NY Filmfest Gets Even More Eccentric

New leadership, pricey renovations, the massive exposure that arises from holding an event at Lincoln Center -- each of these factors are worthy of analysis when considering the New York Film Festival, but ultimately the program comes down to the whims of five people.

Selected by a handful of critics and journalists, NYFF stands out on the festival circuit for its idiosyncratic, cinephile-oriented program that features highlights from the year in world cinema, but no world premieres.

Even though everything in the 17-day festival screened somewhere else first (much it at Cannes, Toronto, or Berlin), it's still a fascinatingly eccentric compilation of big screen accomplishments.

Some highlights to look for as the festival gets under way this Friday:

 
Wild Grass

Octogenarian French New Wave veteran Alain Resnais' beguiling romantic comedy went virtually unnoticed in the main competition at Cannes last May, dwarfed by the shadows of Quentin Tarantino and Michael Haneke (whose black-and-white period piece "The White Ribbon" also screens at NYFF). But Resnais proves that he's still got a few tricks up his sleeve with his beautiful and oddly hilarious look at romance amid midlife crises. The movie was selected for the opening night slot, and appropriately so -- it appeals to young movie buffs and old school arthouse lovers alike.

Trash Humpers

Harmony Korine's naughty return to form follows a demented group of killers as they engage in the eponymous sexual activity as a means of social rebellion, while their deeds unfold on VHS camcorder footage to mix the "Kids" writer's penchant for freaks with an unsettling degree of realism. "Trash Humpers," which Korine conceived and shot a mere three months ago in his hometown of Nashville, mystified audiences in Toronto but was met with widespread critical approval. A late NYFF addition, it's surefire bet for cult popularity. Then there's the press conference, which may or may not involve cast members showing up in character. Stay tuned for more.

To Die Like a Man

Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues premiered this magnificently shot and deeply felt portrait of a transvestite in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes. Though already deemed "undistributable" by at least one journalist at a press screening earlier this week, "Man" deserves an audience attuned to its mixture of emotional fragility and celebratory queerness. Imagine "Transamerica" as directed by John Waters and you might get halfway there. The rest is a collage of signifiers almost too intense for words.

Antichrist

By now, the whole world knows about Lars Von Trier's frightening and knowingly twisted look at an ailing couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainesborough) going crazy in the wilderness. Genital mutilation and talking animals notwithstanding, "Antichrist" is actually far more poignant than its sensationalistic reputation would have you believe. But NYFF attendees will have to be be willing to sit through the whole thing if they want to figure that much out.

Lebanon

My favorite movie at the Toronto International Film Festival ended its time there without distribution. Since then, however, Sony Pictures Classics snatched up this intense, engaging war movie set during Israel's militant engagement with Lebanon in the early 1980s. Blending the setting of "Waltz with Bashir" with the suspense of "The Hurt Locker," it practically screams for an Oscar -- and, beyond that, an appreciative audience.

Precious

Fresh from winning top honors at TIFF, Lee Daniels's moving portrait of Harlem strife takes the centerpiece slot at NYFF, where it's bound to receive a flashy homecoming. Another surefire Oscar contender, its New York premiere provides a testing ground for what sort of reception the drama might get when it hits theaters in a few weeks.

The entire NYFF program is listed below.

New York Film Festival 2009
September 25 - October 11

Main Slate

OPENING NIGHT

Wild Grass / Les herbes folles
Alain Resnais, France, 2009; 113m
The venerable Alan Resnais creates an exquisite human comedy of manners, mystery and romance with some of France's - and our - favorite actors: Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Emmanuelle Devos and Mathieu Almaric. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

CENTERPIECE

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Lee Daniels, USA, 2009; 109m
Precious is sixteen and living a miserable life. But she uses all the emotional energy she possesses to turn her life around. Director Lee Daniel's audacious tale features unforgettable performances by Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. A Lionsgate release.

CLOSING NIGHT

Broken Embraces / Los abrazos rotos
Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2009; 128m
Almodóvar's newest masterwork is a candy-colored emotional roller that barrels from comedy to romance to melodrama to the darker haunts of film noir and stars his muse, Penélope Cruz, in a multilayered story of a man who loses his sight and the love of his life. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

36 Views of Saint-Loup Peak / 36 vues du Pic Saint-Loup
Jacques Rivette, France, 2009, 84m
The legendary Jacques Rivette returns with an elegiac look at the final days of a small-time traveling circus.

Antichrist
Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2009, 109m
Surely to be one of the year's most discussed films, Lars von Trier's latest chronicles a couple's efforts to find their love again after a tragic loss, only to unleash hidden monsters lurking in their souls.

 

1 | 2 | 3