Crossroads Film Festival Part 2

In my second screening, I saw Spirited Away. A Japanese award-winning animated film, Spirited Away was probably on of the best movies I have seen in awhile. The film concerned a scared young girl, moving to a new home. She and her family stumble onto a magical park, filled with monsters. The girl is forced to mature and save her parents from the evil that surrounds them. It is a coming of age film.

The movie was riddled with themes of innocence loss, love, gluttonly, etc. Like many foreign films, the storytelling does not follow traditional westernized architecture. Despite this fact, there really wasn't a dull moment in the piece. I greatly enjoyed the music in the work not only did it enhance the mood of the scenes but it also gave you a sense of awareness into the characters' hearts. I also liked the use of Japanese Animation compared to the typical, stylized American animation.

My only problem with the film is that it was too long for an animated feature, spanning nearly 2 hours. While there was never a slow moment, it tried to accomplish too much if that makes any sense--too many themes to many "quests" for the young girl. With all that in mind, the film was exceptionally well produced.

CrossRoads Film Festival

At Crossroads, I saw two films: Spirited Away and the Winners of in the Short Film Category. In the Short Film Category, two films really stood out to me: the film about the Big Apple Inn and The Man from Memphis. Both films were done very well. I related to them because of my southern heritage and Jackson residence. The Big Apple Inn is about a restaurant in Jackson that has been open for 50 years. Since its openings, it has served pig ear sandwiches--apparently a delicacey in the Jackson community. The director did a really good job explaining what was going on in the restaurant and you really connected with the particpants. He often used close-ups on the food production, which was unappetizing, but countered it with the feelings of the community eating the food. The Big Apple Inn also showed the vibrant culture that Farish Street--now crime ridden--once had. He also gave you a glimpse into the Civil Rights movement. The Film was a great story and for a 20 minute production provided a plethora of information.

Man from Memphis was centered around a 70 year old garbage man currently working in Memphis, TN. It was the story of all underpaid and underrepresented employees in America. Again, I enjoyed the background information given to this film in reference to so much of the working class uprising in America. The most poignant part of the film was the man speaking to children in school. To them, he was a local hero. His courage and sacrifice caused on young girl to sob at his story. Seeing this, he said, "Don't cry..seeing you cry makes me sad..and I'll cry." The entirety of the documentary was driven but the charisma of this 70 year old garbage man. The film was shot very well and we actually felt like we were there with this man at his work. Again, like the Big Apple Inn, for such a short piece, I was given a great deal of information and felt very satisified after leaving.

Between Floors Review

Let me start by saying that I went into this film thinking it would be the best of The Southern Circuit Film Series. However, I was greatly let down. It was actually the worst of probably any film we have had to watch this semester. Essentially, the entire action of the movie is centered around the characters stuck in various elevators. I guess the overall idea of what the author was trying to espouse is true humanity only occurs in these tightly packed, pressured situations. With that in mind, she did accomplish her goal. Despite this fact, there were so many flaws--granted it was a student film--that I could not overlook it. For one, the film was entirely too long. At times, some of the story lines were compelling but mostly they weren't. The wealthy, problematic family had the most substance associated with it. But, the actors/writing was so poorly done that I felt very uneasy watching them on film. To make it better, the director should have focused on one or two of the stronger stories and the relationships. For example, the two men in the elevator arguing was a very compelling story yet we didn't get enough of it. Good idea for a film, but she needed to change up a few of the details.