David,
I can't see any evidence of "mustered bluster." If anything the "New York Media Establishment" has been ruthlessly persecuting the NYFF for its perceived "elitism" for years (and the correspondents of a certain major New York newspaper are leading the charge). I don't understand the hate for an institution that has kept the faith for over 40 years now. Like most festivals, they try to open with a mainstream film with popular appeal, both as an outreach and a way of raising a little money. Slapping them down for showing "Darjeeling" for $40 (and how much are opening night tickets to the Berlinale these days?) rather than offering Carlos Reygadas for $5 -- I just don't see the logic or the justification
behind reasoning like that. Like any nonprofit business in Bush's America, they need to raise their own funds to stay alive.

Dave Kehr

Dave, first, whoa: Hate's a strong word. Really, I typed this up this morning in a jesting spirit (I certainly don't take the "Anderson vs Anderson" thing seriously; I just saw a coincidence and decided to have fun with it).

The "bluster" comment is not aimed at the NYFF at all. Hell, I wish I were in NYC to catch nearly every film on the program. And if others deem it "elitist," they are, to my mind, willfully ignoring the mission of the NYFF, namely, to distill, from the hundreds of films that have appeared so far in the year to the best of the best. No complaints there, by any means.

I was rattled, though, to read that so many people would pay such a high price to see a film that, as Manohla Dargis points out, opens tomorrow at a theater a few blocks away, particularly a film that has not been, shall we say, ravishingly received. I understand the lure of being part of an event; but wow. I don't know how much a ticket to the opening night screening at the Berlinale goes for, but you've piqued my interest, and I'll try to find out. Regardless, hats off to the NYFF for charging a mere $5 for the Reygadas. That's one helluva deal - and less than half of any ticket price at the Berlinale, FWIW.

The "bluster" has nothing to do with any one publication, but rather, the cumulative effect. Some friends were recently in town, NYC-based film bloggers, and one of the things that came up was what I call the "If I can screen it there..." conversation (sung, of course, to the tune of "New York, New York"). I admire the city and its media for giving equal time to even the tiniest of its screenings. At the same time, this means that the biggest films in town will be not so much covered as swamped, mobbed, smothered, and a lot of that coverage is awfully redundant. Of course, since what I do is try to keep track of it all, I probably tire of it all a little sooner than others.

The run-up to Darjeelings opening reminds me a little of the steamrollers behind The Queen and Volver last year. I think it could be argued that, by the time awards season rolled around, The Queen had been pushed a little farther than it deserved to be.

And that's about as deep as my morning comments cut, really. Sorry if they came off stronger. Nothing to do with hate, to be sure!

After seeing Hotel Chevalier I can say I'm not holding my breath for Wes's stylistic exercise.

I will say There Will be Blood is a bold master stroke of cinema. Uncommonly well crafted performances meet in that rare pairing with artful, deliberate filmmaking.

full review at infy

My ticket stub tells me that I payed 10 euros for the opening night film at the Berlinale in 2006. ("Snow Cake", sadly, was no good.)

10 euros = $14.22 USD = 2 tix to Darjeeling + popcorn and pop