SXSW Dispatch

Austin may well be the only city in America where live music can be heard everywhere - through the inevitable crowds cramming the club doorways on 6th Street; over red checkered tablecloths at local restaurants; even at the airport! Over the last ten years, the city's reputation as an artistic (and political) island in the immense sea of conservative Texas has expanded to include expertise not just in music but filmmaking and interactive media as well, best witnessed at the latest installment of South by Southwest. In fact, this particular event has expanded so much that crowd issues have begun to emerge. Festival producer Matt Dentler acknowledged the surge when apologizing to a packed theater last week, "We just grew out of our clothes this year."

Imagine a relaxed combination of Sundance and Slamdance on a much smaller scale and with barbecue (and better weather). This winning combination means that it's quite possible to queue up for hours at the Paramount to see Ben Affleck and JLo in Jersey Girl and atone for it the next day at the Alamo Draughthouse (made famous by Quentin Tarantino's semi-annual film fest) with a beer and something truly independent such as Kevin Asher Green's Homework.

Winner of Slamdance's Grand Jury Prize, Homework takes a cringingly clichéd story of racial romance in the dance world and makes it worthwhile through the exquisite photography of Richard Rutkowski (who has worked on Buena Vista Social Club, Julien Donkey-Boy and Requiem for a Dream, amongst others). Using low lighting, filters and subtle colors, Green and Rutkowski manage to make their miniDV (PD150) feature surprisingly filmic and the beauty that comes with it carries along through its many long silences.

As arguments continue over the narrative mincemeat made of 21 Grams, Danish SXSW contribution and winner of the Best First Feature (La Caméra d'Or) at Cannes Reconstruction manages to play with structure while keeping its emotional thread firmly intact. Alex's (Nikolaj Lie Kass) flirtation with Aimee (Maria Bonnevie) turns into an overnight liaison. The next day he returns home to find that it is no longer there. Literally. In fact, according to his erstwhile girlfriend Simone (again Maria Bonnevie, compellingly playing the "everywoman") and other friends, he's never existed at all. From there, things just get more confusing as fate twists Alex's life around in increasingly labyrinthine ways while he tries to construct a meaningful, linear relationship with Aimee. Or is it all simply Aimee's writer-husband, manipulating the story of his latest protagonist? As actor Nikolaj Lie Kass himself admits, it's "not so much about plot, and [don't] try to make sense of it." Cryptic as it may be, the film has some touching things to say about true love and the perils of hesitation.

SXSW's Film Festival undoubtedly places an emphasis both on local filmmakers and documentaries that are unlikely to make it to the multiplex. Barbecue: A Texas Love Story, helmed by Austin documentarian Chris Elley (in its World Premiere), is an adulatory exploration of "the Texan life" told through the state's favorite food. Former Governor Ann Richards's pricelessly drawled narration is enough to give you the giggles, an experience made complete by the sight of her proudly brandishing a chunk of beef on the movie poster. But this documentary is about more than just laughing at eccentric Texans (which, let's face it, doesn't take a movie). To its sometimes treacly detriment, the film has a heart. "Holy" barbecue breaks through racial barriers at the New Zionist Baptist Church, fulfills a diplomatic purpose at LBJ's Ranch, is used as impromptu local currency, fosters dedication (in restaurant employees and owners alike) and keeps families together. Figures as diverse as Dan Rather, Kinky Friedman and the band Everclear all have something to say about the delicious and messy meal. Particularly moving is Denton local Steve Logan's tearful recollection of his self-owned barbecue joint which burned down recently after 23 years of hard work. The community is building him a new one and that's really what these filmmakers are interested in - their community.

As one conservative viewer observed, screening left-wing documentaries at SXSW is like "shooting fish in a barrel." He was referring to the much touted examination of GW Bush's key political advisor Karl Rove, Bush's Brain (based on the book by Wayne Slater and James Moore), which word-on-the-street had as poorly made despite the audience's rapturous response. Most of the people who missed the screening, such as myself, begged off because of the mind-blowing depression that even casual thoughts of Rove, political-manipulator-cum-evil-genius, tend to inspire.

Another documentary set to divide the politically conscious was Super Size Me (as a casual check of the film's message board on IMDb will reveal), the much talked about indictment of America's eating habits. Showing in the state which has five of the top twenty fattest cities in the country (including number one, Houston), this film is the perfect antidote to Barbecue. Director Morgan Spurlock won the Director's Award at Sundance for his hilarious and disturbing McDonald's-only eating experiment. The film is worth seeing even if just for the opening sequence featuring chubby kids singing a "fast food" school yard song complete with associated hand gestures. Later, a similar group of youngsters manages to identify a picture of Ronald McDonald but not Jesus. But it's really Spurlock's brilliant comic timing that makes this topical film (conceived during the McDonald's obesity lawsuits and certainly owes something to the recent popularity of Fast Food Nation) one of the inevitable slew of "must sees" this year. It seems that even American filmmakers have a problem with the US. Speaking of which, it was touchingly home-grown to see an audience of several hundred clap solidly for Dogville, Lars Von Trier's much anticipated anti-US film, which was funded by companies from Denmark, Sweden, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK... and the USA.

Finally, what would a film festival be without its midnighters? Actually, a better question might be, "What would a film festival be this year if it failed to book Undead as a midnighter?" This Australian zombie/alien gorefest boasts both a good sense of humor and 600 liters of fake blood. When meteors start falling from the sky in the small outback town of Berkeley, things start to go awry. Though critics continually compare the film to Peter Jackson's Braindead (aka Dead Alive), it certainly survives on its own. Likewise, in the true spirit of independence, Undead was self-funded by the directors (brothers Michael and Peter Spierig) along with their friends and family, shot in HD and edited on their home laptops. One CG effect took the brothers an entire year to complete. As perfectly summed up by Harrison, the movie's annoyingly squealing police officer, "When I was a kid, we f***n' respected our parents, we didn't f***n' eat 'em!"

One closing note about the physical layout of the festival. While all of the venues mentioned above are indeed within walking distance of each other, a few theaters (one in particular) were located a considerable distance from the center of Austin. Seeing as most downtown hotels are booked solidly, it should be apparent that SXSW is full of out-of-towners with limited mobility. Rumors of a shuttle bus were sadly untrue, an eventuality that I hope organizers are able to rectify next year. In a festival that seems to be all about the little guy, presume that they can't afford $50 there-and-back taxi rides.

Posted by dwhudson at March 20, 2004 5:58 AM