Author: Ron Shaker

I am not terribly happy about any of the films I’ve seen yet at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. Sometimes it takes a few days of reflection, or even a few weeks, to fully appreciate a movie’s good points. And perhaps when it’s all over and done with I’ll feel more ecstatic about some of the following films. But for the moment, these are the highlights that shouldn’t be missed (in no particular order).

Terribly Happy (at IMDB) — A Danish cop is reassigned to a small, remote village where he learns it’s “okay” to kill the odd townsfolk. And everyone in this little town is very odd. The film’s director and writer, Henrik Ruben Genz, has done a number of television shows. This is Northern Exposure as David Lynch might have envisioned it. — Raiting: 3.2/5

Moon (at IMDB) — Much of this film reminds me of the stand-up video arcade game called Moon Patrol. — Raiting: 3.5/5

Hansel and Gretel (at IMDB) — Don’t take your children to this movie. — Raiting: 3.5/5

The Hurt Locker (at IMDB) — I don’t know what a realistic depiction of war is like, but this strikes me as believable. — Raiting: 4.5/5

Miao Miao (at IMDB) — Teenage crushes suck. — Raiting: 3.2/5

The Merry Gentleman (at IMDB) — Being a professional killer sucks. — Raiting: 4.1/5

Departures (at IMDB) — Working as an undertaker…doesn’t always suck, and it can be a gratifying career move. — Raiting: 4.3/5

We saw this at closing night of the 2008 film festival. Whether or not you’re a wine enthusiast, this is a fun movie with a long list of talented actors. Set during the early days of California wine making, the plot revolves around the famous blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that was orchestrated by English vino merchant Steven Spurrier. Though parts of the story are set in in Paris, much of the film is shot in California’s wine country, and a good portion of those shots are of the characters’ beat-up jalopies cruising country back roads.

Bottle Shock (at IMDB)
Judgement of Paris (at Wikipedia)

Someone recently sent me a link to a New York Times article about pizza making. Or rather, about a passionate individual who circumvents the cleaning lock of his electric stove to achieve the high temperatures necessary for baking a pizza–I am jealous. For the past few months, we’ve been experimenting with baking pizzas at home, sometimes with discouraging results when the toppings overcook before the crust has had a chance to rise. Making dough seems fairly straightforward, the ingredients are simple and it’s mostly just attention to detail. But baking is a pain, as most conventional home ovens don’t seem to be up to the challenge of ultra-high temperature.

A New York Expatriate’s Magnificent Obsession: Pizza

However, there is hope. This afternoon, I watched a film called WALL-E and learned that pizzas can be grown from seeds. Perhaps I will start growing pizzas on my back deck. I’ve listened to a lot of hype about this movie in recent weeks. The film is extraordinarily well made, entertaining, socially conscious, and worth seeing.

WALL-E (at IMDB)

The Wave (at SIFF)

A German film based on a novel by Todd Strasser. In turn, the novel is based on a real life high school classroom project that occurred in 1969 Palo Alto, California. From what I understand, the project spiraled out of control and unexpectedly spawned the seeds of fascism–good demonstration, but bummer of a result. The the teacher (Ben Ross) and two of his students attended the screening at SIFF to answer audience questions and talk about their experiences. I heard a rumor that this film does not yet have a U.S. distributor, but that would be a shame.

Phoebe in Wonderland (at IMDB)

An unidentified mental illness plagues a small town troop of child actors. Elle Fanning’s character Phoebe is definitely obsessive compulsive, that’s a fact everyone can agree on. But is she right for the part of Alice in the school play? Some of the characters in this film are a bit one-dimensional, but the script plays to a satisfying conclusion and tackles several social issues along the way.

The Secret of the Grain (at IMDB)

An aging, selfless shipyard worker decides to switch careers, though not entirely by choice. His dream is to create a floating restaurant. Maybe the dream is more for his friends and family than for himself. This is the story of couscous and fish, and a dinner party gone terribly wrong. What I found most interesting about this film was the enormous volume of dialog between its characters. All of the scenes are shot as complete, real-time sequences–encounters between individuals are filmed from beginning to end, not merely snapshots. Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but see the movie and you’ll understand.

The Unknown Woman (at IMDB)

This reminded me a little of Nikita, Luc Besson’s 1990 film. But the protagonist in Giuseppe Tornatore’s most recent movie isn’t an assassin…for the most part. This is the story of a Ukrainian woman who moves to Italy, trying to escape her sordid past and tracking down something she once lost. To do so, she will have to masquerade as someone she’s not and gain the trust of her new employers by whatever means necessary.

Choke (at IMDB)

A light dark comedy about a sex addict and his dying, grifter mother who suffers from acute dementia. Set in a place that closely resembles colonial Williamsburg, there are goats, a couple of twists and turns, and few dead ends to the plot that seem superfluous. But, the film eventually weaves its way to a relatively sane conclusion. This movie is definitely off-beat.

Encounters at the End of the World (at IMDB)

Director Werner Herzog’s newest film is a documentary about life at the South Pole–Human life that is. Much of the movie is narrated by Werner as he films the residents of McMurdo Station and the surrounding landscape (both above and below the ice). These are the types of people you’d expect to find living in an off-world settlement, maybe on the moon. There are some penguins in his movie, but Herzog seems more concerned with uncovering the birds’ tendencies towards insanity rather than exploring their cute and cuddly behaviors. And we learn about icebergs, really big icebergs.