Thursday, September 13, 2012

Movie Buzz: Stories We Tell

In reading more about the Telluride Film Festival, I learned of Sarah Polley's latest film "Stories We Tell." I'm not sure how I missed this film but once you learn a little about it, I guess it's not that surprising. Plus, I've been working like crazy, as you can tell by my lack of posts over the summer, so I guess it's not unheard of.

As soon as I saw the mention of Sarah Polley's name, my heart jumped. I am in love with her film "Away From Her" (2006). (It shares subject matter with one of my biggest fears and is just a gorgeous film, starring the beautiful Julie Christie and equally wonderful Gordon Pinsent.)
There's not much out there about this film besides what the Canadian filmmaker and actress has already said. She's actually withholding from doing interviews and such until the film comes out. She wants people to experience the film for themselves without preconceived notions from journalists, reviewers, bloggers or the like. Sounds a little crazy in an industry that wants to tease you with any little tidbit to get you to buy a ticket. Ms. Polley is anything but a typical Hollywood type, which is why I love her (in addition to her amazing directing and acting abilities). 


Film, Doccumentary, Toronto Venice Telluride Film Festival
Promotional Image for Sarah Polley "Stories We Tell"
Her full statement on the film is available on the National Film Board of Canada website. She gives clues to the plot of the film and the events that started the process. It's a deeply personal film to her, perhaps more documentary than many documentaries. I for one am fascinated by storytelling, which I feel I'm terrible at but my sister and grandfather had a great gift for, and am excited to see this film though the subject matter may be emotional. In order to avoid becoming one of those people that put her own spin on the story, here are a few direct quotes to give you more information:  

Monday, September 10, 2012

UPDATE: Ginger and Rosa Trailer

Hey guys!
They've finally released the Ginger and Rosa trailer - woo hoo! Finally, some eye candy beyond the few images out there. 


Now, cross your fingers Sally Potter's fine film finds a US distributor.
Enjoy!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

UPDATE: Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa

As any of you know by now, I've been following Sally Potter's latest film like a hawk (see my original post and first update). Any tidbit of information is scooped up and passed on without delay. So here it goes... 

Elle Fanning and Alice Englert on set, photo by Nicola Dove
Behind the scenes of 'Ginger and Rosa' © Nicola Dove
As you may have noticed, the working title of her film, Bomb, has been replaced with the more descriptive Ginger & Rosa. It's making its way along the festival circuit as I write this. The first appearance I had wind of was this very weekend at the Telluride Film Festival that runs until Monday (9/3). According to the program (pg5), the film was shown Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the Director and Alessandro Nivola (Roland) making appearances. Oh what I wouldn't have done to make one of those screenings! This is mainly due to the fact that the film hasn't been picked up for distribution yet. It's bound to be but there's still a side of me that always worries. 


Annette Benning and Elle Fanning, photo by Nicola Dovee
Photograph of Annette Benning and Elle Fanning  © Nicola Dove
IndieWire's Rodrigo Perez wrote a favorable review of the Telluride screening. I highly recommend reading it through but here are a few quotes: 


"Lovely and devastating, challenging yet worthwhile..."

"...as the lead, Fanning is transformative, heartbreakingly conveying the inner life of an adolescent with an almost eerily nuanced command of her craft."

"Expressively told, Potter is a master of documenting the rich emotional inner life of characters...the director gets as close as humanly possible to capturing that exuberant rush of blood to the head. Elsewhere the picture is sparse and minimal, but always with a thoughtful, examining gaze that illuminates the lives of these frustrated characters."

"...Alice Englert... puts in a commanding performance that points toward a bright future."

"Philosophically landing in a place where moral integrity and passion can exact enormous cruelty on a person's life, Potter’s picture is clearly a very personal one, but its depiction of global and social destruction (or its potential) is still deeply humanistic and universal. Beautiful, yet dark and moving, unsparing, but told with a sympathetic eye, “Ginger & Rosa” is sometimes relentless in its examination of emotional pain, and as such may be a challenging picture for some audiences."

"... a layered and rich little gem of a picture about life, love, and trying to find and understand one's place in the world..."

Additional reviews for this screening are available from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and The Guardian

According to Potter's website, the film will have it's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 7th and has been invited to the New York Film Festival in October. Additional information for these festivals available at tiff.net and NYFF

I know I can't be the only excited about this film. Are you looking forward to it too? Do you think it'll be too serious for a wide release? I welcome your comments!