Wisconsin Film Festival: Day 1 & 2

I made it. I took a bus to a cab to a train to a bus. My day began at 5:47am and I finally arrived in Madison at 11:50pm on Wednesday. Not the most ideal day of traveling, but I did get to ride on the Amtrak Empire Builder and see Chicago.

Day 1:
On official day 1 of the festival, I met up with Ali Selim and we talked over some extraordinary tea at this very authentic little tea joint on State Street. He asked about how things were going with Far Away and I told him. We also talked a bit about what I'd like to do in the future. Then he told me all about the totally awesome things he is working on. He's going to be super famous VERY soon. I just know it.

After having a very pleasant time with Ali, I went to see my first movie.

The Happiest Girl in the World (Cea Mai Fericita Fata Din Lume) [2009]

The Happiest Girl is a Romanian film about a young girl who wins a car by sending in juice labels. We meet the girl and her family as they are on their way to shoot the promotional spot that is a requirement of receiving the car. We find out pretty quickly how ironic the title is. She is not at all happy because her parents want her to sell the car so they can invest the money in rental housing. As any teenage would, she wants to keep the car.

Most of the rest of the film is cut between arguments with her parents and her filming the promotional spot. The executives of the juice company cannot figure out why she isn't being happy enough in the commercial, but the audience knows. Take after take she tries to pretend to be happy. It's a quirky film and not as depressing as it might sound. It definitely had some light humorous moments to break up the angst. At one point, the juice executives decide that the juice doesn't look orange enough, so they mix Coke in with it - which I can only imagine tasted repulsive to the poor girl who had to drink it again and again.

While The Happiest Girl in the world didn't have much lasting meaning, it was certainly a cute little romp.

Day 2:
Collateral (Featuring Manohla Dargis) [2004]
A major Hollywood blockbuster from six years ago isn't necessarily something you'd expect to see at a film festival. Festivals are notoriously full of snooty art house film lovers. If it ain't subtitled, it ain't worth it.

I am not one of those people. Certainly not every film that comes out of Hollywood is of a high intellectual caliber, but that doesn't mean a film can't be enjoyable. And - among the chaff - you do tend to find a few good solid films with meaning and merit. I went to this showing because NY Times Film Critic Manohla Dargis was scheduled to intro it and give a talk. I went to plenty of action movies with my dad growing up, but they are rarely something I pursue on my own. Especially one with Tom Cruise. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was solid and witty. Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise gave extremely believable performances and the film itself was a haunting tour of LA. As Manohla pointed out before the screening, the sounds of the city are very prevalent and I found myself just waiting for the next sounds at times, rather than paying attention to the action. The point is, there is something to be learned from almost any movie, even if it is devoid of indie cred.

Manohla Dargis spoke before and after about Michael Mann's film. I didn't get to stay for as much of it as I would have liked (see the next paragraph), but she's not exactly cut out to be a public speaker. Like many of us writers, she's slightly awkward at public speaking. It was rather cute, but also slightly annoying. But, she had some interesting insights into the film that I hadn't picked up on.

I also had tickets to a set of four or five shorts at the Monoa Terrace, but I got lost on my way there (from Collateral), and by the time I'd righted myself to the correct direction, it was too late to make the showing. It wasn't that big of a loss.