SXSW 2006 - Tuesday, March 14 - Day 5

After three straight 6-movie days, today's triple feature seemed to fly by. The scheduling seemed kinda wonky today, which is why I saw so 'few' films.

51 Birch Street
Director: Doug Block
SXSW Summary: Documentary filmmaker Doug Block always thought his parents' 54-year marriage was a good one. But when his mother dies unexpectedly and his father swiftly remarries his former secretary, he discovers a family history far more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. 51 Birch Street is a riveting personal documentary that explores a universal human question -- how much about your parents do you really want to know?

I added this movie to my viewing schedule after reading David Hudson's review, and am glad he put it on my radar. 51 Birch Street is an intensely personal documentary that questions how well you can ever really know someone, even (or especially) when that person is your parent, child, or spouse. The bulk of the documentary takes place after the death of Block's mother, and the subsequent announcement that his father is planning to marry his secretary from 30 years ago and move with her to Florida. While helping his father move out of the family home, Block discovers three boxes full of his mother's journals, and is faced with the difficult decision of whether he should read them. One of his sisters wistfully notes that if she had discovered the journals in time, she would have buried them with her mother. Block ultimately decides to read his mother's thoughts, and in doing so, in many ways meets her for the first time. Certainly, the 'revelation' that his mother was an actual woman with actual dreams/needs/fears seems to be something that Block (like many of us) never really considered. To further complicate matters, Block discovers that his mother was unhappy for most of her 50-year marriage and that she sought companionship outside the relationship. 51 Birch Street reveals the story of an ordinary but complex woman through excepts from her journal and interviews with people who knew her. After the screening we were lucky enough to hear from the director, the father, and the secretary as they revealed what this experience meant to them, and their hopes that it would inspire people to enter into a conversation with their own parents.

PATRIOT ACT: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie
Director: Jeffrey Ross
SXSW Summary: Inspired by the passing of U.S.O. perennial Bob Hope, Friars Club roast-master Jeffrey Ross takes up an invitation to join the U.S.O. in their ongoing mission - delivering punch-lines on the front lines. Having just bought a new camcorder, he travels to Iraq and captures his rare, intimate, and often times hilarious experience on camera. Armed with nothing but that camcorder and some jokes, Ross shoots his own life-changing experience as he travels alongside six other well known comics, entertaining battle weary G.I.'s stationed in some of the most remote parts of the Sunni Triangle.

Patriot Act is a short (71 minute) documentary shot by Jeffery Ross on a $600 camera during a 4-day USO tour through Iraq. Accompanied by Drew Carey and other comedians, Ross is transported from base to base, where he performs for and gets to know some of the soldiers who are fighting this war. In the Q&A afterwards, Ross said that he didn't feel that he had the ability/credibility to make a documentary about the politics of the war in Iraq, so he just decided to tell the story of comedians and individuals in Iraq. In that respect, the film succeeds. It ultimately feels like the kind of thing you'd see on MTV True Life: I'm a Soldier, and it doesn't really say anything new, but I suppose its always good to be reminded that these people are over there, and that they're experiencing a very difficult situation. The best part of the film for me was watching the experience of comedian/actor Blake Clark (Waterboy, Home Improvement), a man who went through two tours in Vietnam, and for whom the Iraq tour brought back some tough memories.

Hard Candy
Director: David Slade
SXSW Summary: A smart, charming teenage girl, Hayley probably shouldn't be going to a local coffee shop to meet Jeff, a 30-something fashion photographer she met on the Internet. But before she knows it, she's mixing drinks at Jeff's place and stripping for an impromptu photo shoot. It's Jeff's lucky night. But Hayley isn't as innocent as she looks, and the night takes a turn when she begins to impose a hard-hitting investigation on Jeff in an attempt to reveal his possibly scandalous past.

I went into this movie without knowing anything about it, and I think my experience was the better for it. I've since learned that the trailer gives away a major aspect of the film, and I'd advise anyone thinking about seeing Hard Candy not to watch the trailer, and not to read the rest of this paragraph, because Hard Candy is a visceral film that's more about the experience than anything else. As the credits rolled I had that same sensation I had the first time I saw Oldboy... physically exhausted and kinda like I'd been hit in the gut. Hard Candy starts with two people (Jeff, a 32 year old man and Hayley, a 14 year old girl) instant messaging each other and agreeing to meet up. After some mild flirtation, Hayley agrees to head back to Jeff's place. At this point I was pretty sure the movie was going to focus on the aftermath of the meeting, and was shocked when Hayley turns out to be more savvy than I first expected. Before Jeff (or the audience) realizes what's going on, Hayley has him drugged and bound. What follows for the next 80 minutes - as Hayley interrogates Jeff - is really fascinating, although a soon-to-be 20 minute sequence was, for me and much of the audience, horrific to watch. I can honestly say that I've never had an experience that intense in a movie theater. But the film isn't a one-gimmick movie. The two leads, Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page, do a fantastic job pulling what is essentially and hour and a half of two people talking. The way the movie continues to reveal new layers of each character was amazing, and reminded me a lot of the Linklater movie Tape. This film is getting a limited release April 14, and will be opening wider after that. More than any other film at this festival I'm curious to see the public's reponse to this one. Definitely not for the faint-at-heart, but an amazing film nonetheless.

Unfortunately, today was my last day at SXSW... I saw 21 movies in four days, several of which were really awesome. My biggest regret is that I didn't get to see TV Junkie, but at a festival like this you just can't see everything, especially if you leave 4 days early. Come back tomorrow for a wrap-up of festival thoughts, along with odds and ends pictures from the festival.

- Micah