So back in October, I saw 15 films in 10 days at the Chicago Film Festival. I was quite ambitious in my ticket buying (obviously) and although I was a bit worn out at the end (it’s not like I had any days off work during this adventure), I saw a lot of interesting films, most of which I certainly would not have had the opportunity to see otherwise.

Day 1, Oct 17

The Pleasure of Being Robbed
Misleading description. Not about the pleasure of being robbed at all. Maybe a little bit about the pleasure of robbing, not that it even seemed that pleasurable, and the cinematography wasn’t interesting enough to keep the viewer involved. This wasn’t terrible, but we both felt it smacked of “senior year art project”. And as T pointed out: it ended and you weren’t even sure you knew the main character’s name, much less her motivations. 2.5 out of 5.

Wendy & Lucy
Really nuanced wonderful performance by Michelle Williams. But sad, hard to watch, and one of those movies where it’s more “a portrait of a moment” than a movie/story. Minimal plot. And our second movie of the day featuring a girl who is somewhat lost and alone. 3.5 out of 5. Great performance but not much there otherwise.

Let the Right One In
Beautiful. One of my faves of the festival. Slowly paced, dim and quiet. Sweden. Winter. Loneliness. Vampire. Love. So glad to see this one is getting a more widespread release (if you can consider indie theaters in big cities to be widespread). If you read the review in EW and decided not to see it, I urge you to go anyway. It was really lovely and moving. Icky in places, but quite powerful. This is definitely a 5 out of 5 for me.

Day 2, Oct 18

Sparrow
Very fun. Slapstick drama about four brothers who are all pickpockets and all get involved with the same woman. Her end of the plot was a bit lame but it was so fun, I really didn’t mind that. Sort of Marx Brothers in Hong Kong with a little more seriousness. 3.5 out of 5.

Surveillance
One of only a few US-centric flicks we saw. First 2/3rds = really interesting, tightly plotted, intriguing flick. Last 1/3rd = insane twist that throws away a LOT of the good stuff from earlier on and makes it not nearly as interesting. Bizarre. And then the credits roll and “Oh, directed by Jennifer Lynch. From the content of that movie, I HAVE to think she’s related to David.” 3 out of 5.

Day 3, Oct 19

Hunger
So good. So sad. HARD to watch. Death of IRA leader Bobby Sands by hunger strike (which had followed a “rub shit on the walls” strike). Loved the first half. Neat stuff showing how the prisoners found ways to communicate both with each other and with the outside world. A really really interesting (long) conversation in the middle of the film between Sands and a priest. But didn’t like how the second half (or last third maybe) of the movie lets all the other characters drop away and basically you just watch someone waste away, hallucinate(?) and die. 4 out of 5. Really good but could have easily been better just by keeping the stories of the other prisoners/activists going.

North Starr
Poor. Definitely the weakest entry I have seen not just this year but last year as well. Poorly written and acted, heavy handed. Maybe a 2 out of 5 and that’s generous. Not sure how this even got selected.

Day 4, Oct 20: No movies for me.

Day 5, Oct 21

Everlasting Moments
WWI Sweden. Woman stuck in bad marriage, constant pregnancy, poverty, etc. Gets the gift of a camera. Changes her life. Somewhat. Beautifully done. The grunge of their lives so well portrayed/styled/etc. 4 out of 5.

Zach & Miri Make a Porno
I am not unbiased about Kevin Smith. I fucking loved this movie. I loved it even more after he took Q&A for an hour afterwards. Sure, it’s crass and gross and whatever else people are saying about it. It’s also super sweet and romantic and really fucking funny. 5 out of 5.

Day 6, Oct 22

Two Lovers
Not very good and you know I love Joaquin Phoenix so that was sad. Same director as We Own The Night which while somewhat formulaic/predictable was a much better movie than this one. Convoluted. And unlike how seeing Kevin Smith’s Q&A made me love his movie more, this Q&A went the other direction.
2.5 out of 5.

Day 7, Oct 23

Girl by the Lake
Italian murder mystery. Starts with your classic misdirection. Some nice subplots about the lead detective’s own life. Liked it. But not sure the conclusion really worked. 3.5 out of 5.

Day 8, Oct 24

Country Wedding
Two busloads of Icelandic family members lost trying to find the right church for a wedding. Some really funny stuff. Some sweet. But dragged a bit. Could have used some zippier editing or maybe a few more contretemps thrown in. 3 out of 5.

Julia
Totally crazy movie about people making insanely bad decisions and then following through on them only to have even worse happen. A lot of it was really uncomfortable and hard to watch. But this is by far the most human I have ever seen Tilda Swinton be. So that was interesting. 3.5 out of 5.

Day 9, Oct 25

Snow
Beautiful. A Bosnian village of women whose men have gone to war and vanished, trying to find ways not just to survive for themselves but to keep their community together. Slowly paced. But really good. 4.5 out of 5.

Day 10, October 26

Terribly Happy
Denmark. This is totally Hot Fuzz, minus the comedy and upping the eerie stuff by half or more. Really creepy and nuts. Very entertaining. Lots of misdirection. Had a little sense of slapstick but in a very serious way. 4 out of 5.