Thursday was another glorious day at
the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. We started out at Astrocamp where we were delighted to see a
really cute short “Light Me Up” with directors Ryan Walton and Derek Dolechek
from Chapman College. This film showed imagination and promise for the
directors.
“Night
Riders” was a real step up. Two
actors, incredible lighting and cinematography carried this entire film
capturing the rapt attention and wild acclaim of the audience. The film was not
listed in the synopsis so I have no Idea who directed it but this was
brilliant. It only showed once at my least favorite venue which was a great
disservice to this remarkable film.
The
eerie glow of the dashboard lights of a pickup truck lit the faces of two
brothers carrying the body of their father home from a farm accident. The
conversation of the two with the normal gaps for thought brought realism. The
dialog seemed desultory at first but evolved to reveal the depth of character
of the brothers, their relationship and the circle of family of which they
seemed to be the last. I cannot say enough good things about this film. It was
only eleven minutes long but carried the punch of a feature. You might think I
liked it.
The
director, Freeland Shreve, of “Tag” is so likable and funny you wonder how he
could have made such a tragic film. The humor and great cinematography belied
the disastrous but inevitable conclusion of this film.
I
got to see a brief glimpse of “The O’Brien's” at its last showing and was
eagerly looking forward to seeing it in its entirety. I was not disappointed. I
just loved it. This very professional film showed not only great acting, but cinematography,
dialog, sound and score. I really could have watched it all over again right
then and there. It was an hour and twenty-four minutes but it seemed like it
was over too soon. No one left after the showing because cast and crew along
with the director Richard Waters were there to host the Question and Answer
session, which follow. I want to
see more!!
We
went to see “Counterpunch” from director Kenneth Castillo at the Rustic. I’m not fond of boxing and seeing child
abuse upset me since I saw way more than enough during my teaching career. Any
child abuse is way more than enough. I went to the lobby to chat with old
friends and new friends. Margie told me later that I missed a very good film. I
got to talk with the folks from “The O’Brien’s”, which was delightful.
Off
to Silver Pines to see “2FUR1” directed by Jahnna Randell, a mockumentary that
pokes fun at Hollywood. It incorporated great humor and cinematography. The sound
track was good too. Light hearted
fun.
The
last film I saw Thursday was “Forev” from directors Molly Green and James
Leffler. This film was natural, dumb, outlandish, and totally believable. I
loved it.
Cinematography,
sound, dialog and acting were all very professional and seamless. These
directors have a very bright future in front of them. There was just enough
tension to hold it together and keep it from being trite. The character development
had just the right depth. I was very impressed. This is the kind of film I
would rush out and see any time.
After
three days of non-stop film going, I was tired. I needed to go home and put my
feet up. I looked at the schedules for the next two days and decided that I
could play catch up Friday and Saturday. Two of my fellow film goers have
already taken a day off so today it was only Margie and me. Tuesday was a
totally full day with barely time for lunch and dinner. I didn’t get home until
ten. Wednesday I had an eight o’clock meeting in the morning so I got off to a
really early start and went full bore all day getting home again about ten. Ok, this makes thirty-four films I’ve
seen so far this year. It beats my past record of twenty-five for the whole
festival, hands down.
No
wonder I’m tired.
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