Cinequest’s online festival CINEJOY begins on November 4 and runs through November 17. Here are my top five recommendations:
- Willow: This triptych by Oscar-nominated master Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski plumbs the heartaches and joys of having children; there’s a scene in the final vignette with a mother and son in a car that is one of the most amazing scenes I’ve ever seen. Manchevski’s Before the Rain was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1994. Most recently, he directed my choice as the best film of the 2017 Cinequest, Bikini Moon. Special live online event: Manchevski will appear at the screening at 10:30 AM PST on November 11.
- Everything in the End: The “End” in the title of this powerful think piece means, literally, the end of the world. Set in a future where climate change has made human extinction certain and imminent, the story imagines how people would react as they understand that they have only a few days left. More profound than grim, End of Everything takes the sensationalism out of the apocalypse and leaves the humanity. Set in the stark beauty of Iceland, this is a visual stunner.
- Travel Ban: Make America Laugh Again: a serious film about misunderstanding and bigotry with some hilarious comedy by American Muslim stand-up comics.
- Demon: On the lam from some aggressive bill collectors, Ralph hides out in an off-the-track motel. It doesn’t take long for things to get odd and then surreal. Ralph’s journey to this most mundane setting becomes nightmarish, but this darkly funny film is not really a horror movie. As the lead actor, Ryan Walker-Edwards is very appealing in his feature film debut. This is also the first feature for director and co-writer George Louis Bartlett.
- Mister Candid Camera: This is an affectionate but clear-eyed biodoc of Allen Funt, who originated the iconic television show Candid Camera and, in the process, invented reality television. It’s written, directed and extremely well-sourced by Allen Funt’s son (and Camera Candid performer) Peter Funt. Peter Funt reveals the secret sauce of the show (e.g., calibrating just how mean can you be without becoming cruel). Baby Boomers will especially appreciate the insider’s look at Allen Funt himself and the nostalgic glimpses of sidekick Durwood Kirby, etc. Everyone will enjoy the classic clips, including the talking mailbox, split automobile and the hilarious utterances of little kids.
Other films at CINEJOY imclude:
- 12 Days of Christmas: High school friends reunite when they’re home for their first college Christmas break. They all get down to some serious partying, but two of them must deal with a serious issue. I didn’t buy the unrequited love at the core of the story.
- Adventures in Success: This broad comedy traces the misadventures of a self-help retreat center led by a self-described energy transformationist who claims to have experienced a 12-hour orgasm. Her movement is centered on the female orgasm, the mantra is Jilling Off, and the sessions are essentially orgies where men are not allowed to ejaculate. Opens with an impressive 28-second performance of urination art.
- Agua Rosa: First-time writer-directors Miguel López Valdivia and Ca Silva use the camera brilliantly in this 71-minute Mexican relationship drama.
- Closet: This offbeat dramedy is about one of those quirky only-in-Japan things, like capsule hotels and golf in highrise buildings. Reeling from a breakup, Jin gets a job with a non-sexual escort service where insomniac clients pay him to cuddle with them as they try to get to sleep. Given his recent medical and relationship traumas and the weirdness of his new job, Jin (Yosuke Minokawa) often looks bewildered.
- Events Transpiring Before, During and After a High School Basketball Game: The humor in this Canadian indie comedy– along the same lines as in The Office and Parks and Recreation – just doesn’t get close to that level. Cast and screenplay were shooting for deadpan, but only reached dead.
- Far East Deep South: In this genealogy documentary, a Northern California Chinese-American family is stunned to discover that they have roots in Mississippi.
- Fox Hunt Drive: A woman works as a rideshare driver at night to make the rent and subsidize her futile daytime job search. She picks up a ride who may be a serial killer, and we’re all off on one wild ride. There is a gobsmacking plot twist.
- Non Western: This aspirational documentary has a lot going for it: an intriguing and underseen setting (the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana) and masterful cinéma vérité filmmaking by Laura Plancarte. But the film is undone by its very subjects – a talented woman with low self-esteem hitches to a guy who poses as traditional – but he’s just a dick.
- See You Then: This two-hander, which could have been titled My Dinner with Kris, reunites two close college friends after a decade of estrangement. The dramatic power is undercut by a Big Reveal which is too predictable to be shocking.
- Welcome to the Show: This indie comedy plunges the characters and the audience into a puzzle. Four college-age guys, always up for a party, blow off Thanksgiving with their parents to party, but the joke is on them. What is being done to them? By whom? Why? And just where the hell are they? Are they in a elaborate party game or inside a piece of performance art? Or is this a prank or something more sinister? They don’t know and neither does the audience.
Peruse the entire lineup and buy streaming tickets at CINEJOY.