SXSW 2008: DAY ONE

Okay, it’s 2:55AM, so I’m going to try and keep this brief. I managed to see 4 movies tonight despite the fact that the film schedule is so unaccommodating. Basically, instead of having 3 simple rounds of films, 7:00 start times, 9:30 start times, and midnighters, the schedule is stacked in a way that makes so that the next film that you want to see determines the film you’re going to see before it. If you really want see the film at 8:00, you better see the one at 6:00 instead of 6:30, regardless of whether or not you want see it.

At any rate, I beat the system tonight by literally running from theater to theater. First off, I saw "Goliath" at the Austin Convention Center. In 1997, the Zellner Brothers made a film called "Plastic Utopia" that was a hit at the SXSW festival that year. Critically well-received and rarely seen, the film had my friend Justin Lincoln in it, playing the role of Corduroy Boy. I enjoyed "Plastic Utopia" very much, so when I saw the Zellners had a new film, it was a no-brainer for me.

"Goliath" is a dark Comedy about a man going through a divorce, who becomes obsessed with finding the one thing he has left from his marriage, his cat, Goliath. At only 80 minutes, the film feels a little slow paced, but it still has the same dark Coen-esque humor of "Plastic Utopia." To my surprise, it also has Justin Lincoln too, playing the divorce lawyer. It was actually a pretty revelation for me, because I recognized his voice before I even saw him on screen. The film also has Willy Wiggins in it as a man who gets fired in a bathroom stall, and the guy who does the introductions at the Austin Film Society Essential Cinema screenings, as a private detective.

Next up was "Ano Una," a film that I actually built up, which made the screening a little tense for me. Nerves aside, this was the best film I saw of the night. Between 2004 and 2005, the director took hundreds, possibly thousands of photos of his surroundings. He then compiled some of the photos into some semblance of a narrative, and then added a voiced-over dialogue. The effect was wonderful and constantly interesting.

I then ran to the Paramount to see "21," the new mediocre Kevin Spacey Blackjack movie. The film is yet another entry into the crowded "Rise to Power/Fall from Grace" genre, not to mention also another movie that tries to make card playing a spectator sport. To quote Hank Hill, "What makes celebrity’s think we want to watch them play Poker?" Also, next year will mark the 10 year anniversary of the death of Kevin Spacey’s career.

Finally, I went back to the Alamo Ritz to see THE ONLY MIDNIGHT MOVIE ON OPENING NIGHT, "Otis." The film is a "Political Film," but also a "Dark Satire" about a 40 year man who kidnaps teenage girls and forces them to take part in High School Football/Cheerleader/Prom Fantasy. The film stars Illiana Douglas, Kevin Pollock (both of whom were in attendance), and Daniel Stern. The twist on the teenage kidnapping set-up is lifted write out of "Fight for You Life," in which the tormented family circumvents Police justice, opting instead for Vigilante justice. It’s a little more complicated than that, but I digress. Overall "Otis" was not that bad though. It’s one of those movies that as it wears on, it takes on its own kind of cinematic logic. As my friend Boyd put it, the more ludicrous it got, the more he warmed up to it as a whole.

Okay, so that was my first night. Time for bed!!