SXSW 2011: Day Seven
SXSW on St. Patrick’s day is always chaotic, and the only way today could have been more so was if it was a Saturday. Crazy crowds. Apparently the shuttles were really backed up because of The Strokes playing Auditorium Shores today. Attending screenings makes it hard to schedule cabs because of late starts and Q&As (not complaining, merely pointing it out).
Everyone I know who took the shuttle were reporting 45-90 minutes -- unless I was on one apparently. I made it to five screenings today, and made it through four. After an incident with someone rushing into an empty seat caused my drink to spill in the beginning of the subtitled Andante, the distraction made me completely disinterested in following the movie. The Ritz waitstaff handled it well, but the whole incident just made it impossible to get into the film. So I swung by the Paramount early in the day to see how the Apart encore screening was going. Apparently they had a good-sized crowd, so I’m happy for them. Since the movie had started already, I headed over to a special event featuring Jodie Foster and Anton Yelchin sponsored by Participant Media, a company that helps bring films with social action messages to the public. The event at Lambert's launched a special social action campaign in relation to The Beaver, a film centering on a man in crisis. SXSW being what it is, it's a perfect place to launch such a program. There were so many people vying for position to take pictures, it was crazy. Pictured above is Anton Yelchin. I was hoping Kyle Killen would be there, but apparently he had other obligations during that time slot.
I did get to see four films today, making it to the buzz screening of The Sound of My Voice with a few minutes to spare. It's been a highly praised film, so there weren't all that many seats free. The Sound of My Voice is a thriller about a cult leader and the filmmaker who tries to expose her. I didn’t love it like most folks, but it’s definitely worth watching (I just need to think about it more before I know how much I liked it).
I did like Charlie Casanova although "like" is not a word that really applies to a film about one of the least likeable characters I’ve seen on film. It's a disturbingly entertaining thriller about a manipulative man's psychotic break when his carefully built façade starts cracking isn’t an easy film, but a very memorable one. If I hadn’t expected the shuttle to take a long time not unlike American Psycho (but different). I would have stayed for the Q&A, but I had to get back downtown. Considering it was not a film I thought I was going to be able to see, I'm glad I made it.
Next up was Attenberg, which is thematically incestuous to last year's Dogtooth, tackling themes of family and social nuances, but lacking any of the impact. In fact, Dogtooth’s director Giorgos Lanthimos plays "the engineer" in Attenberg.
So off to the Ritz for The Divide for my second midnight screening this year, thinking I’d have a better movie experience. However, I was aggressively disappointed; The Divide opens with an incredible opening shot, but quickly falls into absurdity. For all that, I nearly didn’t get home because it was nearly 2 am and cabs were not to be had (no shock there). And I was out of dollar bills for Night Owl bus fare (with no coins), because I’d used my ones to tip for water at the Alamo. But like shuttle karma, apparently I had tipping karma, as I ran into one of the waitstaff from the Alamo Lamar I know on a first-name basis, who lent me a dollar. You are the best, Danni (hope that’s how you spell your name).
So here it is 4 am and I’m still typing. I will not be making it to the Otis Under Sky screening in the morning, but if you want a quiet, Austin-weird film, check it out. I don’t know what they’re going to do for the Jury Award screening slot as it's butting up against a screening for Natural Selection. Keep an eye on Twitter for that. I honestly don’t know what I’m seeing tomorrow, but I have a strong feeling I’ll be avoiding downtown. Me? I'm not setting my alarm, and hoping for more than a few hours sleep.
I must say though, that considering I've not liked 3 out of 25 films (not counting the walkout or shorts), that's a fantastic ratio at all for a film festival. And I still haven't seen Clay Liford's Wuss.