Flying once again into the teeth of the summer blockbuster movie season (really, whose idea was it to have a film festival in May and June?), the Seattle International Film Festival is on its way one more time.
Kicking off Thursday with the usual gala party, this edition of SIFF is the 30th anniversary. Which means, however good the movies might be, there will probably be a lot of parties. SIFF does that.
Thirty is quite a milestone, hardly tarnished by the fact that this is actually the 29th annual festival; a superstitious lot, the organizers skipped No. 13. Another milestone in the fest’s history is that this is the first without founder Darryl Macdonald at the helm (he’s run off to the sunnier climes of the Palm Springs Film Festival).
Milestones or no, with new festival director Helen Loveridge in charge, SIFF remains a sprawling lollapalooza, the largest in the United States by duration (it runs through June 13) and sheer number of films.
So many films – more than 220 features and oodles of shorts – that sometimes the movies can seem chosen by random. Oddly enough, this crapshoot style appeals to the moviegoers that keep thronging SIFF every year. Maybe it’s the sense of stumbling across a gold nugget among the many titles.
The opening-night movie is “The Notebook,” a romance based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, starring young comers Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams and old pros James Garner and Gena Rowlands. Rowlands’ son, Nick Cassavetes, provides the direction.
That film is at The 5th Avenue theater, but the rest of the fest will be spread out over five theaters. (We said sprawling.) They are: longtime home base the Egyptian, Harvard Exit, Broadway Performance Hall, Pacific Place, and the Cinerama.
One of the special events associated with this year’s anniversary is a package of 30 films from France, mostly new. There will be films from many of France’s top directors, including Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette and Andre Techine, plus the latest slapstick gut-buster from hitmaker Francis Veber. We’ll also get an archival showing of comedy maestro Jacques Tati’s classic “Playtime,” an elaborate 1967 satire of modern life.
Also tying in with the French celebration is a tribute to director Patrice Leconte, the creator of some of the best Gallic pictures of the last 20 years (“Monsieur Hire,” “The Hairdresser’s Husband”). Four of Leconte’s previous movies will be screened, including last year’s hit “The Man on the Train,” and his new film “Intimate Strangers” will premiere. Leconte will appear for his tribute on the final day of the festival.
Other guests will include the ridiculously prolific cinematographer Christopher Doyle, an Aussie who somehow ended up photographing an enormous number of Asian movies (plus the occasional Hollywood number like “The Quiet American”). Doyle will give a master class on cinematography.
There’ll also be a visit from actor-comedian-author Stephen Fry, which – given Fry’s status as an all-purpose wit – could be one of the funnier evenings in festival history. Best known for his associations with Oscar Wilde (he played him in “Wilde”) and P.G. Wodhouse (he played Jeeves in a British TV series), Fry has directed a new movie, “Bright Young Things,” based on an Evelyn Waugh novel.
Lots of little-known directors and actors will also present their movies. It can be a kick to see somebody at the stage, because you never know when they might turn out to be Russell Crowe (he came to SIFF twice in the early 1990s).
“Talking Pictures” discussions, panels, and various professionally minded forums ensure that the movies have some context. A “Screenwriters Salon” event features the writing team of Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, the guys responsible for “Election” and “About Schmidt.”
The Seattle festival will bring back its usual attractions: Films 4 Families (a weekend matinee series at bargain prices), midnight movies, and special sidebars on “Women in Cinema” and “Asian Tradewinds.”
Also returning is “Fly Filmmaking,” a sort of Olympic competition for short films, in which 10 local directors are given equipment and a crew (and each a different subject, this time neighborhoods in Seattle) and told to make a five-minute movie.
The Secret Festival brings movies that, for legal or other reasons, cannot be shown. This is why ticketholders must sign an oath of silence, with terrible consequences for those who do not heed the code.
The documentaries look exciting, as usual. Among the subjects profiled are the Rosenbergs, Patty Hearst, weirdo artist Henry Darger, and heavy-metal monsters Metallica.
This year’s archival selections are frankly a disappointment. But perhaps the Chinese silent film “The Goddess” and the 1970 Russian film “The Debut,” both little heralded, will turn out to be gems.
You can also catch the director’s cut of “Donnie Darko,” a puzzle movie that flopped in theaters and has built a cult following on video. Plus lots of Third World movies, locally made films, a drive-in party with zombie movies … well, the list sort of does go on.
The chaotic appearance of SIFF belies an inner logic. Just kidding! It’s completely chaotic. This can be off-putting to the neophyte, but it really boils down to taking a chance on a movie and buying a ticket. We’ll provide a guide each Friday to the coming week’s best bets at the festival.
There are also various passes and movie packages, which are detailed on the SIFF Web site at www.seattlefilm.com, which also has schedule information. So why not embrace the chaos?
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling star in “The Notebook.”
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