Last year I went to SXSW on the cheap. This year I'm doing the same thing except I'm taking a full week off work and trying to see as many films as humanly possible. When you don't have a priority badge, you can't see everything you want to see, but you can still get into most screenings. My unrealistic goal is to write a daily post of all the films I saw and attempted to see each day. It's late, and there's not a lot of time before tomorrow's first screening, so I'm gonna jump right into it.
Friday, March 8th, 2019
Films I Planned to See
Showtime Title Location
5:00 PM The Inventor Convention Center
9:00 PM Yes, God, Yes Stateside Theatre
11:55 PM Boyz in the Wood Stateside Theatre
Films I Actually Saw
Showtime Title Location
5:30 PM The Wall of Mexico Stateside Theatre
9:00 PM Yes, God, Yes Stateside Theatre
I was only able to see one of the three films I planned to see today. I was disappointed to miss out on The Inventor, a documentary about the fraudulent healthcare start-up Theranos, and Boyz in the Wood, which looks batshit crazy. I'm hoping to catch up on both of them later in the festival. The big premiere tonight was Us, the new film from Get Out writer/director Jordan Peele. I try to avoid big studio movies that are scheduled to release widely in the next month because I'll have an opportunity to see them fairly soon.
The Wall of Mexico
The Wall of Mexico analyzes immigration issues through an inverted lens. A wealthy Hispanic family owns a large plot of land outside a small white American town and sells the townspeople its well water, which may or may not have age-defying properties. When they discover that someone is stealing their water, they decide to build a wall, inflaming tensions with the locals.
This film was a pleasant surprise. This sounds like a premise that could be exploited to make a point at the expense of making a good movie, but the film was really well done. It's an intellectual think-piece about immigration and classism that challenges white Americans to ponder immigration policy from the perspective of immigrants. The film boasts incredible dialogue, particularly between actresses Marisol Sacramento and Carmela Zumbado, the sexy, brilliant sisters living on the Hispanic estate. I hope this movie gets a chance to reach a wider audience. It probably won't change your views on immigration, but it's a really smart film.
Yes, God, Yes
If you make a film about the flaws of the Christian church, and it doesn't get to me, you've probably made a bad film. Yes, God, Yes is about a Catholic school girl simultaneously discovering her sexuality and her teachers' hypocrisy. In stark contrast to The Wall of Mexico, this film is chiefly concerned with beating its point across the audience's collective head at the expense of good filmmaking.
I agree with a lot of what the movie's trying to say, but it says those things in an exaggerated, ham-fisted way. As someone who attended a Christian school from first to twelfth grade, none of the situations or character interactions seem real. Criticism of the church can be done in an intelligent, effective manner, but this film falls incredibly short. It's bad art with a good point, but it's still bad art.
That wraps up SXSW day one: one pleasant surprise and one disappointing let-down. Stay tuned for tomorrow's day two recap if I get around to writing it.
Michael Dixon is a mild mannered accountant by day and a mild mannered movie watcher by night. He will not do your taxes for you. He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely television and collection of fine whiskies. You can't purchase his book anywhere because it doesn't exist.
Friday, March 8th, 2019
Films I Planned to See
Showtime Title Location
5:00 PM The Inventor Convention Center
9:00 PM Yes, God, Yes Stateside Theatre
11:55 PM Boyz in the Wood Stateside Theatre
Films I Actually Saw
Showtime Title Location
5:30 PM The Wall of Mexico Stateside Theatre
9:00 PM Yes, God, Yes Stateside Theatre
I was only able to see one of the three films I planned to see today. I was disappointed to miss out on The Inventor, a documentary about the fraudulent healthcare start-up Theranos, and Boyz in the Wood, which looks batshit crazy. I'm hoping to catch up on both of them later in the festival. The big premiere tonight was Us, the new film from Get Out writer/director Jordan Peele. I try to avoid big studio movies that are scheduled to release widely in the next month because I'll have an opportunity to see them fairly soon.
The Wall of Mexico
The Wall of Mexico analyzes immigration issues through an inverted lens. A wealthy Hispanic family owns a large plot of land outside a small white American town and sells the townspeople its well water, which may or may not have age-defying properties. When they discover that someone is stealing their water, they decide to build a wall, inflaming tensions with the locals.
This film was a pleasant surprise. This sounds like a premise that could be exploited to make a point at the expense of making a good movie, but the film was really well done. It's an intellectual think-piece about immigration and classism that challenges white Americans to ponder immigration policy from the perspective of immigrants. The film boasts incredible dialogue, particularly between actresses Marisol Sacramento and Carmela Zumbado, the sexy, brilliant sisters living on the Hispanic estate. I hope this movie gets a chance to reach a wider audience. It probably won't change your views on immigration, but it's a really smart film.
Yes, God, Yes
If you make a film about the flaws of the Christian church, and it doesn't get to me, you've probably made a bad film. Yes, God, Yes is about a Catholic school girl simultaneously discovering her sexuality and her teachers' hypocrisy. In stark contrast to The Wall of Mexico, this film is chiefly concerned with beating its point across the audience's collective head at the expense of good filmmaking.
I agree with a lot of what the movie's trying to say, but it says those things in an exaggerated, ham-fisted way. As someone who attended a Christian school from first to twelfth grade, none of the situations or character interactions seem real. Criticism of the church can be done in an intelligent, effective manner, but this film falls incredibly short. It's bad art with a good point, but it's still bad art.
That wraps up SXSW day one: one pleasant surprise and one disappointing let-down. Stay tuned for tomorrow's day two recap if I get around to writing it.
Michael Dixon is a mild mannered accountant by day and a mild mannered movie watcher by night. He will not do your taxes for you. He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely television and collection of fine whiskies. You can't purchase his book anywhere because it doesn't exist.
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