October 3, 2004

NY Film Festival Day 1

Roger Ebert called Undertow (by David Gordon Green) a masterpiece. Ebert's getting soft I think. We just saw the film at the New York Film Festival. I found it badly miscast (is Dermot Mulroney always the kiss of death?), but watchable with a few nice moments. Despite being muddled, it feels original with a deep sense of place an a feel for a region rarely seen except as parody or caricature on screen.

Jenn gave it a 3 out of 10 (I think she was overly negative because of the cheesy Philip Glass score and the looking-back-to-the-70's freeze frames which she didn't get). The problem I think is that David Gordon Green was overpraised for George Washington (which was a beautiful little film), was quickly a declared genius, and was allowed to run free without adult supervision. Now everyone expects each of his films to be some sort of revelation. A tall order for anyone. The result in this case is a minor southern gothic mess that most audiences won't put up with, but that critics will praise because because of it dares to aspire to that great tradition of auteur filmmaking almost gone from the American scene.

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We walked over the bridge today... I got Jenn to do one of the silly jumping pictures we like to do. This is Jenn landing:

posted at 01:57 AM by raul

Filed under: film

Comments:

10/04/04 01:56 AM

you guys seemm obnoxiously happy. since when do pregnant wives jump up and down (smiling no less!) while hiking over the brooklyn bridge!

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