NaFF: Day 3

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Werner Herzog’s new documentary Encounters at the End of the World was the highlight of today. When the organization that funded the film learned that Herzog wanted to go to Antarctica, they made the filmmaker promise that he wouldn’t make another penguin movie. He made good on the promise and the film actually works better on a human level that it does on an informational one. Herzog’s focus is very unique for a documentary about a lesser-seen part of the planet: who exactly are these people that work at scientific compounds in Antarctica? What are their dreams? Punctuated by a sense of existential dread, Encounters at the End of the World is a profoundly interesting offering from Herzog.

Today was the day for short films. It would have been nice to attend all of the shorts programs, but we only made it to two because of time. There were also shorts before some of the feature length films. From what I attended of the festival as a whole, here are the ones that stuck out to me:

• By Modern Measure is a 6-minute American film, but made in French with English subtitles. It’s a fascinating little piece about how we privileged humans are so obsessed with pop-culture and the pleasures of a relaxed existence that we fail to realize the looming terror in the rest of the world. It’s available for download on iTunes.
• Bruno was a hit-and-miss 35-minute outing, but when it hit, it was awesome. The nostalgia for 90s sitcoms was pitch perfect and the ending had me laughing for about 30 minutes after walking out of the theater. DVDs are available for free from the director — a great deal. Take a chance and pick one up.
• A Day’s Work was shot the best of any short film I saw. It had a very polished, commercial look to it and tackled some important issues. There was a “fight sequence” toward the end that got a big long, but all in all it was quite well done.
• City of Cranes is the most fascinating film I’ve seen so far this year. The person who thought to make a documentary about crane operators in London had a brilliant idea. The film is only 14 minutes long, but there are a million emotions expressed during the run time. A remarkable little film.

My worst experience of the whole festival came today as well. Eden Court is directed by Paul Leaur and stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley (of Father of the Bride fame … back when she could act). It was a truly painful experience, one that I could only stand for about 40 minutes. Every performance was a convoluted piece of over-acting, the script was permanently on-the-nose (in a bad way), and the technical prowess backing the film made Facing the Giants look like a masterpiece. Disgraceful. It’s the first time I’ve actually walked out of a theater during a movie.

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Filed under Film, Stuff I did...

Tags: A Day's Work, Bruno, By Modern Measure, City of Cranes, Eden Court, Encounters at the End of the World, Kimberly Williams, Werner Herzog