Day Eight - Friday, August 31

Rewind (short film). Director: Atul Taishet. India (2007) 9 min, English.
This entire film is shown in reverse, with the narrative running forwards. A blind safecracker agrees to a deadly game of Russian roulette with his two fellow robbers, after a job nets them a huge haul in diamonds. After all, what advantage can a blind man have? A one-trick pony that succeeds completely. I’d say it’s the best short I’ve seen so far.

Lezioni Di Volo (Flying Lessons). Director: Francesca Archibugi. Italy—United Kingdom—India—France (2007). 106 min, Italian with English subtitles.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0447659/
Two spoiled, disaffected 18 year old Roman friends, both having failed their high school final exams, are given a chance to go find themselves. “Pollo” (diminutive for Apollonio, but a reference to "chicken") is Jewish, although completely secular, and his closest friend “Curry” is an adopted Indian boy. Their rich parents agree to send them both on a trip to India so Curry can find his roots (he was adopted from an orphanage, when his birth mother couldn’t care for him). The trip takes an unexpected turn due to their naiveté and becomes something that no one planned. Poyo falls in love with a 35(ish) yr old doctor working for World Aid in a desert region, who is still romantically attached to her absent doctor husband. Curry starts to discover his Indian roots. Back home, Poyo’s father is ill, and both sets of parents wrestle with relationship difficulties. This coming-of-age story has nice cinematography, competent acting, and almost believable serendipitous happenstance.

Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise. Director: Bruce David Klein. United States (2007)
90 min, English.
www.imdb.com/title/tt1034080/
If you like documentaries about bigger-than-life rock stars, this one will deliver. Meat Loaf has been roaring out the songs for forty years now (!) with his brand of theatrical rock songs - not many people haven’t heard his major ranked songs “I can see Paradise by the Dashboard Light” “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad”, and “I would do anything for Love (But I won’t do that)”. He’s has sold over 35 million albums, and finally, at 59, let a film maker follow him around for a few weeks at the start of his 2007 World Tour. We see Meat and his hard working band and production group (some whom have been with him for between 15 to 30 years), through the pre-tour rehearsals on a L.A. soundstage, to the Canadian portion of the tour. While a bit of biographical information is included to place things historically, it’s really about where Meat Loaf is today, and his creative, collaborative process. A very good portrait of an artist who’s very perfectionism to deliver the best show he can for his audience constantly wears him out. I’m not a huge Meat Loaf fan, but have enjoyed his big hits since the first ones hit the charts in 1976, and I totally enjoyed this film. Scheduled for a U.S. theatrical release in January, 2008. Note: shot in HD, and probably the clearest "print" of any film we've seen so far!