It’s going to be an awesome festival. I can’t wait. And, even more exciting, my mother is coming with me! She and I attended the 2013 Ebertfest together, mainly because I had just been diagnosed and was still in the midst of the crisis. Still spiraling up and down, not stable at all. I needed her to help me manage my illness in the midst of all that film festival activity. She was amazing. And she also got Haskell Weller’s autograph. So, you know, it was a win-win for all involved. Now, though, I am stronger … so we will just have a blast, seeing movies, hanging out, and talking about everything we just saw.
It’s a wonderful lineup of films – the latest Godard! the magnificent Ida! Groundhog Day! – and I am really looking forward to it.
You mentioned Godard, so I have to ask if you’ve ever written about Band of Outsiders. I saw it last week. Really incredible.
Never written about it – but love it!
Funny, we were just discussing it a couple weeks ago on FB – because of how Band of Outsiders is used so memorably in Le Weekend (a movie I also loved.)
Here’s a couple of thoughts. I felt that the portrayal of bullying seduction which pulls Anna Kerina’s character into the plot, as well as the relationship of the two men and how they work together, was remarkably true to “life”. I was also simply floored by the closing scene at the end of the caper, when we are shown (but only if we are really looking closely–don’t drop your popcorn!) that the aunt is not dead. Godard’s willingness to put this extremely significant plot point at the very edge of our perception is really remarkable. The only comparison I can think of is Peckinpah’s use of the Mexican “cabin boy” character in General Mapache’s retreat from the railroad junction, and then again as the boy who kills Pike, during the final battle. All we get are brief glimpses, yet these glimpses, if we notice them, transform the story. I do look forward to your review of Godard’s new film. I’d put Band up there close to Contempt, at the top of the Godard canon. I’m all for subtlety, as a signifier of art. I guess that’s why I like Ozu more and more and more.
Welcome back to Champaign-Urbana! May your seats have good views and comfy cushions, and may this visit be even better than your previous!
Kathleen – Thank you!!
cannot wait! Find me in the crowd to say Hi if you think of it!!