Day 8. This is it.
Friday, March 15th, 2019
Films I Planned to See
Showtime Title Location
11:00 AM The Mountain Zach Theatre
1:45 PM Frances Ferguson Stateside Theatre
3:00 PM Strange Negotiations Paramount Theatre
Films I Actually Saw
Showtime Title Location
11:00 AM The Mountain Zach Theatre
1:45 PM Frances Ferguson Stateside Theatre
3:00 PM Strange Negotiations Paramount Theatre
I was three for three today. Somehow I was able to make it to a 1:45 PM screening and a 3:00 PM screening. Frances Ferguson was exactly 75 minutes long, and Strange Negotiations was playing next door. I made it just in time, and I'm really glad I did.
The Mountain
The Mountain is the story of a timid young man who takes a job assisting a lobotomy doctor after his father's death. Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum play the two leads as they travel from hospital to hospital removing bits of patients' brains through their nostrils.
The film has a dream-like quality, and it was all I could do to keep from falling asleep. This thing is glacially slow. Sheridan plays the role of Andy with such lifelessness that it's impossible to ever discern what he's thinking. He is the intellectual and emotional equivalent of a brick wall. When Andy is eventually lobotomized himself, there is absolutely no change in his character. About three quarters of the way through, a loud French guy hijacks the film and goes apeshit for a couple scenes. He doesn't fit with the rest of the movie at all, but at least he mixes things up a little.
This movie made Jeff Goldblum boring. That should be a felony. I'm not sure what the film is trying to do, but it seems to be making a case for lobotomy as a viable option to cope with emotional pain. I prefer whiskey.
Frances Ferguson
Frances Ferguson is a nihilistic story of a woman who doesn't give a shit about anything. Kaley Wheless plays the eponymous Frances, a 25-year-old substitute teacher in small town Nebraska who doesn't make enough money to cover her daughter's childcare. In an act of rebellion against her boring life and crumbling marriage, she sleeps with a 16-year-old student. Shortly thereafter, she proceeds through the correctional system from arrest to trial to prison to parole.
Wheless plays the role with very little emotion. Nothing seems to affect Kaley. She's resigned to the fact that her life will always be awful regardless of her actions.
The film is billed as a comedy, but it provides few laughs aside from a couple wise cracks from narrator Nick Offerman. Director Bob Byington seems to be commenting on the mundanity of small towns and the bullshit of the American correctional system. These are interesting ideas, but the movie is pretty dull. At least it's only 75 minutes long.
Strange Negotiations
Strange Negotiations paints an intimate portrait of a musician grappling with his religious beliefs set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election. David Bazan began his career in the late 1990s as the lead singer and guitarist for Christian indie rock band Pedro the Lion. When he began to seriously doubt his faith, he broke up the band in order to explore these questions as a solo artist.
Much of the film takes place in David's car as he discusses his history in music and religion. His musings on Christianity are incredibly relatable to anyone who has spent significant time in the modern church. He details the conflict felt by many Christians who see a division between Jesus' teachings and the church's political affiliations. This footage is interspersed with beautiful aerial shots of the American countryside as Bazan drives from gig to gig.
As the tour drags on, Bazan comes to realize the depth of his loneliness and spirals into deep depression, lamenting his absence from his children's lives and the toll his schedule has taken on his marriage. Bazan could easily let his despair overtake him, but instead he decides to reassess his life and discover a new way to monetize his music that requires less travel. There's an important lesson here for those disillusioned by the church. It's okay to be upset, but it's healthy to move on and make the best of your life. Wallowing in self-pity isn't going to change anything.
There's not a trailer out yet, but here's a clip of Bazan performing the song from which the film gets its name.
Technically, the film festival ends on Saturday, but SXSW has mercifully ended a day early for me due to my dad's 70th birthday celebration in Dallas. I'll post a summary of the festival with a ranked list of all the films I saw in the next couple days.
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 15th, 2019
Films I Planned to See
Showtime Title Location
11:00 AM The Mountain Zach Theatre
1:45 PM Frances Ferguson Stateside Theatre
3:00 PM Strange Negotiations Paramount Theatre
Films I Actually Saw
Showtime Title Location
11:00 AM The Mountain Zach Theatre
1:45 PM Frances Ferguson Stateside Theatre
3:00 PM Strange Negotiations Paramount Theatre
I was three for three today. Somehow I was able to make it to a 1:45 PM screening and a 3:00 PM screening. Frances Ferguson was exactly 75 minutes long, and Strange Negotiations was playing next door. I made it just in time, and I'm really glad I did.
The Mountain
The Mountain is the story of a timid young man who takes a job assisting a lobotomy doctor after his father's death. Tye Sheridan and Jeff Goldblum play the two leads as they travel from hospital to hospital removing bits of patients' brains through their nostrils.
The film has a dream-like quality, and it was all I could do to keep from falling asleep. This thing is glacially slow. Sheridan plays the role of Andy with such lifelessness that it's impossible to ever discern what he's thinking. He is the intellectual and emotional equivalent of a brick wall. When Andy is eventually lobotomized himself, there is absolutely no change in his character. About three quarters of the way through, a loud French guy hijacks the film and goes apeshit for a couple scenes. He doesn't fit with the rest of the movie at all, but at least he mixes things up a little.
This movie made Jeff Goldblum boring. That should be a felony. I'm not sure what the film is trying to do, but it seems to be making a case for lobotomy as a viable option to cope with emotional pain. I prefer whiskey.
Frances Ferguson
Frances Ferguson is a nihilistic story of a woman who doesn't give a shit about anything. Kaley Wheless plays the eponymous Frances, a 25-year-old substitute teacher in small town Nebraska who doesn't make enough money to cover her daughter's childcare. In an act of rebellion against her boring life and crumbling marriage, she sleeps with a 16-year-old student. Shortly thereafter, she proceeds through the correctional system from arrest to trial to prison to parole.
Wheless plays the role with very little emotion. Nothing seems to affect Kaley. She's resigned to the fact that her life will always be awful regardless of her actions.
The film is billed as a comedy, but it provides few laughs aside from a couple wise cracks from narrator Nick Offerman. Director Bob Byington seems to be commenting on the mundanity of small towns and the bullshit of the American correctional system. These are interesting ideas, but the movie is pretty dull. At least it's only 75 minutes long.
Strange Negotiations
Strange Negotiations paints an intimate portrait of a musician grappling with his religious beliefs set against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election. David Bazan began his career in the late 1990s as the lead singer and guitarist for Christian indie rock band Pedro the Lion. When he began to seriously doubt his faith, he broke up the band in order to explore these questions as a solo artist.
Much of the film takes place in David's car as he discusses his history in music and religion. His musings on Christianity are incredibly relatable to anyone who has spent significant time in the modern church. He details the conflict felt by many Christians who see a division between Jesus' teachings and the church's political affiliations. This footage is interspersed with beautiful aerial shots of the American countryside as Bazan drives from gig to gig.
As the tour drags on, Bazan comes to realize the depth of his loneliness and spirals into deep depression, lamenting his absence from his children's lives and the toll his schedule has taken on his marriage. Bazan could easily let his despair overtake him, but instead he decides to reassess his life and discover a new way to monetize his music that requires less travel. There's an important lesson here for those disillusioned by the church. It's okay to be upset, but it's healthy to move on and make the best of your life. Wallowing in self-pity isn't going to change anything.
There's not a trailer out yet, but here's a clip of Bazan performing the song from which the film gets its name.
Technically, the film festival ends on Saturday, but SXSW has mercifully ended a day early for me due to my dad's 70th birthday celebration in Dallas. I'll post a summary of the festival with a ranked list of all the films I saw in the next couple days.
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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