LRFF, Day 3: Coming Home
So last night the slumping Hogs clinched the SEC West by the skin of their teeth with Hrozek's line drive off the right field wall in the bottom of the tenth. If the subject of Jafar Panahi's Offside weren't so kismetic, I'd be upset that I missed it (though I did manage to catch the last breathless minutes on the radio).
Set during a big soccer game in Iran that will decide whether the national team reaches the World Cup, the film follows five girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to sneak into the stadium. In Iran, the penalty for consorting with a group of rowdy, profane men can be pretty dire, and the suspense got heavy at times for such a seemingly light concept. Full of resonant humor and breathtaking performances, rarely is a film so convincingly and pleasingly celebratory while sneaking in such profound social commentary.
This morning, I got to the Riverdale just in time to realize that Friendly Persuasion was playing at the Historic Arkansas Museum, so I watched When I Came Home instead. Clearly, this is activist cinema, a message picture, but the depth of the film's concerns made good on their brief mention during the panel yesterday. It's hard to priviledge one failing of the war plan over the countless others, but Dan Lohaus (and especially Paul Reikhoff) make it abundantly and urgently clear that veteran's issues are as slippery as mercury, quick to disappear into the nearest crack.
At one, the Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel on "Making IT in Arkansas." Vincent Insalaco, James Cotten, David E. Allen, and the inimitable Joe Glass sat for an hour and convinced me that in order to attract more filmmakers to Arkansas, we'll have to push a very big rock up a very tall hill. Lively producer David E. Allen joked about setting aside "a nickel for every chicken," but, with some incentives expiring at the end of June, the mood was somewhat black. Good thing our natural resources include such energetic film-lovers as these. More here.
Up next:
Killer of Sheep (!)
Towncraft or Knocked Up (?)
Neo Ned
Set during a big soccer game in Iran that will decide whether the national team reaches the World Cup, the film follows five girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to sneak into the stadium. In Iran, the penalty for consorting with a group of rowdy, profane men can be pretty dire, and the suspense got heavy at times for such a seemingly light concept. Full of resonant humor and breathtaking performances, rarely is a film so convincingly and pleasingly celebratory while sneaking in such profound social commentary.
At one, the Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel on "Making IT in Arkansas." Vincent Insalaco, James Cotten, David E. Allen, and the inimitable Joe Glass sat for an hour and convinced me that in order to attract more filmmakers to Arkansas, we'll have to push a very big rock up a very tall hill. Lively producer David E. Allen joked about setting aside "a nickel for every chicken," but, with some incentives expiring at the end of June, the mood was somewhat black. Good thing our natural resources include such energetic film-lovers as these. More here.
Up next:
Killer of Sheep (!)
Towncraft or Knocked Up (?)
Neo Ned
