With more than 70 programs from all over the world, encompassing many genres, the second annual Santa Fe Film Festival outdid itself this year.
During the past five days, Santa Fe was overrun with film lovers. People were standing in movie house lobbies all over town waiting for the next film to be presented. The festival showcased many documentaries, short films, animations and feature films from around the world. It also offered discussions, tradeshows and parties that gave an inside look into the film industry.
With the exception of getting lost in Santa Fe on the first day, I had the opportunity to see a few films. Once everything was located and I had already missed a film, I stepped into The Screen at the College of Santa Fe to see "6ixtynin9."
No, this film is not what you are thinking it is about. The film, from Thailand, tells the story of a young woman laid off from work who finds a noodle box on her doorstep. This is no ordinary noodle box, but one that brings many strange characters to her door and into her apartment.
As "6ixtynin9" unravels, the viewer finds that most of the characters are connected and the meaning of the title comes into play. The film is a dark comedy and the director, Pen-ek Rantanaruang, worked his magic to produce some stunning shots. Particularly fascinating was a shootout scene made to perfection - but in a different manner than other shootout scenes. Think "Reservoir Dogs," but more interesting and dramatic.
"The Diaries of Vaslov Nijinski" was really the only disappointment I had at the festival. More of a docudrama than a real documentary, the film began to lose the audience after about an hour. Nijinski, a famous dancer, who ended up going mad and living the last 30 years of his life in an institution, wrote many diaries, with excerpts from these diaries narrated by Derek Jakobi. The narration and some of the dance sequences worked well in the film and it contained many beautiful shots of nature, but the beauty was lost when the dancers were placed in the middle of the nature scenes. The cinematography in "The Diaries of Vaslov Nijinski" was stunning but I wish I could say the same for the rest of the film.
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One of the most anticipated films at the festival was "Scratch," a documentary about Hip-Hop DJs and their way of life. Everything about the film was fascinating - the music made everyone in the audience tap their feet and the visuals and editing style blew my mind.
The film opened up with a city skyline with music playing in the background. The introduction was edited to match each scratch the DJ made in the soundtrack, producing a fold in the skyline. The film opened strong and ended strong, with shots of Cut Chemist battling another DJ. Each DJ had his or her own philosophy on the art of turntablism, but worked to together to keep the art alive and strong.
The final film I saw was "In the Bedroom," directed by Todd Field and based on a short story by Andre Dubuis. I really can't say anything about the film or even the title of the short story because it will give the entire ending of the film away. Sissy Spacek's and Tom Wilkinson's performances are amazing and natural. The film is spectacular and one of the finest of the year.
If you didn't visit the Santa Fe Film Festival this year, I recommend that you check it out next year. It always has a great selection of films and discussions. The opportunity to see as many great films that the festival offers is rare and definitely one not to be missed.
