I haven’t taken the opportunity to write much about fiction films but I’ve seen some wonderful work the past couple of weeks and I’ve decided to go ahead and use my weekend blog space to write on narratives when the mood stikes me.

From the Woodstock Film Festival:

Ten Canoes
It is inevitable that this film will get lots of comparisons to Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, but that should be alright with the film’s producers, as both are beautifully told stories set squarely in indigenous culture yet resonant far beyond. Ten Canoes unfolds as an Australian aboriginal folk tale, as an elder tells his young brother a story about a man who coveted his brother’s wife. The subtext of the film is the importance of the oral tradition of storytelling, and what struck me is the universality of human nature: it doesn’t matter in what time or place you live, our social fabric never really stretches that far. David Gulpilil (Rabbit Proof Fence, The Tracker) narrates and his son Jamie (pictured right) launches his acting career in the dual lead roles of Dayindi and Yeeralparil. Ten Canoes is Australia’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language film, so keep an eye on it.

Betty La Flaca
I met writer/director Hugo Perez at this year’s IFP Market where he had a documentary work-in-progress, so I was a bit surprised to see him at Woodstock with a narrative short. You will be hearing more about his doc, In the Footsteps of Orpheus, but suffice it to say now that Betty La Flaca is quite opposite in story, but each has Perez’ wonderful visual style. He has a flair for color which always draws me into a film. Betty is a skinny Latina who is jealous of her friend’s bodacious booties that seem to capture all of the men’s attentions, so she takes matters into her own hands. The film is now on HBO Latino if you have a few moments for a real treat.

Off the Black
This first feature by writer/director James Ponsoldt premiered at Sundance and while I don’t claim to be totally tapped into the indie narrative world, I hadn’t heard ‘boo’ about this project staring Nick Nolte and Trevor Morgan with Timothy Hutton, produced by Scott Macaulay and Robin O’Hara. The story is one of those quiet human dramas. A boy and his umpire strike up an unlikely friendship. It reminded me of Sideways in that the power of the film is in the performances. You must allow yourself to be transported into the scenes, sitting in the living room with Ray (Nolte’s character) with all his heavy breathing, gurgling down an overflowing beer and smelling the sweat when nervous Dave (Morgan’s character) gets caught TPing Ray’s house. It’s tough to market these kinds of films - there’s no big budget car crash, no sex - just people and the complexities of existence. I really enjoyed watching it. You can watch the pomp that poses as Q&A from Sundance>>