Day 9: September 15

Was to be a two Jamaican film day today, but an hour and a half in a rush line for Made in Jamaica was for naught.

Day nine is usually a testy day, but with grey overcast skies and a bunch of overly tired and stressed programmers, volunteers, and especially press made for a challenging mood.

The streets seem a bit more empty, the buzz clearly dying down on this penultimate day of the fest.

No Place Like Home
Directed by: Perry Henzell

Grade: B-

A lovely mess of a film, this work sat on the shelves for some thirty years before Henzell finally got the intellectual and financial capital together to complete it. For the most part it ties together in much the same way as Harder they Come - documentary like shots of Jamaican life punctuated with musical montage sequences and improvised dialogue. It doesn't nearly have the impact of his first film, and the roughshod way in which contemporary footage is cut together with reaction shots from the first shoot is distracting at times. Still, the classic reggae of the soundtrack (interspersed with MOR 70s schmaltz) keeps the film chugging along.

Tales of the Rat Fink
Directed by: Ron Mann

Grade: B-

A stylized, energetic look at hod rod pioneer Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and his affect on popular culture. Using stock footage, animated stills and a series of classic cars speaking to camera (voiced by the likes of Jay Leno and Matt Groening), the film briskly takes the viewer on a ride through Roth's prime years in the 50s and 60s. Bubble cars and air-brushed flames abound, and even the introduction of the modern t-shirt is credited to Big Daddy as well. The (solo) animator is to be credited for elevating the film considerably, with amazingly dexterous use of After Effects providing the key look for the work. Interesting and accessible, a fairly decent look at a maverick designer.

Princess
Directed by: Anders Morgenthaler

Grade: A-

A shocking, inventive animated/live action hybrid from Denmark made waves through the crowd at tonight's MM screening. Morally ambivalent, this is a Danish docudrama along the lines of The Celebration, where seemingly banal generic conventions are turned on their head. Animation is used here clearly to allow the story to be told with a certain amount of distanciation, yet the constant shift in tone and introduction of video elements keeps the film intensely unsettling.

Graphic sex and violence are nothing new to the MM crowd, but when the object of much of the heinous acts is a five-year-old girl the stakes are raised incredibly high. Still, this is deft, brave storytelling, and never goes for the cheap shot or thrill for the sake of titillation. Instead, the film is steadfast in its unfolding, and the ending is made all the more horrific because of its unsettled nature. A great addition to this year's MM lineup, Princess is not to be forgotten.