The 2006 Tribeca Film Festival celebrates its fifth year in Lower Manhattan, screening the latest in documentary, independent, foreign, and alternative movies. This year will also welcome the world premieres of the controversial doomed plane-ride United 93, the big-budget Tom Cruise star vehicle Mission Impossible 3, and the underwater extravaganza Poseidon. Despite a few huge releases, Tribeca generally embraces more obscure movies (unlike Sundance) that only the biggest film geeks would recognize.
And that’s why we’re here. While the movies that make $300 million at the box office will be written about in every paper across the country, the little guys will fall by the wayside and never get their five minutes in the spotlight. Some of them will be sparkly indie gems, and others will be the kind of artsy-fartsy crap that doesn’t even get acknowledged at the IFC Spirit Awards. But just like my grandma said when waving a fork with unfamiliar food in front of my face, you’ll never know until you try it.
Over the next few weeks, Edward Darell and I will bring you up-to-date coverage on a handful of films that Tribeca has to offer. Keep checking back regularly as we cheer—and smear—the films showcased at this year’s festival.
[THE MOVIES]
Al Franken: God Spoke (Showcase: Documentary)
Directors: Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus
Cast: Al Franken, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, John Kerry, Sean Hannity, Michael Moore, and many other political figures.
“It isn’t about power, it isn’t about winning—it’s about doing good for the people.”
Brief Summary: Al Franken, SNL veteran turned political satirist, tries his hand at documentary filmmaking with a mixed bag of comedy bits and social commentaries. The film opens with a spoof of God appointing Franken as his moral spokesperson for the country, but he too is incapable of explaining that whole ‘bear false witness against your neighbor’ clause in the Ten Commandments. That tongue-in-cheek opening paves the way for Franken to mock his rivals on the right (mainly by using their own footage), explore the rocky road of Air America, recover from election blues, and impersonate Saddam Hussein—equipped with bad hair and mustache—to entertain army men at a USO show.
My Thoughts: There is no denying that Franken can be an absolute riot when he wants to be, and thankfully he goes that route for a large chunk of the movie. Some of the funniest parts involve him poking fun at Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter, using tapes of them making asses of themselves (i.e. when Bill complains on his O’Reilly Factor program that too many people are giving free publicity to the dinky Air America station, while, um, doing it himself). There are also some silly reels from his Stuart Smalley character, most notably when Al Gore on SNL faces the mirror to deal with his Presidency loss.
As a movie to crack up an open-minded audience, it shines. Where it falters is when it gets too melancholy, in a stretch devoted to Franken awaiting the 2004 election results and morosely dealing with them. At this point it’s old news, and not a wound that many people want reopened. But unlike Fahrenheit 911, there are no manipulative antics or preachy things to make even liberals roll their eyes. Franken is a straight shooter and while the film doesn’t always work on a serious level, the hilarious segments are enough to make you forgive and forget.
Choking Man (International Narrative Feature: Drama)
Writer/Director: Steve Barron
Cast: Octavio Gómez, Eugenia Yuan, Aaron Paul, Mandy Patinkin, Kate Buddeke
“People listen sometimes but the brain doesn’t compute.”
Brief Summary: A depressed, hopelessly shy Ecuadorian boy named Jorge gets a job washing dishes at a run-down diner in Queens, New York. Just like Christian Slater’s character in Untamed Heart, Jorge develops a crush on a cute, perky waitress who works there. However, his refusal to speak more than two syllables at a time and his affinity for hiding in the bushes, don’t exactly have her grabbing for his belt. He also deals with a brutish bully who shamelessly flirts with his lady love in the kitchen, and a crazy roommate that randomly appears to belittle him. Life stinks for Jorge, who is having a tough time finding the American Dream buried beneath the daily drudgery.
My Thoughts: Remember what I was saying earlier about artsy-fartsy indie movies high on self-importance and low on quality? Choking Man is a prime example. The fact, point blank, is that Jorge is not just chronically shy—he is mentally ill. Not only does he hallucinate people and voices, he has strange compulsions to do harmful things, like leave fish bones in the soup for people to choke on. The film continuously zooms in on a poster of a Choking Man—a symbolism that is even less subtle than it sounds—and interjects scenes with surreal, colorful animated images that serve no purpose other than making me desperately wish I was seeing Punch Drunk Love instead.
There is an absurd scene where the restaurant bully tries to impress the waitress by standing and singing on a “magic carpet”, Aladdin-style. You know a movie is a disaster when you’re rooting for the village idiot to scoop the girl up on his carpet and take her miles away from the schizophrenic mute psychopath. At least there, she’d be spared from death by fish bone.
Flock Of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus (Discovery: Documentary)
Writer/Director: Randy Olson
Cast: Randy Olson, Muffy “Moose” Olson, Dr. Michael Behe, Dr. Jonathan Wells, Dr. James Hanken, Kathy Martin, Connie Morris, John Calvert
“I swear on the bones of Charles Darwin, it’s true.”
Brief Summary: Filmmaker Randy Olson explores the Evolution vs. Intelligent Design debate, by interviewing a slew of doctors/scientists/school board members on each side of the issue. He grew up in Kansas with his mom Muffy Moose (you can’t make a name like that up), and studied Evolutionary Ecology before moving to Los Angeles to make movies. Bringing the camera crew with him, he returns to his hometown to examine a local school board that tried to stop teaching evolution, because it conflicted with their religious beliefs. By testing both sides of the fence, he sets out to determine who the real dodos are, and if there will ever be peace between science and religion. (Answer: outlook not so hot).
My Thoughts: Borrowing the style of Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me, Olson creates Flock Of Dodos using the same dichotomy of humor and education. The movie is loaded with helpful trivia about both Evolution (the scientific finding that species have to keep changing to survive) and Intelligent Design (the belief that you can detect intelligence effects in nature—therefore, something higher had to have a hand in making things run so intricately). But it never feels like one of those dull college lectures that lull you to sleep. Why? Because it’s downright funny and imaginative.
For every person explaining why they believe one angle, there is an expressive cartoon or random sidetrack that keeps things light. For example, to dispute the logic of Intelligent Design, one person sets up a night vision camera to show a pet rabbit eating its own poop—since their food slides past their stomachs the first time around and has to be consumed again for digestion. True story, look it up. Even though Olson is clearly more in favor of Evolution (since it’s, er, rooted in fact), he interviews a wide array of prospects to share their ideas, and points out that the Intelligent Designers seem more friendly than the Evolutionists. What do you think should be taught in our schools? See the movie, have a few laughs, and decide for yourself.
[STAY TUNED]
More Tribeca coverage is on the way. Check back regularly at CinemaBlend.com for coverage before, during, and wrapping up the festival. We’ve got plenty more in store.
