Audrey Hendrickson

After last night's screening of Cyrus--which opens at the Harvard Exit next Friday--John C. Reilly and director Jay Duplass were on hand for a Q&A. They discussed the ins and outs of the new movie (not to mention shooting on film vs. digital), as well as John's innate talent for improvisation, the Duplass brothers' potential for making a mumblecore sequel to Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, and what John has in common with Bob Dylan. Spoiler alert: This of course involved John doing a Dylan impression. 

Both John and Jay came off as smart, funny, and down to earth, with a strong belief in their work on Cyrus (with reason--the film's good). Just don't ask John to perform a duet with Will Ferrell at your wedding, buddy--it ain't gonna happen.

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Laura Poitras' film The Oath won a documentary award at Sundance for its portrayal of two men's involvement in the War on Terror: Abu Jandal, a Yemeni taxi driver who was Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard, and his brother-in-law, Salim Hamdan, Bin Laden's driver who you might know from a little court case called Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. 

Poitras explores the divergent roads these men's lives took through interviews with the cagey Jandal, whose political views changed post-9/11, and Hamdan's letters written from Guantanamo Bay. I talked to Laura during SIFF—the first part of the interview is here. The Oath is following up its SIFF showings with a run at the Northwest Film Forum, through Thursday. 

An interesting topic that comes up in your film is the conflict between the old members of Al Qaeda versus the newer ones. They have different goals, different ideals, and different ideas of who is staying true to Islam and who isn't. We tend to view Al Qaeda as monolithic and paint the entire organization with a broad brush.

We do, the general public does, but the people working intelligence don't. And I think that it is important to recognize the difference between the younger and older generations. It's interesting that [Abu Jandal] is being threatened by the younger generation, by—in a sense—his own people. And I think that teaches us a lot about the inner workings.

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Your film also takes a look at The Dialogue Committee [a kind of terrorist rehab], which is a movement you never hear about, with the idea that that jihadis can be reformed. It's also interesting to see Abu Jandal as terrorist turned family man, where he's just a dad and a taxi driver, but he also has this history, and he's still talking to men about jihad.

I found it pretty compelling…. It's the fact that people get older. I think that there is something about family and responsibilities that has its inherent de-radicalizing effect. So it's a combination of that, being in prison, and then having The Dialogue. Everything kinda contributed to him turning away from the tactics [of terrorism]. 

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Going into the nuts and bolts of the film and how it looks, why did you choose to use text for narration instead of talking heads or voiceover?

I hate narration. It suggests a unified voice, and I'm not interested in that. And I think that the text cards function differently at different times [in the film]. So sometimes it's just context, but sometimes it's more of a news flash, like a bit of a slap, "Oh, deal with this." So when the text says that that [Jandal and Hamdan] are married to sisters because Bin Laden instructed them to, then all of a sudden you're seeing things differently. Like, "Whoa, this is getting deeper, this is not typical information." 

In a certain way, they're sorta winks to the audience. Something is happening on the surface, and we're going to give you some information to allow you to see this differently. We had a lot of exposition to get in, and so it was how to find a way to provide this background. And in a certain way, the text helps to create chapters, some sort of contour around the scenes.

Are you working on your next project yet? [Poitras has said that The Oath is the second film in a planned trilogy.]

I'm researching it right now. I'm interested in a few different themes, which is typically how I begin a project, with a theme. So it was "Guantanamo" [for this film], "occupation and democracy" was the theme before I went to Iraq [for My Country, My Country]. So, issues or themes that I'm interested in: I'm interested in the 9/11 trials, if they happen in federal court. Cameras won't be allowed in there, but what happens in that circumference? If they happen in Guantanamo in a military commission, I'm not interested, because I've done that. But if it really actually happens in a federal court, I'd be interested in pursuing that as a story. I'm interested in domestic surveillance. I feel strongly that I want the last part of the trilogy to be set in the U.S.

You think that it can be just a trilogy? I mean, this is ongoing….

I know! I think, "Oh that could be a film, oh that could be a film…." So potentially it could be a creeping trilogy. I could imagine being interested in these themes for a long time. I'm trying to approach the films in very different ways. The Oath is very different from My Country, My Country. But they wouldn't be possible without each other. 

I gave this post a rest during SIFF, just because there were already more than enough movies to go around. That being said, you didn't miss much: the biggest new releases on DVD were Alice in Wonderland, Dear John, The Road, and Shutter Island (and you all know how I feel about that last one).

There was also Califone's first foray into film, All My Friends are Funeral Singers, the sequel to Planet Earth, BBC series Life, Oscar foreign film winner The Secrets in Their Eyes, David Cross' latest Bigger and Blackerer, and Saturday Night Fever by way of Pinochet Tony Manero. Let us not speak of The Wolfman, nor From Paris with Love.

Now let's take a look at more recent releases on DVD, care of our good friends at Scarecrow Video. Last week offered up terrible rom-com When In Rome, terrible post-apocalypse The Book of Eli, and terrible indie flick Happy Tears. I haven't seen Youth in Revolt, but I liked the book when I was a youth and it stars cutie pie Michael Cera, so I will reserve judgment at this time. There's also Mary and Max, a stop-motion animation feature with the voices of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette, and the Criterion edition of Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train.

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In terms of live performances, Lewis Black does his verge-of-a-stroke shtick in Stark Raving Black. And there's actually a lot of documentaries out last week. Collapse is a long interview with a man who is certain that the end is near Sex Positive examines safe-sex pioneer Richard Berkowitz, while War Child looks at former child soldier turned hip hop artist. Burma VJ was nominated for an Oscar for its coverage of the brave journalists who risk their lives to bring news of abuses in Myanmar to the outside world.  On the lighter side, It Came from Kuchar looks the low-budget DIY directors known as the "8mm Mozarts" who predate YouTube.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the grand opening party for the Hard Rock Seattle three months after the fact. Look guys, if you wanna have a party, have a party, but there’s really no reason to term it a "grand opening" event that late. There's also no need to schedule it so that it conflicts with SIFF's opening night, but that is another story.

Regardless, HRC knows how to throw a bash. Four words: open bar all night. Not to mention the huge spread of food, the mass guitar smash featuring local luminaries like Steve Pool and Sir Mix-A-Lot, and high energy performances by Ra Ra Riot and The Thermals.  (Thanks to Jeff for the vid.)

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Fast forward to the Hard Rock last night, when the Weekly hosted their first (annual?) Best of the Web Awards.  Upon arrival on the second floor, after getting scared by the all-silver living statue guy, guests were given one measly drink ticket, good for a draft beer or a glass of wine.  At this party, most of the local luminaries, even the award-winners, failed to show--wherefore art thou, Cliff Mass?  And the table o' food was modest, but sliders and chicken fingers are always fine by me.  Smartly, the tvs around the room (except for the one showing basketball) were churning through viral videos on repeat. Best of all: the brief Lady Gaga dance party (see video below), which I refuse to call a "flash mob."

I Can Has Awards?  Ben Huh was on hand to pick up yet another. Urbanspoon stole the Best App award from One Bus Away. The Sonicsgate boys were there to receive a well-deserved award for their shameless self-promotion near-ubiquitous online presence, though they were more interested in Game 7.  And of course, Monica Guzman won the award for Sexiest Blogger, as she is a princess amongst internet ogres.

And then the awards were all given out, the Lakers won the championship, and the Hard Rock Cafe wouldn't allow the living statue man to use his diesel exhaust-spewing chainsaw indoors. Surely that's a metaphor for something.

It's the final episode of Top Chef Masters, in which Rick Moonen, Susur Lee, and Marcus Samuelsson are competing for $100,000 for the charity of their choice and the title of Top Chef Master. The chefs are all shoved into the backseat of a Lexus and end up at L.A.'s Union Station. Kelly is there to let them know their final challenge is to create a meal celebrating their individual journey as a chef. Choo choo!

The meal is comprised of three courses. First course: a dish inspired by the chef’s first food memory; second course: a dish inspired by the experience that made him want to be a chef; third course: a dish that describes him as a chef. The judges will be Tom Collechio and the three finalists from the first Top Chef Masters season, Michael Chiarello, Hubert Keller, and Rick Bayless, the winner of season one.

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Rick was eliminated in the first round last year, but he's glad to be in the finals this year. Susur says, "It's a very emotional thing.  I've never done that before, to reflect those journeys. Three plates have to tell my story, it's pretty epic." But first breakfast at Union Station! How better to reminisce about one's first food memory than a meal at a train depot? They start to devise their first food memory menus.

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Marcus: first course - smoked char with sweet horseradish and shellfish broth, mashed root vegetables
Rick: first course - hamachi and live sea scallop crudo, glazed kushi oyster, American sturgeon caviar
Susur: first course - steamed scallop with Cantonese black bean sauce, dim sum shrimp, and crab croquette with chili sauce

At Whole Foods, everyone is in high spirits. Rick comments on Susur's "unstoppable confidence." Back in the kitchen, they've got four hours to prep. The second dishes, based on the food experiences that led them to become chefs, revealed!

Marcus: second course, inspired by a holiday dinner when his grandmother was sick - salt-cured duck with foie gras ganache, sour tomato jam and aged balsamic
Susur: second course, inspired by having a Japanese meal with his wife - tuna with wasabi mousse, charred sea bream, artichoke, asparagus, and daikon salad with ginger flower
Rick:  second course, inspired by an exotic dinner with a neighbor - bacon and eggs with gnocchi, parmesan, and white truffles

And that's when we find out Susur's first wife died, en route to Hong Kong, when a Korean Airlines plane was shot down over Russian airspace. Bigtime frowny face for Susur. JUST GIVE HIM THE TITLE OF TOP CHEF MASTER, PLS.

The next day, they've got another 3-1/2 hours to cook. Kelly breaks into the kitchen in her hooker outfit, and you know this is going to be a game-changing psyche! But wait, it’s just their sous chefs to help out. YAWN. Being forced to work with previously eliminated competitors is always much more interesting. And now we find out about the third and final course of the meals, the dish that best describes each of their journeys as chefs.

Rick - third course: New Zealand venison with espresso salt, stuffed cipollini onions, matsutake mushrooms, and brussel sprouts
Marcus - third course: berbere-flavored hamachi meatballs, porcini couscous, sea urchin froth
Susur - third course: lamb thailandaise with Chiang Mai sausage, green curry, polenta

Marcus wants to use his third course to "bring Africa into the food dialogue." Rick says that "Susur Lee is like working next to a tornado....Working in Susar-land is no joyride." I’m more surprised that Rick’s identity dish doesn’t involve seafood of some kind. Whaaaaaa? 

Now, it’s time to eat, starring the judges, James Oseland, Gail Simmons, Jay Rayner, and last year's finalists.

For the first course, Rick's dish is stunning, featuring a perfectly cooked oyster. Susur has well-made black bean sauce, a good combination of flavors, and has taken dim sum to the next level. Marcus’ is also amazing and spectacular, "like a glimpse into a friend's childhood."

At the second course, Rick's gnocchi is underdone, his execution is not quite there, and his pork belly is underbraised. Marcus' liver flan so well done the judges are discussing amongst themselves how exactly he made it. Susur's dish is not as precise as usual, namely the tuna should be cut thinner.  To be fair, it does look like a crazy huge blob of red flesh with twigs sticking it of it.

Finally, the final course. Susur's Thai lamb is so good, and he nailed the flavors of the Chiang Mai sausage. Marcus hamachi meatball is odd in texture, briney even, and it falls apart too easily. Rick’s venison is so good that by not cooking seafood he is kinda "cheating on himself."

Now that they’re done with the meal, all the chefs can kick back. Contradicting himself from fifteen minutes earlier, Rick says, "Susur's a gentleman with a great exuberance. It's actually a pleasure to be competing with him in the same kitchen." Nobody says anything nice about Marcus.

At critics’ table, Jay reminds the chefs they'll only be judging them on today's dishes. He calls Rick's oyster "the best I’ve ever had." Gail says Marcus's first dish wowed her. Susur agrees his hunk o’ tuna could've been smaller. The judges beg Marcus to explain how he made his liver flan. James loves "how held back…how minimalist" Rick's third dish was (and eventually asks him to marry him), but Jay calls usually pro-sustainability Rick out on using venison from New Zealand (and apparently the tirade was edited down).  

Responds Rick, "I'm not a treehugger, I'm a chef." James didn't like Susur's polenta but Jay did. When James brings up how Marcus' third dish fell apart, Marcus explains that African food can seem weird because people aren't used to it. Which sounds like bullshit to me. Pretty sure you can make multi-culti food that also has proper consistency and texture. Gail liked his third dish, saying it was "tastes I've had before and he reinvented them tonight," but James didn’t think it worked at all. Gail counters that it's great Marcus refused to compromise. Meh. All the judges agree that the chefs’ best dishes at the meal "were beyond anything we've had this season."

Before the final scores, we see that 47 percent of Bravo's text and online voters have voted for Susur to be the next Top Chef Master (to Marcus’ 22 and Rick’s 31 percent). But their votes don’t determine the real winner.  

Here’s the scores: Susur gets 13 stars from the judges and 4 from the diners, for a total of 17 stars; Marcus gets 13.5 stars from the judges and 4 from the diners, for a total of 17.5; Rick gets 13 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the diners, for a total of 17. Sigh. So Marcus Samuelsson wins the title of Top Chef Master and $100,000 for the Unicef Tap Project. Everybody hugs. I boooooo.

Can you believe it? Here we are at the last show before the finale of this season of Top Chef Masters. As a reminder, the final four contestants are Susur Lee, Rick Moonen, Marcus Samuelsson, and Jonathan Waxman. Now that Susan Feniger's gone, the show's a sausage fest, or as Jonathan says, "Four dudes left. It's kind of impressive and a little scary at the same time." With all that masculinity and testosterone in the kitchen, it won't be long before bros are straight-up icing bros. 

But before that inevitability, it's time for the final Quickfire challenge of the season.

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All four chefs have cookbooks and they're displayed on a table. Rick's is the only book without his mug on the cover, just a big ol' slab of salmon.  Kelly tells the chefs to pair up on their own, and we end up with these duos: Jonathan and Marcus, Rick and Susur. They think they're meant to cook together but psyche! Instead they're doing a cookbook swap; each chef in the duo is cooking a recipe from the other's cookbook. Unfortunately for us as viewers, they don't even get to pick what to cook--the recipes have already been chosen for them, with the ingredients provided in a box. Because these recipes are more complex, they get a full ninety minutes of cooking time.

Rick is nervous about recreating one of Susur's complex dishes; Marcus wants to add his own multi-culti dimension to Jonathan's dish; Jonathan doesn't want to do a curry as spicy as Marcus would; Susur is complaining because the recipe he got doesn't have any photographs and he "cooks with his eyes." That's so Susar. He says, "I don't read English very well. So I didn't look at the method, how he made. I look at ingredients. And that makes sense to me."  Oh Susur, for a very talented chef, every challenge has an extra difficulty just for you.

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Halfway through their cooking time, Kelly comes back in and double psyche! It's a challenge from Season 5, and they've now got to change their dish into a soup while still retaining the initial recipe's integrity. Susur is happy because he now has a chance to do his own thing, Marcus is pissed, and Rick seems completely thrown for a loop.  All the chefs are tasting the other chef's soup-takes on their dishes and complimenting them on it. Rick runs out of time and doesn't put enough broth in his bowl.

James Oseland is the critic for the soups:

Jonathan: chicken Thai curry soup with Thai basil, 3 stars
Marcus: chicken soup with crispy tortilla chips and avocado goat cheese guacamole, 4.5 stars
Susur: Tunisian fish soup with olives, capers, white wine, cumin, and coriander seeds, 4 stars
Rick: scallop, mussel, and pancetta Asian-style cioppino, 3.5 stars

Marcus wins his first Quickfire challenge; as it is the last Quickfire of the season, that makes it official: Susur has won a lot of eliminations, and has the top two Top Chef Masters all-time high scores, but has never won a Quickfire.

Kelly tells them they have the day off and are going to go see famed LA improv troupe The Groundlings.  Apparently, none of these chefs have ever seen reality tv before, because they actually believe her. It's cute to see all the chefs out of uniform: Susur's in a white button-down, Jonathan's in a polo shirt and cargo shorts, and Marcus is wearing a multi-colored striped shirt, because his international background gives his clothes all the colors of the rainbow.  Susur, of course, has never been to a comedy show.  "It was a silly thing, and I really got a kick out of that."

The principal from Community is there em-ceeing (apparently Jim Rash is the Groundlings' director), and everybody's having fun watching improv until a whiteboard comes out with a list of suspicious words: colors, feelings, and ingredients.  The jig is up; the chefs have figured out that this is the elimination challenge.

Each chef has to make a dish for the Groundlings cast inspired by three improvised word groupings, a color, a feeling, and an ingredient.  Quickfire winner Marcus gets to choose first and picks the trio with salmon; Jonathan, at last place, is stuck with the worst words of the bunch. He says, "I get depression, avocado, and burnt sienna, which is a little annoying--'cause what are you gonna do, make food that's depressing and disgusting? That doesn't work."  He's right; that's a pitiable combo.

Rick's sad he can't cook his precious salmon, but he'll make do with pork. Marcus can't stay within his shopping budget! Jonathan says, "that kid cannot add up in his head," and Rick says, "he wants it all...he's always gilding the lily." Apparently, Marcus always has to remove stuff at the register, but this time Jonathan and Rick let him have the money left over from their budgets. Says Rick, "I don't want to know I beat you because you couldn't buy an ingredient." Of course we all know that cutthroat Marcus wouldn't do the same for them. He's not here to make friends!

Rick's pork loin isn't cooking properly.  And Jonathan ends up making a dish to bring someone out of a depression.  Meanwhile, Susur's really focused on the job at hand, which involves making a dessert that resembles the female anatomy. Looks like Susur has been inspired by the improv show and is letting loose. He says, "The dessert that I have--chocolate, peanut butter, and lust--it has to appear with that kind of sexiness about it. You know, I shaped that chocolate crumble like underwear and then butter cookie toile looks like a vagina! You have to have humor, same as improv."  Ummm...yeaaaaahhh.

Rick, for red anger bacon: pork loin, poached oysters, bacon, and spicy kimchi cream
Marcus, for salmon pleasure violet: confit of salmon with caviar, shrimp, and sake
Jonathan, for burnt sienna depression avocado: mesquite grilled chicken breast, french fries, yams, and avocado with grapefruit
Susur, for chocolate lust peanut butter: chocolate mousse with coriander and caramel-peanut butter mousse, chocolate crumble, and edible gold leaf

The dishes are served to the judges and the Groundlings.  Marcus has too much going on his plate, as always. Rick's pork is undercooked, but his oysters are of course exceptional.  There's no "epiphany of flavor" to Jonathan's dish, as per James.  Susur's dish was good enough to shut up the entire table.

At critics' table, Rick gets called out for his pork loin roulade being way undercooked. To his (dis)credit, Rick basically lies, claiming that it only seems it was undercooked.  Dude, you know that water bath wasn't cooking the whole loin evenly!  Jay asks Marcus, who is proud of his "Jackson Pollock" plate, "was there not a point when the word 'enough' came into your head?"  They love his salmon and cavier cream, but not those shrimp.

Jay loves Jonathan's chicken skin, but asks Jonathan if he thinks his roast chicken was complex enough for this stage in the competition—which is pretty much the same complaint levied at Susan's kaya toast sandwich last week. Jonathan argues that to be like improv, he dish need not be complex, just light and entertaining. Gail calls Jonathan "the best chicken roaster in the country," and is happy to see some signs of immaturity balanced with adult flavors in Susur's dish.  They all like that he lightened up a bit, though Jay says his humor was "juvenile."  Susur says "sex and food go hand in hand."

Final scores: Susur gets 12.5 stars from the judges and 4.5 stars from the diners, for a total of 17 stars; Marcus gets 13.5 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the diners, for a total of 17.5 stars; Jonathan gets 8.5 stars from the judges and 3 stars from the diners, for a total of 11.5 stars; Rick gets 10 stars from the judges and 3.5 stars from the diners, for a total of 13.5 stars.

Marcus Samuelsson wins! He gets $15K total this episode for the Unicef Tap Project and advances to the finals, along with Susur Lee and Rick Moonen.  Jonathan Waxman is out, and Rick Moonen is sad.  Frowny face.  Tomorrow night:  the finale!  My money's still on Susur, but Rick just might be able to steal the championship.

Here we are at the last week of SIFF (*sniffle*). All of us at The SunBreak weigh in with our picks and pans of the festival films we saw this weekend.

MVB:  Based on Cell 211, it looks like somebody in Spain has been watching Oz. It's a dark, brutal, bloody prison riot parable with Basque terrorist spice that left people stunned (today, 4 p.m. @ Neptune).  Imani is a walking-paced Ugandan movie, charting post-war life through three different story threads. Subtle, but it builds (June 11, 4:30 p.m. @ Harvard Exit). I almost skipped The Tillman Story; now I'm very, very glad I didn't. Feels like I finally got a real glimpse of that guy. Downside: complete disgust with U.S. military command. Ondine is a fairy tale about how directors like to cast super-hot Romanian girls to wear lingerie. Sigur Ros songs suggest artistic depth! Ireland looks nice, though (June 13, 11:30 a.m. @ Pacific Place).

Audrey saw three heavy docs this weekend: David Guggenheim's Waiting for Superman, about the overwhelming failure of the American public school system, is simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking.  Look for it to win the Best Documentary Oscar come next February.  The Tillman Story, about the search for truth behind the myth of the most famous man to serve and die in Iraq, was only slightly less of a well-made downer.  So by comparison, Garbo the Spy, about the greatest double agent freelance spy ever, was downright fun--yes, even though it culminates in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.  Thankfully, Meet Monica Velour was there to lighten the mood. It's obvious to say that this awkward teen's romancing of a washed-up porn star (played dead-on by Kim Cattrall) is cinematic cousins with Little Miss Sunshine and Napoleon Dynamite, but there's more to Keith Bearden's film than just simple quirks.

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Josh: Somewhat surprisingly, I think that my favorite film of the weekend was Leaves of Grass, another Edward Norton split personality triumph, that takes the themes of a a Greek tragedy and wraps it in the cloak of a pot comedy. Norton is hilarious in both roles, with strong folksy charm from Tim Blake Nelson (who also wrote and directed), Keri Russell, and Susan Sarandon. The film starts as a light comedic contrast between twin brothers with very different career paths, but things get more and more intense once the classics professor is tricked into returning to small-town Oklahoma, where he has to deal with unresolved family drama and gets wrapped up in a convoluted hydroponic marijuana operation.

Fans of the band are the most likely to relish Strange Powers, the Stephin Merritt documentary (today with Merritt in attendance, 4 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema). While the filmmakers aren't able to pry too deeply below his famously cantankerous surface, the directors do a fine job of making a concert film that also chronicles the history, trajectory, and interpersonal dynamics that have made the Magnetic Fields so well-loved. Of local interest is the brief section on the infamous EMP Pop Conference "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" rockist-racist blogger fiasco, complete with a mea culpa from Sasha Frere-Jones. Though the film necessarily required artist approval, it doesn't come across as too sugar-coated and should make a nice companion to Stephin's live performance this week during 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (June 9, 7:30 p.m. @ Paramount).

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For so many beautiful people, Going South was a very broody beach movie. A mysterious pair of twins, a hitchhiker, and an older man on a personal quest hit the road, drive across France, and have trouble keeping their clothes on. Aside from the childhood flashbacks, most of it seems to occur under golden hour sunlight or near flattering firesides to provide ample eye candy to counterbalance the loose plot (June 10, 9:30 p.m. @ Egyptian; June 13, 4 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema).

Utopia in Four Movements acts as a melancholy monologue with live music in front of a requiem montage. Sam Green gave an effective talk about high hopes and failed ambitions clicking through a photo and video slide deck, while Dave Cerf hid out in the back of the theater manipulating the soundtrack to fit with the stories of invented languages, shopping malls, forensic anthropology, and revolution. Seeing a documentary presented with an in-person narrator invited reconsideration of the form and may have inspired some in the audience to put more effort into their next corporate presentation.

Garbo the Spy was a mind-boggling true story about a master of deception who helped win WWII, told over old a kaleidoscope of old war films, archival footage, and propaganda reels. The narrators are identified only halfway through and the story took dramatic and unexpected turns, keeping the audience off-balance and continually astounded by the ingenuity of the spy and the historic importance of his espionage.

Reykjavik-Rotterdam is a slow-burning, almost understated drug-running thriller. I can see why Mark Wahlberg is anxious to redevelop it for American audiences, though I can imagine that something might get lost in translation (today, 7 p.m. @ Kirkland Performance Center).  Meanwhile, every SIFF has to have its utter dud, and for me this was big-budget Agora, which sacrificed subtlety and sound editing for set design. The take-home message: like this this movie, angry Christian mobs are THE WORST.

Tony: Double Take marked my first outright disappointment with a SIFF presentation. It's an odd experimental pastiche in which Alfred Hitchcock (starring via archival clips and a little bit of CGI trickery) faces his doppelganger amidst the Cold War. Its seams as a former short-film show: the Hitchcock and Cold War elements just don't gel.

This weekend at SIFF, the festival hits Kirkland, Spain gets the prison film gala of their dreams, and Ed Norton comes to town (which means a midnight showing of Fight Club tonight). For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for special presentations, which cost more.

The Tillman Story  In a wartime marked by egregious offenses, the way in which football player/soldier Pat Tillman's death was deliberately misconstrued and mythologized for the Bush administration's own benefit is egregiously offensive, even by those standards.  See this doc, but be prepared for feelings of anger, sadness, and overwhelming frustration.  (today, 4 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema; June 6, 7 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema)

Beyond Ipanema  The multi-culti Brazilian music scene truly offers something for everyone. (today, 5 p.m. @ Kirkland Performance Center)

A Tribute to Edward Norton  SIFF honors the intelligent actor with a Q&A and a screening of his latest film, Leaves of Grass, starring Ed Norton and Ed Norton as identical twins: One's a tweedy professor, the other's a weedy drug dealer. Antics most certainly ensue with a funeral and crime boss thrown into the mix.  (tribute tonight, 7 p.m. @ the Egyptian, only rush tickets available; additional screening of Leaves of Grass, June 5, 1:30 p.m. @ the Egyptian, only rush tickets available; other Ed Norton films showing all weekend)

Imani  Caroline Kamya's acclaimed drama marks the first Ugandan film ever to screen at SIFF, and it looks as starkly beautiful as its country of origin. (tonight, 7 p.m. @ Harvard Exit; June 6, 4:30 p.m. @ Harvard Exit; June 11, 4:30 p.m. @ Harvard Exit)

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Ondine  Colin Farrell's fish story aims to be the Irish Splash. (tonight, 7 p.m. @ Kirkland Performance Center; June 6, 9 p.m. @ Uptown; June 13, 11:30 a.m. @ Pacific Place)

Agora  Rachel Weisz gets swords and sandals about a closeted lady mathematician [!] in ancient Alexandria.  (tonight, 7 p.m. @ Neptune; June 6, 4 p.m. @ Neptune)

Waiting for "Superman"  Another assuredly frustrating doc from Inconvenient Truth director David Guggenheim, this time about the national disaster that is the American public school system.  (tonight, 7 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema, only rush tickets available; June 5, 1 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema, only rush tickets available)

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Meet Monica Velour  Kim Cattrall as a washed-up porn star with a geeky high school admirer who wants to save her from trailer park ruin? Go figure.  (tonight, 9:30 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema; June 6, 1:30 p.m. @ Neptune)

Centurion  British director Neil Marshall's made a career of smart, energetic reinvigorations of genre flicks (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), so this weld of Gladiator and The Naked Prey should kick some serious ass.  (tonight, 10 p.m. @ Neptune)

White Lion  A kitty cuteoverload for kids of all ages.  (June 5, 11 a.m. @ Harvard Exit; June 6, 7 p.m. @ Harvard Exit; June 12, 11 a.m. @ SIFF Cinema)

Hidden Diary  We all saw this French family drama-thriller at its previous screenings; now's your last chance.  (June 5, 11 a.m. @ Egyptian)

Utopia in Four Movements  Esperanto, giant shopping malls, time capsules, and American idealism mix and match in a live presentation by Sam Green and Dave Cerf. (June 5, 7 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema; June 6, 1:30 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema)

The Wild Hunt  The dark side of LARPing is the subject of this Midnight Adrenaline feature.  (June 5, midnight @ Egyptian; June 7, 9:30 p.m. @ Neptune)

Strange Powers  Shot over ten years and hundreds of songs, this film documents Stephin Merritt, the cantankerous songwriting genius behind the Magnetic Fields.  The grumpus himself is set to attend the Monday screening! (June 6, 9:30 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema; June 7, 4 p.m. @ SIFF Cinema)

 

 

Yep, another week of SIFF here and gone.  All of us at The SunBreak weigh in with our picks and pans of the films shown at the festival this week.

Tony saw Ahead of Time, a concise, solid doc on the achievements of Ruth Gruber--arctic explorer, World War II Correspondent, and chronicler of the 1947 Exodus. At age 94, Gruber's more articulate and sharp than 99.9 percent of people a third her age; her restless streak, eloquence, and charm made her an enchanting documentary subject.

Josh had a shortish SIFF week: Waste Land, a meandering but discussion-provoking documentary about Vik Muniz and the garbage-pickers who inspired his portrait series. At times I couldn't tell if this film wanted to be about the artist, the gleaners, or the way that large-scale portraits made from materials found at the world's largest landfill could transform lives. It succeeds a little bit on each of those fronts, but could have used a stronger narrative focus and a critical voice stronger than the artist's wife (who falls out of the picture midway, via an off-screen mid-project divorce). Quibbles aside, the artwork is astounding and Muniz found incredibly charismatic subjects. We left wondering not about how to "save" the pickers of Jardim Gramacho, but curious about whether similar poverty-driven recycling efforts happen here.

I really enjoyed I Killed My Mother, a très style-y collage chronicling the growing pains between a temperamental teen artiste and his single mother. The explosive tantrums and outlandish verbal spats felt true to the spirit of adolescent angst; the mix of hypersaturated fantasy sequences, off-center camera angles, quick cuts, and philosophical confessionals captured the spirit of a young auteur. Against likely temptation, Xavier Dolan doesn't let himself off the hook too easily, revealing an awareness of his own childish behavior and rendering a sympathetic portrait of his mother. (June 6, 2010 7:00 PM @ the Egyptian)

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Audrey also had Quebecois fun at I Killed my Mother, but I wonder if writer-director-lead actor Dolan has another film in him; this one is so personal. Coincidentally, Bilal's Stand is another intimately personal film, in which writer-director Sultan Sharrief has made his first feature, based on the story of how he, as a black Muslim teen, made it from an inner city Detroit taxi-stand to the University of Michigan, via an ice-carving college scholarship. It's a solid first film (and the community involvement it took to make it is inspiring), though of course it's not as OMG as I Killed My Mother.

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And finally, I caught the archival screening of documentary Henri-Georges Clouzet's Inferno, on the greatest French psychedelic psychological thriller about the madness of jealousy never made. Worth seeing for all the experimental tests of funhouse mirror-like op art visuals and distorted sound techniques, not to mention footage of lovely Romy Schneider in to-die-for early '60s European vacation-wear.

MVB: In Waste Land, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz enlists Rio de Janeiro's biggest landfill's gleaners to model for portraits made from trash, and embiggens everyone's soul in the process. Fascinating exploration of poverty, environment, personal ambition, and the gift/Trojan horse of perspective.

The Spanish film Stigmata is a moody, black-and-white journey that draws on both Fellini and Cassavetes (especially once gentle giant Bruno gets entangled in the tempestuous passions of a traveling carnival). It's never explained why Bruno develops his stigmata--he's no saint. The film is about what Bruno makes of his "gift," and what the people around him make of it. (June 3, 4:15 p.m. @ Pacific Place)

The Icelandic neo-noir thriller Reykjavik-Rotterdam takes a bit to wind up, but finishes strong. A bootlegger on probation gets sucked back in for "one last run," without realizing what's in play. The Icelandic sense of humor delights in human foibles and sheer stupidity, and in that light, it's a side-splitter. (June 3, 9:30 p.m. @ Pacific Place; June 7, 7 p.m. @ Kirkland Performance Center)

Before we get to the recap of last week's Top Chef Masters, there's some local Top Chef news: The Top Chef tour is stopping in Seattle this weekend, at the QFC at Redmond's Bella Bottega on Saturday and at U Village (at the QFC? it's unclear) on Sunday. If you attend--pre-registration is closed, but seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis--you can witness the glory of two cheftestants from the Vegas season: Ash Fulk and Eli Kirshtein. That's right, Bacon Shirt in the flesh! Out of his mother's basement and into a grocery store's parking lot.

Back to the Masters, where we're down to the final five: Susan Feniger, Susur Lee, Rick Moonen, Marcus Samuelsson, and Jonathan Waxman.

The Quickfire is the sauce-tasting challenge from Season 5. It's kinda like Name That Tune, naming ingredients in sauces, so it's all about the chefs' palates, which makes Rick feel confident--because as a child he tasted everything, including dirt and cardboard. First up is a Chausseur, which I've never heard of, but I'm always down for anything butter-based. Marcus says he has "an impeccable palate" (of course), but Susur is able to name six ingredients correctly. Susan says she can name six ingredients as well, but ends up naming red wine when the sauce has white wine and red wine vinegar. Tricky.

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In the second round, Jonathan somehow guesses that a Thai green curry contains butter. Not even close, though I'd still eat that concoction. In the final round, Susur loses yet another Quickfire by incorrectly naming garlic in a lobster sauce--although I have to agree with him when he says, "I was completely pissed. How the hell you make lobster sauce without garlic?" Look for Susur to become the first Top Chef (Master or otherwise) to win it all without winning a single Quickfire.

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Time for the elimination challenge: The chefs pick knives and each has the name of a Greek god on it: Jonathan gets Poseidon; Susan gets Aphrodite; Marcus gets Ares; Rick gets Hades; and Susur gets Dionysus. A la the Simpsons challenge, Susur doesn't know to pronounce "Dionysus," nor does he know who exactly these gods are. And yet, I'm sure he'll figure out how to smoke all the other contestants. The challenge is to cook for their god, preparing tasting portions for fifty people.

At Whole Foods, Jonathan's annoyed because he's got Poseidon and Rick still wants to do seafood for Hades (because Rick always does seafood, except for the last episode). Marcus burns them both by beating them to the seafood counter and getting scallops and oysters. Why that for the god of war? Take it away, you African Swede: "In Ethopia, lots of dishes were created in times of war, and they're all raw- or tartare-based, because you didn't want to create a lot of smoke or fire so the enemy would see you. I decided to cure beef, salmon, scallops, and put that together." Too bad he's at war with a bad back the next day.

Meanwhile, Susan shops for ingredients for her "Love Custard," which she describes as being "creamy and silky and sexual...[and]...loaded with eggs." Yep, she's making her kaya toast, a Singapore street food that she's kinda famous for, though her plating doesn't look great again. Susur decides to use lots of wine, because all he knows is that Dionysus is the god of wine. He decides he's going to play to the judges, which Jonathan doesn't think is so wise. But what does he know? He's been in the bottom two for the last couple episodes!

The Greek gods elimination challenge dishes:

Susur, for Dionysus: roasted pork loin in Chinese wine, croquette with feta and risotto, and Santorini olives
Marcus, for Ares: cured beef and salmon with apple broth and oyster foam
Susan, for Aphrodite: toast with coconut jam and sweet butter, fried egg with white pepper and dark soy
Rick, for Hades: swordfish crusted with flaked garlic, onions, and poppyseeds, crimson potatoes, daikon, radishes, and parsnips
Jonathan, for Poseidon: seared scallops with romesco sauce, cherry tomatoes, string beans, and celery puree

At Critics' Table, Jonathan's scallops are too salty, but he cops to his messiness. Marcus is told his flavors were too strong, as always, while Susur is complimented on his use of ingredients, as always. Gail liked Rick's potatoes, but Jay disliked the swordfish. Gail also loved the Love Custard, but Susan gets called to task for basically making a sandwich at this point of the competition.

Final scores: Marcus gets 11.5 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the diners, for a total of 15.5 stars; Rick gets 14.5 stars from the judges and 4.5 stars from the diners, for a total of 19 stars; Susur gets 12 stars from the judges and 3 stars from the diners, for a total of 15 stars; Susan gets 7 stars from the judges and 3.5 stars from the diners, for a total of 10.5 stars; and Jonathan gets 8.5 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the diners, for a total of 12.5 stars.

So Rick wins and gets $10,000 for his charity Three Square. Sadly, Susan is out, but she won the most money so far this season, a grand total of $32,500 for the Scleroderma Foundation. Goodbye Susan, hello boys' club. Tonight: the chefs have to cook each other's recipes and learn how to improvise.