Not sure what happened, except that by the time all of our movies ended, I didn't feel like battling the crowds for a spot in line. Instead, we ended up at a great place called the Monk's Kettle, which features organic and sustainably grown food. Okay, pretty much everyone here offers that, but this place was really good. Leesil and I split a cheese platter featuring a local cheddar and a sheep's milk cheese from Humboldt County while we reminisced about the films we'd each seen that day.
After realizing that the early bird gets the comps, I arrived in time to see a bit of the 70s kids classic, Free to Be.... You and Me.
Either a young Jermaine Jackson was in it, or the producers were gobbling up every Jackson kid look-alike they could. I didn't stick around long enough for the credits, but I haven't seen his name listed yet. The mystery remains unsolved, and frankly... I'm too overloaded on movies right now to event attempt an IMDB search.
My first film of the day was Maggots and Men, a beautifully shot experimental film based on the 1921 Kronsdadt Uprising. The black and white film lyrically melds the history of the revolution with the struggle to free gender expression from cultural norms. By evoking Eisenstein at every possible turn. Having said that, this is seriously one of the most beautiful films I've seen in quite a while and it balances its punk aesthetic with its art school high-mindedness seamlessly.
I didn't have another movie until 6:30 (I'd already seen that afternoon's selections), so I grabbed some sandwiches and we headed out to Golden Gate park for an hour or so.
Then it was back for what turned out to be my favorite film of the festival - It Came From Kuchar.
I'm not a big fan of horror films and while I'd rather see a campy, low-budget horror film than any Hollywood produced gore-fest, it's still not my thing.
BUT.. this is one of the funniest docs I've ever seen. The Kuchar bros. are twins, now in their 70s or so, and they've created literally thousands of undeground films. Unintenionally hilarious, especially when they're trying to remember if they're fraternal or identical, they are a a riot the entire time they're on screen. Add John Waters, a big fan, and you'd got the makings for 2 hours of non-stop laughter.
They received the Frameline award, and deservedly so. Tuesday night, there's a screening of Thundercrack that I may see. Who knows... maybe I'll become a fan of the horror film yet.
Meanwhile, Leesil was across town watching Light Gradient, a German flick about two boys who take off on their bikes, meet another young boy and his mom and go row-boating.
I'm sure there was more to it than that, but maybe not.
We spent the whole night watching films in two different parts of town, partly to cover as many as we could.
Leesil stayed in the Mission to watch Pronographic, which she said badly needed an editor, while I immersed myself in LA's teen mod subculture.
We are the Mods features Sadie, a young outcast, who, after a heroic attempt to join the French club fails horribly, loses her best friend.
Adrift, she falls for the beautiful Nico, a coke-snorting, boy-banging hottie with a gimpy foot and penchant for all things 60s.
Sadie falls in love, natch, and things get a bit predictable. What makes this high school story really sing is the mod culture - the clothes, the scooters, the music. It lends an edge to the story you might not find if they were just hanging out at the mall.
Apart from that, it's not breaking that much new ground.
Off to pick up tix for tomorrow's screenings - see you soon!
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