0
0
The drive from Columbus to Cleveland has never been a very exciting one—just lots of flat, wide-open spaces for 100 miles or so. That’s why I tend to pack everything I might need to keep myself entertained: snacks, books on CD, MP3 player… But, this time, I just spent most of the time chatting with my mom. She’s always good for an hour-long phone call.
Of course, the ride could have been a lot more exciting. The forecast called for storms today, which would have made for an interesting ride. The winds can get pretty nasty in wide-open spaces. But I was lucky—70 and sunny the whole way to Cleveland.
I made it to town around noon. As I was pulling into the hotel—the same place I’ve stayed for five years now—I was met with a pleasant surprise: a new Winking Lizard next door. I hoped that meant that I’d be able to get a normal lunch before heading into the insanity.
Fortunately, I was able to check in right away. I got my bags unloaded and called Michael to see where he was. Despite the fact that his alarm failed to go off, he was still just 30 miles out of Cleveland. Since our first movie was supposed to start at 1:55, that meant that we’d be able to meet up (since his hotel is right across the street) before heading to the festival. Carpooling is always good, after all—and it might even mean that we’d both be able to have lunch before our first movie. Even better.
As it turned out, though, Michael didn’t get checked in until shortly after 1. By then, we figured that it was too late for lunch, so we got in the car and headed for the city.
It seems that there’s more construction here every year—but nothing is ever completed. On top of that, the parking lot was full, so we had to park at the lower lot. In fact, we ended up parking at the very end of the lower lot. We hiked for a while until we found a shuttle, which would eventually take us to the door. Of course, the driver waited around until even the standing room was full. We were still waiting when I realized that it was 1:45, and our first movie was supposed to start in 10 minutes. So, as we rode in, we started discussing our options: (a) try to make it in time, (b) see something else, or (c) skip it altogether and get lunch instead. We decided to shoot for (a). We made it into the Tower with a minute or two to spare, so Michael ran to get seats while the pregnant woman ran to the bathroom. As I got into the theater, the movie was just starting.
Movie #1 was Sacrifice, a Chinese epic about a man who saves the newborn heir to the assassinated ruling family and raises him in hopes that he’ll someday avenge their deaths. It was a long film—over two hours, which is pretty rare for a film festival film—but both captivating and beautifully filmed.
I knew that the next film was pretty tight, so I got up quickly after the movie ended. Fortunately, my second movie was in the next theater—and, since Michael didn’t know what else to see, he joined me (and saved a seat while I once again went back to the bathroom).
So this one was my fault.
Movie #2 was The Woman in the Fifth, a French film with Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas—the big draw for me. Sadly, I can’t tell you what it was about—nor can anyone else I’ve spoken to. On our way out, Michael asked if I had any clue what it was about…then another woman asked us the same thing. I still have no clue.
Fortunately, we’d chosen seats in the back, so we could make a quick getaway. After all, it was after 5:30, and we hadn’t had lunch.
We barely had time to run through the food court on our way in, but I pretty much knew was to expect: a lot of food that pregnant women shouldn’t (or can’t) have, plus Chinese and Japanese, which the baby can’t stand. So I had McDonald’s while Michael got Chinese.
I had just a short time to sit, scarf down my Quarter Pounder and fries, and laugh about how incoherent the last movie was before I had to run again. Michael and I were splitting up for the rest of the day—and my next one was starting at 6:30. Since it was a special screening—passholders and standby only—I knew it would be full. And I was right.
I think it was about 6:10 when I got into the theater, and I just barely got a seat. Fortunately, I was on my own—so I could take a single seat. But it was still crazy—crowded, with all kinds of people fighting to get a seat. I was lucky.
The movie, however, was absolutely charming—Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. Michael had no interest in seeing it because it was a fluffy movie about people with dogs—but, during a festival, it’s nice to keep things light. Too much of the dark stuff, and I might lose it.
After the movie ended, I made my regular pit stop and wandered off to my last theater of the day. For some reason, I spent the entire day in just two theaters. I showed up for my 9:00 movie early—maybe 8:20 or so—so I had my pick of the non-reserved seats. And, since I was once again on my own, I got to take one of the single seats on the side of the theater. Plenty of leg room, no one to fight for the arm rests—and no dirty looks for taking notes during the movie. Perfect.
Really, it was my first chance to sit down and relax since I got to the Tower (and even before), so I had a few minutes to reflect. Every year, I find it amazing how easy it is to slip back into the CIFF routine. It’s like I never left—like it hasn’t been a whole year. I’ve even run into a number of familiar faces already, which makes it seem all the more familiar.
Of course, there’s always once difference: the trailer. Each year, they create a film festival trailer to run before every movie. Some have been cute, some have been clever, some have been just plain grating (especially when you see four or five movies a day). But they’ve never had a boring one—until now. It’s just an animated trailer—mostly white—with some fluffy music playing in the background. It’s really quite dull. I probably won’t be totally irritated by it by Monday, but there’s a pretty good chance that, at some point, it’ll put me to sleep.
Movie #4 for the day was The Good Doctor—a dark drama starring Orlando Bloom as a new doctor who gets a little too attached to a patient. The tone was wonderfully eerie and quiet—it’s just too bad that the two women behind me weren’t. There’s really nothing worse than watching a quiet, suspenseful movie, and having a couple of women behind you, whispering, “Is he going to kill her?” I just wanted to turn around and say, “Look, Lady, your friend doesn’t know any more than you do—so why don’t you just shut up, so we can see for ourselves what happens?”
So much for my perfect single seat.
The movie got out at 10:30, and Michael and I had planned to meet up in the food court afterward. From there, we hopped back on a shuttle—back to the outer recesses of the pitch-black lower lot (in the pouring rain, of course), to try to find our way back to our hotels. Though The Winking Lizard was still busy, we’d both had a long day—travel time, four movies, and very few breaks—so we were both ready to crash. After all, we’ve got more of the same tomorrow.
