OFF LABEL: THERE'S SOMETHING AMISS WITH BIG PHARMA

 

Local documentary filmmakers Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher return to the NW Film Center tonight for the Portland premiere of their latest collaborative work, Off Label.  Inspired by the work of Carl Elliott (author of "Better Than Well" and "A Philosophical Disease"), the film is an exploration of the unethical practices of big pharmaceutical companies, ranging from the use of "human guinea pigs" to the encouraging of physicians to prescribe medications for off label uses.

Palmieri and Mosher do an interesting thing with the film.  They allow their subjects to tell the story without any intrusion from narration, text, or primary sources drawn from corresponding literature.  It creates an overall shape for the piece that is a bit more subjective than most documentaries on like topics.  But it also focuses the attention on the human aspect of the subject, showing a preference for exposing the impact rather than obsessively combing over statistical information; such work has been performed elsewhere, though some additional context is provided by former pharmaceutical rep Michael Oldani.

Like their previous feature-length documentary, October Country, this is a beautifully shot piece.  One could easily watch it for the endless stream of vividly rendered imagery alone.  But paired with the intimacy of the interviews, it forms a strikingly provocative piece about a problem that many would prefer to ignore.  Off Label doesn't allow you to tune out the pain of its subjects.  You'll leave the film still grappling with what you've witnessed.

Tonight's screening is a one-night-only event.  Hopefully, there will be other chances to see the film in town in the near future, if so, I'll post about it here or on the blog's Facebook page.

 

Off Label screens at the NW Film Center's Whitsell Auditorium (in the Portland Art Museum) on Wednesday, August 1st at 7pm.  More info available here.

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TOP DOWN presents THE PALM BEACH STORY: STURGES UNDER THE STARS

The NW Film Center's annual Top Down Rooftop Cinema series gets off to a rollicking start this week with Preston Sturges' 1942 screwball take on the romantic comedy, The Palm Beach Story.  As with most of Sturges' output, the film locates its humor in the narrow margins of what was socially acceptable in that era; in this case, it's an impending divorce that drives film's witty banter and absurd situations.

Gerry (Claudette Colbert) and Tom (Joel McCrea) are a married couple whose financial shortages inspire her to call it quits, citing the burden that she's become to him as reason enough to head on down to Palm Beach, where interested parties can get split up on the cheap.  Along the way to the city of their final separation, Tom and Gerry get entangled with a wealthy brother (Rudy Vallee) and sister (Mary Astor) duo who fall for them.  Oh, and I'd be remiss to not mention the presence of a guy calling himself the "wienie king" (Robert Dudley).

It all travels on a simple premise and, like in Leo McCarey's 1937 similarly-themed classic The Awful Truth, one can see from a mile away that this couple will, by the end of the picture, find themselves in each others arms once more.  Fortunately, the element of surprise really isn't the point of a film like The Palm Beach Story.  Like the best of these classic rom-coms, this is a picture in love with winking at the audience, letting us in on the joke quite early so we can laugh it up as the misguided actions of the characters multiply.  All the while, it assures us that everything will work out in the end.  The expected uplift is just part of the deal.  After all, who would really want a realistic, downer of an ending capping off a film such as this? 

The NW Film Center's Top Down Rooftop Cinema series presents The Palm Beach Story on Thursday, July 26th at 8pm.  More info available here.


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POSSESSION: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT @ THE HOLLYWOOD THEATER

Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 film Possession is one hell of a weird film.  Both Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani writhe and shout their way through the film.  Their characters and the relationship between them shifts constantly, the plot is clouded at times, and it all ends (predictably?) in a sweaty, tentacle sex-filled nightmare where identity and fidelity are both called into question.

This evening offers one more chance to see the 35mm print of the director's cut at The Hollywood Theatre.  Lovers of psychosexually-charged and unhinged material won't want to miss it.

Here's what the Hollywood has to say about the film:

For fans of the early films of David Cronenberg and David Lynch, this movie blurs the line between high art and grotesque horror. The film was heavily edited when originally released in the United States, with over 40 minutes cut from the running time. This new print is the original director’s cut of the film. Possession (1981) Mark (Sam Neill) comes home from months on the road to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani in an incredible performance) ready to divorce him. Distraught and angry, he tracks down her lover, but discovers a secret hidden from both of the men. Anna has given birth to a demon lover, and she’ll go to violent lengths to protect it. When doppelgangers of Mark and Anna appear (also played by Neill and Adjani), the couple grow increasingly erratic, as they sink deeper into madness and obsession.

Possession screens at the Hollywood Theatre on Saturday, July 21st and Sunday, July 22nd at 9:30pm.  More info available here.


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TAKE THIS WALTZ: A DEEP LONGING, EXPOSED

There's a modest ambition coursing through the center of Take This Waltz, the latest film from actor turned director Sarah Polley.  Her elegiac 2006 directorial effort Away from Her was among the strongest debuts of the previous decade.  Take This Waltz doesn't quite reach the heights of that earlier work but its unerring focus on the sometimes dichotomous nature of domesticity and romantic love makes for a powerful interrogation that aligns the two films thematically.  With this new film, Polley peels back the facade on a seemingly happy relationship, locating a deep longing widening an already present gap in the marriage of Margot (Michelle Williams) and Lou (Seth Rogen).

Yet another film about a married couple whose friendship remains strong even as their physical connection is waning might not seem like anything new or special, but Polley is a gifted filmmaker who understands that showing us Margot's quiet moments of discontent is a far more effective storytelling strategy than having the character explain her emotional state.  While on a business trip, Margot has a chance meeting with Daniel (Luke Kirby), a man who ends up being her new neighbor.  Unsurprisingly, her instant attraction to Daniel only widens the gap between her and Lou and it's not long before Margot begins finding daily excuses to run into Daniel..

As is often the case when actors make the transition into directing, the film is truly an actor's piece; Williams is brilliant and Rogen turns in what might be his best performance yet, actually evoking a lot of depth behind the usual nervous joke-making that so often constitutes his on screen persona.  Also of note is Sarah Silverman as a relative whose recently won sobriety casts her as a giver of sage advice, particularly when it comes to how not to live one's life.

Take This Waltz is a film that works on almost every level.  There's a spare and lived-in quality to the writing and performances that betrays great respect for the audience.  Plus, there's the pleasure of watching as Sarah Polley, long one of the better actresses working in independent film, continues to cement the impression that she'll grow into one of the indie world's best directors.

Take This Waltz begins its run at Living Room Theaters on Friday, July 20th.  More info available here.


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BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD: MAGIC AND LOSS ON THE LOUISIANA DELTA

I'm not usually in the habit of posting about films after they've already begun their theatrical run here in town.  But last night I hit a screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild with friends and was so impressed that I'm feeling the need to write as a means of processing it.  To cut to the chase, I loved it; I'm already scurrying to find a small amount of free time (not easy w/ an 8 month old in the house) to go see it again. 

Those of us who regularly return to the comforts of the movie house are a masochistic bunch.  The overwhelming majority of films we experience while sitting in those seats range from mediocre to just plain terrible.  And yet, we find ourselves, time and again, leaning back in the dark and peering up in hopes of experiencing an illuminating vision collectively.  There's a reason for all this hoping against hope.  We return because we're optimistic.  And we're optimistic because we've seen magic hit the screen before and the memory of it, no matter how faint, has implanted a yearning for more, regardless of how many lifeless, clichéd misfires might have passed before our eyes since we last saw that precious spark.

Beast of the Southern Wild is made of such magic.  It's a wild, unruly sort, and while it may not yield a movie grounded in perfection, there's little doubt that the chances taken in order to conjure this cinematic spell will extend one's belief in film just a little further, if one is willing to go where the film takes you.  This is a greatly ambitious first feature from director Benh Zeitlin, filled to the brim with risky transitions between passages that soar to ones based in somber ruminations, painting a deeply textured world that has more in common with the writing of Faulkner than with your average celluloid adventure.

You also might recognize within it the influence of Malick, George Washington, John Sayles (The Secret of Roan Inish is the obvious touchstone, but also his very underrated 1999 picture Limbo), and a general aesthetic of of tone based in absence and loss that's been quietly burbling under the surface of most recent American realist cinema.  All of which doesn't prepare you for the insertion into the mise en scène of aurochs roaming the film's Louisiana Delta setting (their presence bringing to mind the Leonard Smalls character that shadows H.I. in Raising Arizona).  Let me be clear, there's no mimicry at play here, Zeitlin masterfully blends these influences in manner that makes them his own.

Without a doubt, the presence of Quvenzhané Wallis as the six-year old protagonist, Hushpuppy, is what sells even the most far flung of Zeitlin's ideas (and notions of which ideas work and which don't will likely vary greatly depending on who's viewing the film).  It's been a while since I've seen a performance from a child actor capable of exhibiting such range, maybe since Whale Rider (yet another film that Beasts resembles at times).  Dwight Henry's turn as Hushpuppy's father, Wink, anchors Wallis' uninhibited approach whenever he's on screen.  Their onscreen rapport feels lived in, seasoned beyond the younger actor's years.

As for plot, well, I'm not really going to get into that at all.  I purposely went into the film totally blind.  I hadn't even seen the trailer (linked below).  I'd recommend ignoring that link and encountering it without any bloody notion what you're about to see.  Not a spoiler: it's a wonderful surprise.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is playing now at Cinema 21.  More info available here.


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ECSTASY OF ORDER: THE TETRIS MASTERS -- 5 QUESTIONS FOR DIRECTOR ADAM CORNELIUS

A lot of people have played Tetris.  Millions, in fact.  And many of them, myself included, have returned to the game periodically to find it just as addicting as it was when they first encountered it.  The common experience, though, is that the game always gets the best of you, usually not too long after the difficulty ramps up a few notches.  But what of those individuals who never put the game down at all?  What about players whose mastery allows them to sail past levels that crush the average enthusiast? 

Portland-based documentary filmmaker Adam Cornelius went searching for the story behind the game's most devoted, advanced players.  His film Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters follows former Nintendo World Championship (NWC) finalist Robin Mihara as he organizes a tournament of master players (including NWC champion Thor Aackerlund).

Cornelius will be hosting a screening that doubles as the film's dvd release party this coming Friday night at the Hollywood Theatre.  Leading up to that event, he was kind enough to answer a few questions about the film and its subjects.

NICK: What drew you to make a film about prodigious players of Tetris? And to further unpack that question: why now, almost 30 years after the game’s creation? What is it about the game and its players that brought you to explore the topic? And what’s your own explanation for the enduring appeal of Tetris so many years after its introduction? 

ADAM: The simple answer is I had been trying to master Tetris myself. So I was watching YouTube videos of record games by the people who are now in the movie to try and learn from them. But I really didn’t see a documentary film there because the whole scene was just people recording their games and mailing them to Twin Galaxies to be posted on the Internet. There was no human interaction or filmable action, frankly. In spite of that, when Harry Hong finally maxed out the game, as a Tetris player myself, I was just blown away and really wanted to go down to LA and shoot an interview with him and make a little video of some kind. Once I put that video on the internet (called Max-Out!) the whole movie just came to me from that point on. I met Robin Mihara who had been interested in putting together a tournament and it was just a critical mass kinda thing that grew exponentially into what you see in the movie. 

It is great that the game is old, because we have this group of people who’ve been playing the same simple video game for 20+ years, and since video games are relatively new, that’s unprecedented. So it warrants some reflection. In this case, especially for the guys who were in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, a lot of hopes and dreams are wrapped up in this game. So there really is a history there that gives the movie some depth. When I started I hadn’t even heard of the 1990 NWC. So there’s another example of how things just unfolded before me and I had to put it all together and tell the story. 

My explanation for the greatness of Tetris is it is elemental and almost feels like an ancient game. For people who play all the time, it takes on almost a talismanic property where people talk about the Tetris God and the game denying you the pieces you need at critical moments. So you keep going back, hoping to get some cooperation from the Gods and break your high score. The truth is the top players in the movie have genuinely mastered the game and have managed to mostly remove the luck element… in a way they have given the Tetris God the finger, which is what we all wish we could do. 

NICK: Your previous film, People Who Do Noise, was about musicians participating in the Portland, Oregon noise scene. Does Ecstasy of Order fit into a larger fascination within your work for documenting individuals operating outside the trends of dominant pop culture? Or is there another explanation as to why you’ve focused in on these stories? 

ADAM: Well, first off, in both cases it was something I was directly involved with. In 2005, I played guitar in a drone-metal/guitar feedback band, and we ended up playing a bunch of noise shows, something I hadn’t had much exposure to. I discovered I really liked noise music, and viewed it as a really legitimate art form. And I was just blown away that most people didn’t even know it existed! Like everyone’s heard of abstract visual art, but you bring up abstract sound and just get blank stares. Even people who listen to extreme music like death metal or punk can be outright hostile and amazingly close-minded towards noise. So its just my way of trying to, I don’t know, generate some relevance or spotlight it in some way. And yeah, within that extreme marginalization comes a deep camaraderie that I found really touching. 

Tetris was the same way, in the sense that Harry’s max-out was front page news in my mind, like climbing Mount Everest, but in reality almost no one cared. So something compelled me to go to him and try to glorify his achievement. I mean, I actually hope the film becomes famous so that people will take competitive Tetris seriously and perhaps a more established league can form. That’s actually been one of my goals from the start, along with, of course, making a good movie. 

Another bond the films have is they depict people who’ve developed an almost spiritual connection with technology. In the case of the noise musicians, they’re like these mediums who’ve awakened all this broken circuitry and are having a séance. With Tetris, you have the Tetris God and I do feel the game becomes a meditative exercise. That’s where the title comes from.

NICK: There still lingers in the public mind at large an assumption that video games are a medium not to be taken seriously. From the get-go, Ecstasy of Order argues that Tetris is a serious game based in strategy and timing, there’s even an attempt in your film to align the game’s complexity with that of chess. Did you feel that Tetris needed defending? And, if so, was it a matter of principle, a means of building a basic argument within your film or somewhere in between? 

ADAM: Well Tetris is actually marketed and sold here in the States as the “Godfather of Casual Gaming” which is true. But I was still surprised that when I would bring up my film to people, they would often laugh and think I was joking. In my mind there’s no debating Tetris’s legitimacy as one of the great strategy games of all time. But people often don’t realize there is an elite level of play, and they don’t know what it entails. So I wasn’t defending it, more so just explaining it so that the audience could understand the challenge the game represented and hopefully enjoy the action of the tournament more during the film’s climactic scene. I’ve gotten enough positive feedback on that to think it basically worked. 

One of the most common reactions to the film is that people really want to play Tetris, because now they understand how the game should be played! They want to see if they can build a wall, leave a well, and burn lines while waiting for a long bar, instead of just blandly clearing lines at slow speeds. Even my parents got a Nintendo after seeing the film and they are way better than they were when I was a kid. 

NICK: For me, the most surprising and affecting moment of the film occurs when we finally get to meet Thor Aackerlund, the formerly teenaged Tetris champion of the early 90s. He’s been the elephant in the room for much of the picture, with the other players constantly spouting their theories about his skills, his undocumented claims of surviving the Tetris “kill screen,” and whether or not he’ll even show up for the competition. When the now adult Thor does make the scene, he comes off as quite modest and very candidly opens up about a past filled with personal tragedy, shifting any understanding we might have had about him as a “character” prior to that moment. Did this turn of events surprise you? Were there any other notable discoveries made during the course of production? And were there any moments that you ended up leaving on the cutting room floor that you now wish you had included in the film? 

ADAM: Well, I try to let Thor’s appearance in the film speak for itself. I will say that the way it unfolds in the movie is directly what I experienced behind the camera. All I had to go on were these rumors and this growing suspicion that Thor was some kind of fraud or a recluse. We really weren’t sure if he was going to show up or not. So its all true. I feel very lucky that the film has a real story that unfolded organically during the shoot. I think that’s often what sets apart the really memorable documentaries, is when they actually capture a real story arc in the present tense rather than being forced to manufacture one or remain stuck in the past. But you really just have to feel lucky if it happens. 

My biggest regret is that we did not do more to hunt down the other Nintendo World Champions who lost to Thor in 1990. Frankly from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, Thor is not the only finalist who went on to have a troubled life. But maybe he encapsulates that whole experience and its not needed. 

NICK: The screening at the Hollywood on July 20th also functions as Ecstasy of Order’s dvd and soundtrack release party. Congrats on bringing the film to the home video market. Are you already planning your next project? And, if so, would you feel comfortable sharing a little about it? 

ADAM: Thanks. It means a lot to me to have Portlanders come out and see the film and ask Robin and I some questions. I try to remind people that Robin Mihara was born in Portland and the film is about him as much as anyone, so it really is a Portland story. 

I have many ideas. There is an event in Texas called the One-Armed Dove Hunt that I’m hoping to shoot. It will be new for me because I will be a complete outsider. I have never hunted, and I am not an amputee, so it will require a higher degree of empathy on my part. I would also like to do something about primitivism and living off the grid. But I am so busy with the Tetris stuff that its hard to move on. We are hosting the 2012 Classic Tetris World Championship at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo on September 29th and 30th, so keep an eye out for that if you want to see Ecstasy of Order stars duke it out in person! 

Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters screens at the Hollywood Theatre on Friday, July 20th at 7:30pm.  More info available here.



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TURN ME ON, DAMMIT!: NAVIGATING TEENAGE LUST, NORWEGIAN-STYLE

Playing out like a slightly more benign, Norwegian version of Welcome to the Dollhouse, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen's Turn Me On, Dammit! was the best thing I saw at this year's PIFF that I didn't end up writing about at the time.  Delving into the budding female sexuality of its protagonist, it tells the story of Alma (Helene Bergsholm) whose coming of age is further complicated when a mishap with a boy she likes results in her being ostracized by her peers (could there be a less desirable high school nickname than "dick-Alma?").

Turn Me On, Dammit! doesn't shy away from the more painful aspects of Alma's experience but, mercifully, it does temper the misery with humor and true insight into the adolescent condition.  Funny, great stuff; don't miss it.

Turn Me On, Dammit! begins its run at Living Room Theaters on Friday, July 13th.  More info available here.

 
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