Idyllwild 2014 begins

 by Nancy Borchers

           
 [Nancy and her coteriere began watching IIFC films at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 7, the opening day of the Idyllwild 2014. By 10 p.m., they had seen 13 films, including the opening night’s feature, “Red Wing.” Here views and impressions are below.]

            Finally … The Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema arrived for the fifth time on a gloriously sunny delightful Idyllwild day. This year we added a forth woman to our entourage. Five years ago, I started out going to the films by myself. 

            Sallie joined me the next year. Annamarie came with us to a few of them the third year. In year four, the three of us went to the Festival full time and saw as many as possible and this year Margie was able to come along.

            This history is sort of funny when you consider that the first film we saw was “Through the Woods” with director Mike Mcaleer. He spoke about the film beforehand telling us that it was about strong women in Idyllwild.

            It really was about was a witch in Pine Cove, a depressed mother who checks out mentally every time the going gets rough, and a daughter who gets knocked up by an abuser are the main characters.           

            The witch was the only one with her act together. I wanted to shake the characters and tell them how a really strong woman behaves.  I was sitting there with three of them. The room held a bunch more.

            The photography and color were both very good.  The music was good with a few weird dramatic booms to emphasize important action; sort of like liturgical churches with the bells.  Beautiful setting.

            The Silver Pines Lodge was a wonderful venue.  Candles lit every surface and emphasized the coziness and comfort of the room. The seating was comfortable and the flickering fire in the fireplace added to the ambience.  I love this venue.

            Next, we scurried over to the Rustic Theater for the next offering and got to see part of “Moses on the Mesa” with director Paul Ratner. The scenery was spectacular and the photography was great. I loved the plot and the history given at the end was very interesting. I hope I get to see the entire film at the next showing.

            “Animal Cookies” with director Matthew Temple was delightful, but it was a bit too short. I loved the kitchen. The man sitting in front of us missed the whole thing by seconds. Maybe it should have been shown twice. Cute.

            “Welcome Nowhere” with director Kate Ryan was a tough compelling documentary on the Roma in Bulgaria.   Both sides were represented depicting the prejudices of those involved. No lectures or axes to grind. I always dislike pious documentaries that belabor the point. Photography and sound were professional. A genuinely good film.

            We jumped in the car and sped up to Astrocamp where I was reminded of the uneasy feeling I get at this venue. There was no ice on the walkway this year but the seats were just as uncomfortable and the theater is so dark that it is dangerous to move around in safely. We sat near the front to see “Black Hearts” with director Malani Coomes.

            Unfortunately this was the first of many media oriented films at this festival. I know authors are supposed to write about things they know and I guess that beginning filmmakers do the same thing. The most unfortunate thing was that they were all there and laughed and giggled so much that it was impossible to hear the few clever lines.

            After a brief conference with my companions we decided to give the film another ten minutes before we walked out. The question was “Are they being paid to giggle?” We left early and went to lunch.

            Quick, back to Astrocamp and watched “Jessie And the Fountain of Youth” with director Tracey Anarella. We didn’t even notice the hard chairs. This was a fascinating film. I loved the scene where a producer interviews Jesse Cohen in the subway. The professional scene changes, good color and music kept us in our seats with eyes glued to the screen. The editing and cinematography were superb.

            Then we headed back to the Rustic Theater for “Amos” with director Taylor B. Maxwell.  The good acting in this film with the engrossing plot really held our attention. It was believable and professional. The sympathetic treatment of the characters made me like all of them, even the bad ones.

            “Turncoat” with director Emily Sandifer was the next film. It was hard to sit through. The makeup was grotesque though I suppose necessary. The way the protagonist’s face was shown was like those films where the profanity flows through the whole film and not just at the beginning to set the character. Yes, we know he was disfigured.  Perhaps she was pointing out that his whole being was disfigured not just his face. Why did the lantern suddenly appear? And in broad daylight? Confusing. In spite of all that, the director shows promise.

            The next film was “Kingman” with director Adrian Szasz. This was a captivating film.  The cinematography was great.  The kid was great. The scenery was great. It was a masterful film.

            “Hans Lee and Papa Schultz” with director Mikael Genit was terrific. I loved the cars, the diner, and the characters. Too much fun.  I had a hard time keeping up with the sub titles since they went so fast but this was a fun romp through the French countryside. The bodies just kept piling up!

            “Where the Fireflies Die” was another terrific film.  There was no dialog but the acting of two juvenile actors beautifully carried the film. The were no amateurs involved in this film. The down to earth portrayal of the two children and the masterful ending scene makes this one of the most important films of the Festival.

            We were all delighted by “Green Acres.”  Living in Southern California, the desert is never too far away so the tortoise’s venue was very familiar even though it was a bit extreme.  Interesting bit of animation.

            We knew we couldn’t miss “Red Wing” even though this has been a loooong day. A thoroughly professional film held our rapt attention.  Will Wallace took good material and ran with it. The cinematography, sound and acting were all terrific. His work just keeps getting better and better. The manipulative villain was very realistic.

            This was such a great day. The Festival is off to a wonderful start.  I was so tired though after all the films that I went home and slept very well. I didn’t get a chance to start this blog until Wednesday and had a meeting at 8 a.m. I ran off to see more films Wednesday morning and stayed all day. I finally finished this article at 6:15 a.m. Thursday morning and will have to get to work on the films we saw on Wednesday.