Tribeca Film Fest 2005 - Day 5

I'm too wiped out to say much in detail about today. I was at the festival from about 1:00 pm to 12:30 am. So in brief:

First I saw Reeker, a very cool horror movie made by Dave Payne. I don't want to give too much away about this film, but I will say: it's funny, it's visceral (there are times when someone is vomiting or some such and you can really almost feel it yourself), it LOOKS AMAZING, and yes, it was pretty freakin' scary. It was just damn cool, too. I'll be seeing the film again on Friday night (which I'm really glad about, because there are some things I feel I need to see again). Plus, I think it will be a totally different experience with a "midnight movie" crowd.

Next up, I saw Runaway. I'm not sure what to say about this one. I mean, it had some interesting ideas, and a lot of great performances. But I'm not sure it really works as a film. I was amused by the part when the guys who work at the theater asked me "Is it true that the girl from X-men is in there?" (Anna Paquin, and yes, it was true).

Then came a documentary called Gay Sex in the '70s. I think there were only 6 women in the audience. Haha! Seriously, this was probably the best documentary I've seen so far. I mean, for one thing it captured a really fascinating moment in history. But also, structurally, it was a very successful film. For one thing, it was only 67 minutes long. No extra padding. The other thing I really liked about it was the way it transitioned from one subject to the next. I believe it was told entirely through interviews (no narrator), and these were edited together in such a way that the focus of what they were discussing shifted subtly - from the piers, to the baths, to Fire Island, etc. It gave the film a very casual, natural flow, and yet there was a meaningful progression of ideas being presented. Plus, there was a lot of gay sex.

Lastly, I saw The American Ruling Class. I don't know how to describe this film. Partly because I was so exhausted by that point that I kind of dosed off for a bit. But also because it's a difficult movie to explain. The filmmakers called it a "Dramatic Documentary Musical". I couldn't tell you if I liked it or not because I know that the film was trying to make a point, I just couldn't tell you exactly what that point was.