The Soho International Film Festival just wrapped up after a week that showcased a diverse slate of films. The films I was able to see in this relative newcomer to the festival scene were something of a mixed bag, but the festival itself was enjoyably low-key, with little hassle and filmmakers available to talk after every screening. We reviewed the New York premiere of “Growing Up and Other Lies” here and read on for a quick look at some of the other featured films.
“Night Has Settled” – An affecting coming of age story set in 1980s New York. Thirteen-year-old Oliver lives in an unconventional family – his self-described “cool mom” prefers acting like a friend than an authority figure to Oliver and his older sister so the real matriarch is their Chilean housekeeper, whom Oliver idolizes. Already struggling with the turbulence of his teenage years’ onset, Oliver is left completely without an anchor when the housekeeper has a stroke. While sometimes overdirected in more emotional moments, the film sharply remembers the mix of confusion and exhilaration that accompanies the various “firsts” of that time period.
“Vino Veritas” – A film that sneaks up on you by doing a lot with a little. Two couples, one struggling with the sedate normality of suburban life, the other reveling in it, spice up a Halloween get-together by drinking a Peruvian wine rumored to act as a truth serum. Over the course of the evening, everything hidden in their lives comes out, from their disappointments with their spouses and children, to their uncensored feelings on religion and politics. The story’s roots as a play show, as the entire film is simply dialogue, but there is an inherent power and suspense in watching facades crumble after being cultivated for years and seeing if the couples can reconcile their desires with the truth.
“The Historian” – A movie about classics professors, made by a classics professor. An idealistic newcomer to a Southern classics department clashes with the declining standards of academia while romancing a grad student whose forbidding mentor is a vision of what he could become. The broad strokes of an effective plot are in place here, but the details are poorly structured and executed – unnecessary or too lengthy scenes, clichéd supporting characters, female characters that fall out of the sky and into the protagonists’ bed, and other problems endemic to films that actors write as a vehicle for themselves. The strongest aspects are the lead performances and the insider’s details of the academic world.
“Coffee, Kill Boss” – This movie peaked with a cool, animated opening credits sequence and then went downhill for an interminable 90 more minutes. This is a disaster of tone that mixes comedy with macabre murders but is neither funny, nor suspenseful. An annoying protagonist, an overbearing soundtrack, a “twist” ending that anyone who sees the poster or cast list can see coming, and other flaws conspire to doom what could have been an interesting premise – on the eve of a buyout, employees locked in an office start dying one by one. As it is, this is a frustrating film that pretends to have something to say about the American corporate climate but in reality is shallow and empty.
