A Little Kutchering

Here's Ashton Kutcher responding to my question at Sundance.  It's actually only about half of his answer, and the rest was more interesting.    The director also responded to it.

Sundance Day Four

Wound up this year's Sundance experience with a couple of Latin-based films in Park City.  Neither one are likely to be recognized as some of the best films of the festival, but they both have their value and I feel fortunate to have seen them.

Narco Cultura

Documentary about the glorification of the drug lord culture in Mexico.  This is so sad it's painful.  Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people, has 3500 murders a year.  It's currently the center of a power struggle (ok, a power war) between two rival major drug cartels.  Those doing the killing are the "Narcos," operatives and drug trade leaders working for their organizations in the local areas.  The government is at a loss, as local officials are frequently bought off by the cartels.  Less than 3% of the murders are even investigated.  Everyone lives in fear.

Tragic. Hopeless.  

Along with the violent realities is the Narco culture which has become popular.  The Narcos are often reverenced like modern-day Robin Hoods--selling drugs to ugly Americans and bringing the money back to impoverished Mexico.  The corrido, a traditional Mexican ballad, has been usurped by the Narco's and is inexplicably popular with the masses.  The music glorifies lawlessness and violence in ways that make Eminem look like Donny Osmond.  The songs are not fictional, but generally told about real people and actual events.  In fact, songs are even commissioned by Narcos to build their reputations.  And then they go mainstream.  It was surreal watching families, old women and children at concerts and dances sing along to lyrics like this:

We take care of El Mayo 

Here no one betrays him… 
We stay tough with AK-47s and bazookas at the neck 
Chopping heads off as they come 
We’re bloody-thirsty crazy men 
Who like to kill.
               --The Komander

I've decided I won't be retiring to Juarez.


No
A fascinating drama about the 1988 Chilean election that threw dictator Augusto Pinochet out of office.  This is a riveting story born at the intersection of history, politics and advertising.  Starring Gael Garcia Bernal (the second movie we saw him in this festival) as an advertising executive that works for the coalition of mostly leftists in what appears to be a hopeless cause.  Pinochet, who led a regime of corruption and oppression, had been put into office largely due to US support and only sanctioned the elections in response to international pressure.  Everyone assumed they were a sham and the results were inevitable.  While television was nationalized, to give the illusion of fairness the opposition was given 15 minutes of television time a day, while the Pinochet government was free to propagandize the other 23 hours and 45 minutes.  What emerged, as much as anything, was a marketing story where the fate of the country hung on advertising strategy and creative genius.

The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles and is shot in low-def, 80's-vintage film, which may be annoying to some.  It will get very limited release in the US, I expect, but may play better in South America.

Sundance Moment: Sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start Rebecca suddenly motions to this lady walking by and speaks to her excitedly in Spanish (without subtitles, meaning I had no idea what she was saying).  Turns out it was a woman she had never actually met, but had seen twice in Chile while attending church, both in December and in 2010.  They are visiting in the U.S. for six months.  The women exchanged contact info and plan to get together. It's a small, small world.

Sundance Day Three

jOBS
Taking the lead from the Walter Isaacson book, this heavily-researched biopic starring Ashton Kutcher pulls no punches in its effort to provide a raw examination of the iconic Apple co-founder and visionary.  Covering the period from college to his vindicating return to Apple in 1997, we see Jobs in all his glory and depravity.  Personally, I found it difficult to assimilate the conflicting reactions.  I felt like I was being emotionally drawn and quartered.  I was fascinated by his drive and vision; inspired by his absolute devotion to originality and greatness; yet horrified at his character flaws and frequent callous disregard for people.

I must admit that I've never been an Ashton Kutcher fan, although I've only seen him in TV, but I thought his performance was powerful and moving, every bit as compelling as Daniel Day-Lewis' Lincoln.

It will be interesting to see how this movie does at the box office.  I'm not sure how the public will react to this often stark and morally ambiguous portrayal of someone who has quickly become a beloved American icon.

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
The story of two young boys who are thrust together by circumstance to survive on their own one summer in the New York housing projects.  It is often discomforting and even painful to watch, particularly for those of us not accustomed to the inner-city world of poverty, addiction, crime, prostitution and welfare.  Yet despite this oppressive environment and the ongoing fight for survival it requires, there is enough love, friendship, kindness and fun to bring hope and occasional comfort.

Part of the magic of the film is that we immediately feel for young Mister (an excellent performance by Skylan Brooks) and Pete and are emotionally drawn to their story without having any idea what outcome or end result we are rooting for or might be possible.


I could easily come up with a dozen criticisms of the film.  Many would find the pacing too slow, and some script elements were a little far-reaching.  But I was deeply moved by the experience, more so than any movie I can recall, perhaps because some parts reminded me of a period in my early childhood.

Director George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Notorious) should be commended for making a powerful film.  He spoke after the premiere and explained some of his preparations, including bringing the boy actors from LA to spend time in the New York projects and with the children who lived there.  From listening to the boys, this had a tremendous impact on them.

Fun tidbit: At the Q&A, someone asked writer Michael Starrbury where he came up with the first name "Mister."  He said that former basketball legend Allen Iverson has a little brother named Mister.

Sundance 2013 Day Two

It is the year of the documentary for us at Sundance, at least so far.  Two more movies yesterday:

Salma
As a young Tamil girl in a small village in Southern India, Salma was given to be married at the age of thirteen.  She refused, which was a great embarrassment to her father and fiance, who promptly locked her into a small basement room for nine years, when she finally relented due to her mother's declining health.  During that time she wrote poetry, which was smuggled out of the village and ultimately published by one of the leading literary journals in India.  She became the most popular female Tamil poet.  For fifteen years her husband still did not let her out of the house.

The documentary by British filmmaker Kim Longinotto details her life, including her first return to the village after years away.  It's a fascinating, moving film and Salma (not her real name) is a mythic character, part Ghandi and part Nelson Mandela.

Both Longinotto and Salma were at our screening and we took the opportunity to talk with them afterwards. Longinotto feels privileged to have known Salma and clearly reveres her.  And Salma is a wonderful spirit.  Rebecca asked her several questions and they shook hands, with Salma holding hers for some time, smiling, with her warm, brown eyes.  It was very touching.

Dirty Wars
This movie must be seen.  It is a powerful and disturbing investigation into what has become the leading thrust of our international military strategy--special-forces type quick strikes and assassinations done covertly  and with no oversight.  It would be good to call this an expose, but it hardly is.  At one time, the Joint Special Operations Forces were completely unknown.  Since the successful assassination of Osama Bin Laden, they have been lauded as heroes and made the centerpiece of our strategy.  Thousands of hits happen all over the world, including countries like Yemen and Somalia, where we are not officially engaged in war.  We have even targeted and assassinated American citizens, unabashedly, without a trial.

This type of thing has been happening for over a decade, but Obama has escalated it to a frightening level.  We have even hired Somalian warlords to do some of our dirty work.  (There is a chilling interview with a Somalian warlord who describes in almost reverential terms how proficient Americans are at war.) Yet few in Washington seem to care.  As explained by journalist Jeremy Scahill, whose investigation forms the narrative of the movie, all Washington wants to talk about is how many people are killed--what's the body count.  Simply unbelievable.

Beyond a vitally important story, the movie is remarkably well made and one of the most riveting documentaries I can recall.  Director Rick Rowley said it was picked up by IFC, which means a likely broad release.  Must see.

Now Out on DVD
Two movies now in Redbox that were some of  my favorites of the past year, both from Sundance 2012--Searching for Sugarman and Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Both highly recommended.  Also Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and Queen of Versailles, which I still haven't seen but are very high on my list.

Smart Guys with Terrible Pick-up Lines

"The female is an impotent male, incapable of making semen because of the coldness of her nature.  We therefore should look at the female state as if it were a deformity, though one that occurs in the ordinary course of nature."
                                                 --Aristotle

"Girls began to talk and to stand on their feet sooner than boys because weeds always grow up more quickly than good crops."
                                                 --Martin Luther

Contract with His Wife:
You will make sure:

- that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order;
- that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room;
- that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.
  

You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, You will forego:

 - my sitting at home with you;
 - my going out or travelling with you.
   

You will obey the following points in your relations with me:

 - you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way;
 - you will stop talking to me if I request it;
 - you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it.

                                                --Albert Einstein

There are probably a couple of lessons here, but one of the biggest is that brilliance in one area doesn't lead to brilliance in all others.  Nor does it suggest ethics or morality.  This belies our misplaced desire to build monuments to talent and dedication rather than character and integrity.

Sundance 2013: Day One

Yesterday was our first Sundance day.  Here's a brief recap of our movies:

Austenland

A romantic comedy about a Jane Austen devotee (Keri Russell) who takes a fantasy vacation to live out a role in an Austen-inspired setting.  The directorial debut of Jerusha Hess, co-author of Napoleon Dynamite and wife of Napoleon director Jared Hess.  This is a really fun movie.  Russell is terrific as the girl next door.  Jennifer Coolidge is fabulous and feels like she's been unleashed to be funny and outrageous and fill up the screen.  Maybe the surprise is Bret Mackenzie, who was great in the Flight of the Conchords HBO series but demonstrated some really impressive acting chops and a magnetic screen presence.  I expect this performance to catapult his acting career.  

Both Rebecca and I really enjoyed this movie and I predict it will get gobbled up by a distributor and play pretty well at the box office.  We ran into Jerusha Hess after the movie and chatted for a few minutes.  She seems quite nice and friendly, down-to-earth and genuine.  Watching the Q& A it was clear that she had created a loose and contagiously fun atmosphere on the set, and the positive energy really showed in the film.

Who is Dayani Cristal?

A documentary about illegal immigration with an interesting performance by Gael Garcia Bernal.  The directors took a fresh approach, interspersing two story lines--one an attempt to discover the identify of a dead body found in the desert, and two a reenactment of sorts of a typical process of an illegal immigration from the Honduras, through Mexico, featuring Bernal.

The movie was quite well done and both informative and easy to watch.  My one criticism might be that despite its efforts to move the audience emotionally, it never manages to quite pull that off.  

Curiously, Rebecca and I saw a very similar movie--Crossing Arizona--in the exact same venue some years ago.

Fallen City

Director Zhao Qi follows survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake as they rebuild their lives while the government rebuilds their city.  Qi is a talented director and the documentary is beautifully shot.  I was glad we stayed for the Q&A, as Qi is very well-spoken and his commentary helped me understand that the destruction and rebuilding of the city is something of a metaphor for the loss of the old ways of China and the government-sponsored replacement of bright, shiny, new materialism. We spoke to him afterwards, mostly with Rebecca asking him questions about the Mandarin dialect she had been trying to understand (he said that even he had trouble with it initially), and a few other observations born from her experience in China.  That really is one of the joys of Sundance--especially the smaller movies.  These directors LOVE to talk about their movies and they are extremely passionate.  It inspires me to feel that.

2012 Holiday Memories

Some enduring memories from this holiday season, in random order:

1. Playing HORSE on a trampoline court with Merritt and Brandon.
2. Listening to the boys at Wasatch youth prison sing Silent Night on Christmas morning.
3. Floating the Lazy River with MJ at the Westin Kierland Resort.
4. Receiving a touching letter from Lanee.
5. Driving south on I-15 in a snowstorm.
6. An unexpected visit from Dave and Dena Kerr in Phoenix.
7. Watching Rebecca and Dena dance with the Wii.
8. Reading with Weston.
9. Holding Charlotte, our beautiful new granddaughter.
10. Listening to The Gift of the Magi being read at the County Boys Home.
11. Snowboarding in fresh powder at Brighton with Mom, Brandon and Lanee.
12. Listening to (and watching) Liam sing Christmas carols from our iPad.
13. Watching the grandkids have such fun playing together.