CINEMANIA:

The Deer Hunter (1978, USA, Michael Cimino)

Wherein Ben and I deconstruct the legendary Oscar-winning film.

Clearly, my family is waging a rebellion against me - and you! (Monica even read me a poem yesterday to this effect. I must get it to you. It's a delight and it's got the likes of you and me by the tail.) As you know, I have a stack of your films here, but this weekend they refused to let me consult the pile. Since he suffered through Heaven's Gate, Jacob wanted to see this and deserved to too. I hadn't seen it since the year of it's release. If I recall, it was a bit of a big deal that we had all recently turned 18 and could get into the theatre without mom.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006, USA, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris)

Wherein Ben and I find a convergence of opinion.

Ben Begins:

Through sheer serendipity I am au courant. (Snob that I am, I feel the need to explain my being up-to-date.) You sent me the Glen Garry, Glen Ross spoof. I revisited the real thing. This led me to do a little research on Alan Arkin which introduced me to today's title. Seems he's received good reviews for his performance.

Days 3 and 4 VIFVF

Beyond the Call (2006, USA, Adrian Belic )

Mother Teresa meets Indiana Jones, says the tagline to this ramshackle documentary, which follows the daring exploits of three middle-aged philanthropists (Ed Artis, Walkt Katterman and Jim Laws) as they travel the globe delivering humanitarian aid. To wit, mere months after 9/11, the three amigos head straight into the teeth of a storm, embarking on a mission to Afghanistan.

Day 2 VIFVF

Candy (2006, Australia, Neil Armfield)

Lowlife drug addicts whose sordid and sadly downward-spiraling lives include prostitution and theft, this is not the description that rom-coms are made of. Indeed, I’d wager that any film told in three parts titled Heaven, Earth and Hell is not aiming to end well. And yet, Candy is not a complete immersion in misery. To borrow from Miracle Max, it’s only MOSTLY miserable. The rest of the time, it’s wallowing in self-pity.

Day One of 2007’s version of the Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival

McLaren’s Negatives (2006, Canada, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre)

You know when you’re in for a rough one when the best film of the night is 10 minutes long.