November 13, 2007
SLIFF DAY 5 (recap)
Like a train turning around the bend towards its final destination so the St. Louis International Film Festival enters a second week.
By now I have yet to tire on seeing movies. However I have had my fill with the AT&T commercial. If they have to run a spot before films could they please run more than one. People are starting to recite it by heart as it is running.
The SLIFF ads are pretty great. They are funny and creative.
Despite a wide array of offerings I only saw two films today.
Dam Street
A pretty miserable and bleak film but one that is poignant, moving and well acted. I recommend it highly for anyone who loves Asian cinema. Director Li Yu has done a wonderful job of making an emotionally powerful fim with vibrant cinematography and tense drama.
Ploy
I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I was however, expecting more. Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is a SLIFF favorite and he has made some great films in the past ("Citizen Dog," "Monrak Transistor"). I was expecting this film to move a little better and more life ot it. It was was a bit more churlish than I would have liked. The crowd at Frontenac didn't respond to it very well and it seemed endless at times.
The big story of the day was "Disappearances" which had a huge crowd for it's showing at the Tivoli. A friend of mine went to see "Cyrano Fernandez" and loved it. He thought it was warm and touching and very funny.
Finally, many films on the schedule for this week are starting to sell lots of tickets. If there is anything you are really jazzed to see get off your butt and get tickets becuase the last week really moves fast and furious!