SFSFF 2011 - Sunday

Tales of Kevin Brownlow and Napoleon: This second installment of Amazing Tales From the Archives was dedicated to the long and dedicated struggle to bring this film back to it's original glory. It'll be pretty close when it screens at the Paramount Theater in Oakland in March 2012 - apparently there are still a few scenes yet to be rediscovered. It was a gripping adventure that held the nearly full house enthralled. I love his celebrity status; the applause whenever he took the stage over the weekend was nearly deafening.

Tribune-American Dream Picture (1924) I love this concept: write down your dream and send it in to the local paper - the Oakland Tribune, in this case. The winning entries will be filmed starring YOU and shown in the local theater. This tale of a missing baby takes the parents around the streets of Oakland, to the Ferry Building in San Francisco and back again. How great it was to see the local sites, cars and houses. I hope others in the series turn up.

Shoes (1916) I am so happy that the films screened during SFSFF were from different eras of silent film. I tended to watch films from the late 1920s when I first started with silent films. It was at this festival that I learned the beauty of the 1910s and especially Lois Weber. A clerk in the Woolworth's-like five-and-dime resorts to a fall from innocence to pay for a new pair of shoes. Like the other films I've seen from Weber, this one has gorgeously slow pacing and actors that attract attention away from the sadly cheap and unimaginative sets. I see Weber as rooted in her time but evolving towards a newer style. So good.

Wild and Weird: Short Film Favorites. I had seen most of these before, though the sounds of the Alloy Orchestra managed to suggest a different emphasis on the absurdity occurring onscreen. Ultimately, the percussion became too loud for me and I left to rest up for the next program.

Chess Fever (1925) A nation's obsession with chess and how the last remaining hold-out becomes converted too. Brisk pacing, sight gags and actors with natural good looks made this so much fun.

The Nail in the Boot (1932) Kalatozov's moving film from the end of the silent period. Beautiful Expressionist lighting, active editing, camera pans and angles (that reminded me of the work of the Futurists) and terse acting. Somehow, it didn't quite gel for me. The storyline was intentionally obtuse and I suspect the film was cut-up at one time due to the displeasure of the authorities. Still absolutely beautiful.

And that was the end of my marathon. The Sunday night capper, He Who Gets Slapped, I had seen before so I skipped out for home. All in all it was a lot of fun. I met a lot of people and saw a lot of old friends.

The most outstanding feature this year was in use of english subtitles superimposed via video projector onto the original title cards. Personally, I love to see the originals and their distinctive fonts and artwork so this way I could understand the meaning without losing the rhythm of the film.