We have now reached the second weekend of the festival–the homestretch for the festival and the impending end of our vacation.  Because the turnaround now is about 12 hours with Saturday’s films starting around noontime, my descriptions of Friday’s films may be–should be–a bit truncated.

Because we had changed our schedule on Day 7 to see LET THE RIGHT ONE IN as our late movie, we have an opportunity to add THE SILENCE BEFORE BACH.  As I have probably noted more than a few times in my entries on this website, I do like to have films tell a story.  Pere Portabella’s film is not a traditional narrative film and yet I found it to be an incredible work of art.  The film has no overriding story, though it does have snatches of stories where we meet characters including the great composer himself and also some segments that are totally experiential.  It is beautifully shot by cinematographer Tomàs Pladevall and, of course, the music is fabulous.  There are a number of people my wife and I know who would really enjoy this film.  Alas, its three screenings as part of the Maine International Film Festival may be the only real opportunity for people here in Maine to see it–ever.  The uniqueness of the film makes it a very difficult challenge for film distribution so it currently has no U.S. distributor and, while all sorts of obscure films from foreign countries can be accessed through rental outlets like Netflix and for purchase through companies such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, Pere Portabella eschews the DVD format for home viewing.  Anyone who enjoys music and appreciates history should not just try to–but jump at the chance to see it.  My wife says she may have a new favorite for her vote for the 2008 MIFF Audience Favorite!

Next up was the film that we had adopted as part of the MIFF Adopt-a-Film sponsorship program: Isild Le Besco’s CHARLY.  This is the story of a boy Nicolas (played by the director’s half-brother Kolia Litscher) in the midst of the transitory stage from childhood to aduthood: adolescence.  This is an intimate, truthful, and sometimes raw exploration of life for a boy who is adrift without motivation or direction.  On a whim, he starts hitchhiking to an island pictured on a postcard being used as a bookmark in a book he has found.  When his ride reaches his destination, Nicolas ends up wandering around a town overnight cold and alone.  He is found by Charly (Julie-Marie Parmentier), an apparent prostitute judging from her attire.  She takes him back to her trailer on the edge of town.  The boy who seems to be sleepwalking through life meets the young woman who streetwalks for survival.  Each seems to offer something (exactly what is never explicitly articulated) to the other that is missing from their lives.  Periodically, the film takes us to a dream-like undersea world of various types of marine life in beautiful absolutely still sections.  Though Charly exudes a certain sexual energy when on-screen, this is mostly quiescent until very near the film’s end in a scene that some might find disturbing.  The boy then continues his pilgrimmage.  This is a fascinating film that has been beautifully shot by the director’s brother cinematographer Jowan Le Besco.  It is an interesting follow-up to her earlier film DEMI-TARIF about younger children on their own that showed in MIFF three or four years ago.

The final film on Day 8 was LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC.  This is a very powerful documentary about musician Jason Crigler who had suffered a brain hemorrhage at age 34.  The film begins with a devastating sequence where various friends and family recount what they observed and experienced in the minutes, hours, and days after this first happened.  It is unclear whether he will survive and, if he does, whether he would be able to exist as anything more than “a vegetable.”  We follow his tortuous path through the health care system seeing a Jason who is unable to do anything for himself and seems to be totally unaware of his surrounding.  Eventually, Jason’s insurance has reached its lifetime maximum for covered services and the family decides that they will have to manage his care on their own at home.  Remarkably, Jason starts on a long journey back to being a husband, a father, and a productive professional musician.  I found this to be a very difficult film to watch, but not because it isn’t a good film.  It’s ability to make Jason’s devastating illness so immediate is evidence of its craftsmanship.  This is definitely a good film for those dealing with a similar family health care crises or those who provide services to people facing this type of crisis.  It definitely cuts behind the statistics and the news reports to the humanity of those involved.