U2

A nice surprise for my wife. This is her FAVORITE group and though we saw them together in Los Angeles a few years ago for their Vertigo tour this was something special to see them on their home turf, especially at the historically significant site of Croke Park.

Rattle and Hum on...

KVIFF 2009 Summary

Karlovy Vary is a spa town situated two hours west of Prague in what is known as the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. Originally founded almost 700 years ago this is, for much of the year, a destination place for those seeking physical wellness. Two rivers run through this town that sits atop 13 hot springs, which produce restorative waters to quench the thirst of the wellness seekers.

For nine glorious days every July this city hosts the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF). This year I was fortunate to be able to serve on the Ecumenical Jury for this 44th edition of the fest.

The KVIFF has been in existence since 1948 but for many years (1959-1993) the festival occurred only every other year as it alternated hosting responsibilities with the Moscow International Film Festival. Since 1994 the festival has taken place each and every year in Karlovy Vary. This was the 16th consecutive year for our Ecumenical prize.

Our Ecumenical Jury consisted of six members, three from SIGNIS (Catholic) and three from INTERFILM (Protestant). We viewed the main competition films through a critical lens based upon a variety of criteria including universal impact, artistic quality, Gospel message, Christian responsibility, and inventive expression.

This festival is one of the main cultural events of the year for the citizens of the Czech Republic. It is attended by a vast number of important political figures (President Vaclav Klaus, former President Vaclav Havel, Minister of Defense Vlasta Parkanova, Prime Minister Jan Fischer, Minister of Culture Vaclav Riedlbauch, and many others) and is well represented by members of the Czech artistic community as well.

More than 130,000 movie tickets were sold this year to more than 420 individual screenings.

The citizens and community certainly support this event as evidenced by the vast number of young film aficionados camped out among the surrounding parks who weren’t able to find a vacant hotel room. This abundance of youth lends a special energy to this festival unlike other European festivals such as Berlin, Venice, or Cannes, which are more business-oriented. In this regard Karlovy Vary is more akin to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

This festival tends to focus on new films from filmmakers in Central and Eastern Europe. This year’s official competition slate was comprised of 14 films representing Denmark, Hungary, Italy, U.S., Russia, Germany, Slovak Republic, France, Iran, Poland, Belgium, South Korea, Mexico, and a Croatian/Serbian co-production.

I have to admit that my overall artistic impression of this year’s competition films is that these were mostly stories of loneliness, alienation, abandonment, and hopelessness. Respecting the fact that art often reflects life this paints a broadly bleak picture of daily life in these countries. Perhaps it is commentary on the shattered illusion of a more prosperous and hopeful future in a post-Communist era. Perhaps it reflects a dwindling interpersonal connection between human beings, as communication is increasingly electronic and distant in nature.

Three of the films in this year’s competition involved the emotional and physical repercussions stemming from child abandonment. There was seen in the Russian film (Wolfy) concerning a child yearning for the love of her irresponsible, alcoholic mother, a Belgian film (Angel at Sea) about a boy who tries to rescue his manic depressive father from suicide, and a Danish film (Applause) about an alcoholic mother recently released from rehab who desperately tries to regain the love of her boys lost in a custody battle with her ex-husband.

The themes of isolation and loneliness were prevalent in a good many films as represented by the geographical isolation in the South Korean film (Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells) about a man bringing tragic news to a family in Nepal, emotional isolation in the French film (Villa Amalia) about a woman seeking to jettison her past and begin anew, and a Mexican film (Black Sheep) set in the harsh and barren landscape of rural Mexico. And finally, the Slovakian film (Soul at Peace), which follows a man, recently released from prison, trying to rebuild his life with little success.

Several films exhibited the alienation and hopelessness brought about by alcohol and drug addiction and/or sex trafficking. The Polish film (Piggies) was nearly a documentary in its exactness of life for certain teenagers in a Polish/German border town. The Hungarian film (I Am Not Your Friend) exposed the detrimental effects of not being in a monogamous relationship. The Croatian/Serbian production (Will Not Stop There) has at its core the rescue of a once important woman from her tragic decline into the porn industry, and finally the German film (Whiskey and Vodka), which focuses on a film production where the main actor is on the brink of losing his job due to alcohol abuse.

Keeping in mind that our jury had a specific lens with which to view these films there was a long and productive debate as we first narrowed our choices for the Ecumenical prize to two films and then to one.

This year’s Ecumenical Prize was awarded to the Iranian film “Bist” (“Twenty”). It is the tale of Soleimani, an emotionally detached owner of a restaurant/reception hall, and his employees as they deal with the news that the reception hall is to be sold in twenty days.

The restaurant has historically been used for both wedding celebrations and for family mournings, however, the business has only served mournings lately and this has contributed to Soleimani’s illness and desire to sell the business.

In the beginning of the story we see him as a man who avoids human interaction. During the course of the film Soleimani slowly transforms into a more caring individual as he realizes the importance of his business to his employees’ livelihood as they have come together like a true family. Soleimani provides ever-increasing tokens of generosity to several of his employees before his health fails him.

This is a story depicting the quiet strength of human character and conveys with clarity how it’s never too late to change. This is a story of hope, perseverance, and human kindness.

A worthy choice.

- Closing ceremony performance

- Vaclav Havel, festival programmer Eva Zaoralova, and Antonio Banderas

 - inside the Hotel Thermal Grand Hall

Saturday

... "Bist" ("Twenty").

After three hours of deliberation we decided to award our Ecumenical Prize to the Iranian film Bist. 

This film depicts the humanity of life within a small restaurant expected to close in less than three weeks.  The owner slowly changes from a man emotionally detached from people to one who slowly reaches out to offer a helping hand to those in need.

A satisfying choice.  

I will have more extensive commentary on the festival in a few days...

- jury members with Bist director Abdolreza Kahani

- with Bist director Abdolreza Kahani

Jury Meeting

We have narrowed our film choices down to two possibilities for this year's Ecumenical prize.

And the winner is...

Thursday

"Cold Souls"

Thematically similar to Charlie Kaufman’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich” this is an existential comedic tale of what might happen if we were able to remove our soul and even trade it for somebody else’s…

Paul Giamatti is struggling with his stage character in Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Seeing an article in The New Yorker about soul removal and cold storage, he decides to have his soul removed as it has become such a heavy burden to him. His acting and life suffers as a result and he purchases the soul of an anonymous Russian poet in its place. This helps his stage performance but it endangers the rest of his life including his relationship with his wife.

An enjoyable film that is well executed even with the addition of the Russian trafficking story (bringing to mind similar issues with sex trafficking, in vitro fertilization, organ harvesting, and stem cell science) this is Paul Giamatti as a warmer and much more adorable version of Woody Allen…

"Barami Memounen Got, Himalaya" ("Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells")

Apart from the stunning visuals of Nepal and the Himalayas I cannot recommend this film.

There really isn't a story here...

Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones paid a surprise visit to this year's festival for a charity event (Sunflower Children).

He's one of my wife's close family friends and we were fortunate to be able to join him for dinner on Wednesday...

Wednesday

"Oveja Negra" ("Black Sheep")

Set in rural Mexico this is a tale of an adopted boy now working as a goat shepherd who is on the moral stray as a teenager.

Contrasting the haves with the have-nots there is not much new here in terms of carving new territory with respect to filmmaking. However there is a nice twist of an ending.

This will most likely not be a film in consideration for our jury's prize.



"Nije Kraj" ("Will Not Stop There")

One of my favorites so far...

This Croatian and Serbian co-production is a strong fable as told by a gypsy character with a significant asset.

Martin was a sniper during the war and became entranced with Desa through the lens of his telescope as he tracked her officer husband's daily movements. Ordered to assassinate both Desa and her husband, Martin could not bring himself to kill the woman as well.

A chance discovery leads Martin to reach out to Desa many years later after she has fallen into the abyss of drugs and the porn industry.

Martin rescues her from this world and slowly but surely they fall in love.

There are many interesting and entertaining levels to this story including a modern commentary on the post-war relations between Serbia and Croatia which is refreshing.

Martin is a man that is attempting to make amends for his past in more ways than one. Tragedy befalls him but not before the foundation of his efforts to make good in the world is put into place.

This is a contender for our jury.





"Nem Vagyok a Baratod" ("I'm Not Your Friend")

A Hungarian entry which exposes a tight network of acquaintances who are either cheating on their significant others, being cheated on, or in some cases both...

Monotonous in the convenient intersections of relationships I found this intertwining to be far too convenient to be believable.

Shot in a documentary-style and using many non-actors as well as much improvisation it is being touted as a new style of filmmaking...

There is an intriguing opening prologue featuring toddlers that has a lasting impression as a counterpoint for the remainder of the film.

New is sometimes good but in this case I cannot recommend it...

Ecumenical Reception

- Ecumenical jury members (left to right): Heinz Kersten (Germany), Daniela Magalova (Slovakia), Jan Elias (Czech Republic), Leva Pitruka (Latvia), yours truly, and Lothar Struber (Germany)

- yours truly with my wife Karen...

- with Peter Malone from SIGNIS

Tuesday

"Swinki" ("Piggies")

An excellent Polish film accurately portraying border life in modern Poland.

Presented in a gritty documentary style it is the dark journey of young Tomek as he is slowly lured from his stable family life as a good student and son to making money in an illicit manner to provide for his spoiled girlfriend Marta.

Tomek's journey represents one of the few choices available to Poland's youth as the country grows in affluence and materialistic tendencies...

Not an easy film to watch... but it keeps your attention every step of the way... and the actor who plays Tomek is fascinating to watch.



"Un Ange a la Mer" ("Angel at Sea")

Set in Morocco this is a French-Canadian film that was one of my least favorites so far.

The father suffers from chronic bipolar depression and tells his son, Louis, a secret that Louis must promise not to share.

The secret? The father will soon kill himself.

The behavior of Louis during his secret quest to save his father raises eyebrows and questions from the rest of the family.

Depression is painful to watch on film as it is dramatically lacking and very, very boring...

It is Louis that pays the price in the end...

Certain films are well sold out in advance for the festival attendees...

Here many sit and wait for the next film...

"Do Bolu" ("Till it Hurts")

A Polish short documentary (not in our competition) that tells the story of a 53-year old psychiatrist who still lives at home with his mother.

This tragicomedy raises many Freudian issues when the psychiatrist falls in love for the first time and considers leaving his mother.

Funny, sad, yet very human this was a treat to watch and to visit with the filmmaker during the Q&A afterwards...



"Volcok" ("Wolfie")

A typical Russian film that is akin to a bottomless pit of sorrow...

Featuring beautiful cinematography, directing, and performance by the lead actress, this is a tale of a truly horrible, neglectful, selfish mother as viewed through the lens of her young daughter.

There is really nothing uplifting about this story at all and as with the Moroccan film, it is the child that pays the price for the parent's behavior in the end...

Monday

"Whisky mit Wodka" ("Whiskey with Vodka")

A German film within a film.

The aging actor, Otto, is increasingly unreliable on set as he has turned to the bottle. The producer decides to challenge Otto by bringing in a talented younger actor and shoot every scene in duplicate -- once with Otto and once with the younger actor.

An intriguing premise that succeeds as a film. A very enjoyable feast of a movie. This is a story about aging, about competition, about loneliness...

I can highly recommend this as a film but it unfortunately lacks a message that is relevant for our jury...

- Press Conference for "Whiskey with Vodka"

"Tutta Colpa di Giuda" ("Freedom")

An Italian film set in a prison in Turin.

An avant-garde theater director stages Christ's Passion as a modern musical and nobody wants to play Judas.

Part reality, part fiction, part documentary (real prisoners are used...), part fable...

On paper this is not a film that I would have thought I'd enjoy as much as I actually did. It was truly unlike any other film I think I've ever seen and a true treat. For this I give it much credit. Not a perfect film by any means but what it does is force one to consider what the meaning of The Passion is and what was the purpose of Christ on earth?

A treat...

"Pokoj v Dusi" ("Soul at Peace")

The lone Slovakian entry in this year’s official competition.

The tale of a man recently released from prison trying to make his way once again in the outside world. This is very much the story of man and his rebirth.

This man (Smejkal) from the countryside who has worked as a lumberjack tries to make amends for his past and now tries to walk the straight and narrow path. Not able to find work he is enticed by an old friend to steal for him once again. Smejkal declines this offer and realizes that his friend is not really a friend (in more ways than one).

The struggle to start over with a new moral framework is ultimately too difficult for Smejkal as he ends his journey in dramatic fashion.

It’s a pity that this film ended as it did because it is a story that addresses with moral clarity the difficulties (and rewards) of reconciliation and resurrection.

But it quit before the finish line…

Karlovy Vary

- view from inside the church where we attended mass on Sunday (St. Mary Magdalene)

- one of the restorative water fountains (70 degrees Celsius)

- Czech street musicians

Karlovy Vary has for many years been a destination for the ill, the injured, the tired, and the elderly primarily as a spa town.  It has an abundance of restorative waters that are said to have special healing power.

Sunday

"Bist" ("Twenty")

An Iranian film about an emotionally detached restaurant owner and his employees leading up to the closing of the cafeteria in twenty days.

Gruff and demanding when we first meet the owner we watch as he grows in his humanity as he realizes how much the restaurant means to his disparate group of employees.

A slow and gentle pace allows this film to gain strength and have a lasting impact.

The owner decides in the end not to sell the restaurant but for him this will be his last decision.

Nicely done.

"Villa Amalia"

This French film stars actress Isabelle Huppert.

A selfish and pretentious tale of a woman who leaves her long-term companion of 15 years and her career as a performing pianist to “find” herself.

Pointless.

I had no emotional connection whatsoever with this lead character or this film.

Saturday

"Applause"

A powerhouse acting performance by Paprika Steen is the main attraction in this gritty Danish tale of an aging alcoholic actress recently released from rehab.

The blurring distinction between her real life and her acting life through the lens of alcohol caused the disintegration of her family and the loss of custody of her two children.

Her ex-husband is now remarried to a stable and calm woman and provides a proper shelter for the two young boys.

Fighting against her addiction while yearning for a renewed relationship with her children provides ample tension in this well directed piece of art.

This story is also highlighted with additional contrasts with inserts of the main character as she portrays Martha in a modernized performance of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

If you liked Gena Rowlands in John Cassevetes' "Woman Under the Influence" you will very much enjoy this...

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

- Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus

- Milos Forman

The festival opened last night with the film "The Greatest" by American director Shana Feste in her debut effort.

Mining similar territory as Robert Redford's 1980 "Ordinary People" it is a study of how one family deals with the grief of the death of a teenage son.

Technically lacking in many areas (lighting, directing, acting, editing) it is a movie that is much better as a sum than its many parts.

Susan Sarandon (as the mother), for instance, phones in her performance and is truly disconnected from the material and from her fellow actors as well. Pierce Brosnan (as the father) fares little better but it is Johnny Simmons (the surviving son "Ryan") and Carey Mulligan ("Rose") who rise to the occasion with their exceptional performances.

Rose's condition brings healing to the family and allows them to scatter the ashes of grief and begin life anew. A satisfying ending for this incomplete debut.

_________________________________________________

The KVIFF is considered the Czech Republic's most important cultural event of the year. There are festival-goers of all ages in attendance and represent virtually all social demographics.

It is well-attended by the politicians of this country including Czech Presidcent Vaclav Klaus, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, Minister of Culture, Vaclev Havel, and many others.

Also in attendance this year are the Czech director Milos Forman, John Malkovich, Antonio Banderas, and screenwriter/director Paul Schrader...