Berlinale Forum, 2/9.

Well, I may not know what day it is or where I am, but I do know one thing: I smashed my previous record of four movies in a day with a walloping six movies today. It went a little bit like this:

The first two films were documentaries from the "Real Stories from a Free South Africa" portion of the Forum lineup. The first was called Through the Eyes of My Daughter, by director Zulfah Otto-Sallies from Cape Town, and focused on a year in the life of her 15-year-old daughter, Muneera. Guess what? Muneera could be a teenage girl virtually anywhere in the world. She wants a cell phone for her birthday, is bratty and rebellious, and wants to wear clothing more revealing than her father will allow. It is a personal account (almost to the point of single-minded selfishness), as well as a chronicle of the filmmaker's discovery of her own daughter.

The second film from South Africa was called The Meaning of the Buffalo, by animal photographer Karin Slater. The director began by trying to learn why the inhabitants of Lekgophung - a very small, very poor, very dry village - call themselves the Balete (Buffalo) People and subsequently adapted the buffalo as the town mascot. Unfortunately, no one can remember. All they know is that they are proud to be Buffalo People - simple, honest people living off the land. This is a beautifully shot, moving portrait of life spent in this small village waiting for rain.

Another documentary followed: Dying at Grace, a look at five terminally ill cancer patients at Grace Hospital in Toronto. If you are wondering what happens when you get to know - and like - five people and then actually watch them draw their last breaths, I will tell you: You spend two and a half hours crying. Is it voyeurism? Is it exploitation? Is it good documentary making? It may be a little of each, but I do know this for sure: Dying at Grace is extremely blunt, bleak and emotional.

Film as Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16 tells the story of the a very intelligent, funny and colorful man who virtually single-handedly brought experimental film to the US through his extremely adventurous programming at Cinema 16 in NYC. The cinema was active for, coincidentally, 16 years, beginning in the late 1940s, and was instrumental in starting many famous (and not-so-famous) careers, including those of Roman Polanski, Maya Deren, Agnes Varda and many more. Amos Vogel's passion for experimental film and lust for knowledge of all sorts comes through vividly in this solid, entertaining documentary.

B-Happy, from Chilean director Gonzalo Justiniano, was the first non-documentary of the day and was also an exciting, fresh surprise. It is the darkly comic but somehow hopeful story of a 14-year-old girl and the seemingly endless string of tragic events that follow her. Throughout, the film retains a sharp sense of humor and a dreamy, playful quality almost like a bizarro version of Amélie. The performances, in particular that of first-timer Manuela Martelli in the lead role, are excellent throughout. I really liked this film for its humor, performances, cinematography, music, overall tone... Ok, pretty much everything. In fact, I think this is my favorite of the 20 films I have seen so far in the fest.

As promised, the day ended with Infernal Affairs III. III is not nearly as violent as II and, despite considerably fewer criss-crossing plots, is much harder to follow. It includes many more romantic and dramatic elements and, over all, I found it much less entertaining and engaging than II.

If anyone needs me, you know where to find me: Delphi Theater, balcony, first row.

Until tomorrow, Cory.

Posted by dwhudson at February 10, 2004 3:32 PM