The Chicago International Film Festival held every October is the oldest film festival in North America. It may not be as prestigious as Toronto, Telluride, or New York, so we do not have as many filmmakers and celebrities attending, but it does offer Chicagoans a great opportunity to see many films from other parts of the world that may not receive commercial distribution in the US. Several years ago, I had the notion of trying to see 20 movies in 2 weeks, which I soon found out was about as much fun as having a herniated disc, especially while you’re sitting through the nth artsy subtitled movie about 90 year old Hungarian barley farmers. You live and learn, so over the years, I have been pretty selective as to what I end up seeing. And the payoffs are huge- for every dud, there is at least 2 brilliant film experiences like Haneke’s Cache, one of the showcase films of 2005. This year is no different, out of the 5 movies I have seen in the first week of the festival, there are 2 exceptionally great ones, 1 very good one, and 2 perplexing ones. Here are my thoughts on the 5:
Oct 10
Oct 09
Beginnings are always the hardest. The first act of a play, the first ten minutes of a movie, your first impression of a photograph or a sculpture, almost always determines how invested you will be – are you intrigued? excited? is the journey worth taking? will there be a big payoff at the end? Beginnings are also hard in relationships – you’re getting to know the other person, trying to figure out quirks and eccentricities, navigating differences, figuring out what’s too much, demarcating boundaries.
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