Festival Preview: Philadelphia Film Festival & Cinefest 2009
After a rocky gestation period and much wringing of hands, The Philadelphia Film Festival & Cinefest 2009 is finally upon us, opening tomorrow night with the East Coast premiere of Zooey Deschanel’s latest, (500) Days Of Summer, and followed by more than 100 films from every part of the globe — as well as a handful with ties to Philly itself. As such, the Philebrity staff has set about to taking in as many advance screenings as possible so that when the Fest kicks into gear on Friday, Philebrity will be featuring Festival Picks daily throughout the duration of the entire festival. Stay with us for those, as well as party coverage, late-breaking fest news and ticket giveaways. After the jump, we offer a preview of a grip of films we’re already looking forward to — and trust us, there’s more where that came from.
The Beautiful Person: La Belle Personne
Director Christophe Honoré’s frank meditation on the nature of love and desire just might be one of the standouts of the entire festival this year. Weaving plots of philandering teachers, backstabbing, forbidden love and the new girl at school (the utterly stunning Lea Seydoux), Honoré’s film layers like P.T. Anderson but has the melancholy style of Godard all over it. With the music of Nick Drake acting as recurring theme and a superb cast — also note Louis Garrel as the teacher who apparently never read Lolita — we just got way into the work of Honoré without even meaning to. He’s like Wes Anderson with a mean streak.
Saturday, April 4, 4:15 PM @ Prince Music Theater; Sunday, April 5, 9:15 PM @ Ritz 5. Ticketing info here.
Mommy Is At The Hairdressers
A sweet, sad, and subtle character study about a happy family broken apart when dad’s little secret comes out of the closet. In this French-Canadian take on 1960s suburban dysfunction, Mom can’t handle the news and departs for a simpler life in England, leaving her three kids in the hands of their inept, depressed father. Teenaged Elise, the family’s only daughter, juggles coming of age, while trying both to care for her brothers and figure out what love is supposed to look like. This film is beautiful to view and the story, with its little twist and turns, is hypnotic. Director Lea Pool, with 15 films under her belt, wastes no time digging into the complexity the family’s fragile structure, seeming to imply that love is not always enough because we are all selfish beings.
Friday, March 27, 7:00 PM @ Ritz 5; Saturday, March 28, 2:30 PM @ Ritz 5; Sunday, March 29, 5:00 PM @ The Bridge Cinema DeLux. Ticketing info here.
The Sea Wall (Un Barrage Contre Le Pacifique)
Set in French-Colonial Indochina circa 1930, The Sea Wall follows a mother and widow (Isabelle Huppert, whom I’m sure you at least know from I Heart Huckabees) while she deals with her dysfunctional and independence-seeking children, Joseph (Gaspard Ulliel) and Suzanne (Astrid Berges-Frisbey). She’s also dealing with an unfarmable plot of land into which she, deceived by the colonial administration, has invested all of her savings. In an attempt to save her land from the regular flooding that destroys it and pull herself out of debt, she builds a dam against the sea with the help of the villagers and allows her daughter to be wooed by the wealthy son of a Chinese capitalist. Because of its on-location filming in Cambodia, as well as its attention to costume and set design, and Huppert’s unbreakable performance, The Sea Wall succeeds in its portrayal of the time period and its accompanying sadness and conflict. And, if you don’t like French period pieces, Joseph and Suzanne are both totally hot.
Friday, March 27, 4:45 PM @ The Bridge Cinema DeLux; Saturday, March 28, 4:45 PM @ Ritz 5; Sunday, March 29, 7:00 PM @ Ritz 5. Ticketing info here.
Not Quite Hollywood
“Ozploitation” is a film genre that we think everyone should get to know a little better, and this documentary by Mark Hartley is a more than perfect introduction. In probably the most fast-paced doc we’ve seen, um, ever, you’re pulled through the rebellious Australian film genre of the ’70s and ’80s in three steps: Sex comedies, horror, and action movies. Along the ride, you’re provided with an excess of clips (featuring tons and tons of boobs) and commentary from actors and directors, including Dennis Hopper, George Miller, Barry Humphries, Jamie Lee Curtis, and of course, the doting and unbearable Quentin Tarantino. By the end, you’ll feel wiped out, used up, and ready to add a bunch of Ozploitation classics to your Netflix que.
Saturday, March 28, 10:00 PM @ The Bridge Cinema DeLux; Sunday, March 29, 9:30 PM @ Ritz 5. Ticketing info here.
The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone
We cannot tell a lie: There are parts of sandwich heir Tony Luke Jr.’s big come-up here that are so outlandishly stupid that you will not be able to contain a snarky chuckle. But that’s missing the point. The Nail is a lovable lug of a movie so unapologetically dopey that doing anything other than cheering along this heroic tale will make you look like a giant dick. Luke stars as Joey Nardone, a one-time local champ who winds up doing eight years after a tragic accidental manslaughter. Back on the street, Joey vows to live a life of modest honesty and peace — which is slightly difficult, given his tough South Philly background. And it’s the neighborhoods of Philly that are really Luke’s co-star (unintentionally hilarious cameo by Tony Danza notwithstanding, of course). The Nail is shot beautifully and has its heart in all the right places. Why isn’t that enough for you people?
Friday, March 27, 7:15 PM @ Prince Music Theater; Sunday, March 29, 2:15 PM @ Ritz East 1. World Premiere with full cast and crew in attendance at both screenings. Short director Erin Filson will also attend both screenings. Ticketing info here.
I Sell The Dead
The Fest’s Danger After Dark kicks off with this tale of graverobbin’, corpse-manipulatin’ and other crimes. Set in Ireland in the 1800s and starring Dominic Monahan of Lost, I Sell The Dead is gallows humor indeed, but it’s also shot beautifully and occasionally creepy as hell. Splitting the difference between Shaun Of The Dead-style horror-comedy and being a straight-out period pic, this one delivers.
Friday, March 27, 9:45 PM @ Ritz East 1; Wednesday, April 1, 4:45 PM @ Ritz East 1; Sunday, April 5, 9:30 PM @ International House. Director Glenn McQuaid and Producer Peter Phok will be in attendance. Ticketing info here.
The Wages Of Spin
If this lovable-yet-amateurish documentary is anything to go by, Dick Clark was one of the most loathsome — and powerful — characters to walk the Earth during rock ‘n’ roll’s earliest days. A host of his old media and music colleagues all chime in to say pretty much one thing: If there was money to made on a record in the 1950s, Clark had figured out how to do it. It’s a view of rock’s pre-Payola Scandal heyday, when being an absolute piece of shit was totally legal. Clark’s wages of spin: Lots and lots of people (most of them featured in this doc) will die hating his guts.
Wednesday, April 1, 6:45 PM @ International House. Director Shawn Swords will be in attendance at the April 1st screening. Ticketing info here.
The King Of Ping Pong
The King Of Ping Pong is a story about two very different brothers living with their mother in Northern Sweden. Rille, the older brother, is unpopular, overweight and seems to only be content while playing ping pong at the local rec center. Eric, the younger brother is exact opposite of Rille. He is athletic, popular, and defiant. However, when their estranged father comes to visit, family tensions begin to rise. The setting in Northern Sweden is spectacular, with hills of snow throughout the movie. The dynamic between the two brothers is really captivating, especially when Eric defends Rille against neighborhood hoodlums on several occasions, instead of the other way around. The movie strolls along nicely until the third act when things get a bit messy — good messy.
Monday, March 30, 7:00 PM @ Bryn Mawr Film Institute; Thursday, April 2, 2:15 PM @ Ritz East 2; Friday, April 3, 7:15 PM @ Ritz East 2. Ticketing info here.
Plague Town
A paint-by-numbers slasher that starts out slow, but eventually becomes truly disturbing. In Plague Town, an American family (who look suspiciously like d-list thesps) gets stranded in the Irish countryside and encounters a backwater town’s ghoulish, bratty teenagers. Luckily, the worst actors are eliminated early and in grand fashion via piano wire, shotgun to the face, and a beat-down with a hubcap (from a Peugeot, of course). The filmmakers clearly spent all their money on the special effects, as the cinematography is uneven and the editing is often bizarrely film school. The script is also nothing special. But if you can sit tight through the slogging, clichéd first act, the rest is downright scary.
Monday, March 30, 9:30 PM @ Ritz East 1; Friday, April 3, 4:45 PM @ International House. Director David Gregory and Producer Derek Curl will be in attendance at both screenings. Ticketing info here.
The Girl From Monaco
Throw together a brilliant lawyer, a murderer standing trial, an uptight security guard and a very sexy weather-girl and you get The Girl From Monaco. In this dramedy, Bertrand, the lawyer, is brought in to defend a high-profile client standing trial for murder. Because the Russian mob in involved with the case, Bertrand is provided with a body guard, Christophe. And then enters Audrey, a hard-partying girl with a risque reputation who seduces Bertrand and threatens the outcome of the case.
Tuesday, March 31, 9:15 PM @ Ritz East 2; Friday, April 3, 12:15 PM @ Ritz 5. Ticketing info here.
Morris County
Set in suburban New Jersey and written and directed by Matthew Garrett, Morris County comprises three dark and depressing stories of unrelated characters during different stages of life. It begins with “Ellie,” the story of an adolescent girl who is determined to escape her own misery by entering a world of drinking and sex she doesn’t fully understand. The second, “The Family Rubin,” deals with a secret-harboring Jewish family, and the third, “Elmer and Iris” focuses on an elderly woman who finds, after being put into retirement, that she has a lot more time to spend with her husband… especially after he dies. Although twisted, this honest and brutal collection is definitely a favorite of ours. And, really, who doesn’t love creepy movies about Jersey suburbia?
Friday, April 3, 9:30 PM @ International House. Director Matthew Garrett and Shorts Director Ian Foster will be in attendance at the April 3rd screening. Ticketing info here.
