Los Angeles Film Festival 2009: THE COVE, UNITED RED ARMY, Music Videos
Eight time world-champion freediver Mandy Rae Cruickshank and humpback whale friend in The Cove (top); The Cove by Louie Psihoyos (2nd from top); United Red Army by Koji Wakamatsu (2nd from bottom); “Fortress: Pinback” by Elliot Jokelson (bottom)
Los Angeles Film Festival, Sunday, June 28, highlights:
- Louie Psihoyos‘ documentary The Cove (Majestic Crest, 1 pm), the Audience Award winner at Sundance 2009, delves into the ruthless dolphin trade — yeah, those very sea mammals that make little children and their big parents smile gleefully and clap enthusiastically at places like Sea World and the like. What mom, dad, and kiddies are blissfully ignorant about is how those beautiful, intelligent creatures end up as unwilling participants in circus acts for ugly, imbecile humans. The murderous cove of the title, by the way, is Taiji Cove in Japan, the center of the global dolphin trafficking. Needless to say, the Japanese government hasn’t done shit to prevent either the trafficking or the wholesale massacre of those wondrous creatures. The Cove features Richard O’Barry (Flipper’s trainer), Simon Hutchins, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, Kirk Krack, David Rastovich, Scott Baker. Free screening. (Also, check out this Japan Times report, go to http://www.savejapandolphins.org/, and never buy tickets to a show that includes wild animal acts.)
- Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s No Impact Man (Landmark 8, 2:30 pm) follows environmentalist Colin Beavan as he embarks on an experiment in green living — "no takeout, no taxis, no toilet paper."
- Koji Wakamatsu, best known for erotic efforts such as Black Beast of Lust and Angelic Orgasm, is the director of United Red Army (Landmark 4, 5:30 pm), which chronicles the rise and fall of a group of Japanese radical militants from the late 1960s to their final 1972 standoff with Japanese police. As per the festival notes, in order to make this 190-minute, underground docudrama Wakamatsu "mortgaged and then destroyed (on camera) his own home." Music by Sonic Youth’s Jim O’Rourke. In the cast: Maki Sakai, Akie Namiki, Go Jibiki. (I should add that Wakamatsu had tackled the subject matter back in a 1971 movie, but that was apparently told through the point of view of the Japanese cops.)
- Set in a rural, mountainous region of Portugal, Miguel Gomes‘ Our Beloved Month of August (The Regent, 6 pm) is a mix of documentary and fiction that portrays the day-to-day existence of both locals and emigrants who return home once a year to spend a month partying, hunting, and dealing with family problems. In the cast: Sónia Bandeira, Fábio Oliveira, Joaquim Carvalho.
- At the Landmark 8, at 5 pm and 7:15 pm, two "Eclectic Mix" showings featuring two series of music videos. Included are Elliot Jokelson’s "Fortress: Pinback"; Oren Lavie, Yuval Nathan, Merav Nathan’s "Her Morning Elegance: Oren Lavie"; Anthony Seck’s "Honey Honey: Feist"; and Andy Bruntel and Bucky Fukumoto’s "Jesus Saves, I Spend." Check the festival schedule for the list of music videos in each "Eclectic Mix."
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Tags: Film Festivals, Fortress: Pinback, Koji Wakamatsu, Los Angeles Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival 2009, Los Angeles Screenings, Louie Psihoyos, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank, Our Beloved Month of August, Richard O'Barry, The Cove, United Red Army
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