Tribeca Film Festival – Page 12 – LFM: Libertas Film Magazine

LFM Reviews Fresh Meat @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Insert your own family dinner joke here. Or don’t bother. New Zealander Danny Mulheron’s fearless cannibal comedy will make them all for us. Questions of good taste will entirely depend on the viewer’s palate when Fresh Meat (trailer here) screens as a Midnight selection of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

Rina Crane is a very proper young Maori lady who has come home from boarding school. She is thinking it is about time to drop the lesbian bomb with her family, but they beat her to the punch, revealing the new family diet. In hopes of finally achieving tenure, her academic father Hemi Crane has revived an ancient mystical cannibal cult. Eating will flesh will give them supernatural powers or so the theory goes. His new faith is about to be put to the test when a reckless gang of fugitives invades the Crane home.

For the freaked out Rina, this sudden turn of events is not all bad, largely because of Gigi, the ringleader’s less than enthusiastic girlfriend. She happens to bear a strong resemblance to the fetish superhero character Rina created as a focus for her fantasies. Clearly, the two share an instant attraction, at a time when Rina’s family loyalties are somewhat fraying.

Basically, Fresh combines elements of Desperate Hours with We Are What We Are, adding all kinds of politically incorrect humor. At one point Hemi Crane declares: “we are not Maori cannibals, we are cannibals who happen to be Maori.” Whew, feel better everybody? The treatment of Lesbian themes is about as sensitive, with scenes clearly included for maximum leer value. Oh right, there’s plenty of gore too.

You have to give Briar Grace-Smith’s screenplay credit for jumping on every third rail it could find. Likewise, Temuera Morrison embraces the gleeful mayhem wholeheartedly as Hemi Crane. As Rina, Hanna Tevita keeps her head above water amid all the bedlam, even conveying a measure of sensitive teen alienation.

If you don’t know by now whether this blood-splattered teen lesbian cannibal comedy is your cup of tea or not, I really can’t help you. For what it’s worth, Mulheron maintains a brisk pace, allowing little time for the wrongness of it all to sink in. Recommended for anyone out for some good clean fun at the movies, Fresh Meat screens again this Friday (4/26) and Saturday (4/27) as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on April 24th, 2013 at 2:40pm.

LFM Reviews Reporting on the Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. In the 1930’s, Walter Duranty, The New York Times man in Moscow, systemically misreported or ignored Stalin’s crimes, including the notorious show trials and the Ukrainian famine. He is considered an unfortunate but isolated case. Yet, throughout the war, the Times consistently buried stories about the Holocaust. Emily Harrald examines the “Paper of Record’s” questionable coverage (again as a discrete phenomenon) in the documentary short Reporting on the Times, which screens as part of the History Lessons short film program at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

Harrald’s opening graphics speak volumes. From 1939 to 1945, the Times ran 23,000 front page stories—11,500 of which were about World War II. 26 were about the Holocaust. What is most disturbing is the nature of the coverage that did run, typically relegated to the middle of the paper. Midway through European round-up pieces, the Times would matter-of-factly report on the “liquidation” of the ghettoes, with no illusions regarding what that euphemism meant.

Rather bizarrely, Harrald spends a good portion of Reporting excusing the Times’ dubious Holocaust reportage. Viewers will never forget publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger was himself Jewish, but presented a fully Americanized and secularized image to readers and the press, partly out of concern over the rise of anti-Semitism. Perhaps this explains why he would be personally reluctant to run front page stories on the plight of European Jewry. However, he employed a full editorial staff to make sure the paper did not bury its lede.

Throughout Reporting, moral clarity is provided by a Holocaust survivor whose mother was convinced the world would come to their aid once they knew the magnitude of the National Socialists’ crimes. For whatever reason, the Times obviously did not do its part. Yet, when considered in light of Duranty’s Moscow dispatches, the under-reporting of the Holocaust appears more systemic than Reporting would like to consider. Harrald’s film earns credit for beginning the conversation, but its interpretations of media history are far from definitive. It screens again today (4/23), Friday (4/26), and Sunday (4/28) as part of the History Lessons short film block at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: C

Posted on April 23rd, 2013 at 1:42pm.

LFM Reviews Taboor @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. It is the near future, but you will not see any flying cars. Instead, it is a world of technological stagnation and social isolation. For the unnamed Iranian protagonist, the future is now in Vahid Vakilifar’s Taboor, which screens as a Viewpoints selection of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

Forget the tinfoil hat. Concerned by electromagnetic waves, the solitary man has tailored himself a tinfoil hazmat suit and lined his bedroom with aluminum. By night he plies his trade. He is an exterminator—not euphemistically, but in the Burroughs tradition. At each stop, he hardly talks to his clients, despite the odd events that happen. He seems to be a decent person, considering he always acts in a helpful manner. However, good karma has yet to come back around to him.

Consisting of a long quiet takes with almost no dialogue, Taboor is driven more by image than plot or character. In fact, it rather invites viewers to impose their own narrative on Vakilifar’s loose narrative structure. Granted, that is not what most folks go to the movies for, but it can be a convenient strategy for a film produced under a rigid system of social controls. Still, the weird developments at each stop almost echoes Léos Carax’s Holy Motors, but without the sense of playful gamesmanship.

This is definitely a film for self-selecting festival regulars. However, they will be intrigued by Vakilifar’s visual sensibilities.The coolly detached way he films contemporary Iranian locations (tunnels, boiler rooms and the like) gives them an otherworldly vibe, not unlike some scenes in Godard’s Alphaville.

Taboor is a striking portrait of a man’s nearly absolute alienation in a dystopian world. Hmm, one wonders where Valikifar gets his ideas. This is unquestionably a demanding film, but there is a there there. Recommended for the hardiest of cineastes, Taboor screens again tonight (4/23) and Saturday (4/27) as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on April 23rd, 2013 at 1:40pm.

LFM Reviews Teenage @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. While the styles may vary, teenagers always like their music loud. However, kids between thirteen and eighteen were not always teenagers, at least not as they are culturally and demographically defined today. Based on co-screenwriter Jon Savage’s book, Matt Wolf traces the development of the distinct intermediate age group in the docu-essay Teenage, which screens as part of the World Documentary Competition at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

Before the Progressive Era, there were children and adults. As soon as the former were big enough to work, they became the latter. Eventually, the unsightly spectacle of young children toiling in factories led to sweeping reforms. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Teenage is the direct cause and effect relationship between the abolition of child labor and the rise of juvenile delinquency. Maybe we owe those robber barons an apology.

Savage’s sweeping history implies early Twentieth Century teens were rather deterministic creatures who flocked out of hooliganism into the nascent scouting movement, priming themselves for service in WWI. Of course, things started to change with flappers and the Lost Generation, but maybe not so much in Germany. There, the back-to-nature youth groups could be seen as benign forerunners of the Hitler Youth organization. Still, there were dissenters in Germany, such as the Swing Kids who embraced jazz as the soundtrack of rebellion and social protest, much like American jitter-buggers.

Refreshingly, Teenage almost entirely ignores the overhyped post-war teenagers, including the Beatniks, hippies, and leather jacketed James Dean pretenders. Primarily consisting of strategically excerpted movie clips and news reels, Teenage is more about evolving images than facts and data. Periodically we hear from the diaries of four POV teens (two boys, two girls; two Brits, two Americans; one African American), but their words hold few revelations. Frankly, Teenage’s more intriguing moments are the little offhand details, such as the frolicking student film proudly bearing the name of a young Oswald Mosley.

Wolf brought a shrewd eye to bear when assembling Teenage. Unfortunately, his ear was off. Given that the film spans the mid 1900’s to 1945 (more or less), the music of choice for each era’s teens would have been jazz, but most of the film’s soundtrack has a rather generic ambient flavor. It is like Wolf did not trust the tastes of his subjects. Occasionally, we hear some archival Benny Goodman, but why “Sing Sing Sing” yet again, when “Flying Home” would be more appropriate? After all, Lionel Hampton’s pioneering stint with the nation’s most popular white swing band represents the early cultural fruits of racial integration.

Even if it is dull listening, Teenage offers some telling visuals. While Savage’s broad strokes analysis obviously glosses over entire years and substantial pop culture developments, his overall framework is quite compelling. Recommended for audiences with a taste for cerebral documentaries (and a tin ear for music), Teenage screens again tonight (4/22), Wednesday (4/24), and Saturday (4/27) during this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on April 22nd, 2013 at 12:49pm.

LFM Reviews Honeymoon Suite @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. The Opposite House probably did not pay a promotional allowance, but it will get a heck of a plug at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. That is because one of the short films commissioned by the chic Beijing boutique hotel was selected for the festival. It is not hard to see why. Zao Wang’s Honeymoon Suite is a small delight screening as part of the Deadbolt program at this year’s Tribeca.

This will be the first time Ally, the Opposite’s new guest services manager, will be on-duty while the mysterious Mr. Hirschfield stays in his regular titular room. He visits like clockwork once a month, for one night only. Even though his secret is revealed early in the film, it should not be spoiled ahead of time for those who do not guess. It is safe to say he is kind of a handful, in a genre sort of way.

The director certainly does his job, making the Opposite look like quite the hip, elegant space. He also cast a first-rate ensemble. As Ally, Zou Han-hong comes across like a smart professional, but she also has some rather touching moments down the stretch. She certainly makes you want to check into the Opposite.

Poor Cary Woodworth is largely buried under surprisingly impressive make-up effects, so give him credit for being a good sport. Nadia Hatta and Xi-tian also make an endearing mother-daughter tandem in the room beneath Hirschfield’s, with the latter providing some very cute reaction shots.

Man, if only all commercials were this fun, then we would be getting somewhere. Regardless of its origins, genre fans will be charmed by Honeymoon Suite. Recommended for general audiences, it screens as part of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival’s Deadbolt shorts block tonight (4/22), Saturday (4/27), and Sunday (4/28).

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on April 22nd, 2013 at 12:48pm.

LFM Reviews Michael H, Profession: Director @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Austrian art-house titan Michael Haneke won just about every award there was to be had for his latest film, Amour, including the Oscar and the Palme d’Or. Yet Haneke’s vision is so uncompromising that his work is often more appreciated in retrospect than enjoyed in the moment. This makes Haneke a logical candidate for documentary survey treatment, despite the auteur’s reluctance to answer questions that might establish definitive interpretations of his films. Yves Montmayeur rises to the challenge with Michael H, Profession: Director, which screens as part of the World Documentary Competition at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Fittingly, Montmayeur begins with Haneke’s “greatest hit,” observing the director at work on Amour. However, he demonstrates a bit of visual flair, showing Haneke blocking out Jean-Lois Trintignant’s nightmare sequence as if it were really him in the scene. Trintignant and his Academy Award nominated co-star Emmanuelle Riva both praise the specificity and clarity of Haneke’s direction, but suggest he is quite the demanding helmer.

Essentially working in reverse chronological order, Montmayeur then takes stock of White Ribbon, strongly emphasizing Haneke’s return to his German mother tongue. It seems an important point, particularly in light of the film’s themes. It also makes one think of Haneke in literary terms, following in the tradition of non-native language writers like Conrad and Nabokov. Indeed, Haneke might be the right filmmaker to finally crack the Conradian adaptation nut.

Some of the interviews and the generous sampling of film clips will motivate viewers to catch up with Haneke’s past work. On the other hand, Montmayeur basically gives away the ending of Funny Games – but if you are going to spoil a Haneke film that is probably the one to do it for. In addition to Amour’s co-leads, Haneke regulars Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert add insights into working with the distinguished director. He certainly attracts some of the best in the business, not that Haneke likes to think of filmmaking in such commercial terms.

Haneke can be very eloquent when discussing his work. His remarks at last year’s NYFF press conference were uncharacteristically helpful for those us looking to get a handle on Amour. Even though Haneke will brusquely dismiss questions he does not wish to answer, Montmayeur gets him talking on general subjects in ways that illuminate his entire oeuvre. That is really quite the trick.

Throughout Profession one gets a clear sense of Haneke’s pessimistic conception of human nature as well as his artistic integrity. While he is a fascinating filmmaker to spend time with, it is hard to say how rewarding the documentary will be to viewers completely unfamiliar with his work. Respectfully recommended for Haneke’s admirers and critics alike, Michael H, Profession: Director screens again Thursday (4/25), and Saturday (4/27) during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on April 22nd, 2013 at 11:37am.