March 27, 2009 - The Austin Chronicle

SCREENSSXSW Film ReviewsAMERICAN PRINCEDocumentary Feature, Special ScreeningsD: Tommy PallottaIn 1978, MartinScorsese releaseda legendary but little-seendocumentaryabout StevenPrince, an exheroin-addict,formerroad managerfor Neil Diamond,and heavyweightraconteur. For 55minutes Scorsesegave his friendthe floor to tellstories of his hectic life (some of which wouldlater make appearances in films by QuentinTarantino and Richard Linklater). “AmericanBoy,” which saw a limited release and is allbut unavailable now (it screened at South bySouthwest 09), has become a sort of holygrail for Scorsese fans: his “lost movie,” amyth spoken of in hushed tones. More than30 years later, director (and former Austinite)Pallotta found Prince and convinced him to doit all again, this time pulling back the curtainon the making of “American Boy” and thewild, indulgent, drug-fueled, gun-crazed, sexaddleddays he spent with Scorsese in late-Seventies Hollywood. Prince is so engaging asa storyteller, so brimming with experience, sofull of life, that Pallotta’s film can’t help butmove by in a flash: Close your eyes, and anhour has passed. Best, however, not to closeyour ears.– Josh RosenblattTHE LAST BEEKEEPERDocumentary Feature, Spotlight PremieresD: Jeremy SimmonsAlmond milk, almond butter, almond cookies,Almond Joy, almond lotion … almonds areubiquitous. However, their existence is threatenedby the extinction of one very hardworkingcreature: the bee. Almond trees dependon bees for pollination, and bees are rapidlydying thanks to Colony Collapse Disorder(think bee HIV). This caused Simmons towonder: What is the fate of all living creaturesshould bees go extinct? Considering the grav-ity of the question, it’s obliquely asked, ormaybe the fascinating beekeepers Simmonsprofiles inadvertently cloud the question. Eachis enormously captivating, coming to the tradedifferently but sharing an understanding oftheir intimate, hands-on work. In the end, it’san ancillary character that sagely pronouncesthe upshot of the film: Man has demandedtoo much for too long from the earth andgives nothing in return. Once those wordsare spoken, the message the vanishing beesbring is frighteningly clear. – Belinda AcostaWOMEN IN TROUBLENarrative Feature, Spotlight PremieresD: Sebastian Gutierrez; with Carla Gugino,Adrianne Palicki, Connie Britton, Josh Brolin,Simon Baker, Marley Shelton, EmmanuelleChirqui, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sarah Clarke,Cameron RichardsonBefore reaching the verge of a nervousbreakdown, the subjects are generally womenin trouble … and that’s more or less how itgoes in this derivative comedy that might havebeen cobbled together from pages left overfrom some forgotten Pedro Almodóvar shoot.Writer/director Gutierrez is actually a pal andwriting buddy of Almodóvar’s, so the influenceis hardly a shocker. Although both filmmakersoffer female ensembles a generosity ofcharacters, Gutierrez’s women seem a bitwan by comparison. Still, Women in Trouble’scanvas of intersecting characters can be awhole lot of fun, even if the women’s variouspredicaments don’t always follow through withthe zaniness of their setups. A pregnant pornstar, a sister with a secret about her niece, atrysting flight attendant, a couple of call girls,a therapist whose marriage is in crisis, andnumerous others cross paths over the courseof one day and night. Original music by RobynHitchcock helps brighten the mood.– Marjorie BaumgartenSTRONGMANDocumentary Feature, Special ScreeningsD: Zachary LevyThere seems to be an unspoken ruleamong documentarians that anything or anyoneis worthy of a documentary if you canjust get the right footage and edit it enter-Final Audience Awards AnnouncedSXSW announced two more audienceawards near the end of the Festival: IronMaiden: Flight 666 (D: Scot McFadyen,Sam Dunn) took Best in Show for the24 Beats per Second sidebar, and Overthe Hills and Far Away (D: Michel OrionScott), about one Austin family’s strugglewith living with autism, won Best inShow for the Lone Star States sidebar.You can read more about both films, aswell as find all our prior SXSW 09 Filmreviews and Conference coverage, ataustinchronicle.com/screens.Over the Hills and Far Awaytainingly. Hoop Dreams comes to mind, asit followed two inner-city teens and endedup being a transcendent film about theAmerican dream. Strongman either finallyproves the adage wrong or was mishandledby the director and editors. It’s the story ofan average joe (or Stan, in this case) with aunique ability (viz, bending steel and otherfeats of strength), who finds his talents lessin demand, which makes it increasingly hardto maintain his insufferably positive outlook.His girlfriend, Barb, is his rock. His alcoholicbrother serves as a cautionary tale of whatStan could become. What results is an excruciatingtwo hours that could have been cutin half and still retained the film’s ultimateeffect of verité and little else.– James RenovitchBURMA VJDocumentary Feature, Special ScreeningsD: Anders OstergaardThis film is the backstory to the mediafootage we watched on TV in the summerof 2007, when 100,000 Myanmar citizens– joined by the country’s usually apoliticalBuddhist monks – marched against a 40-yearlongrepressive military regime. (The iconicimage of the all-too brief and horribly doomeduprising was that of the orange-robed monksmarching through Rangoon with their blackalms bowls held upside down, indicatingtheir refusal to take alms from the regime.)Recording it all surreptitiously with video camerasand cell phones and then transmitting itto the world was a cadre of brave Myanmarvideo journalists, members of the NorwaybasedDemocratic Voice of Burma. The film isa compelling presentation of a tragic situation,but it has been criticized, and rightly so, for itsliberal use of re-enactments, which are onlygenerally acknowledged at the beginning ofthe film and not specifically denominated.– Anne S. LewisTHE BIG SQUEEZEDocumentary ShortD: Hector GalánWhat starts as a trailer for the AustinbasedTexas Folklife Resources and its annualAccordion Kings & Queens competition veersinto a narrow examination of traditional accordionmusic. Galán has made a career celebratingTejano and conjunto music with todoJANA BIRCHUMJONATHAN DEMME‘Neil Young Trunk Show’Despite filming a couple of Hollywoodremakes (The Truth About Charlie and TheManchurian Candidate) in the past, directorJonathan Demme has always resisted thelure of the easy sequel (he left it to othersto continue the Hannibal Lecter brand). NeilYoung, however, is another story entirely.Demme followed up his 2006 concert doc,Neil Young: Heart of Gold, with this newperformance film, which made its worldpremiere at the Paramount Theatre on theclosing day of South by Southwest. Thatauditorium proved the perfect screeningroom, as the venue replicates the ornatebut well-worn vibe of the Tower Theatrein Upper Darby, Penn., where the concertwas filmed. Asked during the Q&A how thisnew film compares with his previous Youngmovie, Demme replied that Trunk Show isa “reaction to Heart of Gold.” Everythingabout the earlier film was carefully planned;“this one is unplanned.” Demme then wenton to tell an amusing story about beingwith Young at Farm Aid and learning thatthen-Sen. Barack Obama was visiting WillieNelson’s bus. Already a supporter of thepolitician, Demme managed to get the senatorover to listen to Young’s rehearsal andasked if he knew the song. Obama replied:“‘Southern Man’? Give me a break.”– Marjorie Baumgartencorazón. However, this documentary, preparedfor PBS to air later in the year, barely scratchesthe surface in its painfully scant 26 minutesand, as a result, has several missed opportunities.Conjunto is king in the film, but zydeco– a parallel accordion tradition – only receivespassing reference. The film celebrates severalteenage accordionists, but why they persistin a period of aggressive modernization is notdeeply examined. And the fact that there areother young musicians exploding conjunto whilewhole-heartedly embracing it (punk conjunto,anyone?) is never approached. The newcomermay be engrossed, but for those who knowand love conjunto, “The Big Squeeze” leavesyou wanting more. – Belinda Acosta50 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E MARCH 27, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m