Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story (2018) Queens World Film Festival

I’m not quite sure how to begin this review of Johnny Sweet’s portrait of Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace called QUIET STORM. It’s not that there is anything bad I want to say about the film but it’s more I’m left pondering why this moving film hadn’t been snapped up by some of the biggest festivals. This is the sort of film that is sure to generate positive buzz … I suppose that once again the Queens World Film Festival is snapping up another must sees that the bigger fests missed out on.

QUIET STORM is the life to date of basketball star Ron Artest. Growing up in the infamous Queensbridge house development, Artest managed to survive the mean streets to become a world famous basketball player, all the while dealing with mental health issues that made him hard to deal with and fodder for the news where his physical battles with officials and fans put him front and center nightly.

The easiest way to describe the film is to think of it as the best ESPN sports doc but grittier and minus the white wash. Director Johnny Sweet puts it all on screen and he doesn’t sugar coat it. Artest could be both a loving person and monster depending on which moment We see and hear stories of both sides of the man and as a result we truly get to see his complex character. We also get a dive into his mental health issues that includes something more than a simplistic look at its roots.

Because Sweet wants us to fully understand the complexity of Artest he doesn’t rush through things but gives us background and full panoramic views of his life. While I can quibble that the film’s two hour running time is a little long, it is more than counter balanced by the fact that it is filled with details that anyone else would gloss over. For example the film opens with a discussion not of Artest but of the Queensbridge projects. A place no one really ever wanted to be, it is best known for giving birth to a whole slew of legendary rappers like, Nas, who not only fought their way out but chronicled the existence in their music. The detailed explanation isn’t strictly necessary but it adds shading to why Artest is who is and why his game is a physical as it became. It’s the fact that the film takes the time to give us all the small details that enhance understanding that make this film as great as it is.

There is much to love here. What I adore is that Sweet lets everyone in the story tell the story in their own way. Language isn’t toned down and nothing is sugar coated. We are not so much watching a documentary but hanging out with a bunch of people shooting the breeze. As a result we get a sense of the man at the center of the story and the world he inhabits. It is something that most filmmakers, even ones making great films often fail to do.

QUIET STORM: THE RON ARTEST STORY  is story telling at the highest levels an it is one of the great finds of 2019.

Highly recommended.

QUIET STORM  plays Saturday night Match 30th at the Queens World Film Festival. For more information and tickets go here.

Palace (2019) plays Friday at the Queens World Film Festival and is a must see

Andrew Paul Davis‘s PALACE is a genuine gem of a film. A lovely little multi-character drama it is a grand graduation of a long time short filmmaker to features.

Set around a bar called Palace the film primarily focuses on Chris. A young man who works at auto repair place. He regularly goes to AA meetings but it is something he only pays lip service to since every night he is knocking them back at the Palace. He lives with his girlfriend and he thinks it’s all shits and giggles until she discovers she’s pregnant. Into the mix we have Chuck,an older man, also in AA with health problems and Alexa young woman at a Christian college who has a love and knack for poetry and rap, which are odd things to want to be part of in a dying Midwestern town. While they are the main focus we also get to know the people in their orbits.

I don’t know whether to thank or smack the Duplass Brothers. While I love that they have set fires under the asses of countless filmmakers to simply go out and create, I despise that many of those they inspire give up their own voices in order to ape their heroes. I mention the brothers because when I was sent PALACE it came with notes mentioning how the film came out of a contest they ran in order to secure financing for the winner. I was instantly wary of the reason stated above, but thankfully Andrew Paul Davis has his own voice and the Duplass Brothers should be thanked for instilling the drive to get the film done.

A great looking film PALACE feels like it is set at the end of the world. These are people off the beaten track and the lights are slowly going down. I loved how one early shot of one of the characters driving through the deserted streets of the town instantly set the mood of a world closing in on its self. There are once grand buildings and wide streets and only a car or two. It’s a simple shot. In a way that means absolutely nothing in the bigger picture of the story but it sets the tone and it sets the world than the ten establishing shots a show off director might have chosen.

Davis‘s script speaks volumes about life. There is an aching lived in to the quality to the lives we see on screen. One kind of wonders what sort of wide varied life Davis must have had since the notes of lives that have taken the wrong turn seem dead on write. I see echoes of my own and the lives of the people around me. There is the quiet desperation and sadness of people who want to change but can’t seem to pull it together or too scared to step away from the safety of this pain.

That it works as well as it does is thanks to a killer cast who seem to be living their lives on screen. Of course it isn’t true, but it feels it. Only Todd Bruno as Chris sometimes feels out of sorts. He feels more like he is channeling Jack Black’s devil may care attitude more than himself. Its only a couple of times and while it isn’t fatal it keeps an otherwise flawless film from being perfect.

This is a film you’ll want to see.

Highly recommended PALACE will be playing at the Queens World Film Festival on March 29th. For more information and tickets go here.

About a Donkey (2018) Queens World Film Festival 2019

ABOUT A DONKEY is only kind of about a donkey. Certainly the film’s events are triggered by the purchase of a donkey by a family’s patriarch, but what it is really about is the way the family interacts. It is the family interactions which makes the film work.

As much as I like ABOUT A DONKEY (go see it at the Queens World Film Festival I kind of want to shake writer director Christina Raia. While she has crafted a beautifully written and heartfelt family comedy she had saddled it with a donkey. Yes, it makes the film memorable or noticeable, but at the same time many people who should see the film because they are going to love it are going to see the premise and then move on to the next thing. The family drama is so good it doesn’t need a goose. Then again if it didn’t have a donkey in the title I wouldn’t have noticed it and would have missed it.

What I love about this film is that the interplay feels real. Everyone is busting on each other, cracking jokes about everything, but despite that there is a real sense of love. More importantly there is these moments when people are taken aback by the affection under what is being said. There are times when characters suddenly understand that they are understood. I love the exchange when Cecelia is told by her grandmother that she should ask out her aide. Cecelia is shocked that grandma would be so brazen as to ask if her aide liked girls, but was also taken aback that she had feelings that way. It’s a small thing but it rings true and it is the small moments like that that make the film alive.

Donkey aside this is a great filmmaking and great story telling. Director Christina Raia has made a wonderful film that is highly recommended. She has also put herself on my directors to watch list.

ABOUT A DONKEY plays at the Queens World Film Festival March 24. For tickets and more information go here.

Palace (2019)

Andrew Paul Davis‘s PALACE is a genuine gem of a film. A lovely little multi-character drama it is a grand graduation of a long time short filmmaker to features.

Set around a bar called Palace the film primarily focuses on Chris. A young man who works at auto repair place. He regularly goes to AA meetings but it is something he only pays lip service to since every night he is knocking them back at the Palace. He lives with his girlfriend and he thinks it’s all shits and giggles until she discovers she’s pregnant. Into the mix we have Chuck,an older man, also in AA with health problems and Alexa young woman at a Christian college who has a love and knack for poetry and rap, which are odd things to want to be part of in a dying Midwestern town. While they are the main focus we also get to know the people in their orbits.

I don’t know whether to thank or smack the Duplass Brothers. While I love that they have set fires under the asses of countless filmmakers to simply go out and create, I despise that many of those they inspire give up their own voices in order to ape their heroes. I mention the brothers because when I was sent PALACE it came with notes mentioning how the film came out of a contest they ran in order to secure financing for the winner. I was instantly wary of the reason stated above, but thankfully Andrew Paul Davis has his own voice and the Duplass Brothers should be thanked for instilling the drive to get the film done.

A great looking film PALACE feels like it is set at the end of the world. These are people off the beaten track and the lights are slowly going down. I loved how one early shot of one of the characters driving through the deserted streets of the town instantly set the mood of a world closing in on its self. There are once grand buildings and wide streets and only a car or two. It’s a simple shot. In a way that means absolutely nothing in the bigger picture of the story but it sets the tone and it sets the world than the ten establishing shots a show off director might have chosen.

Davis‘s script speaks volumes about life. There is an aching lived in to the quality to the lives we see on screen. One kind of wonders what sort of wide varied life Davis must have had since the notes of lives that have taken the wrong turn seem dead on write. I see echoes of my own and the lives of the people around me. There is the quiet desperation and sadness of people who want to change but can’t seem to pull it together or too scared to step away from the safety of this pain.

That it works as well as it does is thanks to a killer cast who seem to be living their lives on screen. Of course it isn’t true, but it feels it. Only Todd Bruno as Chris sometimes feels out of sorts. He feels more like he is channeling Jack Black’s devil may care attitude more than himself. Its only a couple of times and while it isn’t fatal it keeps an otherwise flawless film from being perfect.

This is a film you’ll want to see.

Highly recommended PALACE will be playing at the Queens World Film Festival on March 29th. For more information and tickets go here.

Festivals upon Festivals all week long

I hope you all have been enjoying the coverage of The Winter Film Awards International Film Festival that has exploded this weekend. I want to let you know that the plan is to continue to bring you coverage through the end of the festival next weekend. So if you're enjoying it be happy more is coming.

If you haven't been  enjoying it I just wanted to let you know that we'll be having a lot of other coverage of three other festivals this week as well...

The Museum of Modern Art's Documentary Fortnight starts Friday and we'll have a little coverage. While I would like to do  more life, and a schedule that din't thrill me has gotten in the way. Forgive me for saying I'm trying to rekindle my love of doing Unseen by seeing films I want to see and MOMA's slate, while having some great films (which I saw already) didn't have a ton of new stuff I needed to see. Watch for coverage to drop closer to time.

Lincoln Center's Neighboring Scenes runs next weekend it has some great,and some greatly disturbing films. We are going to have coverage of half dozen or more titles and there are some winners there. I highly recommend, with the warning they are dark and disturbing, THE WOLF HOUSE and MURDER ME, MONSTER both of which ill mess with your head something fierce.

One of the great festivals of every year The New York International Children's Film Festival hits Friday and we will be wading in. Look for as much coverage as I can muster over the next four weekends. Again life is interfering and while I will miss the opening night for probably the first time in a decade I am attending several full days of screenings. I have only seen one film so far, PENGUIN HIGHWAY, which I saw last year at Fantasia so look for a repost later in the week. Reviews of everything else will come as I see the films....and we may end up with reports from my niece who is psyched up for her first day at the festival.

Last I want to let you all know that the awesome Queens World International Film Festival which runs March 21 to 31 has announced it killer slate (go here) and it has tickets on sale. I haven't had a chance to really look at the slate yet (working on this weeks four festivals has kicked me to the curb) but I know it's all good, it always is. If you want to get tickets for something great then buy a ticket for PALACE which I've seen and will be reviewing shortly. For more information on the rest and all the insanity connected to the fest go here.

Queens World Film Festival 2019 has opened submissions- and save 25%

Just a quick note that as the Queens World Film Festival being declared one of the the top 100 reviewed festivals on Film Freeway (out of over 7,000 festivals. ) the festival is announcing that submissions are open for next years’s festival which will run March 21 to 31

If you act now and use code QWFF252525 you will get 25% off the submission fee. Go here for more information on the festival and and to submit your film.

(And just so you don’t hestitate- Katha Cato who runs the fest is an absolute blast)