AFI is consistently one of the best film festivals of the year, not just due to the great sponsorship by Audi which allows every film to be viewed free of charge, but for the quality of the films delivered. They see what films have been shown at other festivals and are able to offer what is essentially a greatest hits collection. They also debut some remarkable features in the Gala section which offer high profile features that typically garner Academy consideration. Previous films to premiere at AFI include “The Fighter” and “The Artist”. This year films included the debut of Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks” as well as the world premiere of Universals “Lone Survivor”.
Lone Survivor was a highlight not just because the film is a remarkable account of the doomed Seal team 10 mission dubbed “Operation Red Wings” but also that the real life Seal whom wrote the book that the film is based on and is the real “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell was in attendance. Marcus was able to take part in a Q&A with Director Peter Berg and Actor Mark Wahlberg. As is now well known Wahlberg used the opportunity to lash out at Hollywood actors who have the audacity to compare what veterans do protecting our country to the rigors of making a film. Luttrell was able to explain how he decided to go with Berg as Director. Berg wisely had Luttrell watch his film “The Kingdom” to check out his work rather than his latest release the impossible to watch “Battleship”. Luttrell also explained how he was on set and utilized his expertise to keep the scenes as realistic and factual as possible. The real firefight was over 3 hours long so a few things needed to be omitted.
Luttrells team was faced with a tough moral question when they were spotted on a hillside in Afghanistan by some locals. Do they let them go knowing they would alert the local Taliban or kill them dead. They took the moral high ground resulting in a firefight on the mountainside till Luttrell was saved by an Afghanistan village. Knowing that it is a true story and the ramifications of their actions are compelling yet heartbreaking to watch. It truly is a testament to the human spirit. With a stellar cast and graphic realism, Berg can safely hold his head high post Battleship.
Watching Lone Survivor was a great bookend to the documentary “My Afghanistan” which follows local Afghans who document their daily lives with the use of the video capabilities of cell phones. It’s a fascinating look inside an incomprehensible culture where woman are only allowed to go to the local Bazaar to shop for food with their faces covered and the rest of the time are to stay inside their home. We also see that school takes place without desks, sitting on the floor. A father encourages his son to try to steal a soldier’s gun, young children throw rocks at soldiers and Afghan guards have a policy of leaving the Taliban alone so they leave them alone. This is a country that is not capable of change; people live with constant gunfire and lack any modern conveniences. It is worth watching just see the stark contrasts between America and Afghanistan.
The highlights for me as usual are the Midnight selection of films. I was able to take in two this year Ti West’s The Sacrament and the Israeli import Big Bad Wolves.
The Sacrament follows a Vice crew into a south American Commune called Eden’s Parish. Ti utilizes the embedded journalists as an opportunity to intermix found footage with traditional filming techniques to deliver what appears to be a retelling of the famed Jim Jones Peoples temple Murder/Suicide of 1978. For 75% of the film you are a fly on the wall to the commune way of life before West slowly peels away layers to realize not is all it seems at Eden’s Parish. The final act of the film is when all hell breaks loose and the Kool-Aid comes out, all the while utilizing the Vice crew as a way to ground the film in tension. West is very deft at utilizing the slow burn storytelling techniques much like he did in The Innkeepers. He amps up the tension until it’s time to release with reckless abandon.
My personal favorite film of the Fest was “Big Bad Wolves”. Starting with a rogue cop beating a suspect only to find himself teaming up with the father of a deceased victim to kidnap and torture the subject until he lets them know where the severed heads of his victims have been hidden. The accused pedophile murderer is graphically abused in scenes that might make for squeamish viewing, never knowing if he is falsely accused victim or a monster. What makes the film work is the undercurrent of humor to lighten up the heavy material. I have not been this pleasantly surprised since I viewed Reservoir Dogs ( Another film famous for its torture scene), Which totally makes sense as to why Quentin Tarantino has this listed as his favorite film of the year. It is a Phenomenal film.
