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Something for everyone

From silents to indie premieres, Febiofest spans the globe
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By Steffen Silvis
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 26th, 2008 issue

Northern promises. Denys Arcand's L'Age des tenebres at Febiofest.
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Affleck's Gone Baby Gone
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Theroux's Dedication
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Febiofest

March 27-April 4
Anděl Village Cinema, Ponrepo and other venues
For further information, check
www.febiofest.cz/en
In this capital of film festivals, Febiofest is the motherlode, a celluloid smorgasbord for everyone. From a silent film retrospective to the latest in American and European indie and experimental cinema, you’ll find the perfect mini-festival of your fantasies. And with the screenings spread out over nine days, there are usually multiple opportunities to catch a film.
As usual, Febiofest will be the site of a few Czech premieres, including The Savages (with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman reported to be savagely good), Paul Thomas Anderson’s long-awaited There Will Be Blood, and two films by actors, Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone and Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. There’s also the highly controversial Redacted by Brian DePalma.
Speaking of directors, there are a number of profiles this year, including Romanian Nae Caranfil, Dutch helmer Jos Stelling and, though unofficially framed as profiles, the American indie directors Ed Radtke and the controversial Nina Menkes. There’s also an Alan Parker retrospective that ranges from Mississippi Burning to Fame, by way of Midnight Express (though, sadly, not including Bugsy Malone or Birdy).
Other retrospective gems include Bertolucci’s seldom-screened Prima della rivoluzione, the David Hugh Jones and Harold Pinter version of Kafka’s The Trial (with Kyle MacLachlan, Anthony Hopkins and Jason Robards) and Roy Andersson’s breathtakingly shot Giliap.
Representing the Silent Era is that storied Polish femme fatale with the kohl-rimmed eyes, Pola Negri. Films representing her work in Berlin, London and Hollywood will be shown, though not all have English title cards. The ones to seek out would be Paramount’s 1925 sex romp A Woman of the World (or “Negri with a whip”) and 1923’s Bella Donna. If your German is up to snuff, there’s Negri’s work with Ernst Lubitsch in Die Bergkatze.
The one retrospective that annually and parochially shuts out non-Czech speakers is the one for Czech films. As Febiofest seems eager to attract an international audience, the decision not to show these with English or German subtitles is baffling, especially considering that at least two — Martin Frič’s admirable Tales by Čapek and František Vláčil’s gothic monument Marketa Lazarová — are readily available with subtitles at any video shop in the city. It seems like a foolishly missed opportunity not to sell these local examples of great filmmaking.
The good news is that many international directors will have their work shown with English subtitles, including Volker Schlöndorff’s Ulzhan, Carlos Saura’s Fados and the Taviani brothers’ The Lark Farm, their film about the Armenian holocaust. Also, that marvelous Quebecois filmmaker Denys Arcand (Invasion of the Barbarians) arrives with his latest, L’Age des Tenebres. Another Canadian to catch, Jamie Travis, is a stylish Vancouverite whose Patterns series manages to resemble something like a Guy Maddin remake of Pillow Talk. Travis’ latest (perhaps a riff on one of Maddin’s more famous film titles) is The Saddest Boy in the World.
Finally, the American independent cinema is well-represented with a number of acclaimed films. Justin Theroux’s Dedication has a great cast, including Billy Crudup, Tom Wilkinson, Dianne Wiest and Bob Balaban. Another good list of actors is in Adrienne Shelly’s highly regarded Waitress, which Shelly completed before being brutally murdered in her New York apartment by a thief. There’s also a chance to see one of Shelly’s earlier films, I’ll Take You There, which the actress/director made with Ally Sheedy.
Anyone who saw George Ratliff’s documentary Hell House (a Baptist appropriation of Halloween) will surely be interested in seeing his fictional horror film Joshua. For those whose tastes are a bit more outré, there’s always Bruce LaBruce’s graphically gay zombie film, Otto, or Up with Dead People.
As I said, something for everyone.
    

Steffen Silvis can be reached at ssilvis@praguepost.com


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