* The Tillman Story is a simple and powerful documentary about how the government and military attempted to manipulate the death of Pat Tillman into a supporting narrative for war in Iraq. It’s a story we’ve all heard in bits and pieces, but to have it all laid out, concise and devastating… it should be required viewing.
* I had intended to see Waiting for Superman after The Tillman Story, but it went on rush before I had a volunteer voucher for it. Instead I jumped on a comp ticket to Blessed, one of the features in the Emerging Masters series. I had been intrigued by it thanks to some of the cast, namely Frances O’Connor and Miranda Otto. The film was developed from a play titled Who’s Afraid of the Working Class, and I am under the impression that it changed quite a bit from the source material, moving from being a strongly political piece to one exploring the relationships between children and their mothers, though still those on the fringe.
Everyone in it was fantastic; Kokkinos is clearly gifted at working with child actors. Reef Ireland in particular struck me as one to watch; he’s like a young Ohad Knoller. Just heartbreaking. And Frances O’Connor is currently my best actress of the festival.
After being destroyed by that, I headed up to the Egyptian to volunteer at the midnight of Fight Club. Because I’m crazy. When I left, Ed Norton was still at the theater, watching the film from the balcony. I had thought seriously about staying for the film — I haven’t seen it since the original release — but in the end I decided that walking home at 3am would probably not be smart. So it goes.
wicked jaws 