SXSW 2012, Day Four: Busing and Birding

Another full day, starting with Compliance, inspired by a series of particularly vicious pranks in past years. It's not a bad film, but it's hard to believe people are really that complacent, even knowing it's based on actual events. Of course, it might be that I was less receptive due to things like all the cell phones being checked during the screening, someone with a light in their badge (?!) during the movie, and after having discovered that Capital Metro eliminated all but two stops on Brazos for the #3 bus, which I hadn't taken since Brazos construction (finally) finished, so I ended up walking much farther than expected.

I was not late for Gayby, which is good, because like every screening I've been in, it was sold out. Gayby is funny, snarky, and can't avoid comparison to the recently released Friends with Kids. It's what I wish the latter was like. If the comedy of gay/straight sex for the sake of producing a child isn't funny enough, it has one of the best, funniest sex scenes ever, not to mention having more cameos than you can count. It was also great to see so many people with local connections up on the stage, including Clay Liford (Wuss, Earthling), not to mention how the number of filmmakers in the audience. Liford is pictured above with director/writer Jonathan Lisecki, who mentioned they just finished filming in August.

Then it was off to Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar for The Central Park Effect, but I cut the timing a bit too close. I haven't yet used Catch A Chevy because the empty ones I've seen aren't willing to be caught. Not that it would have helped much on Monday. There are a lot of people out there who are just not paying attention out on the streets, in cars and otherwise, like the woman who changed lanes before the light, but didn't notice she was still blocking the other lane at Congress & 6th (TX plate), and the guy who decided he had plenty of space (not) to scoot in front of a bus but found a truck parked less than a car space in front of him (CO plates).  Thankfully the bus driver was aware it was SXSW madness time. And just as thankfully the idiot jaywalking on Congress didn't get hit. Remember people, it's crazy out there, and those buses need far more street to stop than a car. 

Anyway, I did catch The Central Park Effect, a charming film about the birds and birding in Central Park. It's as delightful as Mad Hot Ballroom and as relevant as The City Dark, which played SXSW 2011. And while not as rousing as Pucker Up, it's still delightful, a nice balance of stunningly gorgeous imagery, engaging characters, a healthy dose of education, and all done with fantastic editing and a great score. Despite being about something most people -- even some of the characters -- think is a bit embarrassing to admit. It's barely over an hour long, so even if you fear you don't have the attention span to watch birds in the wild, you'll love them on the screen. It was also the perfect film to catch after a jarringly challenged bus ride. 

Which leads me to a tip for those who've encountered issues with anything at any of the theaters: If you notice something is broken or needs attending to like, say, the toilet paper supply, be kind to your fellow festers and report it.  It turns out that no one had reported that Stall #2 in the Alamo Lamar women's restroom had a busted lock. They can't fix it if you don't let them know about it, as that's not something anyone is going to notice when cleaning or restocking. 

Anyway, back to movies.  Next up was a slightly different documentary, Jeff, about Jeffrey Dahmer. I'm not sure why I expected it to be revelatory but it wasn't, it was repetitive with far too much undramatic recreation with some oddly timed, jarring black screen and other inexplicable transitions. I managed to make it into Los Chidos, but I didn't stay more than a half hour. While I readily admit I'm not a big fan of such heavy allegory, I wasn't offended, and I would have given it more of a chance if the sound wasn't so loud, and the soundtrack so pro-migraine. And honestly, I really appreciated the director's intro; he pointed out that he was fine with people liking it, or not liking it. That made me feel bad for leaving early, but my head is still pounding so it was the best choice for me.

I then braved Sixth Street, something I don't normally like to do at night, to catch Citadel. It was my first midnight movie of the fest, and it was so worth it. If you had to compare it to other films, think Them in a rundown Attack the Block setting, with a touch of Gaslight and Aliens for flavor. But it's not fair to compare it to other films, it stands on its own just fine, a psychological thriller with horror elements that makes me glad I didn't see it alone at home. Director Ciarin Foy was in attendance with stars Aneurin Barnard and Wunmi Mosaku. Mosaku mentioned after the screening that she just wrapped another project just a few hours before hopping on a plane to get to Austin for the world premiere. But Austin is a lot warmer than the -20C temps they filmed some of the Citadel scenes in.