October 1, 2004
On Wednesday night James called me to let me know about this travelling film festival that was coming to Fort Worth for one night only; he didn't know much about it, other than that it was comprised of people cavorting around the country in a van, showing short films. So I drove out to watch it, and it was fantastic. A totally DIY operation, with some really cool underground films. Many were along the same lines of our Chaotic Cong short films, just totally bizarre and imaginative and wonderful. There was also one film (from Sweden, I believe) called CumPane, directed by Anna Linder, which really blew me away; while ostensibly simply about baking bread, it was actually a testament to the power of editing in creating pure art, and it left me feeling somewhat deficient in that department.
The whole operation is called The Gadabaout Film Festival, and the folks who run it are a really awesome and progressive (and vegan!) group. They've just finished the first leg of their tour, so head to their website and check out their schedule as they make their way West and catch it if you can. They're a wonderful representation of the underground cinema movement, and not only do they deserve your support, but you're doing yourself a favor by supporting them.
I almost didn't go, actually, because I'm so short on cash and therefore very short on petrol and I was planning on going out to Fort Worth the next day anyway to watch the debates and finish the Star Wars trilogy with James and Amy (which we did, today). But then I remembered this quote from a recent interview with Richard Linklater:
I remember being younger, and going, "Come on, man, we're showing this cool Godard film that's never been shown ... what do you mean, it's a Monday night and you can't come?! You've got your kid's soccer practice?" I was just like, "Ah, sell-out, man, I hope I'm never like that."
Obviously, I had to go. I ended up spending the night out there, watching great movies and having a grand old time (and cementing plans for something very cool, hinted at on James's blog, that will hopefully bring the joy of cinema into many more people's lives). I hope I never have kids who like soccer.
Oh, and so anyway, about Richard Linklater...I picked up the Criterion Slacker DVD. I'd never seen the film, and of course, I dug it. It has everything I love about Waking Life, minus the animation but plus the thrill of seeing a young filmmaker delving into something so interesting and oblique with little concern for what audiences thought. I love listening to his characters talk.
But before that, I watched what is perhaps the best supplement of this fantastic DVD set: his very first feature, the super8mm It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading A Book. It's just like Slacker, except it has almost no dialogue and mostly follows just one character (played by Linklater, not for narcisistic reasons but because he didn't want to have some actor have to put up with a whole year of random shooting) as he travels around the country. It's like Stranger Than Paradise without the humor. There' s no plot; very little overt incident; Linklater claims in his commentary track that "I was obsessed with banality." And to be honest, I have to admit that, watching in the early hours of the morning, I fell asleep during it. I finished watching it later, and despite its slow pace and seeming meaninglessness, I think it's an incredible accomplishment. It has not one iota of amatuerishness to it -- this is the work of a filmmaker who, even at this early stage, had a remarkably clear vision, which he stuck to without fail. He had limitations implied by the level of the production, but he certainly made them work for him.
Even better was the commentary track, which most definitely did not put me to sleep; in fact, it's probably the most enjoyable and (from a film lover/filmmaker's point of view) profound commentaries I've ever heard. At first I started writing things down that I wanted to quote; then I just gave up. Listen to it for yourself as soon as you can.
I was so excited after I listened to it that I immediately put in the School Of Rock DVD and listened to its commentary (which I'd never bothered with before), just because I wanted to keep listening to Richard Linklater talk. It wasn't quite as satisfying, but it did the trick. I guess I need to finally see Dazed And Confused now, because Linklater has in the past few months shot waaaayy up there on my list of favorite filmmakers. And I still haven't seen, nor do I anticipate seeing, a better film this year than Before Sunset.
Postscript: The Shane Carruth interview will be up by the end of the day; or actually, the end of my day, which really means tomorrow morning.
Posted by David Lowery at October 1, 2004 2:12 AM