Slog - Comments on SIFF 2008: Day 20 Recommendations

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:08:28 -0800

I'd also recommend The Island of Lost Souls ... and Lady Jane.

Tomorrow you can catch Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, Trouble the Water, Perfect Match ..., and Villa Jasmin.

Comment by pretty sure annie will tell us, but o.k.

pretty sure annie will tell us, but o.k. — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:17:47 -0800

thanks will

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:29:49 -0800

Annie didn't mention either of the first two.

Comment by R. Reynolds

R. Reynolds — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:14:55 -0800

Why in the world would you call Fields of Fuel a terrible movie, Annie? I saw it, it was all about things we can do to make a difference for the planet. It was really uplifting, entertaining and inspirational. I assume you make this judgement without having seen it.

Comment by annie

annie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:40:08 -0800

@4: Correct, I make this judgment based on the judgment of our reviewer (that'd be Erica C. Barnett), whose capsule I linked to. As I said at the outset, I can't see all of the movies in SIFF, so my recommendations are based on the opinion of Stranger reviewers in general, not my personal opinion.

I believe Erica's primary complaint is that the film fails to offer a critique of American car dependence, and secondarily that it fails to acknowledge that biofuels have problems of their own (because of the energy used to grow the crops, and because diverting crops to biofuels increases food prices).

Comment by josh

josh — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:46:24 -0800

SPOILER ALERT: three hours later and I don't even know if the couscous turned out ok?!

Comment by ratzkywatzky

ratzkywatzky — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:47:59 -0800

@#6
Well, look who's cooking it! I think, barring divine intervention, we can know how it turned out.
However, after the floor show, I don't think anyone will mind.

Comment by rbnorton

rbnorton — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:53:52 -0800

Somewhere within this ten-thousand minutes of family arguments, stifling close-ups and interminable belly dancing is a decent film. I don�t know where exactly, but it�s there. Towards the end, as the restaurant patrons have been waiting hours to be fed the enchanted couscous (which has disappeared in a completely mundane twist of fate), I thought how appropriate it was that the audience was competing with actors to see who would crack first from the ruthless boredom. Yes, I get it. The movie wasn�t about the magic of couscous, or the triumph over adversity or anything (interesting) like that. It�s about the minutiae of inter- and extra-family relationships. However, through the cunning use of completely unedited, self-indulgent filmmaking techniques, Abdel Kechiche has succeeded in removing any sort of tension or payoff from this masturbatory exercise.

Comment by josh

josh — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:01:42 -0800

@7 : BUT DID THE MAGIC OF THE OCCASION TURN HER INTO A GOOD COOK? after all, she didn't make the sauce, vegetables, or fish. how hard can it be to cook "the grain"?

@8 : Yes, this could have been easily shortened to