by Larry Richman
January 29, 2008 11:53 PM

Readers of this blog know that I generally attend festivals to see independent films -- particularly ones which do not yet have distribution deals in place. It allows for a "ground floor" perspective which is truly unique to film festivals. The opportunity to attend a World Premiere, participate in a Q&A with the cast and filmmakers, and meet them afterward is unparalleled. Being able to then follow their progress from screenings to acquisition, distribution, and release is what drives me to travel around the world.

There are some exceptions, however, and such a situation arose today. Since the festival's first annual Virtuosos Awards are being handed out tomorrow night to Casey Affleck, Marion Cotillard, James McAvoy, Ellen Page, and Amy Ryan, the award-winning films of 2007 which led to these performers receiving multiple nominations and awards are being screened this week. I had already attended the World Premieres of two of these actors' films at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival: Atonement (McAvoy) and Juno (Page). Both, in fact, were among my 5 Top Picks from that festival (of over 20 films I saw) and Juno was #1. I had not yet seen, however, the featured films of the other three: La Vie En Rose (Cotillard), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Affleck), and Gone Baby Gone (Ryan and Affleck). All had played Toronto but just hadn't fit into my schedule then or when they hit theaters in the fall. That situation would be rectified over the next two days.

First up today was La Vie En Rose, the epic biopic about the life of French singer Edith Piaf, portrayed magnificently by Marion Cotillard (who is nominated for Best Actress for her performance). The role demanded that Cotillard age from Piaf's teen years to her tragic death at age 47 in 1963, a task which would be worthy of accolades even if not a particularly notable one. But it was all that and more. Cotillard's ability to seamlessly lip-synch Piaf's tunes and echo her emotional turmoil and physical disintegration was frighteningly brilliant. As befitting such an epic, every element of this film is spot on -- from Olivier Dahan's direction, to lush costumes, sets, cinematography, music -- La Vie En Rose has it all.

My only criticism was in the editing choices which present the viewer with continual jumps backward and forward in time in a way which makes the narrative difficult to follow. It's one thing to decide not to lay out Piaf's life in non-linear fashion; it's another to move from past to future and back again without identifying the time or place. Captions did identify locations and dates in most cases, but there were some glaring omissions which all the audience members I spoke to agreed seemed odd and confusing. Cotillard's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy and it's easy to see why she's been nominated. But the film did not thrill me as much as I expected and I can only recommend it with reservations.

On the other hand, I was simply blown away by The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the film which brings Casey Affleck his Best Supporting Actor nomination and one which I saw immediately following the two hour and twenty minute La Vie En Rose. This one comes in even longer at two hours and forty minutes but could have gone on all afternoon, as far as I was concerned. Why Affleck was not nominated for Lead Actor is a mystery to me, as his role is certainly equal to Brad Pitt's Jesse James. This film is more about Ford's hero worship for James which led to the act of the title than the exploits of the legendary outlaw himself. I couldn't help but find parallels to modern-day events like the killing of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman. In a film filled with characters of questionable ethics, Affleck's Ford is actually most sympathetic and moral of all. If ever there was a crime which had justification it was this one, yet Ford was not treated as the conquering hero following James' Death. He was, in fact, reviled and humiliated in his later years.

Affleck has the uncanny ability to say more in his facial expressions and eye movements than any amount of dialogue could, and it's that talent which makes his performance here so breathtaking. The film works on every other level as well, especially the sole use of natural lighting to the sweeping photography of Old West vistas. There is no question that Affleck's performance deserves an award. There is also no doubt in my mind that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of the finest achievements to come out of Hollywood this decade.

The evening saw a return to the best that film festivals have to offer, as I pointed out in the first paragraph above. But, while the films I see at festivals like Toronto and Tribeca are mostly World Premieres, this was not only the first one I've attended here this year but it would also turn out to be the only one. Jacob Medjuck's Summerhood turned out to be one of the brightest spots of this year's Santa Barbara Film Festival lineup.

Medjuck wrote, directed, produced, edited, and even starred in this Canadian entry that is a loving, slightly irreverent look at one of those most universal of all experiences: summer camp. The 70s-80s soundtrack had me from the first note. Needle-drop music (third party songs) are expensive and hard to get permission to use, but Medjuck's father was in charge of clearances and is the one to credit for that, as the younger Medjuck pointed out in the Q&A following the screening. The original score which filled the spaces between the hits was equally poignant and tugged at the heartstrings. The script is sharp and witty with rapid fire dialogue which reminded me of my #1 Top Pick from Toronto, the $100 million+ indie box office hit Juno. Most of all, though, it's the performances of the campers, all young Canadian actors under 14-years-old, which wowed me and the audience at this World Premiere screening. Clone Woody Allen and take him back pre-puberty and you have the cast of characters which inhabit this camp.

Medjuck and several cast members were present for a lively Q&A which was about as rolling-on-the-floor enjoyable as the film itself. Three of Summerhood's top young stars participated: Lucian Maisel (Fetus), David Gibson McLean (Toast), and Scott Beaudin (Reckless), now 13, 14, and 15 respectively. All told stories of madness and mayhem both on and off the set, and Medjuck pointed out instances when the young actors were encouraged to stray from the script and improvise. Some ended up onscreen, some was even too raunchy for this slightly younged-down American Pie, but a good deal of it made it to the final cut, fortunately for the audience's sake. Medjuck could have gone with older actors (18 to play 15, 14 to play 12) but stuck with kids the same age as their characters. Legendary casting director Avy Kaufman, one of my favorites, gets some credit for putting together this brilliant young cast.

As is usually the case with World Premieres, many of those involved with the film were there with their families, some seeing it for the first time. It was a joy to meet them and I've posted some pictures of the Q&A and a couple of the young stars.

The day ended with a screening of Death Note (Desu Noto), based an an immensely popular Japanese manga, which includes teens as heroes and a chilling but darkly comic animated sidekick. A book which gives its owner the power to kill anyone whose name he writes on its pages allows Light Yagami (played with tongue firmly in cheek by Tatsuya Fujiwara) an opportunity to rid the world of criminals. But absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Yagami's best-intentioned plans take a dark turn.

Director Shusuke Kaneko's slick sense of his audience's intelligence has made this a psychological thriller that is sure to crossover to mainstream audiences around the world. Believe it or not, it's the death creature Ryuuk's odd humanity (he only eats apples) which provides the comic relief that kept me glued to the screen. That, along with the Michael Jackson-like performance of candy addict Ken'ichi Matsuyama as "L" makes Death Note worth seeking out.