03 Sep Telluride Film Fest: A Review from “First Showing”
Hope you enjoyed reading our review. This one is from First Showing. Alex Billington and I are on the same page.
Out under the stars, breathing quietly, staring up in awe wishing they’d never go away… Aw yes, Telluride. I’ve spent the last five days in the mountains of Colorado at the Telluride Film Festival reminiscing with friends and colleagues every night over whether I should just drop everything, stay here, and move in. It’s so damn beautiful. But besides all the stunning nature surrounding us, we’re all here for cinema, for the love of film and the power it has to inspire us, transform us, define us, and entertain us. It always ends too quickly (one weekend is not enough!) and suddenly just like that it’s over, I’m headed back to New York City for a few days before continuing up to Toronto for TIFF. What films did I see and love this year? Let’s find out.
Telluride starts on Friday afternoon and lasts through Monday evening, with essentially three full days plus one half day of films. While badges/passes are expensive, it’s worth it to attend and see whatever I can in a setting that is incomparable. The line-up is revealed the day before the festival and I expected a lot of major premieres – and boy did they deliver. Almost everything I saw I enjoyed to some degree, and can talk about all of them at length (if you want to chat about any, just hit me up @firstshowing). I always wish I could see more, but between TIFF and NYFF coming up, I can catch everything premiering this fall and focus on the most important ones at each festival. Telluride’s selection usually has a theme (this year it seemed to be the struggle of the working class individual) and it’s exciting to get in and start watching movies all day long.
Here’s my list of the 9 films I saw, with my quick thoughts on each. Listed in order of most to least favorite.
The Imitation Game – Directed by Morten Tyldum – An astonishing and fascinating film featuring one of Benedict Cumberbatch’s finest performances. Loved this film, from the score by Alexandre Desplat to the story and what it says about how anyone, even awkward goofballs, can change the world. [My Full Review]
Birdman – Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu – Bravo. Iñárritu’s masterpiece about the struggles of artistic people. Set on a Broadway stage, with an engaging percussive score, breathtaking cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, and one hell of a lead performance by Michael Keaton. Loved it. [My Full Review]
Wild Tales – Directed by Damián Szifrón – Hilarious! Absurd! Insane! Brutal! Awesome! This fantastic Argentinian film lived up to the buzz and is a brilliant, cathartic experience about the ridiculousness of modern society. So happy I caught this. [Watch the Trailer]…
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