Cinequest – Page 18 – The Movie Gourmet

Cinequest: THE ASHRAM

April 8, 2018March 4, 2018 by movie gourmet

In the ridiculous drama The Ashram, a sullen guy seeks his missing girlfriend and follows her trail to an ominous cult in a Himalayan ashram. When we finally meet the ancient guru, he turns out to be a real miracle-maker (as demonstrated by the cheesiest of special effects).

Here’s the biggest problem with The Ashram – it is populated by one-dimensional characters that we care little about. As an Ashram resident, Kal Penn is sympathetic, but it’s clear that his character’s only raison de etre is to be the Nice Guy. The leading man is Sam Keeley, who scowls his way through this story, occasionally adding in a furrowed brow.

The disappeared girlfriend shows up in flashbacks, played by the remarkably uncharismatic Hera Hilmar. Last year, Hilmar helped sink the execrable The Ottoman Lieutenant, proving to be boring even while losing her virginity to Michiel Huisman; she only sparked interest from the audience with unintentionally funny line misreadings. I left The Ashram thinking that Hilmar must have the worst showbiz agent to get her in such horrible films; but then I realized that she must have Hollywood’s BEST agent. Think about it.

But the worst thing about The Ashram is its misuse of the great Melissa Leo, who plays the guru’s gatekeeper and chief operating officer. Leo’s character ranges from unctuously evil to snarlingly evil,. Her performance brought to my mind the Disney villainesses Cruella Deville and the Evil Queen. Absent any hint of nuance, Leo is left to twirl her non-existent mustaches.

Director Ben Rekhi (from San Jose) gets two things right in The Ashram – the two perfectly evocative locations. The first is the city of Rishikesh, “Spiritualism Ground Zero” since the Beatles visited their guru there. Bisected by a river with a long pedestrian bridge, Rishikesh is filled with seekers searching for spiritual bless and lots of “holy men” willing to sell it to them. The Lourdes of the Indian subcontinent, it just screams “money changers in the temple”.

The second is the setting of the ashram, in a lush mountain valley at the confluence of two dramatic rivers. The guru’s cliff-side cave overlooks the ashram in the valley, and there are spectacular Himalayan landscapes in every direction.

The dark whodunit story here might work as Young Adult fiction with better special effects. But still, The Ashram is a wretched movie. I attended the world premiere of The Ashram at Cinequest. It is now available to stream from several platforms.

DVD/Stream of the Week: THE SAPPHIRES – here’s a crowd-pleaser

February 27, 2018 by movie gourmet

This week’s video recommendation celebrates the opening of Cinequest with a nugget from the 2013 festival: The Sapphires is a triumph of a Feel Good Movie. Set in the 1960s, a singing group from an Australian Aboriginal family faces racial obstacles at home, but blossoms when the girls learn Motown hits to entertain US troops in Vietnam. Remarkably, Tony Briggs based the screenplay on his mother’s real experience – make sure you stay for the Where Are They Now end credits.

The ever amiable Chris O’Dowd (one of the best things about Bridesmaids) is funny and charming as the girls’ dissolute manager. Jessica Mauboy, who plays the lead singer, has a great voice for soul music. A surprisingly beautiful song by the girls’ mom, played by veteran actress Kylie Belling, is an especially touching moment.

The Sapphires is not a deep movie, but it is a satisfying one. It’s predictable and manipulative, but I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t enjoy it. The Sapphires is a guaranteed good time at the movies.

The Sapphires is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and to stream from Amazon Video, iTunes, Vudu, GooglePlay and Flixster.

CINEQUEST 2018: festival preview

February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

I’ve already seen almost twenty offerings from Cinequest 2018, and here are my initial recommendations. As usual, I focus on the world and US premieres. Follow the links for full reviews, images and trailers. I’ve also included some tips for making the most of the Cinequest experience under “Hacking Cinequest”.

MUST SEE

Bikini Moon: The Must See indie at this Cinequest, this gripping drama features a mesmerizing performance by the ridiculously charismatic Condola Rashad. It’s the first American feature for renowned filmmaker Milcho Manchevski. World premiere. Simply brilliant.

Condola Rashad in BIKINI MOON, premiering this weekend at Cinequest

SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE

7 Splinters of Time is the trippiest film in this year’s Cinequest. Eye candy galore, as time travel goes wrong and doppelgängers abound. Listed in the Cinequest program by the alternative title of Omphalos. World premiere.
Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon has to be the bravest and most artistically ambitious movie premiering at Cinequest. In his debut feature as director, writer, composer and star Luke Shirock has imagined a guy put on trial by his own subconscious. And it’s a musical. World premiere.
Voevoda: This is a well-crafted historical epic; what makes it different is the female protagonist – a guerilla rebel leader in 19th Century Bulgaria. US premiere.
The Wind: Okay, you may have already seen this if you’re about 100-years-old. But most of us haven’t experienced watching this Lillian Gish silent classic on the big screen of a period movie palace, the California Theatre, accompanied by world-renowned Dennis James on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

Edoardo Ballerini in 7 SPLINTERS IN TIME

THRILLERS

Amateur This taut Argentine thriller reminds us of Psycho, but with more grisly killing and more sexual perversity. US premiere.
Hunting Lands: This indie is a slow burn thriller about a recluse emerging from the woods to right a horrible wrong. First time writer-director Zack Wilson lets the audience connect the dots. World premiere.

SLICE OF LIFE

Luba: This realistic Canadian drama explores the challenges of co-parenting with an addict. There’s a ticking time bomb finish. World premiere.

COMEDY

Venus: This appealing Canadian transgender comedy is funny, touching and genuine. Transitioning is challenging enough, but a zany Indian family and a previously unknown biological son complicate matters. US Premiere.
Threesomething: This bawdy sex comedy comes with a smart and acid perspective on the “Are you OK?” generation. World premiere.

THE BEST OF WORLD CINEMA

Barefoot: This Czech historical drama is from director Jan Sverak, who won an Oscar for Kolya. Cinequest Director of Programming Mike Rabehl has secured the rare black-and-white director’s cut. I haven’t seen it yet, but the buzz is that it’s excellent.
Ismael’s Ghosts: I’ve been waiting for the chance to see this French drama, not yet released in the US. Stars Marion Cotillard, Mathieu Amalric and Charlotte Gainsbourg. From director Arnaud Desplechin (My Golden Days, A Christmas Tale, Jimmy P.),

AUDIENCE-PLEASERS

Venus: (see above).
The Pick of the Litter: I haven’t yet seen this feel-good documentary about adorable puppies trying to become Guide Dogs for the Blind. Directors Dana Nachman and Don Hardy made the sentimental recent Cinequest and PBS hit Batkid Begins.

BEFORE IT’S IN THEATERS – SEE IT HERE FIRST

Several Cinequest films already are planned for theatrical release later this year. I haven’t seen them yet, but you can see them first at Cinequest: Krystal, Submission, Borg/McEnroe, Beirut, Submergence, The Ashram, The Last Movie Star, What They Had, Where Is Kyra?, Love After Love and Brothers in Arms.

HACKING CINEQUEST

The renovation of the old Camera 3 Theater into 3Below Theaters & Lounge means that Cinequest will regain its Downtown San Jose vibe, with concurrent screenings at the 1122-seat California, the 550-seat Hammer and the 257-seat 3Below, all within 1600 feet of the VIP lounge at The Continental Bar. There will still be satellite viewing in Redwood City.

3Below has lost Camera 3’s middle aisle and replaced all the seats. The decor is sharp, and they’ve added a movable stage for performances, lectures and Q&As. The once notorious restrooms are remarkably clean (and no longer accessible from the neighboring parking garage, so they have a chance to stay that way).

At Cinequest, you can get a festival pass for as little as $165, and you can get individual tickets as well. The express pass for an additional tax-deductible $100 is a fantastic deal – you get to skip to the front of the lines!

Take a look at the entire program, the schedule and the passes and tickets. (If you want to support Silicon Valley’s most important cinema event while skipping the lines, the tax-deductible $100 donation for Express Line Access is an awesome deal.)

As usual, I’ll be covering Cinequest rigorously with features and movie recommendations. I usually screen (and write about) over thirty films from around the world. Bookmark my Cinequest 2018 page, with links to all my coverage (links on the individual movies will start to go live on Sunday February 25). Follow me on Twitter for the latest.

Cinequest: BIKINI MOON

February 27, 2018February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

In the astonishingly brilliant Bikini Moon, actress Condola Rashad’s blazing performance ignites Milcho Manchevski’s provocative story, resulting in the Must See indie at Cinequest. A fictional movie crew discovers the potential star of their documentary project. That star is a mentally ill homeless women named Bikini. She says that she’s a military veteran and that she has a daughter. The documentarians see that her emotional volatility, with its sudden and extreme outbursts, makes for great drama. She’s also an enthralling raconteur with a gifted turn of phrase – and she’s beautiful.

Bikini is played by Condola Rashad in a performance so charismatic that it’s easy to see how the crew is seduced by her mesmerizing presence. These folks are way out of their depth with Bikini. They think she is their subject, but will she pull them, one by one, into her madness?

It turns out that Bikini really is a vet, and she has serious PTSD and, possibly, Military Sexual Trauma. She is suffering from a raging, unmedicated bipolar disorder. It seems like Bikini’s one predictable quality is the impulse to act inappropriately.

Will Janowitz, Sarah Goldberg and Condola Rashad in BIKINI MOON

Bikini Moon explores the natural tension between a documentary telling a subject’s story and a documentary exploiting a subject. Here, the crew members have mixed motivations. The director Trevor (Will Janowitz) doesn’t have any compunctions about exploiting his subject. His girlfriend/bankroll Kate (Sarah Goldberg) appears to be much more nurturing and well-intentioned, as does Krishna (Sathya Sridharan).

Unforgiveably, Trevor takes Bikini and the crew into a situation can only further traumatize Bikini and looks to be dangerous to other innocent folks, too. At first, we see Trevor, consumed by selfishness and a disregard for others, to be a jerk. He may be way more functional than Bikini but his narcissism might rate him as unhealthy as she is.

Bikini has no social boundaries because she’s crazy. Kate, on the other hand, seems like a conflict-averse doormat, and she has boundary issues, too. She may intrude the most deeply into Bikini’s life. Kate may take what she wants from Bikini through manipulation, all behind the guise of do-gooding.

Krishna is the least strong-willed and the most benign crew member. Yet he may be the one who can make the film tell Bikini’s story by adopting her perspective, however mad and feral that perspective is. That makes for a jaw-dropper of an ending to Bikini Moon.

The core of Bikini Moon is Condola Rashad’s remarkable performance. Her big, expressive eyes and sudden, charming smiles intoxicate both the documentarians and Bikini Moon’s audience. As captivating as she is during Bikini’s outbursts, Rashad might be even more compelling in quieter moments, especially a moment of stillness on the courthouse steps late in the film; those around her are assured because she’s not flailing around but we can see something very unsettling in Bikini’s eyes. There’s also a remarkable solitary dance captured on the nanny cam. She’s an actress seemingly created for the closeup, and the camera loves her. An accomplished stage performer, Rashad was nominated for Tony Awards for her performances in Stick Fly, The Trip to Bountiful and A Doll’s House, Part 2. She currently can be seen on television in Billions.

Bikini Moon is co-written and directed by Milcho Manchevski from his own story. Manchevski was Oscar-nominated for his acclaimed 1994 Macedonian feature Before the Rain. That Manchevski debut won the Golden Lion at Venice and was singled out as a masterpiece by Roger Ebert and The New York Times. Since then, he has directed three European features and an episode of The Wire. Manchevski has been teaching in New York, and Bikini Moon is his first American feature.

All of Bikini Moon is photographed as part of the film-within-the-film documentary footage or as candid iPhone video or video from a security cam. The cinematography by Joshua Z Weinstein is remarkably urgent and authentic, and shooting in the cramped spaces of apartment corridors must have been especially challenging. (His Twitter handle, by the way, is “@WeinsteinFilm”, clarified as “Joshua Z Weinstein – No Relation”.)

This is the entirely fresh and original work of a master filmmaker. Condola Rashad’s performance is stunning. Bikini Moon’s US premiere is the Must See indie at this year’s Cinequest.

Cinequest: WILD HONEY

February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

Rusty Schwimmer and Stephnie Weir in WILD HONEY

The talented actress Rusty Schwimmer plays Gabby, that rebellious oldest daughter whose bad choices have left her, at age 49, in a puddle of low self-esteem and underachievement. Having caught her loser boyfriend cheating, she’s now back living with her hypercritical mom and working out of the bedroom as a phone sex operator. She connects with an unusually empathetic and reflective customer, and decides to travel across the country to try to meet him.

Schwimmer does as much as possible with the material, and there’s a very appealing performance by Timothy Omundson as her favorite mystery caller. There’s also a moment at a taco truck, the funniest and only original moment in Wild Honey, when the Gabby and her sister (Stephnie Weir) two sisters slide into a gibberish language from their childhood. But there’s not much else we haven’t seen before in Wild Honey, a clunky, predictable and disappointing film.

Wild Honey premiered at the Austin Film Festival and plays Cinequest 2018.

Cinequest: VOEVODA

February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

The proto-feminist war movie Voevoda is set in the Bulgarian resistance against the Ottoman Empire. This epic tells the historical life of Roumena, a Bulgarian woman who led insurgent ambushes and nighttime kidnapping raids against the occupying Turks. In Eastern Europe, the word voevoda generally means warlord; in the 19th Century Bulgarian context it means leader of a guerilla band.

19th Century Bulgaria is not the first place we would expect to find a woman warrior, and that’s what’s singular about Voevoda. Motivated by Ottoman atrocities, she leads the local men into violent rebellion and most of them accept her leadership.

Bulgaria under Ottoman repression was a harsh time and place. This is the first time that I’ve seen the Turkish torture of being hung upside by the feet and having the entire village marched by to spit on your exposed buttocks. Roumena was one tough cookie, however, and that’s exemplified in one fairly alarming standing childbirth scene.

Writer-director Zornitsa Sophia is a seasoned director. She stars here as Roumena in her first screen acting credit, and is believable as the strong-willed and hardened leader. Sophia’s real 12-year-old daughter plays the young Roumena in flashbacks. Valen Yordanov turns in a fine performance as Stoyan, Roumena’s longtime lover and stalwart.

Voevoda is a well-crafted epic film and succeeds in creating the veneer of historical authenticity. Cinequest hosts Voevoda’s US premiere.

Cinequest: VENUS

February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

In the appealing Canadian transgender dramedy Venus, Sid (Debargo Sanyal) is at a personal crossroads. Single after things didn’t work out with his closeted boyfriend Daniel (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), Sid has just begun to dress like a woman in public and to take hormones for his transition. Then, he is shocked to learn that he has a 14-year-old son Ralph (Jamie Myers). The boy thinks that having a transgender dad with Indian heritage is very cool and, unbeknownst to his mom, starts spending more and more time with Sid. Sid has to deal with this, along with the reactions of his more traditional Indian parents and a chance meeting with Daniel.

In her first narrative feature, writer-director Eisha Marjara has crafted a funny, touching and genuine story. Venus is successful largely because of Debargo Sanyal’s performance. Eschewing flamboyance, Sanyal’s Sid is a man driven to keep his dignity in the most inescapably awkward situations. It helps that Sanyal is a master of the comic take; Sid’s reactions to his mother’s and Ralph’s intrusiveness are very funny.

Cinequest hosts the US premiere of Venus, and I expect it to become one of the most popular indies at the festival.

Cinequest: TOMMY BATTLES THE SILVER SEA DRAGON

February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

Luke Shirock in TOMMY BATTLES THE SILVER SEA DRAGON

Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon has to be the bravest and most artistically ambitious movie premiering at Cinequest. In his debut feature as director, writer, composer and star Luke Shirock has imagined a guy put on trial by his own subconscious. Tommy (Shirock) has feeling of unresolved guilt about his mother’s death that have troubled his life and impacted the relationship with his girlfriend Carolyn (Celine Held).

The trial is a nightmare, surreal and Kafkaesque. We see Tommy’s life in flashbacks, and learn just how accurate his own view of his life may or may not be.

And here’s what makes Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon so singular. It’s a musical – all set to Shirock-composed music. This could have been titled Inner Torment: The Musical.

Held is very good as Carolyn, and David Andrew MacDonald is compelling as The Prosecutor.

Reportedly, Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon was made on a $500,000 budget, which is difficult to imagine given the rich look of the film and some of the special effects and the shots on the water. Certainly, Luke Shirock is an artist swinging for the fences. Cinequest hosts the world premiere of Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon. Here’s a link to the trailer.

Cinequest: THREESOMETHING

February 27, 2018February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

Isabelle Chester and Sam Sonenshine in THREESOMETHING

In the cheeky and original comedy Threesomething, Charlie (Sam Sonenshine) and his buddy Isaac (James Morosini) invite Charlies’ friend Zoe (Isabelle Chester) to engage in a three-way sexual encounter. That pitch alone is one of the funniest three-minute, fifteen-second, openings to a film I’ve seen in years. But then Threesomething finds the ridiculous moments in both the sex itself and in the all-consuming passion of new infatuation. After a crisp 72 minutes, Threesomething‘s ending is very fresh and non-formulaic, posing just enough ambiguity about the characters’ futures.

Co-writers Morosini and Sonenshine have identified the comic possibilities within the notion that a threesome is more or less symmetrical. Let me explain it this way. What if your idea of a threesome is three participants, but it evolves into two participants and a spectator?

Lust and love are such ripe sources of comedy because we humans are most ridiculous when we are the most absorbed and single-minded – and that is definitively the case while having sex. And everyone’s sexual fantasies and fetishes – even if shared with one’s sexual partner – are laughable or creepy to someone else. Threesomething reaps the laughs from these situations without being sit-commy.

This is the Are you good? generation. Threesomething’s commentary on the compulsive over-checking in and over-supportiveness is all very sharply witty. And over-sharing is the core of Charlie’s relationship with his mother (Dru Mouser, who steals all of her scenes).

Sonenshine is just about perfect in his reactions during the threesome. He is fantastically gifted at playing both awkward discomfort and contained frustration.

Chester’s performance has several highlights, beginning with Zoe’s takes on the initial proposition and a particularly ill-timed outburst of weeping (inspired). As the story concludes, watch Chester’s face as Zoe considers and reconsiders how comfortable she really is in her choice of partner(s).

Threesomething is Morosini’s directorial debut and the first feature screenplay for both Morodini and Sonenshine. Comedy is hard to write, especially comedy as smart and original as this. Cinequest will host Threesomething’s world premiere.

Cinequest: MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END

February 25, 2018 by movie gourmet

Mr Fish in MR FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END

What does it really mean to be a “fearless” or “uncompromising” artist? That’s the question explored by the documentary Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End. Mr. Fish is an extremely talented political cartoonist, filled with rage against social injustice. A gentle soul in person, especially with his delightful daughters, Mr. Fish’s profound anger is expressed in his brilliant work.

a Mr Fish cartoon in MR FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END

Mr. Fish’s art is always intentionally provocative. And oft hilarious. And sometimes pornographic. And even heartbreaking, with two characters gazing at a portrait of John Lennon:

Uh oh- I think we’re fucked

Why?

Because give peace a chance seems nostalgic.

One would think that anyone as talented as Mr. Fish could afford to economically survive, if not to flourish, in modern America. But three things are holding Mr. Fish back from financial success. One is the declining market for newspaper-purchased cartoons as newspapers themselves melt out of existence. The second is that Mr. Fish’s principles don’t allow him to fine-tune his art to be more accessible to a commercial audience. Finally, Mr. Fish is oblivious to any opportunities to make money created through new media. He does toy with a television pilot and gets a part-time day job in commercial art, but he really isn’t comfortable with the word “paycheck”.

Asked about not having an audience, Mr. Fish calls it “heroic”. His wife brings home the bacon. She is totally in tune with his art (although she could do with fewer erect penises in it). But, weary of shouldering all the financial responsibility, she observes that not making money is all fine and good as long as you don’t expect to spend any.

The consequences of being admired by peers for living his principles but being not able to pay the family’s bills have been explored in Trumbo, among other recent narrative films. This is the real deal.

Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End is the first feature for director Pablo Bryant, a veteran documentary cinematographer. Bryant knows a genius when he sees one and fills the film with Mr. Fish’s art; the effect is intoxicating. Stick around to the very end of the closing credits or you’ll miss some of Mr. Fish’s best.