Four films, a jury meeting, and an ecumenical reception. Actually, make that three films, the fourth film, it turns out, wasn’t in the official competition (“Fireflies in the Garden”) and, as it was a late film (10:30 p.m.), I took the opportunity to skip the screening..
• The Song of Sparrows
• Elegy
• La Frontera Infinita (documentary)
The Song of Sparrows
An Iranian film with an especially poetic tone. A family man fired from his job, struggles to make ends meet, and confronts the competing moralities of capitalistic Tehran and his simple working class life.
Elegy
Based upon a Phillip Roth novella. A tiring tale of a self-interested, immature, aging professor engaged in a hopeless affair with one of his students. Ben Kingsley as the professor. Penelope Cruz as the student.
I'm afraid that I can’t recommend this film on any level -- except for the cinematography. It leaves one with a bad taste...
La Frontera Infinita
A Mexican effort focusing on the struggles of Central Americans yearning to cross Mexico and illegally enter the U.S. Pretty slow... and I fell asleep several times during this unfocused work.
