Chicago International Film Festival 2006

Tzivi’s Post-Fest Update:

October’s 42nd annual Chicago International Film Festival included many outstanding new films, five of which (AVIVA MY LOVE, DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT, FAMILY LAW, FLANNEL PAJAMAS, and THE FOUNTAIN) were directed by Jewish filmmakers. FAMILY LAW, FLANNEL PAJAMAS, and THE FOUNTAIN all have US distributors and will be coming to theaters in metro Chicago later this year. AVIVA MY LOVE received a special plaque from the CIFF jury (which praised its “fine screenplay reflecting the richness and irony of a creative woman’s life”). Since it also won 6 “Ophir” awards from the Israel Film Academy in September (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing), we’ll no doubt have more chances to see AVIVA as well. I met with filmmakers Darren Aronofsky (writer/director of THE FOUNTAIN), Jeff Lipsky (writer/director of PAJAMA), & Shemi Zarhin (writer/director of AVIVA), while they were in town. Check this page again when these films are released for more details.

The big surprise was DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT by newcomer Julia Loktev, which received the FIPRESCI* Prize in the “New Directors” competition. This intensely-compelling film follows a suicide bomber for 48 hours as she prepares to detonate a back-pack full of explosives in Times Square. The character has no name, no backstory, and no explicit convictions. As Loktev explained during the Q&A session I attended: “I like movies that don’t tell the audience what to think. I kept her motivations hidden so if you identify with her, you will feel bad about it. She believes in what she’s doing, but we can’t understand what or why.”

Novice actress Luisa Williams plays a suicide-bomber
in Julia Loktev’s extraordinary new film DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT.
FF2 is grateful to Masha Alexander, the CIFF’s Media Relations
Coordinator, for all her help in obtaining background info & photos.
DNDN photo courtesy of Julia Loktev. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

For the first 24 hours, we live through the planning phase; in the next 24 hours, we live through the execution phase. What seems well-defined and precise inevitably turns chaotic as the would-be bomber leaves her ideological bubble and re-enters the booming, buzzing confusion of real life. The CIFF’s FIPRESCI jury called DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT “pure and innovative cinema.” It is shocking, sobering, and completely heart-breaking.

© Jan Lisa Huttner (10/20/06)

* FIPRESCI: Federation Internationale de la Presse Cinimatographique.

Second City
Tzivi’s

“Sneak Peeks”
for the
42^nd Annual CIFF

Oct 5 - Oct 19
2006

NEW FILMS BY JEWISH DIRECTORS

Title	Director	Country
AVIVA MY LOVE	Shemi Zarhin	Israel
DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT	Julia Loktev	USA
FAMILY LAW	Daniel Burman	Argentina
FLANNEL PAJAMAS	Jeff Lipsky	USA
THE FOUNTAIN	Darren Aronofsky	USA

EXPECTED IN PERSON:

Darren Aronofsky, Jeff Lipsky, Julia Loktev, & Shemi Zarhin are all expected to appear in person at this year’s CIFF. Aronofsky will also receive the “Emerging Visionary” award after THE FOUNTAIN screening scheduled for Monday night October 16th @ 7 PM.

Tzivi’s CIFF-06 Top Pick:

FAMILY
LAW

Directed
by
Daniel Burman
&
staring
Daniel Handler

All photos courtesy of
IFC First Take.
All Rights Reserved.

Ariel Perelman (Daniel Hander) refers to his father Bernardo (Arturo Goetz) as a “Zelig.” A master-schmoozer, Bernardo has befriended every client, clerk, & legal secretary in Buenos Aires. They tell him their secrets & he solves their problems; he never waits in line, & he never pays for lunch. He may well be the most popular lawyer in the history of Argentina.

Ariel is a “good boy.” He goes to law school, but instead of moving into “his office” in the suite of rooms leased by the firm of Perelman & Son, Ariel becomes a professor. Insofar as he rebels, he does so privately, slyly revealing Bernardo’s tricks-of-trade through pedagogic exercises. But he’s the only one laughing; his students will never get the joke.

Then along comes Gaston (Eloy Burman), & Ariel’s ivory tower collapses into a pile of dirty diapers. After a lifetime as his father’s son, Ariel must now learn how to be his son’s father.

The charm of this film is completely visual. There are no plot surprises, & it’s a foregone conclusion that these apples won’t fall far from their tree, but the cast is so convincing & the screenplay is so understated that I was totally mesmerized. Since both Perelmans are accomplished talkers, director Burman’s job is to show that the truth lies not in what they say but in what they do (including how they walk & how they talk).

The soundtrack is also delightful, with little Klezmer riffs to remind you that the Perelmans are an Ashkenazi family even though they all speak Spanish. Will scientists one day find a set of chromosomes that explain why so many in our tribe excel in the legal profession?

One hint: when Ariel’s wife Sandra (Julieta Díaz) insists that he serve on the committee tasked with organizing the kindergarten play, Ariel offers to provide the costumes. Tuck that little fact away in your memory bank, & the last scene will cast an especially warm glow.

FAMILY LAW is scheduled for two CIFF screenings:

LAW1 = Saturday 10/14/06 @ 7:30 PM (Landmark Century Centre Cinema)

LAW2 = Wednesday 10/18 @ 8:30 PM (AMC River East 21)

Click here for the FAMILY LAW page on the CIFF website.

Click here to read my review of Daniel Burman’s LOST EMBRACE.

LOST EMBRACE won the Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004, & star Daniel Handler (playing an earlier incarnation of a similar character also named Ariel) won the Silver Bear award for Best Actor.

Also Recommended:

	FF2 HAIKU: Aviva’s the primary bread-winner in a volatile Mizrachi family. Her days are filled with practicalities; nevertheless she’s also a writer living her emotional life mostly in her head. Rich bought every minute, but much as she wanted to Jan couldn’t quite fit the pieces together – even after a 2nd attempt. Click here for the AVIVA MY LOVE website.
	FF2 HAIKU: East Coast Jewish hustler (Kirk) meets Catholic girl from Montana (Nicholson). They marry & everything quickly falls apart. Lipsky’s a talented director who’s created a couple of wonderful set pieces & all the actors are first-rate, but Lipsky’s over-packed screenplay (based on his own first marriage) weighs film down Click here for the FLANNEL PAJAMAS website.
	FF2 HAIKU: Cancer-specialist (Jackman) collapses under the strain as his beautiful young wife (Weisz) succumbs to a brain tumor. Jan took everything as present-tense & was deeply moved, whereas Rich lost patience with the pseudo-Mayan jungle scenes & "New Age" time travel. Click here for THE FOUNTAIN website.