BIFF
This weekend, the second annual Boulder International Film Festival hit town, and Brenda & I took full advantage, taking in two feature-length films and watching a program of short films yesterday afternoon. Everything we saw was shown at the fabulous Boulder Theatre, a quirky old joint downtown with a great old marquee, uncomfortable seats, and a full service bar. Boulder does everything differently.
Friday night we saw “C.R.A.Z.Y.”, which was a great coming of age flick about a whole family, really, but centered on one son and his homosexuality. It was a fantastic ensemble cast and was one of those performances that are all too rare these days, an entire cast that worked well together. The actress who portrayed the mother, Danielle Proulx, was brilliant, as were the two actors who played the main character at various stages of his life. We were treated to a live appearance by Ms. Proulx after the film, but unfortunately she was barraged with Boulder intellectuals each trying to outdo one another with arty film questions, or addressing Ms. Proulx in her native French Canadian tongue. Annoying .
Yesterday’s short film program was marginally entertaining, one standout being a humorous adaptation of “West Side Story”, re-set in Israel, with the Sharks and the Jets replaced by workers at the Hummus Hut and the Falafel King, and an impossible love story between the pretty Palestinian and the handsome Israelli checkpoint guard.
Ironically enough, that short film was followed last evening by “Diameter of the Bomb”, a sad documentary that explores in detail the aftermath of a suicide bombing on the 32A bus. The music was fantastic, the interviews gripping, and the forensic footage - including what remained of the bomber’s head - shocking, if not somewhat predictable. The interviews with the bomber’s family offered a view of “the other side of the story” that we never get on western television. A very interesting documentary, and I was struck by the silence of the crowd as we exited the theater. I like to see movies like that.
There are plenty more offerings today, the final day of the film festival, but I think we’re movied out at this point.
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4 comments
I’ve lived in Boulder since 1978 and have only been to the Boulder Theatre one time, to see Buddy Guy. I need to get out more! I was going to go to see “Beyond Burningman,” or whatever it was called, of the BIFF, late Fri. night with “the other Rob” from work and his g/f, but… things in my life made it not possible.
Anyway… glad to hear you and Brenda had a good time. :) Enjoy having today off… woo hoo!
Your post led me to search and find this poem:
The Diameter of the Bomb
The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimetres
and the diameter of its effective
range—about seven metres.
And in it four dead and eleven wounded.
And around them in a greater circle
of pain and time are scattered
two hospitals and one cemetery.
But the young woman who was
buried where she came from
over a hundred kilometres away
enlarges the circle greatly.
And the lone man who weeps over her death
in a far corner of a distant country
includes the whole world in the circle.
And I won’t speak at all about the crying of orphans
that reaches to the seat of God
and from there onward, making
the circle without end and without God.
—Yehuda Amichai
I’m guessing it is the source of the title. Powerful stuff. Looks like a film I’ll have to find time to see.
Yes Charles, the title is indeed based on that poem. The film’s editor read the first bits of it prior to screening the film, and was answering questions afterward. Ineresting story, and interesting execution. I wouldn’t say it was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, but it is thought-provoking and the music and editing were truly awesome. I think the execution suffered from the fact that only a few families agreed to be interviewed; after an hour and a half of a few mothers/husbands/doctors talking about how beautiful and innocent their particular casualties were, I started to wonder about all the other stories. There were nineteen killed in this particular attack, after all. Not necessarily faulting the production, just an observation.
Dude, Portland has several theatres that show films and serve beer. You should visit sometime.
Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure I am coming to Colorado in May to egg your house.
Donna Arasin
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