SF Indie Fest ’13: The Other Side of Sleep

Whenever someone starts sleep-walking in the movies, you know a dead body will soon turn up.  That is about the only convention of the psychological suspense genre followed in this Irish excursion into somnambulism.  Mood trumps cheap thrills in Rebecca Daly’s The Other Side of Sleep (trailer here), which screens during the 2013 San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

Arlene’s life kind of bites.  It all goes back to her early childhood when her mother mysteriously vanished.  Since then, she has been plagued with periodic bouts of sleepwalking.  Recently, it has started again in a bad way.  Waking up in her crummy bed-sit all scratched up and muddy, Arlene is distressed to discover her mother’s bracelet is missing.

While at her dreary factory job, Arlene subsequently learns a local woman about her age but considerably more social has been murdered in the nearby woods.  The crime resonates with her, stirring memories of her mother’s disappearance.  Following her compulsions, Arlene befriends the dead girl’s sister Donna and does not completely discourage the overtures of her bad boy boyfriend, upon whom most of the community’s suspicions have fallen.

Mystery fans should understand upfront, the greatest moments of nervous trepidation in Sleep involve the proximity of Arlene’s fingers to the factory’s power saw.  To be fair, they will make most viewers antsy, but overall the film is far removed from Hitchcockian territory.  Instead, Daly is concerned with how deeply rooted grief and abandonment issues manifest themselves over time.  While it is an extreme character study, Daly maintains a vibe of dream-like emotional detachment.  Despite the fact a murder has occurred, few dramatic stakes will present themselves over the course of the film.

Nevertheless, Antonia Campbell-Hughes is quite impressive as Arlene.  While her character is reserved to the point of introverted, Campbell-Hughes powerfully conveys all the pain she carries locked up inside.  In fact, the entire ensemble consistently hits the right notes as the bereft and down-trodden citizens Offaly.

With Sleep, Daly became the first Irishwoman filmmaker to screen a film in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes.  Hopefully, such a prestigious claim is a sufficient return on investment for the Irish Film Board, which supported Sleep, because it is not likely to do much to spur Irish tourism.  Indeed, Daly’s vision of provincial Ireland is decidedly grungy and menacing, well served by cinematographer Suzie Lavelle’s eerily suggestive work. 

With her feature debut, Daly shows a mastery of atmosphere and scene-setting, but her storytelling skills are not at the same level.  The former are all well and good, but the latter talent is what will sustain a filmmaker over a long career.  An interesting but demanding start, The Other Side of Sleep should intrigue self-selecting patrons when it screens this coming Friday (2/15) and the following Thursday (2/22) at the Roxie Theatre as part of the 2013 SF Indie Fest.

SF Indie Fest ’13: The Last Elvis

Carlos Gutiérrez’s career is a lot like Nic Cage’s, but not quite as embarrassing.  Elvis Presley casts a long shadow over both.  In fact, Gutiérrez insists people call him Elvis.  The Argentine tribute performer’s lifelong passion veers into dark obsessive territory in Armando Bo’s The Last Elvis (trailer here), which screens during the 2013 San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

By day, Gutiérrez works on a factory assembly line.  Nights and weekends, he performs as an Elvis impersonator.  He is actually pretty good at it—arguably, too good.  Gutiérrez’s self-identification with Presley has severely strained his relationships with the ex-wife he insists on calling Priscilla and their young daughter Lisa.  Frankly, Gutiérrez is poor father material.  However, when Alejandro Olemburg (a.k.a. Priscilla) is critically injured in a car accident, Gutiérrez suddenly finds himself caring for Lisa.  After some initial awkwardness, Gutiérrez finally starts to bond with his daughter, but he continues preparing for his mysterious tour.

In some ways absolutely maddening, Last Elvis is nonetheless a startlingly compelling film, in no small measure due the real life Elvis tribute artist John McInerny’s dramatic and musical performances.  He has the voice, rocking heartfelt showstoppers like “You Were Always on My Mind” and “Unchained Melody.”  McInerny also wrings every possible ounce of pathos out of the tragically “gifted” Gutiérrez, despite actions that should profoundly challenge audience sympathy on paper.  His father-daughter chemistry with Margarita Lopez’s Lisa Marie is quite affecting as well.

Last Elvis is about as stark and murky as music-driven films ever get.  Bo co-wrote Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful and it is not hard to see a kinship between the films.  Yet, Last Elvis’s commanding use of Presley/McInerny’s music hits home even harder, especially for anyone who has been close to a struggling musician or tried to make a go of it themselves.

The Last Elvis screened at last year’s Sundance and LA film fests, but largely flew under the radar.  That is a shame, because it really packs a punch.  Audiences will be completely unprepared for the power of McInerny’s work, especially given his late Elvis look.  Good for SF Indie Fest for selecting it.  Recommended rather strongly for Elvis fans and patrons of Latin American cinema, The Last Elvis screens Sunday (2/10) and Tuesday (2/12) at the Roxie Theatre and Thursday (2/14) and the Shattuck Cinemas.

SF Indie Fest ’13: The Legend of Kaspar Hauser

Since the early Nineteenth Century, the odd tale of Kaspar Hauser has stirred controversy and skepticism.  The latest film (somewhat) inspired by the sad strange Bavarian wild child is likely to generate similar disbelief.  Those who enjoy historical costume dramas will be deeply disappointed, but fans of Vincent Gallo get a double fix with Davide Manuli’s The Legend of Kaspar Hauser (trailer here), which screens during the 2013 San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

After a long mysterious absence, Kaspar Hauser washes up on a deserted Sardinian beach.  The local Sheriff is convinced the young man is indeed heir to the island’s throne.  After all, he has his name tattooed across his chest.  Others, like the local Priest, consider him a holy fool.  However, the ruling Duchess does not think much of Hauser at all.

Hauser never says much, but he is constantly getting down to the music apparently coming out of the headphones that he always wears but never has connected to anything.  Eventually, the Sheriff teaches him a profession: dj-ing, surely a high demand trade on a nearly barren isle.  There are also UFOs that briefly show up.

Do not try to make too much sense of Legend.  It would be a fruitless exercise.  The only reason to watch the film is to see Gallo do his thing as the English speaking Sheriff and his Italian speaking nemesis, the Pusher.  He improvises, chews the scenery, and boogies down with wild abandon.  Nonetheless, he cannot disguise the thinness of the concept he is trying to punch up.

Tarek Ben Abdallah’s black-and-white cinematography is quite striking, as is Elisa Sednaoui as the Clairvoyant, one of apparently seven residents of the island.  Unfortunately, her scenes are essentially extended non sequiturs.  On the plus side, a case could be made Silvia Calderoni is rather effective as Hauser, since it takes a while for those not forewarned to realize she is a woman playing a manchild’s role.

Fans of electronica might dig Vitalic’s original soundtrack, but it is hard to believe it would constitute sufficient entertainment for most movie patrons.  Manuli offers up some clever gags here and three, like “priest” emblazoned on the back of “the Priest’s” cassock” in Judas Priest typography, but basically, Legend just gives you Gallo X 2 in black-and-white. 

Regardless, Legend is sure to attract a cult audience, who will probably guffaw loudly through both showings to assure themselves they are really enjoying it.  Recommended for Gallo fanatics (who are not likely to have many chances to see it), but not the rest of us mere mortals, The Legend of Kaspar Hauser screens this Friday (2/8) and the following Monday (2/11) at the Roxie Theatre as part of this year’s SF Indie Fest.