Making Plans…

It’s that time of year again: the sometimes-infufferable but always-diverting San Diego Film Festival is on the horizon. This year, the festival has been shortened by one day: the usual Wednesday opening-night has been axed in favor of shifting the opening-night film to headline the full-day of films playing on Thursday. While this means I will end up seeing one less picture during the festival, it also will save me a commute’s worth of gas — I’m not complaining about the switch.

I attended the festival for the first time back in 2004, when the festival was young and the selection was abysmal. I saw five films that year and I only liked one of them. Time passed, and I skipped the festival in 2005. Last year, I decided to return to the festival and ended up seeing twelve features. A handful of these — The Queen, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Ten Canoes, Cronica de una Fuga, and Neo Ned — were terrific. Only a few (G.I. Jesus, Chasing the Horizon, Dirt Nap) were intolerable.

Heading back to the festival this year, I’m optimistic about the line-up. The films are lower-profile than they were last year, but many of them have already played at Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto (always a good sign). I’ve noticed that documentaries have grown more prominent among the selection this year, which could end up being either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

My tentative schedule includes 9 features and 5 documentaries. As usual, I won’t be watching any of the short-film programming; while I’m sure many of the shorts are quite good, they aren’t widely seen enough to attract visitors to my festival-reviews, nor are they usually inventive enough to redefine my opinions of filmmaking in general. Here is what I have planned to watch:

Thursday (9/27/07):

12:15pm - Phantom Love - feature, 86 mins. - I’m going to have to high-tail it from class to the theatre to catch this showing, but I’m going to try in favor of not having to make the tough decision of seeing it over Alex Gibney’s Taxi to the Dark Side on Friday. A sensual noir shot in B&W, it opened to great reviews at both Cannes and Sundance this year. I can’t wait.

2:45pm - Inside the Circle - documentary, 102 mins. - A hit breakdancing documentary at SXSW this year. I’m not incredibly interested in the topic, but I understand this to be a first-rate picture — reason enough to see it.

5:00pm - Finding Kraftland - documentary, 70 mins. - I’m mainly using this pop-culture-centered documentary as a placeholder, but it was generally well-reviewed when it played at the Santa Barbara Film Festival earlier this year, so it should be plesant enough.

7:30pm - Kabluey - feature, 87 mins. - This Lisa Kudrow-vehicle is a dramedy about the effects of the Iraq war. Let’s hope it’s not an overwrought lecture as early reviews suggest. Had it been regular festival programming, I likely would’ve skipped it. But it’s the opening night selection and I ain’t gonna miss opening night.

Friday (9/28/2007):

2:30pm - Adrift in Manhattan - feature, 87 mins. - It was nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury prize, stars Heather Graham and Billy Baldwin, and opens in New York on 9/21. All of these qualifiers suggest it will be good.

5:15pm - The Devil Came on Horseback - documentary, 85 mins. - This doc opened long ago in LA and NY, but word on the street suggests that it may be a masterpiece. I’m tempted to wait for DVD — I’m sure it’ll be there very soon — but its reputation has convinced me to watch it during the festival.

7:45pm - Little Fugitive - feature, unknown runtime - The placement doesn’t suggest a good movie (I saw G.I. Jesus in the same slot last year), nor does the fact that it hasn’t found a distributor in two years of festival playdates. Some reviewers like it, though, and I’ll have a shot to catch up with the other films playing at the same time on Saturday. I’ve got nothin’ to lose by catching it.

Saturday (9/29/2007):

12:15pm - The Pacific and Eddy - feature, 87 mins. - The movie hasn’t played at any high-profile festivals yet, but it received raves at Santa Barbara. I look forward to it immensely, especially given its prominent position in the festival programming.

2:00 hour - (I ain’t watchin’ the stoner-comedy Stone & Ed, so I’ll catch a regular TBD film in release).

5:15pm - Taxi to the Dark Side - documentary, 106 mins. - I don’t agree with Alex Gibney’s politics, nor do I admire many of his questionable filmmaking tactics. But he intrigues me, and I’m interested to give this one a shot.

7:45pm - The Cake Eaters - feature, 103 mins. - The subject of this one doesn’t much interest me, but it opened to some decent reviews when it played at Tribeca in the Spring, so I’ll check it out.

Sunday (9/30/2007):

12:00pm - For the Bible Tells Me So - documentary, 97 mins. - I’ve been contemplating skipping this documentary about the Christian Church’s views regarding homosexuality, but it’s likely to be nominated for an Oscar, so I might as well see it before it plays theatrically. Still, I’ll be amazed if it manages to come across as even slightly sympathetic to the ultimate good that is organized religion.

2:15pm - Expiration Date - feature, 94 mins. - Undoubtedly a placeholder; I’m dreading it, despite a good review in Film Threat. May switch this one out.

5:00pm - Coyote - feature, 93 mins. - World premire, controversial issue. Could either be a big surprise or a horrendous failure. Either way, I’m quite excited for it.

7:30pm - The Fifth Patent - feature, unknown runtime - Definitely not as high-profile nor as well-reviewed as last year’s closing night feature, The Queen. Also, it isn’t encouraging that the Closing Night Feature was announced three days later than the rest of those playing at the festival. I hope The Fifth Patient is able to prove my doubts wrong.

I hope to see you all at the end of the month! Again, this viewing-schedule is tenative for me, but could very well end up being what I follow given the extent to which I have researched the possibilities. If anyone finds these interesting, leave me a comment and I’ll post a similar entry for the San Diego Asian Film Festival, which kicks off in mid-October.