The first film we saw on Friday was "Happy-Go-Lucky" directed by Mike Leigh. This was a light and very funny movie set in London. The star of the film, Sally Hawkins, was adorable. The film was about her charachter "Poppy's" random and hilarious life. Highly recommended if you like movies such at Notting Hill, About a Boy, etc. 7/10
We stuck around for the late show that night which happened to be the Irish film, "Kisses." The story was about two twelve year old kids escaping from their nightmares at home and adventuring through downtown Dublin. They discover the greatest parts of the city as well as the worst. The part I did not like about this film was the suggestion that the two fall in love while experiencing these trials and tribulations together. While some of the festival goers found this to be "cute," I found it to be a tad immature of the young filmmaker who was probably around my age. 3/10
We started our Saturday by seeing a film from Denmark, "Flame&Citron." This was definitely one of my favorites of the festival. It's about two essential "hitmen" for the Nazi resistance group in World War II. Their primary job was to go around hunting down Nazi informers. As this film is making it's way to Toronto this weekend, it is sure to pick up some more steem through this fall festival season. The director said in his Q&A which followed the film, that this was ten years in the making. He talked about how there was so little published history on these resistance fighters that they had to complete very rigeurous research and even go as far as contacting the CIA. Great acting, great story, great direction. 8/10
For the late show on Saturday, we saw the Korean film, "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird." This was somewhat of an hommage to the old american western classics with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. There were many scenes that had almost identical resemblance to Butch Cassidy and Stage Coach. Non-stop action with the occasional silly humor. This was probably the most entertaining film of the weekend for me. 7/10
Sunday morning began early with the film, Hunger. This film had gotten picked up by IFC after Cannes so there had been a bit of hype around this one. However, it did not live up to my expectations. It was about the torture/abuse that Northern Ireland prisoners would endure during their conflict with Britain. This was such a gross, raw, and brutal film. There was a penis in the shot every five minutes, the prisoners cells were smeared with their own feces, and the scenes showing the torture were almost unbearable. There were also too many "unnecessary" scenes and shooting angles that just made the film seem much longer than it actually was. I was actually getting anxious for the film to end after the first hour. The plot was good, but the story could have been so much better. With a different, more expereinced director this could have been a really great film. 4/10
The next film we saw on the rainy Sunday was Adam resreccted starring Jeff Goldblum and William Dafoe. This was probably my least favorite film of the festival. It all was so bizarre and jumbled. The film was about a holocaust survivor having trouble dealing with the horrors of his past in Germany. The acting from veteran actors such as Goldblum and Dafoe was actually quite bad in my opinion. It looked effortless, in a bad way. I don't want to be disrespectful but, I actually found myself dosing off through the last half of the film. 2/10
Sunday night was my top highlight of the weekend. We were very lucky to be able to get into a sneak showing of Danny Boyle's brand new film, Slumdog Millionaire. It only required waiting in line for two and a half hours. Ha. However it turned out to be worth the wait. This film went on to prove that Danny Boyle is one of the great diverse directors of our time. He can do any genre. In the Q&A following the film he mentioned his thoughts of perhaps having his next film be animated. Some critics are already speculating Slumdog Millionaire to be this years Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. Especially since Fox Searchlight picked it up just days before Telluride. This film was shot with an all indian cast and crew. This is ultimately a story of love and the things people will go through to achieve it. 9/10
Monday was my last day in Telluride. We finished the trip by seeing I've Loved You So Long with Kristin Scott Thomas. This was actually a really good French film. Kristin Scott is already getting some buzz for a best actress nomination. This could also get a nomination for best original screenplay. 8/10
Telluride was a blast and I definitely see myself there again next labor day weekend.
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