Oliver Assaya‘s “Something In The Air” blew me away.

The film centers around a few late teen/young adults in post 1968 (starting in 1971) France. I say post-1968 because the political stage set by that period of unrest serves as the backdrop for the film. The main characters are introduced as radical dissidents in high school, operating and executing various acts of civil disobedience. As the film continues, they are forced to leave France, and their lives progress, sometimes intersecting, sometimes not.

The scope of the film’s themes is remarkable. A primary theme I encountered was the relationship between radical politics and art. The main character, Gilles, grows from a staunch to a reluctant member of the radical society and, in a parallel, grows from an amateur painter to one driven by it. The portrayals of the artists in the film versus those more dedicated to their politics capture the basic identity question of the film – when does one know that this is what one needs to do? When is one being true to oneself, versus to society? The question of the comparison between individualism and socialism (when one does something solely for oneself, or for the good of society) and the artist’s relation thereof is still a worthwhile topic in today’s society. Read More…

Day two, or, for me, Day 1, involved a frenzy of cinema-viewing. Sadly I have no murderous pain to report.

In all seriousness, the films I saw today were generally fantastic and overall incredible, and a testament to the SFIFF as a festival. Read More…

Some films touch me on an emotional level as the story unravels, but what I love are the shivers that roll up and down my body for a brief moment as the film starts.  These are the movies I chase like a drug addict looking for a fix.  Within the first 5 minutes of The After Party, I was hooked.  It wasn’t just the goose bumps on my arms or the overall content matter that intrigued me, it was the cinematography that was captivating.  The use of color and texture on the screen excited me.  There was a concise thought that breathed life into this documentary and that, ladies and gentleman, is what film is all about. Read More…