A few words on The Searches (2013) Latin Beat

Jose Luis Valle's second film is the dual story of a man trying to retrieve a stolen wallet with a picture of his dead daughter in it and a woman trying to make sense of death of her husband. Its a beautiful looking black and white film that you'll end up talking about more for its budget then the film.

Made for $1500 in seven days this film looks amazing. It looks so good that while I was watching it all I could think was this really couldn't have been made for so little money it looks great. Actually for most of the first third of the film I was convinced that this film was going to be a great calling card for micro-budgeted films. I was caught up in the action, I was loving the images...and then as time went on I began to fidget. It was clear why the film cost so little and why they made the film so quickly. There are long takes of nothing, cars drive, we see objects in houses...and I lost my patience. I tuned out.

Had this been an hour long film this would have been great. Even at a very brief 77 minutes this film is too long.

The Searches plays July 19 and 20. For information and tickets check the Latin Beat website

What you think of Man of the Crowd (2013) will depend on how you view the framing Latin Beat 2014

The film is the relationship between a train driver and a young woman who is a station controller. Over the course of the film we watch the growth of their friendship.

I have to be honest here and say I don't know what I think of the film. The problem is that the presentation of the film really didn't work for me. I don't know if its entirely the framing of the film to 3 to 3.5 which makes it resemble a Polaroid picture or the framing and the combination of having to watch the film on my small laptop computer which really drove home the fact that the film looks like stills set in motion.

For me the effect of the frame created an odd viewing experience almost like spying on the actors or looking through a peep hole. The crampedness causes the film to seem to bleed off the screen since the action is so confined. The picture quality looks very much like Cindy Sherman's work or some of the work done by artists in the 60's.  To be perfectly honest the effect is a visual delight in its way- but at the same time I lost the plot of the film on my only chance to see the film.

Is it a good film?

I don't know. While it's certainly interesting, I did not see this under optimal conditions so I can't really comment.

This film plays July 19 and 20th. For more details and tickets go to the Latin Beat webpage

The Militant (2013) Latin Beat 2014

Ariel, a college radical learns of his father's death on the eve of a great student protest. Heading home to the country he finds that he has to now handle his father's affairs.

The arc of a life when life demands that you change your plans and shake your complacency.  The film apparently mirrors or is an allegory for life in Uruguay. I can't speak to that last point since I have never been there.I can say that from my point of view this is a leisurely film that is one of the best of this years Latin Beat series.

That the film works so well is due in no small part to the music score. A mix of styles the film frequently comes to life with some bold rock music while at other times there is a lovely laid back nature to it all. Frequently the music combines with some of the great imagery to create something truly special.

If the film has any flaw it's that occasionally the film insists that it about something with the result that I felt that things were moved along somewhat artificially. I suspect that this is one of the reasons that Ariel comes across as a bit dense since the audience needs to project onto him.

One of the films worth seeing at this years festival.

This plays July 17 and 18. For more information go to the Latin Beat page for the film.

Root (2013) Latinbeat 2014

Beautiful must see on a BIG screen film follows a young woman on the road who helps a 9 year old  try to find his father in the country side of Chile.

That description is kind of right and kind of wrong there is way more going on with the film being more about the inner life of the characters and their transformations instead of the actual journey. To be honest short of me telling you the story any short description of the plot isn't going to do the film justice.

The pleasure of the film is watching the images the director throws at us. A stunningly beautiful film this is one to see on the biggest screen possible. However not only are the images of the landscape breathtaking they act as a kind of Greek Chorus giving subtle visual clues to the state of the characters.

Its a masterful work and definitely worth checking out at the festival.

Root played on July 12 and plays tomorrow the 16th. For tickets and more information go to the Latinbeat website.

A few words on Holiday (2013) Latinbeat 2014

Set at the time of the wide financial collapse in Ecuador the film follows Juan Pablo as he goes to visit is big wig uncle in the country. When he rescues Juano from being beaten by his Uncle's men, the pair find that they have much in common including  music and motorbikes. However things become complicated when Juan Pablo begins to feel a bit more...

This is a good looking film with a great visual style (the idea of an upside down world is a repeated motif). The film also has a wonderful cast that manages to keep things watchable even when the script lets us down.

While far from a bad film the film has a strong sense of "been here and done that" hanging over it. While the  plot is dressed up with details of an actual financial crisis and the potential gay romance, this is little more than a rich poor friendship/romance tale. If you've seen any sort of film similar films you'll know where its all going.

I have one other problem with the film and that's Juan Pablo's character doesn't really seem to do much. He looks good, but he doesn't seem to say or do much other than react. Yes, there is a performance going around the eyes, but at the same time there isn't a whole hell of a lot to latch on to. He seems a bit too much like a stand in for the audience then a real character.

An okay entry at Latin Beat 2014

This plays July 15 and 16. For more information and tickets go here

A few words on We are Mari Pepe (2013) Latinbeat 2014

Four kids want to be a  punk band though even they only know one obscene song. While on summer vacation they play around, make music and take their first steps toward adulthood.

Easily the best of the Latinbeat films from this years festival We Are Mari Pepa is alive and real and feels less like a movie rather, to its triumph, feels like some footage shot by the kids in the film. Yea I knew this was a movie, but there are times, lot of times, when it feel more like a documentary. I don't know if its the work of the great cast or director Samuel Kishi Leopo but either way the result is something truly special.

I don't know what to say but if you're going to see any film at Latinbeat this year make it this one.

The film plays July 12 and 15th

Nightcap 7/6/14 - We interrupt the festival coverage for a couple of brief announcements, links, non-Asian films and more things to see at...NYAFF

A great action film you should see when it plays NYAFF

Taking a break from all the New York Asian Film festival stuff to sprinkle in a few tidbits-
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When NYAFF ends Thursday at Lincoln Center (the festival moves to the Japan Society and The Asia Society for four more days) the Walter Reade will be given over to Latinbeat 2014, their look at Latin American films.  Out coverage starts Thursday with one film and then picks up the following week with five more.  Coverage will run concurrent to the end of NYAFF and Japan Cuts.

For details on the Latinbeat series you can go to the festival website here.
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Cheat sheet of more films to see at NYAFF and JAPAN CUTS
The Korean short films -there are some winners here but sadly they are booked at the Asia Society against Lincoln Center and Japan Society. .Go and be some of the few to see them- trust me you want to go.
APOLITICAL ROMANCE-the director of the Braid makes a wonderful romance
WOOD JOB!- you know where its going but who the hell cares when it's this good?
GREAT PASSAGE- Great film about people making a dictionary (No really its wonderful)
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While I have been largely watching NYAFF and Japan cuts films the last couple of weeks I have been slipping in a few here and there from other places. Some will end up with fill reviews after the festival and others will never be mentioned.

There are also a couple that I just want to mention in passing-

I saw ROBOCOP again. I mention it because several friends saw it after I raved about it and were disappointed. I still like the film a great deal.

NEIGHBORS, the Zac Efron Seth Rogan was better than I thought. It is exactly what I thought it was going to be but I kind of liked it.

I don't get THINK LIKE A MAN TOO. Then again I didn't get the first one.

Sometimes a film is wrecked in the editing and you can assume that the cast took for reasons that never made it to the screen. I have no idea why BLENDED was made since it's clear from the start the script was terrible. I'm guessing it was a promised trip to where ever that had people signing up.  Does Adam Sandler actually have people writing his scripts or is it just a bunch of monkeys flinging poo at a typewriter?

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS never moved me. Yea you feel the tragedy at the start but its beautiful people pretending to be sick. And if you don't know how it ends at the start you need to get out and see more more movies and read more books.

Could someone seriously disfigure Seth MacFarlane so he never appears on screen again? He wrecked his A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST by his in ability to be anything other than Seth MacFarlane. Yes the script is nothing more than a riff on his Family Guy style(who said one trick ponies can't have long careers?) but his screen presence is bland. Watch how good the real actors like Charlize Theron are around him.  Hopefully this kills his on screen career...

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And now ending with a bow or in this case links from Randi

INTERNETS OWN BOY on line for free
McDonalds hacks Passover
Roger Ebert's most Surprising best movie picks
Trailer for the new Studio Ghibli film
Trippy 3D painting
Lost footage from Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings
MLB pays tribute to Lou Gehrig and his farewell speech


And check back later for a report on today at NYAFF.