Three Imaginary Girls - SIFF

Photo Essay: SIFF Opening Night! Whedonverse meets SIFFverse

three imaginary girls — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:30:15 +0000

WOW. Wow. wow. When we sent Imaginary Amie & Rich to the SIFF Opening Night Red Carpet last night, we didn't realize how AMAZING it would be. I mean, we had an idea -- but holycrap, you guys. It was AWESOME. So much Whedonverse & SIFFverse goodness together!

Amie live-tweeted and recorded some Vine videos while Rich took on the photos (find his full set here), and both laughed and cheered along with the crowd as the Directors and Stars arrived. Below is a sampling of what we experienced!

{more photos after the jump}

SIFF 2013: Week One Highlights

imaginary embracey — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:40:41 +0000

SIFF's opening night film was, as I'm sure you've heard, Much Ado About Nothing -- a title which we're all hoping doesn't apply to the ever-varied lineup of this year's iteration of our beloved local cinema gorge-a-thon. Whether or not you were lucky enough to get tix to opening night's Whedonverse fantasia (or the following evening's 'secret' screening), there'll be plenty of filmic wonders for you to choose from this year -- and the TIG SIFF crew is here to help. Here are seven features to see, three to avoid, and four to be cautiously optimistic/pessimistic about, all screening at some point in the coming festival week (May 17-23).

DON'T MISS:

Frances Ha
{screens May 17 at 9:45pm and May 18 at 4pm at Pacific Place}
Imaginary Amie and I appear to be in agreement on this one. It's another delightful New York story from Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale), this time focusing on the post-college, aspiring-dancer title character (indie it-girl du jour Greta Gerwig) throughout a series of struggles after a best-friend breakup. The film does right by the cinematic institutions it so lovingly references -- Manhattan-era Woody Allen and the French New Wave among them -- and distinguishes itself with a sweet, melancholy charm all its own.

Goltzius and the Pelican Company
{screens May 17 at 6:30pm at the Egyptian, and May 19 at 4pm at the Uptown as part of An Afternoon with Peter Greenaway}
Consistently intriguing auteur Peter Greenaway's latest film follows a late 16th-century Dutch printer/engraver as he attempts to convince a powerful margrave to fund the production of a nekkid-illustrated Old Testament. When the margrave balks, Goltzius's employees (the Pelican Company part of the title) agree to entertain the court with six titillating (and, yes, dong-illating too) evenings of erotic biblical reenactments. Playful provocations -- of the characters and the audience -- ensue. Greenaway's unmatched visualism rarely fails to stun, and he utilizes it to great effect here in exploring the narrative's sacred-vs.-profane themes. Crazy, nasty fun.

SIFF Take: Frances Ha

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:28:15 +0000

This collaboration between Director Noah Baumbach and his now girlfriend Greta Gerwig (who also stars in the film) focuses on 27-year-old Frances, a woman struggling with direction in a crushingly co-dependent relationship with her best friend and roommate. Once her roommate announces she's moving out, Frances is left floundering for a place to live, then gets news that the dance company she's been interning at hasn't accepted her as part of their troupe -- and it just goes even MORE downhill from there.

Shot in arty black and white, Frances Ha is a talky-somewhat-improvised-portait of a girl that probably isn't for everyone, but fans of both Baumbach & Gerwig will love it. And Gerwig is just so damn GOOD. Even though Frances' life experience was entirely different than mine, I felt connected to her while she was trying to figure things out; not seeing what's good right in front of her, unable to enjoy anything even a little bit, freaking out about her intended "career", and desperately, DESPERATELY trying to please everyone. (If you don't cringe several times during the dinner party scene, you are not human). Anyway! Gerwig's a natural at Baumach's dialog (duh), and the whole thing was just lovely. I'm excited to see what they do next.

Bonus: Adam Driver (from GIRLS) appears as a charming rich playboy! I love that guy.

{Frances Ha screens at the 39th Annual Seattle International Film Festival on Friday, 5/17, 9:45pm, and again on Saturday, 5/18, 4pm at AMC Pacific Place}

Recommended SIFF + Ticket Giveaway: Mistaken for Strangers

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:50:11 +0000

I was skeptical of Mistaken for Strangers at first, because I'm not a fan of The National (when I told my friend this the other day she looked at me like she couldn't understand the words coming out of my mouth. It was seriously AWKWARD), but this documentary is actually less about the band itself, and more about Tom Berninger, the brother of lead singer Matt, who is both the Director and subject.

The trailer has a lot of "whoa" moments, including my favorite: listening to Matt Berninger talk about how his brother is a metalhead, and thinks "indie rock's pretentious bullshit". HAHA. Ha. (I hope you guys are laughing with me!) And the ouchy "The only reason you ARE here is because you're my brother".

Anyway! Watch the trailer. It looks cool, and we've got two tickets to each show for a very lucky Imaginary! The film screens on Monday 5/20, 7pm and again Tuesday 5/21, 4pm at The Egyptian. For a chance to win, email us at tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "Indie Rock is Bullshit" anytime between now and 3pm Friday 5/17. And make sure you tell us WHICH screening you want tickets to! We'll notify the winners Friday night.

SIFF 2013 Preview: NW Connections

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:37:01 +0000

Time to outline my favorite SIFF program: NW Connections! Anytime I see a bunch of local filmmakers, local locations, or really -- ANY KIND OF CONNECTION to my hometown I get a little excited, so give me a minute. Because I am hyperventilating over this first one:

Lynn Shelton's new film (YAYYYYYYY!) Touchy Feely, stars Rosemarie DeWitt (DOUBLE YAYYYYYYY!!) as a massage therapist who suddenly gets the ooks about touching other people. Whoops. That sounds like a career killer. It also has Ellen Page (TRIPLE YAYYYYYY!!!). Anyway. It sounds awesome. OBVIOUSLY. It is LYNN SHELTON. My only real complaint is that I'll be out of town when it screens. *sob* {Screens 5/23, 7pm at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, and again 5/25, 1:30pm at The Egyptian}

And you know I am ALL OVER Dead Meat Walking - A Zombie Walk Documentary, because HELLO. Awesome. Close-ups of zombie makeup, hoards of crawling living dead coming at the camera, and interviews with Zombie enthusiasts, as well as Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon! I LOVE YOU), and special F/X maestro Tom Savini!!! YES. Side note: I hope someone tells us when the Zombie invasion of the Light Rail is, because I wanna be on it when it happens. (I have just given someone that idea for free. you're welcome). {Screens 5/24, 11:55pm at the Egyptian, and again on 5/25, 8:30pm at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center}

Revelatory doc on The Source Family at SIFF Cinema Film Center

Chris Estey — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:22:48 +0000

{The Source Family opens Friday, May 3 at 9 PM at the SIFF Cinema at the Film Center in Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, and runs through May 9, 2013. Source Family members Makushla, Omne, and Rain Aquarian will be at the premier in person.}

For underground music fans of the god-jam variety (namely, psyche heads) the names Father Yod and Ya Ho Wa 13 can evoke mystical states of I want I want I want. Most fans of even just some of the hundreds of releases these often free-form musicians put out since the late 60s are aware there is a wild cultural backstory to their creation; and some of those LPs feature pivotal artists such as Sky Saxon of The Seeds, who converted to the unabashed cult which formed the bands which made their sounds.

That's right, FY and YHW 13 are actual cult artists, the former once known as Jim Baker, a Judo master and Marine and miracle-magus who underwent a Yogic conversion in the 60s and charismatically collected together something called The Source Family at the height of the West Coast New Age wampum.

His tribe, a few hundred strong, were a bit-scruffy but glowingly-beautiful clan of white-robed followers immersed in health food promotion (including a popular restaurant for hippies and celebrities and celebrity hippies), total communal living, prayerful alternatives to that whole sexual monogamy drag, and ... oh yeah a little early morning sacramental use of the reefer. Good times!

Ya Ho Wa 13 were kinda the house band for TSF, a core of some adept musicians and inspired floaters who made all kinds of records, some ferocious dark night of the soul stormers, some sappy tambourine jangle, sometimes all together. (A Japanese label put out a huge box set of the releases a few years ago, but even more bootlegs remain.) Father Yod played a mighty big gong and was relentless on a big drum through some of their sides; his deep voice occasionally gracing the celestial sound-scapes. A couple of years ago, Process Books put out a warts-and-all but loving biography of the cult with a free CD featuring samples of tunes from throughout The Source Family's experiments with rock and pop and folk; it's a sweet, trippy sample of a fascinating scene and a must-have in your music book library.

That book, subtitled The Untold Story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13, And The Source Family, written by Isis Aquarian and Electricity Aquariun, was the basis for the movie The Source Family. I highly recommend both for being excellent documents of extraordinary times in Western religion and civilization. As a guy who confesses absolute spiritual retardation and frantically flees from any glazed-over gazes of the converted spouting propaganda, I can attest they hold up well as straightforward, trustable narratives with a minimum of the heebeegeebees. Both are truly unique, in that they are richly experienced words from deeply inside a radical religious collective that challenged the authorities and offered an unusual way out of the hard drugs, capitalist overkill, political despair, and general bumming vibe of Vietnam-era America.

As you will see in the superbly structured film, which has tons of photos and footage from beginning to dissipation of the The Source Family, the cult had a lot going for it; this movie shows just how attractive the communal movement was, but doesn't flinch from expressing some members' disappointment in Yod's craving for lotsa wives. He brought a ton of peace to many regardless; a peace he sort of missed out on himself, or never fully absorbed or something. His restlessness seems utterly Eclessastical by the end of the film (you know, eat drink and be merry because how long you wanna live anyways?). There's a lot of tension as you witness the triumphs of spirit and challenges to experimental lifestyles; yeah, I was waiting for the poison-laced treats to be busted out at some point.

But The Source Family avoided the whole death trip; it simply wasn't in their character to give anything back but more life and creativity. That makes this movie, as open as it is about such a fiery period of society-spiting spiritual growth, an ontologically-rewarding experience. And when Father Yod stands on a high school stage in his white fedora, with his big old beard, looking like a mad daddy of magic about to take you on to the other side, and says, "I'm looking for about 4000" to come along with him, it's a rock and roll moment that seems like Moses as Elvis. Pretty damned cool.

SIFF 2013 Preview: Face the Music

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:15:29 +0000

Hello, Imaginaries! This year's Face the Music program at the Seattle International Film Festival contains some music documentaries I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT!!! You can buy passes to SIFF now, and inividual tickets go on sale this week on Thursday, 5/2. And so, let us (stage) dive in:

First up: a few special events put together by Ms. Hannah Levin of KEXP! The Maldives are doing their thing at The Triple Door this year, performing music for The Wind, a 1928 Lillian Gish film. And the documentary Muscle Shoals will also have a tribute evening at The Triple Door, with music provided by Patterson and Dave Hood with Jeff Fielder and friends. {The Maldives & The Wind, June 7 at The Triple Door, two shows: 7pm & 9:30pm; A Muscle Shoals Tribute, May 30 at The Triple Door, 7pm}

Speaking of Muscle Shoals, in case you didn't know, it's the studio where "legendary musicians including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett gathered to create music that would later inspire the likes of Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many more." I'm not gonna lie, the trailer makes me drool a little bit. {Screens 5/29, 7pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown, and again 5/30, 7pm at the Egyptian}

Power Pop fans rejoice! Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is coming to SIFF!!! Promising never-before-seen footage, rousing musical tributes, and in-depth interviews with members of the band and the musicians they’ve inspired. Yes, yes, yes, and YES. I was hoping this would make it to SIFF. Hooray! {Screens 5/21, 9pm, and again 5/26, 8:30pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown}

A Very Imaginary “Best of” 2012 Movie List

Imaginary Amie — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:46:38 +0000

I am terribly behind on this, I know! But it wouldn’t really feel like the start to a new year if I didn’t make some kind of list about the movies I fell in love with. It’s way too tough for me to make a traditional Top 10—so I’m going with the imaginary format I used last year.

Best EVERYTHING: The Cabin in the Woods (Director: Drew Goddard)
I can’t even tell you how much I love this film. And sadly, I can’t even really tell you what this film is about without running it—short of saying that it’s about 5 college kids who go to a cabin for a weekend of fun only to have it turn into a screaming night of terror—which would be doing it an injustice. After watching this 5x (so far) and listening to the commentary twice, I’m convinced that the Whedon/Goddard pairing is a match made in horror heaven. I cannot wait to see what these guys do next! And I hope it’s soon. Really, really, really soon.

Best romantic comedy/drama that felt like it could really happen: Your Sister’s Sister (Director: Lynn Shelton)
Shelton’s finest film to date features a killer cast that folds you right into the story, with Mark Duplass working equal parts charm and stupidity, Emily Blunt emoting one-million different things with just her eyes, and Rosemarie Dewitt being as fabulous as she is in everything. Talking too much about the plot would give it away, so let’s just say it’s full of great surprises and sharp dialog. And I especially loved the completely unconventional ending.

Elena

Imaginary Rich — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 04:55:13 +0000

{Elena opens at the Landmark Varsity Theater on Friday July 13th}

Elena is a slow moving but extremely well made film that details the choices people can make for their family when their back is against the wall. Or maybe it's an allegory about post-communist Russia and how everything is just business, even marital relations. Perhaps simply an advanced exercise in producing an effective noir mood onscreen. It's one or many of those, but not an entirely satisfying experience. I saw all those pieces in play, each rendered precisely -- even memorably. But without a hook that truly engaged me in the experience, so I was left admiring the craft but not the overall film.

There are far, far, FAR worse film choices to be made out there. Surprisingly, in some ways, Elena simply didn't stand out as much as I would have hoped from the crime and (maybe) punishment type description I'd heard of the work.

Elena is the wife of a wealthy man. Younger than him, we generally see her acting more servant than spouse. Their relationship seems almost transactional, so it's not a total shock that she's from a lower economic circle and has married up. They met ten years earlier when she was his nurse during a hospital stay. Each has a child -- she a son with a family, he a daughter who's unattached and a paternally described hedonist. Neither is particularly adept at paying their own way in the world, and are dependent on their parents. Even though both are adults and Elena's son has a wife and two children.

Eventually there are enough clues to suggest Elena loves her husband though is far less than thrilled with his unwillingness to help her family out financially. Some of the best scenes are the transitional journey she takes deep outside their privileged environs to meet with her grandchildren. It's only at the end of these extended trips as she enters the poorer community that a true spark of life visually emerges from her. All this financial pressure comes to a head in the final act of the film. With the husband's his health declining he breaks some unexpected and painful financial news. Leaving Elena with limited choices - all grim in nature.

In the interest of fairness I should point out that Imaginary Embracey reviewed this film for its run at SIFF, giving it a coveted "Don't Miss" rating. His thoughts are pretty to the point, "Gripping, stylish, gorgeously crafted Russian tale of a coveted bequest, pitiless class conflict, and the misdeeds of a tenuous marriage. He's rich, in poor health, and drawing up a will; her lazy son's trashy family needs dough. But noted filmmaker Andrei Zvyaginstev (The Return) doesn't allow their story to follow any prescribed path. Tension arrives in slight movements and subtle unravelings; it's a beautifully slow burn, and patience is rewarded manifold. Feast your eyes."

I can see where he's coming from -- and if your tastes skew more in his direction overall you should probably take the opportunity to see Elena before it leaves town. If you'd like to read on, I'll complete my contrarian thoughts.

The visual crafting excellence of the film is objectively true. And Embracey's overall description of the plot is dead on as well. The significant variance comes from the tension - which for me never really crackled the way I wanted it to given the mood of the proceedings. Sure there's the carefully doled out Philip Glass soundtrack and Hitchcockian airs. Maybe the tension never quite arose because I found the path less than wildly unexpected. Plus whichever path it chose led to someone's deserving fate. To the extent that most of the characters have a shade of asshole to them. With the arguable exception of Elena who is sort of wronged by almost everyone else onscreen. If you're going to enjoy deconstructing the film's allegory, it's have and have-nots and what they do for their place in society undercurrents then you probably will greatly dig this film. My perspective focused more on the limited payoff and (admittedly high quality) style over depth of story. It's basically a great film that didn't do much for me. I get that's perhaps not very helpful - except if it is. Personally, I've been hearing a lot of great things about The Beasts of the Southern Wild which also opens Friday. Just saying.

{Elena opens at the Landmark Varsity Theater on Friday July 13th}

'Best' of SIFF 2012 series begins Friday at the Uptown

imaginary embracey — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:32:09 +0000

A true 'best-of' SIFF 2012 program, IMHO, would include gritty French drama Polisse, Russian chiller Elena, Argentine road movie Las Acacias, French-Canadian melodrama Wetlands, Dutch sensuality experiment 170 Hz, and a number of exceptional documentaries (How to Survive a Plague, The Imposter, Wonder Women, and especially Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present).

And while I've never really claimed to be tuned to the collective frequency of the SIFFgoing public, it's still tough to fathom the dreary Any Day Now winning 2012's top audience award. But win it did, and it's among 18 features and one shorts package playing at SIFF Cinema's 'Best' of SIFF 2012 series unspooling this weekend. None of my personal favorites will be there, but some are indeed coming (again) soon to a theater near you.

Of SIFF's 'best of' films I've seen (75% of them, in fact, if you include the three which begin regular week-long runs at SIFF's cinemas on Friday), I only posted a solid-ish recommendation to one: Welcome to Doe Bay. But had I seen a few others earlier -- Extraterrestrial, King Curling, The Invader -- I'd've given them my version of a thumbs-up too and notified you about them before they screened. I'm glad I can give them some love now.

But I'm realistic about how much my opinion really counts for here, so proceed with cautious optimism as you leverage the opportunity to see some audience- and jury-award honorees (alongside a few non-winners that SIFF programmers apparently just saw fit to screen again), explore a few flicks the intrepid TIG film staff didn't make it to, and catch up on some of the general SIFFiness you may've missed out on over the past month. All screenings are at the Uptown unless otherwise noted.

DAILY, June 15-21; see siff.net listings for showtimes:

Extraterrestrial
{Runner-up: Best Director Golden Space Needle Award}
Julio wakes up in Julia's bed, after a night neither of them remembers very well; their awkward, hungover morning-after grows even stranger when they discover that colossal alien spaceships have appeared over Madrid. This is a quick and pleasant little romp by Timecrimes director Nacho Vigalondo, who did a charming and funny Q&A at the SIFF screening I attended. I can't promise Extraterrestrial will be quite as magical in his absence.

SIFF Take: The Mirror Never Lies

Roxie Rider — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 15:53:34 +0000

{The Mirror Never Lies screens at SIFF June 10, 2:30pm at the Harvard Exit.}

I’m going to bang this out really quickly in the hopes that we can get it in front of your eyeballs in time for you to consider going to the last showing of this today. The Mirror Never Lies is a stunner. The story is lovely and moving, following a young girl and her mother who are both struggling, in different ways, to accept that the girl's father may have been lost at sea. It’s set in a place I knew nothing whatsoever about: a fishing village that quite literally stands, upon stilts, in the shallows of Wakatobi Sea (in Indionesia), so just observing the sets and the culture is, if you'll forgive the armchair tourism vocabulary, enlightening.

The movies follows the story with a quiet patience that’s all but unheard of, really in any medium, without ever being boring. It reminds me of the first half of The Black Stallion, where Alec and the Black are stranded on the desert island and your heart breaks with the beauty of it. The Mirror Never Lies is quiet and measured and it’s hard to know, when it begins, where any scene will go, but the film is unflaggingly mesmerizing for all that.

I’m not sure how to dole out credit for the pacing—probably the director, writers, and editor all deserve a share—but the most extraordinary achievement is the cinematography. Every shot, every frame, is breathtaking. You could fill a gallery just with frames from the movie. It’s also nuanced and varied. Some scenes have a filtered, Instagrammish quality, other parts are lush and saturated, and others are muted and soothing. I wanted to make an Oscar and send it to Rahmat Syaiful on the spot.

So forgive the untidiness of this post, but do yourself a favor and go catch this this afternoon. It’s a special one.

SIFF Take: The Dragon Pearl

Roxie Rider — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 15:18:30 +0000

{The Dragon Pearl screens at SIFF June 9, 1:00pm at the Kirkland Performance Center.}

There are scores of truly great children’s movies, and then there are other heaps of movies that are great movies for children, and this is of the latter class. You probably loved movies just like this one when you were between the ages of 8 and, say, 11. Or so. It has the loose, pleasantly formulaic feel of, say, Free Willy, or High School Musical, or The Parent Trap.

The plot goes like so: Josh comes from Australia to visit his dad (Sam Neill, playing Alan Grant, more or less) for the first time in some long amount of time, since The Divorce. Dad is an archaeologist working in China, and he’s on to Something Big. The lead archaeologist is Chinese and her daughter Ling is roughly the same age as Josh. Despite his pristine hoodies, adorable haircut, and mad puzzle-solving skillz, Ling thinks he’s boorish and impolite. But they become allies when they stumble on a Mysterious Mountain Temple guarded dynastically by a (genuinely) hilarious dude named Wu Dong. Turns out he’s protecting, with Indiana Jones-esque rube goldberg mechanisms, a glorious dragon who’s been waiting all this time for someone to return his magic pearl. The dragon, really, is extra cool. But the only grown up who believes them is the sinister Philip, who really, by rights, ought to have been granted a moustache to twirl.

Now, since you are reading this, I’ll wager a fair bet that you’re too grown up to enjoy its pleasures as fully as your youngsters will. You’ll likely have to supress an air of bemusement at the pre-teen acting skills. You might be slightly buffeted by the haphazard pacing. Josh, really, that hoodie? But it does pick up steam once the dragon makes an appearance, and the final chase at the end is well played. Plus, the cross-cultural sub-story is a really nice addition to the formula. If you’re a kid-haver you can feel really good about taking your progeny to see it.

SIFF Take: Future Weather

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:17:07 +0000

{Future Weather screens at SIFF June 9, 5:30pm and June 10, 10am at SIFF Cinema Uptown. Director Jenny Deller is scheduled to attend}

Both Future Weather and I Am Not a Hipster are also part of the inaugural Catalyst program at SIFF, and are eligible for the FIPESCI New American Cinema juried prize award! As part of the program, SIFF is offering a full day of public panels and discussion around co-cretion and community in the new digital space. Panels start at 10am and run through 2pm on Saturday, June 9, at the SIFF Film Center -- and are FREE to attend.

Future Weather, which I was mainly excited about because the writer and director is female and HELLO WE NEED MORE WOMEN IN FILM, was an interesting spin on the usual coming-of-age story.

Perla Haney-Jardine (who you may remember as the adorbs BB Kiddo in Kill Bill Vol. 2) plays Lauderee, a 13-year-old in a small town with a pretty terrible mom. Seems mom has a dream of becoming a Hollywood makeup artist, and so you know, she just leaves to do that, as moms do. And Lauderee’s hard-drinking, miserable grandma Greta (yay, Amy Madigan!) isn’t much more help. She tries, but uh. Let’s just say the apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree. The only person for this neglected teen to turn to is science teacher Ms. Markovi (Lily Taylor), who encourages Laurderee’s obsession with schoolin’.

And that’s where the spin comes in. Rather than focus on the whole "troubled teenage girl who runs around sleeping with everybody, drinking, doing drugs, and godknowswhatelse," Lauderee throws herself into environmental studies and obsesses over Global Warming—right down to how much oxygen trees can create, and how she can save a rare mollusk that’s barely surviving in the town’s rivers.

Sure, there’s a love interest—kind of—that results in one very chaste kiss. But in the long run, it’s not about that, and man was it was refreshing to see a teenage girl portrayed as something more than a wild, out-of-control monster blindly trying to imitate what she’s been taught. The only thing I wish the movie had more of was Lily Taylor’s character, but Haney-Jardine and Madigan were so good in their roles, I was okay with what ended up on film. Overall, it’s a nice, solid film, and I’m excited to see what Jenny Deller does next.

SIFF Take: The Source

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:24:32 +0000

{The Source screens at SIFF June 8, 8:30pm and June 10, 11:30am at the Harvard Exit. Director Jodi Wille and subject Charlene Peters are scheduled to attend}

“That’s not pot. It’s the sacred herb.” I like to imagine Father Yod said this right before posing in his big pimpin’ suit with all his ladies for this photo.

Before I saw The Source, the only thing I knew about this trippy 70s cult was the name of its founder, Jim Baker (or Father of Light, or Father Yod, or YaHoWha), and that it derived from a popular organic, vegetarian restaurant on the Sunset Strip. Now I feel like I know WAY too much about The Source Family, but it’s all very interesting, so I don’t mind too much.

Baker made a boatload of money doing various and sundry things in the 50s and 60s, and then has this idea to create a hippy dippy restaurant in L.A. with his beautiful 19-year-old wife (he was something like 53 at the time) that made him boatloads MORE money. Then he took a bunch of drugs and did a bunch of kundalini yoga—and the restaurant evolved into a cult. At which point, Baker officially changed his name twice and went from “I’m here to deliver the word of God” to “I AM God” to “As God, I’m telling all y’all that I need 13+ wives. And we all need to have crazy sex orgies and blood rituals and smoke the sacred herb and have visions and deliver our message to the world."

SIFF Take: I Am Not a Hipster

Imaginary Amie — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:57:48 +0000

{I Am Not a Hipster screens at SIFF June 7, 9:30pm and June 8, 3pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown. Director Destin Cretton is scheduled to attend}

Indie Rocker Brook (Dominic Bogart) spends a lot of time and energy avoiding fame and super fans of his self-recorded debut album. He’s not very nice to his friends, he throws public tantrums about his ex, and he uh, doesn’t want to do any publicity. Okay. Dude? In other words, he’s kind of a dick. Who is apparently NOT a hipster. That much we know.

And then his trio of beautiful sisters comes to visit him in San Diego and we learn why he’s kind of a dick. His mom died. And his dad and him had a fight about it. And he left. And he has in no way dealt with his feelings about it, except for through his music. And then oh man. I guess that means we can’t hate him anymore, huh?

Though it's not a perfect film, there’s an authenticness to I Am Not a Hipster that I can’t quite pin down—I think it’s because it’s layered with lots of severely amazing music. The tunes are by Joel P. West, who created an entire album for the fictional character of Brook (Bogart does actually sing them in the movie), called Canines, which you can listen to for free! I’m sort of wishing West would tour with these songs. I like them that much.

Recommended, even though it’s pretty depressing. Just because it feels so real—and the music is so, so, so great.

SIFF Take: Innocence (Nevinnost)

Imaginary Amie — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:38:42 +0000

{Innocence screens at SIFF June 4, 8:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown, and June 6, 6:30pm & June 8, 4pm at The Harvard Exit}

Handsome rehabilitation doctor Tomas’ world is shattered with a 14-year-old patient, Olinka, accuses him of molesting her. Oh, and his wife Milada’s ex-husband is the cop assigned to the case. WHOOPS. Shit just got complicated!

I wasn’t sure about this one, but it turns out Innocence goes beyond the “is he guilty or not?” plot point that usually carries these kinds of films. The story starts with an interesting premise, and then dives into multiple layers of lies and deception involving Tomas’, his wife, her sister, and the teen girl he may (or may not have) abused.

I was continually surprised by the acting and direction. The actresses who play Lida (Anna Geislerova) and Olinka (whose name I can’t track down) are AMAZING, and both men, Tomas and the jilted ex, play their parts perfectly.

Innocence winds up with a satisfyingly twisted, unsettling ending, and is definitely worth your SIFF dollars.

SIFF Take: The Crown Jewels (Kronjuverlerna)

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:17:22 +0000

{The Crown Jewels screens at SIFF June 2, 8:30pm at the Harvard Exit and June 10, 4:30pm at the Egyptian Theatre}

In a small Swedish town, two fathers wait in a hospital delivery room for news of their children’s birth. From that moment on, a boy and girl are linked despite the financial gap in their families. Frangancia Frenandez, whose father is a poor inventor convinced he can chemically recreate gold, and Richard Persson, whose father’s wealth and power rules the town.

As they grow up, Richard develops an obsession with Frangancia, who (sadly) does everything just a little bit better than he does, including playing hockey. Enter Peterson-Jonnson, who attracts attention on the ice—and wins Fragancia’s heart. As Mr. Persson ups his cruel behavior towards his son, Richard’s mind deteriorates further leading up to frightening mix of creepy, misguided behavior that includes the disappearance of Frangrancia’s little brother Jesus.

Told in flashback, The Crown Jewels is a twisted, modern fairy tale with lush imagery so gorgeous, it will take your breath away. Both Amanda Jenegren and Alicia Vikander rock the part of tomboy’ish Frangancia as a teenager and a young woman, and Jonathan Bokman and Bill Skarsgard (another genetically-perfect offspring of Stellan)’s expressions convey the million and one emotions Richard is feeling every minute.

Despite a few moments of extra cheese near the end, I really loved this film. Recommended for filmgoers who love dreamy romanticism mixed with murder mystery—and uh, gazing at beautiful Swedish people.

Recommended SIFF Event + Ticket Giveaway: Welcome to Doe Bay {6/3}

Imaginary Amie — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:12:27 +0000

Who wants to see Welcome to Doe Bay this Sunday? We've got another super-quick ticket giveaway, as the fine folks at SIFF have gifted us with a pair of tickets to the Seattle premiere of this local documentary, Sunday, 6/3, 9:15pm at The Egyptian!! Directors Nesib Shamah and Dan Thornton, and Producer Sarah Crowe scheduled to attend, so you can ask them all your burning Doe Bay questions at the Q&A after the film.

For a chance to win tix, send an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "The PNW Rules" between now and 5pm tomorrow, 6/1. We'll pick a winner early Saturday morning and put your name on the list +1 for Sunday screening.

SIFF Take: The Glass Man

Imaginary Amie — Thu, 31 May 2012 22:39:42 +0000

{The Glass Man screens at SIFF June 1, 9pm & June 3, 11am The Harvard Exit, and again June 5, 9:15pm at Pacific Place}

When this movie started playing, I was like “Hey! That’s Neve Campbell with a British accent! Weird.” And then I totally forgot about that, because The Glass Man starts out as a depressingly awkward thriller that nosedives into Crazytown.

Martin Pyrite (Andy Nyman) is REALLY into appearances, which means he can’t tell his beautiful wife (Neve) that he lost his job weeks ago, and he owes shit-tons of money to everybody. Nope. Martin prefers to just get dressed in the morning and drive to work anyway, because he promised to protect and take care of his wife when he married her, and bygod that means he can’t tell her the truth about them possibly losing their fancy house or having access to expensive jewelry and designer duds. So when a grizzled stranger shows up on his doorstep and offers him a way out, he takes it—even if it means driving the dude around on mysterious errands in the middle of the night.

The Glass Man is kind of a mess, but what sells it is Nyman’s panicked and sincere portrayal of Martin. You FEEL for this guy; you really do. As for the Crazytown part, I don’t want to give anything away, but I’m still processing how it happened and why. One further note: if I had to stick a genre on this movie it’d be “depressing thriller”, because it punches you in the gut at the end. Nicely done, but likely not for everybody.

SIFF Take: Legends of Valhalla: Thor

Roxie Rider — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:58:59 +0000

{Legends of Valhalla: Thor screens at SIFF on June 2, 11am, at Pacific Place}

I’ll start by damning with faint praise: this is the sort of movie that makes you appreciate how truly spectacular the achievements of Pixar are, in case you were in the habit of taking them for granted. Legends of Valhalla: Thor is a perfectly fine kid movie. My 5-year-old loved it and my almost-3-year-old sat intently through the whole thing. They both felt strongly that I should tell you all how incredibly cool it is when the Guardian of the Gates of Valhalla sends forth a spectacular rainbow bridge to welcome the dead.

But it’s not a top-drawer film. The animation, even compared with the original Toy Story, is pretty clunky, despite the imaginative art and set direction. And the characters, for the most part, steer closer to collections of mannerisms than fully realized personalities. Thor is a Whiny but Promising and Ambitious Teenager. Odin (who looks a bit like Sean Connery, which, sure, why not?) is a Pompous, Out-Of-Touch Leader. Freyja, I think, was meant to be The Smartest One in the Room Even Though She’s A Woman (ahem), but I think the filmmakers weren’t always super clear on the difference between Powerful but Exasperated and, well, Bitchy.

I’m making it sound worse than it is, though. It really is both fun and watchable.