WIFF 2010 last two

THE ART OF THE STEAL

The traditional style documentary of my film fest experience, this was riveting on all kinds of different levels, even in the realms of my day job... urban planning.

Basically, this is the story of an extremely valuable collection of impressionistic art that was curated by a wealthy doctor named Barnes in the 20s and 30s, well before all these famous artists became respected among the elite and mainstream of art patrons. Through an amazingly complex series of steps, that can put fear into the heart of anyone that wants to consider joining a non-profit board of any kind, this collection is eyed by the city leaders of Philadelphia as the key to downtown urban revitalization and tourism. But Barnes, in his will, specifically laid out how is collection was going to displayed and where it's permanent home should be, which was in a exhibit space in suburban Philadelphia.

What emerges is a thorough questioning of whom art belongs to and how important the context around art should be in considering how it should be appreciated. A couple more things this documentary revealed to me was how something as seemingly pure, creative, and universally important as historic visual masterpieces can be commercialized like a latest blockbuster. I'll never look at those big banners draped over the Chicago Art Institute advertising a limited-run collection (tickets extra beyond general admission) the same way again. The other thing was the danger of civic leaders wanting increasingly more showcases and big projects to keep their City on the map. From all I've heard, Philadelphia, outside of NYC, Chicago, and probably Boston, has one of the most vibrant city centers with dense residential, commercial, and cultural uses. Why would it be so necessary for them to "steal" this collection to make the City "better"? I felt a slightly similar feeling when the Chicago Olympics talk was going on.

TERRIBLY HAPPY

A great capstone... apparently "deadpan Danish dramas" are a hit of WIFF attendants, so I'll glad I made this screening. In fact, the last few Danish films I saw were more humanistic and realistic, although with a very unique tone. This, however, comes straight out of the world of dark comedy, with hints of Coen Brothers and David Lynch. Just I wanted to dive into the world of Prague with Shameless, I was only wanting to see what the Danish rural frontier was like. Not a charming place.

It's a simplistic but still entertaining heart-pounder with lots of quirks about a reassigned Danish cop who runs in with all sorts of weird troubled cowboy Danes with their own sense of justice and order. I think the less said the better.

And that's what I saw... looking back my take away from this 8-film marathon was not so much that I was enjoying cinema as I was exploring little genres that appeal to the various niches of my personality. There's no doubt that Iron Man 2 is the BIG MOVIE to see right now, but all these quirky compelling films at WIFF represent not so much films as the few extra exotic colors added to my cultural palette.

Back to regular movie programming!