Tag Archives: Palm Springs International Film Festival

Fresh & Easy, We Hardly Knew Ye

I was dismayed to read this story about Fresh & Easy throwing in the towel after their experiment in the U.S., even though it’s been expected for awhile. I know they had a few stores in Los Angeles, but none of them were close to where I lived.

a Fresh & Easy, but not the one in PS. Flickr photo by jim61773.

However — in Palm Springs, Fresh & Easy was my main go-t0 place for food! When I was out there this January working for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, I probably stopped in every day for lunch and other food purchases. I will miss them.

Here’s My Top Five Reasons to Love Fresh & Easy!

They have a special section to sell nicely-discounted perfectly good “expired” food. Easy to find, cause everyone in the store is huddled there. I would find great deals every day. Most big chains don’t have these sections, or, the only ones I’ve seen are for baked goods.

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Mac ‘n Cheese! They always have several varieties of mac ‘n cheese or other decadent pasta with cheesy alfredo-type sauces. All you have to do is microwave! So nice for those chilly wintertime desert evenings. Yummm.
Pre-washed, pre-cut, pre-packaged fruits and veggies in small quantities! Don’t know about you, but it’s a whole lot easier for me to pony up to my daily requirements for fruits and veggies if someone makes it easy, like washing it, peeling it, and generally getting it ready just to pop in the pie hole. Makes a healthy habit much, much easier. OK, I admit it, I’m lazy. But totally, that’s “fresh & easy!”
They have just a little bit of everything you might want, but not “30 brands of mustard” you have to decide on. I mean, really? You want some caesar dressing, let’s say. Do you really need a choice of 15 varieties on 3 shelves? How about some cleanser for the sink? Same thing. Makes the choice – and your time in the store – much simpler and faster.
Finally, mozzarella and tomato and basil sandwiches all wrapped up and ready to go! So healthy and fresh. And, makes me think I’m France or Italy for a split second. OK, maybe it doesn’t, with the dead sagebrush blowing around outside, but the fantasy is nice.

RIP, Fresh & Easy. I’ll miss you.

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Palm Springs Film Fest 2013 – What I Saw!

Three films I saw at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2013 with gay male-related content – and my short reactions to them!** There are mild spoilers. Pls. don’t read if you don’t want to be informed.

I Do

[youtube]http://youtu.be/HzJKp-BX4oo[/youtube]

“I Do” poses the question about what an attractive gay man must do if he’s to stay in the U.S. and get his green card once his visa extension has been denied. An interesting set-up where the man in question, Jack, (David W. Ross) has also been helping a female relative raise a young girl, which is given as the main reason he wants to stay in New York. (Honestly, thoughout the film, I’m thinking, who really would want to stay in such a hateful country with such antiquated rules and with no acknowledgment of GLBT relationships, etc., but I digress – but honey, I would be on the first plane out.)

So Jack marries his lesbian pal (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) who you know best as Meadow Soprano and less best as Turtle’s girlfriend in a season or two of Entourage. Needless to say, there are complications, not the least of which is the appearance of a serious but Euro-handsome Spaniard named Mano. So Jack is left to make some pretty important decisions about his future, and along with “Any Day Now” (below) I think the filmmaker Glenn Gaylord (and Ross as the writer) made the less obvious choice, and I like that. Also, of the three movies, Jack has the least gay-stereotypical day job, in that he’s a hardworking photo-assistant type who longs to be a photographer in his own right, as opposed to (see below) working in a porno shop (Beyond the Walls) or being a drag performer (Any Day Now).

Beyond the Walls

[youtube]http://youtu.be/yT94GR_sYNQ[/youtube]

Okay, I’ve lived this movie. Not literally, but I’ve sure been the one who, at the beginning of a relationship, is not terribly interested, then becomes totally invested once the object of affection moves on. This film, about two gay men in Paris (Matila Malliarakis, Guillaume Gouix) by David Lambert felt real to me. I mean that in the sense that it was authentically about gay male relationships as I’ve known them throughout my life. From the instant, alcohol-fueled attraction, through the fantasmagorical lust phase, through the settling out of whether or not there is actually going to be a possibility of something lasting. To be honest, I really enjoyed that the younger character (Guillaume) seemed to want an older partner (hello, daddy!). Specifics are unique to this film and not my life, thank goodness, as they involve prison and drugs and melted candle wax (ouch). Well worth seeing, I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. And, of course, it’s set in Paris, which gives it some at-the-outset romance.

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Any Day Now

[youtube]http://youtu.be/7ghwGOuuNy0[/youtube]

Honestly, I do believe that 50-75% of straight America must think that all gay men possess this marvelous knack for dresses, makeup and drag performing – if the characters you see in gay movie after gay movie are to be believed! I don’t have that talent, but I do know some men in L.A. who do – but out of literally hundreds of acquaintances, I could probably count this bunch on one hand.

Okay. But we do know colorful, feisty characters are good for movies, and so it is with “Any Day Now,” where Alan Cumming plays the aforementioned Rudy. He’s hooked it up with idealistic lawyer Garret Dillahunt, and together they embark on a journey to adopt a neighbor boy with Down’s Syndrome, a boy (Marco) who’s abused by his drug addict mother and her male friends.

I found the movie (which is a period piece set in the late 1970s) tremendously entertaining, the set-up guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings, and I do give credit to the filmmaker Travis Fine who took us in some very unexpected directions.

** what, no snarky comments about these movies? What’s happened to you? Well, full disclosure, I work a temp gig with the Festival, so thought I’d not bite the hand that feeds. Plus, I have nothing but happy things to say about these 3 films. So STFU.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival – The Others

Meaning, the others I saw. There were over a hundred films at the Fest, unfortunately these I’ve posted about were just a small sampling.

Sal

Below is some video I took at the Q&A following the Sal screening I went to, where James Franco (the director of Sal) talks about his intentions with the movie and also discusses his collaboration with Val Lauren, the star of the movie and who’s in just about every frame:

(Could not find a trailer for this movie – if you have one let me know and I’ll happily post.) This is an “art” film – we follow Sal Mineo’s life on his last day, what the filmmakers think and imagine that would have been like. It’s very intimate in that so much of it is shot in closeup – we do get very involved with Sal’s character because of this (not to mention the benefits for a low budget film). I was mainly interested in how his sexual orientation would be portrayed – and it’s there, and obvious to anyone looking for it, but also very subtle as people were (for the most part) in the 1970s. Also of interest is the portrayal of someone going about their day as one of the has-beens of Hollywood. In Franco’s view, Sal adjusted well and was planning on a comeback. Not surprising, the most engaging scene, in my opinion, was where he was in rehearsal for a play with other actors – it was the interactions that kept the movie going (which is the exact opposite of what the Hollywood Reporter reviewer thought). When it’s just Sal by himself, it’s a little hard to stay interested. Good thing Val Lauren is so easy on the eyes and such a good actor.

Also, the film seeks to debunk any of the homophobic explanations for Mineo’s death – that it was a lovers quarrel, a trick gone wrong, etc. It shows the crime for the stupid random act it was. Continue reading →

Palm Springs International Film Festival – The Gays

Again, the gay movies at the Palm Springs Film Festival that I saw – cause there were others.

Let My People Go

Basic Idea: Comedy about European lovers who are separated and must go through lots of zany plot twists to eventually get back together again. Director: Mikael Buch

The Good:

It’s a farce, and as such, constructed pretty well with engaging and attractive characters
Nicolas Maury, who plays Ruben, is great at physical comedy in the tradition that goes back to Buster Keaton – a joy to watch
Carmen Maura – isn’t any movie with Ms. Maura worth watching just for that?
The overall message of the film is pro-tolerance – and affirmation of a family’s love for their gay son.
at 80 minutes, a good length for a comedy like this

The Bad:

Not enough of Teemu (Jarrku Niemi), Ruben’s Finnish boyfriend, who is adorable but absent for much of the film
I couldn’t think of anything else I didn’t like!

Time to Spare

Family Values: This Dutch film by Job Gosschalk about the lives and loves of two siblings shows what really holds a family together, and it has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

The Good:

I enjoyed the melodrama plot construction – it started out one way, and you thought it was going to be about one thing and then it made a major switch (also see The Bad)
Intergenerational gay relationship! That works! Hello!
The inclusion of friends to form families of choice
Character flaws are to be expected, and that adds to what makes us interesting rather than disqualifying us from this or that relationship

The Bad:

The movie starts out to be one thing – a relationship movie, and turns into something else – a cancer movie! (get out those tissues now, folks)
Perhaps an unrealistic depiction of a cancer patient’s suffering and treatment

Continue reading →

Palm Springs International Film Festival – The Docs

Or should I say, The Docs I saw. Which were only two this year, The Island President and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.

The Island President

I liked Jon Shenk’s The Island President for a few reasons. First of all, I know next to nothing about The Maldives, islands in the Indian Ocean (more than 1200 of them, which make up this watery nation). Or should I say I knew next to nothing, because I saw this film, and so now I know something.

And what I know is that this nation is going to sink into the ocean.

The structure of the film: we’re introduced to the charismatic young leader of The Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, and given a little political history – he was a dissident during a long dictatorship, imprisoned with all that entails. The government is eventually liberated and he’s elected president, and not a moment too soon, because of the coming environmental calamity of rising water levels.

The rest of the film documents his efforts to broker some kind of climate change agreement at the Copenhagen Climate Summit of 2009, where he has to fight the superpowers – including the United States, China and India. So it’s your basic David vs. Goliath scenario, but the implications are really so much more for both The Maldives and for the planet. It shocked me that the theater wasn’t full for this. If we don’t have a planet that’s habitable for people, clearly we won’t be having any film festivals.

The Maldives look like a beautiful place to visit and to live. The prognosis is not good, however, so you better go while they’re still above water. Continue reading →

Where in the world is the blogger?

I’ve not posted, the worst sin of any blogger by far. Even just a photo and a few words, somehow I could not manage. Bad, Bad, Bad!

My reason: I’ve been working for the past couple of weeks at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In addition to working, I saw 7 films, some of which I’ll talk about in upcoming posts. I went to at least three parties. I ate too much.

So I apologize for the lack of activity. I leave you today with this shot, where I often had my morning coffee and breakfast. There could be worse things, no?

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Tahquitz Creek Wash, Palm Springs

Bibliotheque Pascal

Bibliotheque Pascal Site

The third movie I saw at the Palm Springs International Film Festival between shifts supervising cashiers was Bibliotheque Pascal.

From Hungary, Bibliotheque Pascal is about a young woman who is trying to get her daughter back from local child care authorities, after supposedly leaving her with an older relative (a fortune teller!) because she had to accompany her father to another country (Germany) so he could get an operation.

The reality of the situation is that the woman went to England to be a prostitute, it didn’t work out, and now she’s trying to get her old life back (or, at least that is what I got from it).

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Many twists and turns are part of the journey, from a one-night stand with a repentant gay basher on a beach somewhere (the father of the child) to a vicious assault at a train station – and of course, the kinky sex at the BP, where all the prostitutes play characters from literature – Desdemona, Lolita, etc.

I enjoyed the journey, which reminded me of other European wandering tales, where the hero/heroine learns some big thing on the journey that ultimately benefits them when they return home (Bergmanesque but more accessible? Herman Hesse, esp. Narcissus and Goldmund?)

The filmmaker almost lost me at the beginning, which is an extended scene with the child care guy where he reads the law/instructions to Mona. Note to filmmaker Szabolcs Hajdu (and filmmakers everywhere), they call them “movies” for a reason. Reading a report in closeup gets really boring after about 5 seconds. Perhaps you wanted to emphasize the gravity of the situation, but it was stupor-inducing for this viewer.

The Double Hour (la doppia ora)

One of the films I saw at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, when I wasn’t supervising the Regal boxoffice.

It’s a twisty-turny Euro-thriller about Sonia (pictured here, Ksenia Rappoport) who works as a hotel maid and spends her nights going to speed dating events in her northern Italian town of Turin.

One night she meets Guido (handsome Filippo Timi) a widower, who she ultimately starts an affair with. It’s nicely idyllic, two beautifully lit Italian people falling in love, as only they can.

One weekend they’re off to an estate where he seems to work part-time as a security guard, pretending to be rich while the owner is absent. As luck would (or would not) have it, a very sophisticated, armed gang sabotages them, ties them up and begins to loot the estate of its many art and furniture treasures. When done with the looting, the gang’s leader has one more task, which is to assault Sonia. Of course, Guido interferes, getting shot in the process.

SPOILERS, STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW….

Sonia makes a recovery, but then begins to see the ghost of Guido around – in her apartment, at work, in photos of places she’s never been with him, etc. She wonders if he really died, or if she’s going crazy, or if it indeed is a paranormal experience – which reverts back to the idea of the “double hour” – defined as the time once per hour when then hour and minute are the same number (5:05, 7:07, etc) and a portal to alternate worlds opens up.

At this point, the story opens up, and the possibility is that she’s in a coma dreaming this whole post-crime scenario. But – there are other worlds, as well: is she an accomplice of the gang, in on the planning of the heist from the beginning, actually having engineered her “meet” with Guido at the speed date?

Or, in a final twist, is it Guido, a former police officer, who has infiltrated the gang and begun this relationship with her to eventually break them all? I’m not sure, I’d have to see it again to really come up with a final workable theory, but I do believe the soft and somewhat sweet ending is a real European treat – and very different from what would have been the Hollywood ending.

“The Double Hour” also has it share of thrills and shocks – from vulnerable woman in the bathtub (you just know when there’s a naked woman in a bathtub and the soundtrack gets quiet, then something’s about to shock you) to apparitions in dark hallways, it certainly delivers in that genre.

I also very much liked the idea that a hotel maid and a security guard could have solidly middle-class lives, which I’m not sure would have ever been presented here in the U.S., at least in the same way.

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Record crowds flock to Palm Springs International Film Festival

link: Record crowds flock to festival | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun.

Yesterday was my final day of working for the Festival as one of their box office supervisors.

If you read the article linked above, you’ll see that Peter Bart (from Variety) says that the PSIFF has become more and more important in the film festival calendar, and that in many ways is a more important film festival than Sundance, which is or has become “more of a marketplace.”
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They beat attendance records. That’s good to hear; it’s the town’s signature event during the high season that pumps up the local economy.

Despite my work schedule, I managed to see a few films, including The Double Hour, Bibliotheque Pascal, and Little Murder. (more on them later)

A Primer on Gay Gym Selection

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYvnETRieXc[/youtube]

OK, I know I haven’t been blogging. The hours at the Film Festival are kicking my ass. It’s been a great little gig, but I’m pretty happy it’s all over on Sunday, or more accurately, it’s all over for me on Sunday.

They still screen Best of Fest this coming Monday, Martin Luther King Day. Buy your tickets now! I’m sure it will be busy. I went to a screening last night which was SRO for a Josh Lucas/Terrence Howard film called Little Murder. More on that later.

Since my brain is fried, I’m not writing anything original here, just reposting this video, which I just found very funny. If you don’t live in LA or you’re not a part of the U.S.gay demimonde, you might not find it instructive, but I know some of you will really enjoy this!

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