SIFF Day 22
Triangle (Hong Kong) 2007 ***
Three great Hong Kong directors collaborated on this film- Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Johnnie To. The story is a continuous narrative and is told using the exquisite corpse method. The film, perhaps understandably, has a rather complex setup and didn't seem to flow together well. The last 30 minutes filmed by Johnnie To were the best. The look of the film and the cinematography were beautifully done.

Sunrise (USA) 1927 *****
Next we attended a presentation of F.W. Murnau's innovative expressionistic masterpiece, the Academy Award winning Sunrise. It was screened at the Triple Door with live musical accompaniment with an original score written and performed by The Album Leaf. Sunrise remains one of the most visually stunning films and the addition of The Album Leaf's ambient synthesized rock score enhanced the experience tremendously.

Before I Forget (France) 2007 *
This movie was almost unwatchable. Yet we stayed and watched the whole thing. Go figure. Directed by Jacques Nolot who previously made Porn Theater which was also a bad film, but made up for it by being pornographic. Before I Forget follows the life of an aging hustler living with HIV. It is told in long slow shots where nothing happens interspersed with boring conversations of the central character meeting up with other aging gigolos. It really wasn't very good.

At most festival screenings Seattle audiences applaud politely even if the film is mediocre. When this film ended a few people applauded sarcastically in response to which everyone else laughed. It was the most amusing moment at the screening.

Total Movies seen: 79

*= Unclean, unclean
**= Crap, but doesn't make your eyes bleed
***= Watchable to good
****= Great
*****= Masterpiece/Classic