Day 1 - Personal Velocity, Heaven, Lost In LaMancha, Intacto

[Jean-Pierre Bazinet]

Day One

Personal Velocity, Rebecca Miller

Plot Summary: This film is basically composed of three separate short stories, each telling the story of a woman trying to free themselves of men in their lives who in some way confine their personal freedom. First up is Delia (Sedgwick), a former rock-and-roll party chick, now living with an abusive husband (Warshofsky) in a trailer out in the Catskill boonies, who takes off with the kids, trying to find a new life as a waitress, even as her free and sometimes reckless spirit has her doing some of the things she was known for when she was younger. Second is Greta (Posey), a New York City book publishing editor whose alliance with a hip young author (De la Fuente) offers her a chance to both get out of the cookbook business, and possibly ditch the boring husband (Guinee) she's finding to be constrictive of her career. Finally, we see the story of Paula (Balk), a pregnant goth teenager who hits the road looking for something new, finding it in a battered boy (Pucci) she picks up hitchhiking.

JP: ** 1/2 of 5
Blankboy: * 1/2 of 5

Notes: Too much shacky (handheld) camera movement. Each story (3 of them) was interesting but too long. Good acting all around. Somewhat of a 'chick-flick'. Score was a bit annoying.

[img]/tiff2002/personal.jpg[/img]
Rebecca Miller, Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey and Cinematographer Ellen Kuras

[Jean-Pierre Bazinet]

Heaven, Tom Tykwer

Official Website
Trailer

Plot Summary: This is the story of Filipina (Blanchett), a teacher whose husband recently died of a drug overdose, inspiring her to seek revenge on the dealer who sold him the drugs. Things go tragically wrong (something to do with a bomb exploding in a skyscraper, which is partly why this was moved from its original fall, 2001 release), and she is arrested; but she also strangely finds herself falling in love with a young police officer (Ribisi)...

JP: ** of 5
Blankboy: * 1/2 of 5

Notes: Boring as hell. LONG & TEDIOUS. No story. Frustrating. Visually great. Cate Blanchett was good. Giovanni was wasted. Weak score. Pretentious.

[img]/tiff2002/heaven.jpg[/img]
Tom Tykwer

[Jean-Pierre Bazinet]

Lost In LaMancha, Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe

Official Website

Plot Summary: Lost In La Mancha may be the first 'un-making of' documentary. In a genre that exists to hype films before their release, Lost In La Mancha presents an unexpected twist: it is the story of a film that does not exist. Instead of a sanitised glimpse behind the scenes, Lost In La Mancha offers a unique, in-depth look at the harsher realities of filmmaking. With drama that ranges from personal conflicts to epic storms, this is a record of a film disintegrating

JP: **** of 5
Blankboy: **** of 5

Notes: Really funny. Entertaining. Informative. Made us want to see the Don Quixote movie finished. Very well done with animation & movie footage.

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Terry Gilliam, Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe

[img]/tiff2002/lost-terry.jpg[/img]
Terry Gilliam

[img]/tiff2002/lost-dustin.jpg[/img]
Dustin Hoffman (in audience)

[Jean-Pierre Bazinet]

Intacto, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Official Website

Plot Summary: A strange game in which people in an isolated casino in the middle of nowhere make wagers to win each other's luck.

JP: ** 1/2 of 5
Blankboy: *** of 5

Notes: Good, original premise. Well executed: acting, directing. A little confusing - possibly inconsistent. Great Max von Sydow performance.

[img]/tiff2002/intacto.jpg[/img]
translator and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo