NYFF '95–'99

From 1995 to 1999 I was lucky enough to be able to go to the New York Film Festival and see some cool & different movies. This past week I was cleaning out my closet and discovered that I still had the Playbills; I kinda want to chuck 'em, but I also feel like I want some record of what I saw, if only for my own entertainment. Well, anyway, here it is:

1995

Georgia. Probably my wife picked this one. I remember thinking that the main character was just too unlikeable, and I've pretty much forgotten it all except for the cringe-inducing concert towards the end.

The Neon Bible. I wanted to see this one because it was based on an early novel by John Kennedy Toole, author of Confederacy of Dunces. It was surprisingly dull.

Guimba. I figured the film festival was an opportunity to see really far-out stuff that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, so I was really excited about this bizarre-sounding African movie. Afterwards I had to admit that I just didn't get it.

Cyclo. I think? I have no memory of this film, though I do remember wanting to go.

Open City. An old Rossellini film that was screened. Afterwards they announced that Isabella Rossellini was in attendance. I turned around and thought "well, I don't see Isabella Rossellini, but who is that gorgeous woman up there?" No, actually that was her. I understand why they call some women "radiant" now...it was like she was a source of light. Later when I was leaving the theater I happened to glance around and she was walking behind me; she was so gorgeous it was actually kind of unnerving.

1996

Secrets & Lies. We took my mother to see this one, as she is a big Mike Leigh fan. It was one of the better Mike Leigh movies that I've seen; I seem to recall that he kept the cello music down to the bare minimum.

Sling Blade. An amazing performance by Billy Bob Thornton, back when no one knew who Billy Bob Thorton was. If anything it's almost too show-offy. It was a pretty good movie, as I recall.

Breaking the Waves. I was completely knocked out by this one; it was almost like an ordeal, painful but also very beautiful and moving. My reaction afterwards was "that was fantastic, and I hope I never see it again."

Underground. Afterwards my wife said "that was the best movie I've ever seen," and I was debating with myself as to whether I agreed with her; certainly it was the best movie I saw in my five years of going to the festival. It was epic in a way like I'd never experienced before; I felt like I had lived another lifetime's worth of living watching it. Years later I got the movie on VHS and tried to watch it again, but sadly it didn't quite capture that same feeling; maybe long movies work better in the theater, since there's nothing around to distract you. It's two hours and forty-nine minutes, and I've since learned that it was put together from a five-h0ur TV miniseries. Anyway, I keep reminding myself that I ought to hunt down more Kusturica movies.

Movies that I didn't see at the festival but saw afterwards in the theater: Le Voleurs, The People vs. Larry Flynt.

1997

The Kingdom Part 2. "Danish scum!!!" Over four and a half hours long, and I loved every minute of it. Since then I've come to feel like von Trier was too hostile to the audience with this one, going too far with the grotesquery and absurdity, but at the time I was just happy to see all the zany characters doing their thing. For weeks afterwards I kept hearing "hepatosarcoma" in my head.

The Saragossa Manuscript. A Polish movie from 1965 which is completely off the wall. Unfortunately, the experience was practically ruined by the woman behind me, who kept coughing into my hair. I've gotten it on DVD since then and re-watched it a couple of times; I even read the novel, which is from 1815 and which is also completely off the wall. I wish I knew someone I could show this to, just so I could have the pleasure of watching them turn to me and say "what the hell is going on with this crazy-ass movie?"

Hana-bi. A lot of people like this movie; I hated it. It bounced back and forth between dull, drippy sentimentality and "cool" violence. I wanted to stand up and yell at the guy's wife, "come on, just die already!"

The Apostle. This was not what you would call a happy-fun-time movie, but I remember that it was well made and engrossing. I heard that they re-edited it before the official theater release, so we got to see a version that no other movie-goers saw. Too bad it was thirteen years ago and I don't remember anything about it.

Some movies that I didn't see at the festival but on saw in the theater or on video afterwards: Year of the Horse, Taste of Cherry (awful), Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, The Sweet Hereafter, Boogie Nights (fantastic).

1998

Strike. Sergei Eisenstein's first film. Had I seen it before? I don't think so. There was an accompanying score played by two percussionists and a keyboardist. It was incredibly good for a movie from 1924.

Gods and Monsters. Forgettable, apparently.

Black Cat, White Cat. More Kusturica. I had high hopes for this one after the amazing Underground, but it was just a goofy bit of fluff in comparison. Still, it was funny and charming in its own way. I should track it down and watch it again.

Movies I saw afterwards in the theater or on video: The Celebration (really good), Happiness (ouch), Rushmore (my least favorite Wes Anderson movie, but still pretty great).

1999

Beau Travail. Holy cow, did I ever hate this navel-gazing movie. What the hell even happens? And how do you come up with a faulty compass? A broken compass, sure, but a faulty one? Like, one that sometimes points North and sometimes doesn't? Or one that points East? How does that work, exactly? I guess you just can't trust those cheap magnets.

There is such a thing as a crappy art film, but the problem is that a lot of people don't expect art films to make sense anyway, so they say, "well, I didn't understand it, but I guess it was pretty great!" I mean, heck, there were all these cool shots of guys doing calisthenics in the desert, that's pretty interesting, right? And when the guy suddenly starts dancing frenetically in the disco, that probably means something important, right? Yeah, or not.

We had already moved to Connecticut by this time, so I guess I only came in to see one movie.

Movies I saw later on video: Princess Mononoke, Being John Malkovich, Dogma.

So, there it is, saved for posterity. I miss those days of fanatical movie-going, to be sure, but it's also nice to be a bit more centered in myself and in-the-moment. That reminds me: time for more cleanup.