Film fest wraps up with great docs, so-so horror film
Saugatuck, Mich. — All right, this was my last day at the lovely Waterfront Film Festival before I have to head back to MSU. On my last day of soaking up all the sun and cinema I could handle, I made it count.
After a pretty solid display of films on Friday, the Saturday lineup looked really good. I screened two of the most talked about films at the festival and attended the midnight screening. It made for an interesting day of walking (or lost wandering) around the city. Even after growing up 20 minutes north of Saugatuck, I’ve never seen this much of the city, and judging by the pain in my ankles from the ripped up city roads, I never will again. While the heavy construction on one of the few main roads in Saugatuck was a challenge while trekking out to the farthest venue, the trip was definitely worth it. So I’ll stop complaining about my feet and get on to reviewing the films.
Pride of Lions
Directed and written by Louise Woerhle and John Woerhle
Documentaries don’t get nearly enough respect. As Navid Khonsari, producer of “Pulling John,” a documentary about the world’s preeminent arm wrestler, put it so eloquently yesterday, “Documentaries are the red-headed step children of narratives.” An unfair way of the world, but true nonetheless.
“Pride of Lions” demonstrates the indisputable power of documentaries to show us an otherwise forgotten aspect of the world. Documentaries don’t have to use metaphor or allegory, they are the world as is. There are few stories that need to be told and acted upon more urgently than that of “Pride of Lions.” The film takes an in-depth look at Sierra Leone in recovery after a devastating decade-long civil war.
By taking a huge story and making it about people, “Pride of Lions” manages to call attention to a desperate situation while telling a human story. The people in this film are astounding in their faith and forgiveness. They truly believe things will get better and their belief is inspiring. It’s unbelievable to see a man whose hand was cut off with a machete talking about the importance of forgiving those that injured him and his country. That total humility and allegiance to saving their home is a huge wake-up call, and it’s heartbreaking as well. If he can forgive someone who took his hand in pure rage, does the gap between Republican and Democrat really seem that big?
The work people are doing to rebuild Sierra Leone desperately needs attention and help, but slowly things are changing. “Pride of Lions” doesn’t try to hide the seriousness of the situation, but gives hope by telling the unbelievable stories of Sierra Leoneans and others who fight for a better future. “Pride of Lions” is a huge film in scope that’s small in story and I absolutely recommend it. It’s one of the most inspiring and humbling films I’ve ever seen.
Humpday
Directed and written by Lynn Shelton
Starring: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore
“Humpday” enters the festival with arguably the most buzz of any picture. It was a Grand Jury Prize nominee at Sundance and an official selection at Cannes and so far, the reputation is well deserved.
The film begins with Andrew (Leonard) showing up unannounced on the doorstep of his best friend from college, Ben (Duplass). Andrew and Ben’s lives took divergent paths after college with Ben going the traditional route of getting a job and marrying, while Andrew was walking the Earth as an artist. During a night of heavy drinking at a house that looked suspiciously like a co-op here at MSU, the men hear about a pornographic film festival. In their drunken stupor, they stumble upon the idea of making a gay porn with two straight men, treating sex as the ultimate act of appreciation between two men using the common parlance of our time: No homo.
The film covers the weekend after their announcement toward the climactic Sunday night hotel rendezvous to film the act. In the hands of lesser filmmakers and actors, this could have easily become a homophobic, vulgar sex comedy riff on the idea of male affection. The jokes and the unbelievably funny use of silences requires astounding patience on the filmmakers and actors. It’s accomplished work. The contemplation of masculinity and the bohemian ideal are absolutely hilarious and kind of tragic.
It’s interesting that the sex in the film becomes secondary to the psychological journey these men take to arriving at their decision. The frank way the film acknowledges that we’re not as cool as we’d like to be and the universal “grass is greener” is well executed and painfully honest, because let’s face it — we’re all not the people we would have liked to become. It’s funny, charming, thought-provoking and I loved it. However, beware trying to explain it to anyone, as it’s a much different film than you’d expect.
I Sell the Dead
Directed and written by Glenn McQuaid
Starring: Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman and Larry Fessenden
Midnight movies are always a special treat. The audience is there for an experience and always a little more rambunctious than usual. It’s also a great showcase for some films a little too extreme for a regular show.
The Waterfront Film Festival did well to add to the creepy atmosphere of the film by screening it down by the docks in a warehouse late at night — now if only the film had held up its end of the bargain.
“I Sell the Dead” tells the story of 18th century grave robber Arthur Blake (Monaghan). Blake is set to be executed at sun rise, the day after his partner Willie Grimes (Fessenden) faced the guillotine. As is customary, a priest (Perlman) shows up at Blake’s cell to hear his last words before his execution. So, over a bottle of whiskey, Blake tells the father of his adventures as a grave robber and seller of the undead in a world where vampires and ghouls are commonplace.
For such an interesting premise, “I Sell the Dead” drags like the dead. It cuts far too frequently back to the cell to the detriment of the pacing, and although McQuaid is a clever writer, it takes too long to get to the punchline and he creates fabulous villains only to have them killed off far too quickly. The twist ending almost makes up for earlier pace, but it takes way too long for the action to kick in.
I love Perlman, but this is not his best role. He brings a substantial amount of menace to the part, but he’s never very interesting to watch. However, Monaghan and especially Fessenden are terrific and make their scenes very enjoyable. McQuaid’s direction and set design are atmospheric and very stylish, but he didn’t quite get there this time. But don’t give up on him — eventually he’s going to nail it out of the park.
So that’s about it here from the Waterfront Film Festival. It’s a great experience and definitely worth the price of admission. I saw a lot of great films and I hope they find distribution because there’s a lot of quality here for everyone and I’ll definitely be back next year.
The opinions expressed above are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the State News.