Monday, June 06, 2005

Cruel Movies of Youth


I've been neglectful in my posts recently for a few reasons -- the summer wind-up, book-club meetings and related activities, and lastly a nasty cold (virus) my Mac may or may not have from questionable downloading practices (my iMac is kind of whory)... but also, I've been doing some film stuff at SIFF, home and around that I'd just have to share...

I saw this great film adapted from the Scott Heim book, "Mysterious Skin". Finally, after a drought of really trite, bad indie queer movies, Araki returns and gives us something that's got a bit more substance. I gave it a rave up here as not to bore you with the details, but I was pleased as punch that someone had the cajones to adapt this, and that it was Araki himself (being sorely missed in this conservative climate).

Kind of in relation to that film, I also saw Tarnation which was incredible. I am truly awestruck by the force of that film (and, in true geek, gawk n' fawning fashion, I also wrote up a review here), but I think I'm more blown away by the fact he did something with really easy tools. It's liberating to think that you can piece a film together for just under $250. I watch the Apple affects and just think how I'd like to do something similar (but thankfully of course I don't have any lurid histories or family drama to record), but it shows that doing a doco is so incredibly easy and I'm kicking myself for not getting any films together in the last few months. Argh. This film is a testament to personal narratives, though -- and how easily you can do them if you just have the time and patience to peice it together.

Lastly - for Book Club, I saw Love and Pop which was written by Ryu Murakami (who wrote the last book we read, "Coin Locker Babies"). This was another in the similar teen-angst vein, only this time it's set in Japan and deals with the disaffected female youth turning to the oldest profession (in order to afford the 'bling-bling'). This was shot on video with a multitude of bizarre angles and long Murakami-like dialogues that drove me crazy reading his work. Of course, this was the less angst-ridden and violent of his works, but it's still pretty messed up (and shows the f'd up priorities of pop-culture obsessed youth in post-bubble Tokyo).

Well, I think I finally ended my terrible teens trilogy. Tomorrow I go to see Niceland tomorrow night (done by the same guy that did "Cold Fever") and then a Bollywood movie on Wednesday... More on that later...

Blue State Appreciation Day


Of course, I'm lovin' this little anti-snob-plate story, and the fact it's coming from WA (so close to the godless commies in Vancouver, so far from Kansas)... But then we should all wake up and smell the exhaust -- most of the vehicles these days anywhere past the Southcenter exits will have either sport a ribbon of some kind and or a Bush/Cheney sticker. Something tells me I'd get majorly rear-ended on 1-5 by some southend values-voter in an SUV. (*And yes, I'm a southender but I, like my filthly iMac, am unscrupulous in my wanting to control the world, keep standard emissions at 1990's levels (and keep 6FTU on for 3 more seasons, damn you Alan Ball!)...

Speaking of value voters, I have to also appreciate that This American Life finally did something to address the notions of Church and State, which after listening to, I'm convinced we are growing more into a scary theocracy starting to look like Franco's Spain. Granted, the audience will be the usual Lake Wobegon do-nothinicks who just give money to a slowly eroding PBS, but hey, maybe some values-voter will secretly recruited into recognizing their constitutional rights are probably not something they should be handing over in the offering plate? Hmm - well, at least no SUV's up here have NEW TESTAMENT written on thier assault cannon, but give it time, I'm sure it will become big...