last day

[jfb]

Hunting of Man: Thriller about brothers, cops, friendships gone wrong, corruption, etc. It was shot and presented in hi-def video; the picture was sharp but the story was unfocused. "Based on real events," they say, which might be the problem: It's the kind of film that comes out when somebody has experienced or witnessed something and wants to tell people about the thing that happened, instead of focusing on telling a good story.

This movie and Bitter Jester (a documentary ostensibly about stand-up comedy) both prominently featured men full of rage they sometimes can't control. And in both of these movies, such men are in long-term relationships with women who are devoted to them. My question, which I'm not sure I want answered: Why?

I was planning to go see Val Kilmer next, because I have a longstanding dislike of him and was hoping he would win me over in person. But after yesterday's Bakshi visit I just couldn't take the risk that he would talk about Art.

It occurs to me that I might be a little grumpy.

So I saw It All Happens Incredibly Fast. A bunch of bar regulars are hanging out after hours, when suddenly, a violent act is committed, a mysterious stranger appears. Stories are told, secrets are revealed, etc. Video and audio quality were subpar, but that doesn't matter much. The story starts right in and keeps the tension going all the way through, until the too-abrupt ending.

I didn't go to the closing night screening and gala because I'm too cheap and antisocial, so my last movie of the festival was Book of Rules. A bunch of San Francisco twenty-somethings try to Figure Out Life. Tries to cover too much ground, but a good story, with acting that hits exactly the right tone to keep all the characters real.

Most of the cast was Asian-American, but that had nothing discernible to do with the story--the director was asked about that, and said he cast Asian-Americans because he is one and knows many, but he specifically didn't want to make a movie "about identity". He wanted to make a movie about friendship, and the dissolution of friendship. He did a nice job.