytale.

A young man (Davide Dragonetti), in what looks like 1930s urban China, gets lost and mistakenly enters a Chinese brothel. Though visibly uncomfortable, he becomes attracted not only to the sexual situations but even more to the staged narration of a Chinese folktale about a female pirate.

Pic initially crosscuts between the start of the staging and the young man's entrance. Though it occasionally returns to this character, for the most part the film moves between the highly theatrical staging of the story in the brothel and the "opened-out" scenes in actual locations.

Fable is narrated by an old captain (Bud Spencer) from the deck of a large Chinese junk that fills one end of a huge room. The brothel's clients, in little reed huts arranged with a view of the stage, can either watch the show or indulge in other pleasures.

Initially only the narrator's voice is heard, and the action is performed as a dance. However, at the moment the young man succumbs to the charms of a hooker, the pic cuts to a real lake where pirate junks are firing on a shoreside village.

Leader of the pirates is Admiral Ching (Makoto Kobayashi), who's backed by a consortium of profiteers. To calm things down, the Emperor (Xuwu Chen) offers Ching a high title if he'll give up his pillaging. However, Ching's backers, unwilling to lose their income, murder the pirate first with a poisoned carp.

Ching's widow (Jun Ichikawa) seeks vengeance, pillaging villages and vessels and becoming the most feared corsair of the coast. When the old emperor dies and his heir (Sultan Temir Omarov) ascends the throne, the new ruler personally goes out to capture the widow.

Olmi has worked with fairytales and fantasy before, from the sweet simplicity of "The Legend of the Holy Drinker" to the childish misfire of "The Secret of the Old Wood." But "Singing" is a more complex realization of the director's liking for creating multiple worlds that work both in the imagination and in real terms, somewhat a la Peter Greenaway. Auds expecting a swashbuckling tale or an anti-war tract will be disappointed: Skirmishes and pillaging are kept to a minimum, and the pirate figure is sympathetic, so it's hard to perceive any pacifist theme here.

Rights problems prevented screen credit being given to Jorge Luis Borges' story "The Widow Ching, Lady Pirate" from his "A Universal History of Infamy." (In fact, Borges took the plot from a 19th-century Chinese work, and the tale may well go back further than that.) Olmi adds the framing device of the brothel, using the staged play-within-a-play to reveal what is seen as the essence of truth. The plot boils down to a tale of fury appeased by forgiveness; the opulent staging gives a sense of depth to the material.

Glorious lensing by Olmi's son, Fabio, makes the stunning vistas of Lake Scutari in Montenegro completely convince as a Chinese coast, with majestic, painterly mountains. Where "The Profession of Arms" (also shot by Fabio), was memorable for its icy blues and smoky whites of a frozen landscape, here the dominant tones are opulent blues, rich reds and vibrant yellows, all redolent of the Far East.

Music mirrors the striking settings, with generous chunks of Stravinsky, Berlioz and Ravel.

Thesps take a back seat to the visual compositions. As often, Olmi gathers a cast of mostly unknowns, headlined by female dancer Jun Ichikawa (not to be confused with the male Japanese helmer), whose calm, at times hard exterior occasionally slips to reveal the jumble of emotions that thrust her into pirating. Seasoned vet Bud Spencer (aka Carlo Pedersoli) brings flair to the narrator's theatrical recitation, and finds humor in the role without straying into Robert Newton-like excesses.

Film's title comes from a Chinese poem, in which the sign of a contented home is said to be the sound of a woman singing within its walls.



Copyright 2000-2004, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Click here to visit:

[arsaib4]

Thanks for the article/review, it has certainly increased my curiostiy for the film and proven the fact that Miramax is involved. I did some search on the film and Miramax but at this point it's not on the company's slate either for fall this year or even sometime early next year. Hopefully they haven't dropped it altogether due to the recent budget cuts. Miramax still however has Marco Giordana's epic 6 hr drama La Meglio gioventu (The Best of Youth) slated for March next year (delayed once again from January). It'll be interesting to see how they go about marketing this one for the audience that nowadays doesn't usually appreciate anything over 90 mins.

[Chris Knipp]

It'll be interesting to see how they go about marketing this one for the audience that nowadays doesn't usually appreciate anything over 90 mins.

You're right--I can't figure how they can present Il meglio gioventu' .

I think you're overstating the length issue, though. a lot of successful movies are two hours or more, and American ones seem to tend to be longer than European ones.

[arsaib4]

I wouldn't say a lot but yes there are of course a few successful films that qualify as long, but I think we both agree that this is a special case. However, the average length of a feature film has decreased over the last decade or so.

On a relating note, it bothers me and perhaps it's just the sign of the times we live in that mostly everything now is expected to finish in a particular block of time. And when it doesn't or lasts longer there are words that get attached to the work. Why can't a Chris Marker short stand alongside a Bela Tarr film w/out any special labels?

[Chris Knipp]

I agree that there is a kind of "lengthism" afoot perhaps inspired by how much tv time costs and the omnipresence of "soundbytes", whereas things should be just as long as they need to be, and how long they feel is different from clock time. I thought though that maybe there was a concomittant trend of US films that aspire to seriousness to run a bit long as with Mystic River (2:17) and 21 Grams (2:04), not to mention such weighty pretenders to auteur glory as Magnolia (3:08) and Short Cuts (3:07), though I admit I'm going back five and ten years for those. Whereas I thought generally European ones tend to be shorter. About how many minutes has the length of the average film dropped?

P.s.

By the way, Did anybody see La Mala Educacion, Bad Education? Or the interview appearance of Almodovar at the NYFF? The movie is opening NY/LA November 19th (Sony Classics).