Good Labor Day Friends! We're headed back to the real world this morning. Don't forget to rate films!
QUICK NOTES ON SUNDAY'S FILMS
THE HOMESMAN...It's beautifully shot and understandably is drawing mixed responses (about which I can't talk without giving away too much). Hilary Swank may well be in the Best Actress conversation when it's all said and done. 3.5/5
MAGICIAN...The Orson Welles doc is well done and reminds you why and how Welles was the genius he was...but it's not particularly revelatory. 3.5/5
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT...The Dardennes with Marion Cotillard. Now, I love me some Cotillard but this story of a woman trying to keep her job...slow...repetitive...and did I mention slow? 2.5/5
MONDAY'S TBA'S
Monday TBAs
Palm 4:15PM ROSEWATER
Palm 7:15PM BIRDMAN
Galaxy 1:00PM THE IMITATION GAME
Galaxy 3:45PM (SNEAK) ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST
Galaxy 6:30PM FOXCATCHER
Chuck Jones 1:15PM WILD
Chuck Jones 4:00PM BIRDMAN
Herzog 9:15AM THREE SHORT FILMS ABOUT PEACE
Herzog 12:30PM FOXCATCHER
Herzog 3:30PM THE IMITATION GAME
Herzog 6:15PM ROSEWATER
Herzog 8:45PM WILD
Opera House 1:15PM THE HOMESMAN
Opera House 4:30PM WILD TALES
Opera House 7:30PM MR. TURNER
Nugget 1:30PM ‘71
Nugget 4:15PM MERCHANTS OF DOUBT
Nugget 7:15PM MOMMY
Masons 1:45PM THE 50 YEAR ARGUMENT
Masons 4:15PM TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
Masons 6:45PM MADAME BOVARY
Le Pierre 2:00PM CALIFORNIA SPLIT (FREE)
Le Pierre 4:45PM DIPLOMACY
Le Pierre 6:45PM SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION
Backlot 2:00PM BERTOLUCCI ON BERTOLUCCI
Backlot 4:30PM MAGICIAN
Backlot 6:45PM HOW TO SMELL A ROSE
Abel Gance 8:30PM THE HOMESMAN (preceded by LAVA and FEAST)
• SNEAK
THREE SHORT FILMS ABOUT PEACE Herzog/Monday 9:15AM Q&A
Errol Morris is best known for his interrogations of humanity's dark complexity, including portrayals of two American engineers of war, Robert McNamara, in THE FOG OF WAR (TFF 30) and Donald Rumsfeld, in THE UNKNOWN KNOWN (TFF 40). Here, Morris turns his camera 180 degrees, creating three inspiring portraits of courageous figures who dare to confront the worst Goliaths of our times. In THE DREAM, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee recounts the coalition of Liberian women whom, without brandishing a weapon or uttering a word of disrespect, stopped one of the longest, most vicious wars in modern history. THE SHIPYARD shows how Lech Walesa, a Polish electrician and Nobel Laureate, rallied workers to challenge the repressive Soviet Union, succeeding where 30-plus years of Cold War aggression failed. And in THE MOMENT, rockstar Bob Geldof tells how he transformed his commitment and some guilt (along with a phenomenal Rolodex) into an ongoing, 30-year struggle to eradicate hunger in Africa. Morris, one of cinema’s most insightful, inquisitive and expressionistic artists, reminds us of his deep, heartful comprehension of the indomitable human spirit. He created these films in conjunction with the New York Times’ Op-Docs series. (U.S., 2014, 49m total) In person: Errol Morris
• SNEAK
ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST
Galaxy/Monday 3:45PM
Nick (Josh Hutcherson) and Dylan (Brady Corbet), two Canadian brothers, discover an idyllic surfing beach on the coast of Colombia, where Nick eyes Maria (Claudia Traisac), an idealistic local girl who works with the poor. But this love story has a dark side: Maria’s wealthy, very protective uncle is Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro), the country’s biggest narco-trafficker, and one of the most dangerous men alive. Writer-director Andrea Di Stefano ingeniously mixes fact and fiction in this disturbing thriller, with Hutcherson (Jennifer Lawrence’s love interest in the Hunger Games movies) giving a touching performance as an ordinary guy stumbling headlong into terror and violence, holding his own opposite one of the most charismatic actors alive. And Del Toro, with his mixture of avuncular sweetness, self-mythologizing grandiosity and cobra-like cruelty, may well have been born to play Escobar. (France-Spain-Belgium, 2014, 120m) In person: Andrea Di Stefano
• Seminar Town Park/Monday Noon
CRAFTING PERFORMANCE: HOW DO DIRECTORS ELICIT THE BEST WORK FROM ACTORS?
With Ramin Bahrani, Sophie Barthes and additional panelists to be announced.
Moderated by Annette Insdorf
• Conversation Courthouse/Monday 11AM
Errol Morris and Guy Maddin in conversation with Dennis Jakob, whose credits include: creative consultant, APOCALYPSE NOW; editor, SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY; author, Summer With Morris (biography of Jim Morrison); advisor to both Guy Maddin and Errol Morris.
DON'T FORGET TO RATE THOSE FILMS
Now that we're down to Telluride weekend, here's your reminder...Don't forget to join in on "The People's Telluride". Rate the films you see this week on a 0-5 scale ( 0 being just abysmal and 5 being a masterpiece). You can rate each day or do them all at the end of the fest. Send film ratings to me via Twitter (@Gort2) or email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or comment to the blog itself.
