Chicago 10 (2007) directed by Brett Morgen
I was more interested in this film for its visual flair that its history lesson, but I missed it or it didn't play here; I'm not sure. Either way, from the art standpoint, Chicago 10 gets high marks and low marks for the factual diversions along the way. Whatever. Those in the Twin Cities should hold off on renting the DVD and check it out at the Walker: they are screening it for free and director Brett Morgan will be on hand to introduce the film and participate in a post-screening discussion with local filmmaker Matt Ehling and U of M scholar Jane Kirtley.
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Personally, I think the merits of this film are completely blown out of proportion, but maybe that is just because I saw it on some crappy import where the quality of the DVD was more of a bigger subject than the film itself (a testament to just how bad the DVD was.) But what is a person like me to do when a film is unavailable? For those who didn't track down a blasphemous version on DVD, your waiting has paid off. Criterion offers Pasolini a stage that he no doubt believes his film deserved. I'll give it another chance, if for no other reason than to check out the DVD itself. Maybe there will be something in the special features or the new transfer that will convince me that Salò is a masterpiece. Not for the faint of heart.
Son of Rambow (2007) directed by Garth Jennings
For those not ready to tackle Salò, I whole-heartedly recommend this sweet and funny film that is as easily enjoyed by adults as it is kids. (Read a short something I wrote during MSPIFF about this film here.)
Redbelt (2008) directed by David Mamet
I did not care for this film so much, but that doesn't mean I don't respect Mamet, even if he is a born again conservative, or, what he calls "not a brain dead liberal." (Read more blah blah blah from me about Redbelt here.)
Love for Sale (2006) Karim Aïnouz
I wish I could offer up more of a recommendation that just a weak proclamation that this film generally received good reviews. It didn't play around these parts, but seems worthy of the rental. Also known Suely in the Sky.
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (2008) directed by Morgan Spurlock
Oh, that crazy Morgan Spurlock, willing to eat McDonalds more than once and willing to grow his chops out into a full beard in order to chase America's most wanted. This documentary probably would have gotten more publicity if he had found Osama Bin Laden, but as it is this film kind of came and went. Is it a sore subject or just a bad movie?
Lynch (2007) directed by "blackANDwhite"
Part one of the documentary about the man himself is a must for Lynch lovers. Part two is included on the Inland Empire DVD. (This is another that I caught at MSPIFF, leaving my thoughts here.)
Pingpong (2006) directed by Matthias Luthardt
I don't know much about this German film other than the ad was up on Screen Daily for like a year. It played at Cannes two years ago and I guess the ad paid off because somebody bought the rights at least for home distribution. Interested parties should check out this interesting article about Pingpong by Hanns-Georg Rodek for Die Welt.
Snuff, a documentary about killing on film (2007) directed by Paul von Stoetzel
Local filmmaker Paul von Stoetzel's documentary is now out on DVD. It is also screening locally this weekend at the Minneapolis Underground Film Festival.
4 comments:
Thanks for the tip about Chicago 10. I did see it in the theater, but would see it again, even though it didn't blow me away.
I thought Redbelt was terrible as well.
Question about Bin Laden? It's a bad movie. Probably the worst doc I've seen all year.
Did Chicago 10 play in town? The Walker screening is free as well, so another good reason to catch it there a second time, or for me a first time.
I honestly don't know what Mamet was thinking with Redbelt. But I can still watch House of Games and find it just as compelling as the first time I saw it.
Thanks for the tip on the Spurlock documentary - I was going to rent it.
Chi 10 did play at the Lagoon for a week or two, but few people saw it. Turns out I have to work now that night of the Walker screening. Arrgh...
Alejandro Amenábar's Tesis, which I recommend to everyone) is the closest I want to get to a "snuff" film (8MM is a laughable movie); and I've seen a few of the Faces of Death movies several years ago. Mamet should be embarrassed about the half-hearted Redbelt... What happened?!
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