Cinequest - Day 4 - Triple Feature

I went to three movies yesterday, so I didn't take a lot of pictures, so in the interest of glasnost, you'll be seeing this picture from Day 1. I saw Shoot Down, All the Days Before Tomorrow, and Monster Camp. I enjoyed all three of them. If you're at Cinequest, they're worth seeing. What I loved the most about these films were the Q&As with the filmmakers following the screenings. I was quite impressed with each of the directors and producers. They were well spoken, polite people, all passionately driven to make each of their films. I know Shoot Down and Monster Camp were self-financed by the creators and their detailed stories and thoughts about each film's production, story and message reaffirmed my belief in independent filmmakers spread across the world wanting to tell personal stories through the cinema. Cinequest is spoiling me with all of these Q&As. When I go to see Playtime in April in Atlanta, I'm going to close my eyes tightly and wish for Jacques Tati to step out in front of us and tell us about the uphill battle of that picture. But, alas, he's dead.

We hit the pavement yesterday with swag promoting our Sunday Night Screening, which is in the smaller theater. We're hoping to really pack it out. The three films I saw yesterday at the Camera 12 Cinema were all well attended with numbers like 150 on the low end and 250 on the high end.

It was really wonderful to spring break it with the FWW/Blood Car crew. I wish everyone didn't have to leave on Sunday. It's been so memorable, but I know the smell in the hotel room of Chris A., Chris C., Hugh B., and Adam P. can be measured on a Geiger counter by now. I'll miss them and Anna C. and my brothers, too. They're in the air or at the airport as I write this.

Check out Blood Car on imdb.com. Seventeen people have rated the film. Our arithmetic mean is 8.8. Both women who rated it gave it a 10.0. I haven't thought about the film's portrayal of women too much, but the two main female characters are quite strong. Lorraine and Denise are both young entrepreneurs and small business owners. Unfortunately, they mistakenly become mixed up with Archie, a young inventor, and it leads to their demises. What's the message here? You mix yourself up with a man and you are murdered in cold blood? Perhaps. Denise falls in love with material things and that is her undoing. Lorraine is the good hearted person who loves Archie for who he is, but cannot quite see that he is really unavailable and uncertain about his own desires. Are things doomed from the start? Is it a tragedy? Perhaps.

Archie doesn't really know what he wants. He needs someone to tell him what he wants. He's a green flunky who is sucked into America's bloodthirsty government machine. There seem to be a few parallels here to Bertolucci's The Conformist. Marcello Clerici and Archie Andrews should have a chat sometime in a busy kitchen with a swinging lightbulb. See picture at right, which is copyrighted and I do not own or claim to own. I typed in swinging light bulb in google image search and this is what I found. I hope I meet Jean-Louis Trintignant before he dies.

Art imitates life, though Oscar Wilde said the reverse was more prevalent. I'm sure he's right.

Time to hit the pavement and promote Blood Car. Save gas, drive Blood Car.