[phileysmiley]

by Larry Richman January 31, 2007 5:59 PM

Notes from the front...

On Sunday I finally saw 2:37. That was one of the films it was impossible to get tickets to at the Toronto International Film Festival where it had its World Premiere. This was the US premiere and I made it. It interested me because it's always being compared to Elephant, which is one of my favorite indies. It's partly an homage to it and partly a ripoff, depending on how you want to look at it. But it's very compelling and has a few "whoooaaaaa" moments in it.

Basically (not giving anything away here), the film opens with a suicide. But we don't know who it was. We then proceed to follow 7 kids, 4 guys and 3 girls, in a docudrama-type structure. It's similar to Elephant in that there are long shots with no edits, tracking shots from behind, and several sequences which follow different kids in action occurring at the same time as they pass off to each other (like the hallway scenes with John and Elias in Elephant). So it's more of a thriller in that all through it the viewer is trying to figure out who commits suicide at the end. It's a lot more exciting than Elephant, though, with a lot more action and drama. Several of the kids turn in shockingly authentic performances. Watch for Xavier Samuel, a classically-trained actor who has the potential to be a major player in the industry. Bring this young man to America and see a star in the making.

I saw Little Children last night. It was a "Special Presentation" -- it only screened once and was followed by a "Conversation with...Jackie Earle Haley." It's a James Lipton-type deal. The whole program was 3 1/4 hours long.

Little Children is nominated for 3 Oscars: Kate Winslet for Best Actress, Jackie Earle Haley for Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. I think this is the first time I've actually met an Academy Award nominee in the period between the nomination and the awards ceremony. It's the best film I've seen here so far other than Man in the Chair.

Not giving anything away here -- it's a bit like Crash. Hmm...isn't everything lately? Separate storylines that intersect, who's good, who's bad, aren't we all a little of both, etc. It was quite fascinating and held my interest even though it's over 2 hours long. It's a drama with a slightly satirical bent that was very risky to try and pull off without ruining the mood. I'm not going to include it in my list of "festival films," though, and I won't write a review per se.

Interestingly, before seeing Little Children, I saw a film called Children (in the same theater). It is Iceland's entry into the Academy Awards. The lead looks like James Dean and it's a bit of Clockwork Orange.

This afternoon I saw a Korean film called The King and the Clown. It's the highest grossing film of all time in Korea. The place was packed, the first film I've been to that was sold out. It's set in the 1500's. Hard to describe but really fascinating and compelling with breathtaking costumes and sets.

Some bad news -- they pulled Glue from the schedule. It was one of my favorites from Toronto and I was looking forward to seeing it again. It was supposed to show at 11 AM tomorrow. But the good news is, it got pulled because it got picked up for distribution. But the company that bought it didn't want it shown. Hopefully we'll be able to post a release date soon. It's a very sweet, feel-good coming-of-age story from Argentina.

The sun finally came out today for the first time in 5 days but it's still only in the 50s instead of near 70 like it was supposed to be. So no shorts/beach going on. I also ate too much caramel corn last night and am paying the price today. But it was worth it.