WIFF 2011
Well, the buzz can’t last forever. Now with some distance between my 4th straight Wisconsin Film Festival I can appreciate the experience a little bit more. Once again, I had to leave early before I could see my last scheduled movie, How I Ended Last Summer, which could have very well been my favorite of the weekend, because it was set in a unique environment (Russian outback) and seemed to be very atmospheric. But I did see 3 documentaries, 5 narrative films, and a short film showcase. No doubt I reached my goal of seeing as much of a variety as films as possible, but sometimes the filmmaking vision just isn’t there and doesn’t resonate. With 200+ films to choose from (plus a key film that was at the top of my list that sold out immediately), sometimes you just get the bad luck of the draw. But I’m proud of what I saw. When you’re at a museum, you can follow the crowd and look at whatever paintings everyone is admiring, or you can explore some forgotten corners of exhibit halls. When you finally see what works are collected in those less-visited places, you both understand why they aren’t as popular, but also glad you took a look at something less appreciated.
VIVA RIVA!
Starting off my film fest weekend, was my first example of a popular release from “Nollywood”, a Nigerian-based filmmaking industry that churns out movies popular in Africa quickly and cheaply. This is close to the best film of the festival, not because it profoundly moved me, but it delivered a completely unique context and environment spot-on perfectly. Now, if you are familiar with film noir tropes there’s definitely some tangents here that don’t serve a larger story, but definitely serve the gangster film genre. But through this very different filter, you get some interesting surprises, and understanding the larger cultural context adds to a multi-dimensional film-viewing experience as well. You don’t need to be living in Africa to enjoy this, but it’s intriguing to place yourself in the shoes of a Nollywood follower in Africa. What form of escapism does this kind of film provide? What cultural cues and references don’t make sense to my Western sensibilities? What elements from cinematic traditions, both old and new, influence how this story is told? All of those things and more add something deeper to this movie, even though on the surface it’s a very basic (maybe even basic-cable TV movie caliber) tale of a gas smuggler, the rival gang that is pursuing him, and the fallout brought down upon the eccentric characters that assist the protagonist. A lot of fun.
MARWENCOL
After rushing from Rockford to get top my first movie on time (I didn’t take any early time off), I had this film at 10:30pm, and I can conclude that most of my thoughts towards it are probably influenced by how late it was, and how it was distinctly not a type of movie that should air this late. A lot of the WIFF 10:30pm-11:00pm shows have a lot of off-kilter midnight movie elements. This is definitely offbeat but it’s portrayed so patiently and brightly that it is incredibly hard to concentrate, especially when something trashy, energized, and dark is what you’re looking for when you are trying to stay awake. In fact reverse the order of my film schedule for this Friday night, and I think I might have enjoyed both better.
Nonetheless, this documentary is an interesting character study of a eccentric fellow who was savagely beaten and suffered brain damage. Already an eccentric alcoholic, the injury caused him to develop a form of art therapy where he built a model World War II - era European town in his backyard, with dolls and figurines designed to represent real people in his life. There's nothing much beyond an interesting window into mental illness, and I think without something broader or even weirder it wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be.
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