CIFF, 10/12.

The Chicago International Film Festival has been rolling along for a week now and rolls on for another, through October 19. Jonathan Rosenbaum isn't exactly playing the Chamber of Commerce role many critics feel the need to slip into once the hometown festival opens. On Friday, he wrote in the Chicago Reader that the fest's "programming this year seems to suffer, as usual, from minimal clout, bad timing, disorganization, and the tendency of its better programmers to move on." Nonetheless: "Among the films in the festival I've seen that I can highly recommend - apart from Stranger Than Fiction, showing opening night, with Dustin Hoffman and Will Ferrell scheduled to attend - are Oliveira's delicious Belle Toujours, Chabrol's timely Comedy of Power, the startling yet charming Shortbus, the mysterious Slumming, and two provocative Thai films, Syndromes and a Century and Invisible Waves. And there are undoubtedly some things I don't like that you will."

Meanwhile, Mike Hertenstein has been blogging furiously at Flickerings. Taking his amusing ratings system into account, it does seem, as you read his sharply written reviews, that most of the films he's caught so far - about three a day - have been worthier viewing experiences than a Bears game. And that's saying bunches.

Posted by dwhudson at October 12, 2006 2:12 PM