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Attending a film festival is a bit like running a marathon—a four-day long marathon. Granted, it’s four days of mostly sitting on your butt in the dark, watching movies—but it takes planning, preparation, and endurance. You need to be in top physical form to survive—and, unfortunately, I was not in top physical form when I got up this morning to drive to Cleveland for the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival. I was tired. I was sick. I was taking every kind of vitamin supplement and over-the-counter cold remedy imaginable. But that wasn’t going to stop me.
I pulled out of my driveway at 8:40—10 minutes later than I’d hoped. Already, I was behind. But the sun was shining, the highway was clear, and the radio station was playing my favorite songs back-to-back. It was the perfect day to go out and play. But I was going in, to sit in the dark for four days straight.
As I approached Cleveland, I started to worry. The GPS said I’d make it to my hotel at 10:40. That gave me 50 minutes to check in, unload, drive to the festival, find parking, get my festival pass, and make it to my first movie. Maybe I’d have to pick a later movie—or skip the first time slot altogether. I was sick, after all—don’t want to overdo it and burn out too soon.
But, of course, I’m too stubborn to give in—and, apparently, the film festival gods were smiling down on me. I managed to get all of that done—with 10 minutes to spare. I rushed into the theater, pulled out my notebook, and let out a sigh of relief. It had begun.
The first movie was Bad Day to Go Fishing, a Spanish film about a wrestling scam. Apparently, the local paper gave it an A+, so there was quite a crowd. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to give it an A+, but I did enjoy it, despite the fact that it was longer than the average festival movie—and a bit relaxed for someone who’d just spent three hours racing around. But an interesting story, brilliantly acted.
After the movie ended, I hurried through the mall to Dunkin Donuts to grab a quick sandwich—and then it was back to the theater for movie #2 at 2:15. On the way in, I took a minute to fill up on more cold medicine and meet up with a local contact—so, by the time I got to the theater, it was already filling up. But I managed to get one of my preferred seats: off to the side, toward the back, on the aisle—so I can take notes and make a quick getaway when the movie ends.
Movie #2 was North—a Norwegian film, which automatically made it a must-see for me. Norwegian films are generally smart and quirky, with a bizarre sense of humor that I love. And North is no different. It’s a stark, almost barren film about a man who’s heading north to meet his four-year-old son for the first time. The constant snowy landscape was almost oppressive at times—but the move was as smart and as strange as I’d expect from Norway.
Once again, I had some time between screenings, and I wasn’t hungry, so I took the time to call my co-host, John, who was taking a break somewhere else in the city. Then I fought my way back to the theater. It may have been the middle of a week day, but the place was already packed. The lobby area is always full, and there’s always a line for the women’s bathroom. It’s pretty hectic. Inside the theaters, though, it’s cheery—and even celebratory. Everyone is smiling and laughing and thrilled to be here.
I’ve already seen some familiar faces—people who are here every single year (and one who wears the exact same thing every year). I’ve also noticed a new trend this year: rolling cases. Instead of lugging backpacks around, I’ve already seen a couple of people with wheeled bags—one as big as a carry-on. Maybe I’ll have to consider that for next year. It might save my shoulders some strain.
Of course, just as I was thinking about how peaceful and happy everything was, I almost witnessed my first fight of the festival. Someone put his program down in front of me and walked out. While he was gone, a woman came and sat down there. I was too busy taking notes, so I didn’t really notice. I did notice, though, when he came back and threw a fit. He wasn’t sure whether to get upset with me or the woman ahead of me, but she freely admitted that the program had been by her seat. She had seen it when she sat down. “And what did you think that meant?” he huffed?
“That someone left it,” she replied.
“That someone left it!” he huffed again. “It was saved!” But then he just huffed again and left.
Crisis avoided.
Movie #3 was The House of Branching Love—a twisted Finnish action-comedy about a family counselor who’s going through a messy divorce. It’s a bit complex but entertaining nonetheless. Perhaps even more entertaining, though, was the guy next to me, who chattered, mumbled, and chuckled at random through the whole thing.
After the movie was over, I rushed out to McDonald’s to grab dinner. The food court was swamped, and McD’s seemed totally overloaded. And I needed to act fast because I knew that the 7:00 session was completely on stand-by. I knew it was going to be a madhouse. So I inhaled dinner and ran back in. So much for taking it easy on weekdays!
Fortunately, though, I got in early enough to beat the crowd—early enough, even, to chat with some of the volunteers, like Andy, a movie blogger whose site I noted (and will be checking out as soon as I have a spare minute).
Movie #4 was Will You Marry Us?, a cute Swiss rom-com. The entire theater was packed, which always makes it even more fun. There’s just nothing like watching a festival movie in a packed theater.
After it was over, I ran straight out, put my head down, and plowed through the crowded lobby to the other side of the theater for my last movie of the day. I was the first one in the theater—and, surprisingly, no one else was showing up. I thought that was strange, since it was one of my must-see movies. But then I figured out why—because I was in the wrong theater, and this movie was starting later than the one I was supposed to be seeing. Fortunately, I had double-checked while I was waiting, and I realized my mistake in time to race back over to the other side of the theater (again), just in time to be let in.
As I sat there, I figured out why I’d made the mistake. You see, the theaters here are all color-coded. Usually, the colors are pretty consistent. The whole place is split in half, with certain colors on one half and certain colors on the other. But it didn’t work that way this time. I ended up getting out of the purple theater, walking to the other side, and walking into the purple theater—instead of the red theater. So, in the end, I ended up going back to the theater I’d just left, which had been the purple theater but was now the red theater. It was a long day—and it was much too late for that kind of trickery, so I got a bit confused.
Movie #5 was Accident, which I’m not allowed to review—but I think it’s pretty safe to say that it was a bit of a shock when, about five or ten minutes before the end, the print suddenly melted. Strangely, this is the second time that’s happened to me in less than two weeks. Fortunately, though, the problem was fixed surprisingly quickly—and the movie started back up in no time.
The movie ended at 11:20—and I was definitely ready to call it a night. Of course, the thought of a midnight movie was tempting, but I’m not crazy. Time to head back to the hotel, finish my blog for the day, and get a few hours of sleep before starting all over again in the morning.
Hit of the Day: Accident
Miss of the Day: None—not a dud in the bunch
