Day: January 14, 2015

LFM Reviews Giuseppe Makes a Movie

By Joe Bendel. Wrap your head around this—Giuseppe Andrews has made more full length features than either Terrence Malick or Quentin Tarantino. Andrews would consider Garbanzo Gas his tenth “proper” feature, but there were ten or so earlier films that just didn’t come together the way he hoped. Of course, Andrews will be the first to admit “proper” is a decidedly subjective term in his case. Adam Rifkin documents Garbanzo’s whirlwind preproduction and two day shooting schedule in Giuseppe Makes a Movie, which opens this Thursday at Anthology Film Archives.

Andrews lives in a Ventura trailer park, next to his producer-father, Ed, a former back-up musician with the Bee-Gees. After previous stretches of veritable homelessness, both men feel they have finally put down roots. The experience gives them a clear affinity for their regular cast-members, most of whom are either homeless or living a half step away. Yet, they have made lasting friendships and scored quick pocket money through their work on Andrews’ films.

Based on the behind-the-scenes footage of Garbanzo and the judiciously selected clips of his precious movies, an Andrews joint looks darned near unwatchable. Yet, despite his obvious eccentricities, the micro-budget auteur comes across quite well adjusted and even sort of insightful. Unlike Ed Wood or American Movie’s Mark Borchardt, Andrews harbors no illusions about the level of his artistry. Nor would he argue he just needs some time to hone his craft, like the ambitious filmmaking duo in Journey to Planet X. Instead, Andrews more or less acknowledges he is a Z-grade filmmaker, but he is okay with that, which is cool.

In fact, Andrews is clearly well versed in European auteurs like Fassbinder and Buñuel, has a normal girlfriend, and maintains an obscenely healthy diet. Naturally, lunacy is inescapable on his sets, but his shoots are considerably calmer than you would expect. Frankly, aspiring micro-budget filmmakers should check out his technique, because he must be doing something right, considering how prolific he is. Arguably, he is a real professional, at least by some weird standard. Maybe Martian.

There are plenty of head-shakingly insane moments in GMaM, but for the most part, it is Andrews’ earnestness and energy that propels the film along, as well as the camaraderie of his ensemble players, such as Vietnam Ron, Sir Bigfoot George, Walt Dongo, and “Spit.” It is pretty hilarious watching “the magic” happen, but Andrews’ affection for these outsiders’ outsiders is rather endearing. Recommended for idealistic cineastes and those who appreciate the micro-budget scene, Giuseppe Makes a Movie opens this Thursday (1/15) in New York, at Anthology Film Archives, where they are also screening Andrews’ Garbanzo Gas and In the Garden, so good luck with those if you’re going.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on January 14th, 2015 at 11:07pm.

LFM Reviews Pretty Rosebud

Pretty Rosebud Official Trailer from Devolver Digital Films on Vimeo.

By Joe Bendel. Cecilia “Sissy” Santos is a political consultant who feels deeply guilty when she succumbs to adulterous temptation. Yes, that sounds far-fetched, but if you can accept it, there are merits to be found in Oscar Torre’s Pretty Rosebud, written by and starring his real life wife Chuti Tiu, which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Apparently, Santos works for a combination boutique PR agency and political consulting firm, but it’s not clear what they do during odd numbered years. Regardless, she at least has a going career with opportunities for advancement. That is more than her lay-about husband Phil can say. He resents his wife’s status as the sole breadwinner, but he refuses to even consider anything less than his previous gig. In all honesty, his ambition has dried up and his sex drive essentially followed with it.

However, Sissy Santos has this boxing trainer (conveniently played by Torre, who looks the part). She regrets it afterward, but of course her husband is still his same insufferably entitled self. Time spent with her traditional Filipino family does not help much either, especially when they complain about her golden boy brother’s divorced Anglo girlfriend. To make matters worse, she has plenty of candidates for further adultery at work, including the congressional nominee, whose campaign she is assigned to.

Tiu might be writing from a Filipina perspective, but the issues Santos wrestles with should resonate with audiences from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with old school parents. Arguably, she really stacks the deck against dumb old Phil, but her scenes with the family’s Catholic priest are surprisingly well written and more than fair to the priest. In fact, the good Father just might have some helpful, nonjudgmental counsel to offer.

From "Pretty Rosebud."

Obviously, Rosebud was conceived as a showcase for Tiu (a former Miss Illinois), but she proves to be equal to the challenge of carrying the picture. She is a striking presence, but the maturity tempering her sexuality is something you almost never see on film. It is a bold, vulnerably exposed performance. While Torre has limited screen time as Alejandro the trainer, he helps generate the necessary heat to set in motion all the subsequent conflicts. Richard Yniguez’s Father Antonio also nicely bolsters the film’s forgiving tone. In contrast, Kipp Shiotani certainly makes viewers contemptuous of Phil, which seems to be his assignment, while the Santos parents are mostly played as broad, churchy stereotypes.

Rosebud is a small intimate film, but it juggles some heavy themes relatively dexterously. If nothing else, the gym scenes ought to convince DirecTV they need Tiu and Torre for the next season of Kingdom. Recommended for those who appreciate a frank, women’s POV adultery drama, Pretty Rosebud opens this Friday (1/16) in Los Angeles at the Arena Cinema.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on January 14th, 2015 at 11:06pm.