But first, it was off to eat breakfast. Feeling a bit more confident every day, I walked to a local cafe (a very old, pub-looking joint) and had my desayuno. It was three croissants, a coffee, and a small orange juice. The price, 18 pesos, is about $4.50. Not bad! And the croissants were great.
Back to the hotel for the photo shoots. Angel Lola was on hand to translate the photographers. One of the shoots (I don't remember which one) was on the beach and the sun was very bright in my eyes. I was making a crinkled up face because of it, as you will see in tomorrow's issue of Tiempo Argentino…
After the shoot, I took a walk on the beach, and snapped some iPhone photos:
With some free time before my 10pm screening, I sat in on two films that I have already seen, but that I feel strong affection for: BIENVENIDO MISTER MARSHALL! and THE FUTURE. Both were fantastic experiences. An old Spanish film from maestro Luis Berlanga, MISTER MARSHALL is a nearly perfect film, without a moment spared or lacking. The political comments, while dated (or at least time-specific), nevertheless reflect universal concerns about identity, resentment, and subservience. The emotional core of the dichotomies of hope/hopelessness, pride/shame, need/want, anticipation/disillusionment, suffering/acceptance, etc. is as relevant now as it was at the dawn of civilization.
THE FUTURE, Miranda July's new movie, struck me in a much more profound way this time around, my second viewing. The story of two 35-year olds struggling to figure out what their relationship means is a wonderful examination of our ongoing romantic problems. I felt so inspired after the film.
And so, in that good spirit, I headed to the theatre to show SLACKER 2011 again. The line was huge, and the turnout was even better than the premiere. When I started my introduction, I took a picture of the audience:
I got a bit carried away with the introduction, talking about how we must constantly destroy the past in order to honor it and move forward. Being here in South America, as one of the more independent filmmakers (especially compared to my American counterparts, Alex Cox & Joe Dante, who make/have made huge Hollywood pictures), I have felt like I should speak like a revolutionary, fighting for the independent spirit. Or maybe I just feel encouraged and that my opinions on cinema should be expressed more powerfully here.
I couldn't stand to watch the film again, so I ducked out and went to a pizza parlor. Unsurprisingly, it was horrible. I miss the Backspace. I also had a local beer, Quilmes Red Lager. It was ok. They gave me this huge bottle, which I did not want. Pablo, who joined me, told me we could give the remainder away to some local kids, which we did. He said it is normal here to give your half-consumed beers to strangers. That's cool by me.
We returned and I watched the last few scenes. Then the Q&A, which was undoubtedly one of the strangest in my life. The first question came from a young man. "I want to say that I love the original SLACKER, and I absolutely hate this film," he said. "There is no reason for this film. It is not original or creative or new. None of the filmmakers did anything different or added anything. You said there are 24 filmmakers and they put themselves into their segments, but I see no artistic voices at all." He went on and on about this for about two minutes. I was completely shocked. To me, the only logical response was to say, "Thank you," and move on to the next question.
After a soft ball from someone else, the next question was, "If you had the guts to make this film, why don't you have the guts to respond to this earlier guy." Yikes. So my play didn't work. I decided to respond, and I explained why I felt that most of the filmmakers did add significant creative visions, and that the presentation of the city was new, that the generation it represents is a changed generation. He didn't agree. Then Pablo came to the rescue, saying, "This is your opinion. What about the rest of you. Do you like the film?" The audience burst into applause. So I guess that is something. Pablo continued, defending the film and saying that if this detractor stayed until the end, it must mean that the film meant something to him. Even if he "hated" it, it still was relevant to him.
Unfortunately, this debate took up the whole time, and we had to go. In the lobby, Pablo and I debated the film with the hater, and Alex Cox was also a willing participant (his attitude was that this was a better film than the original, in part because he doesn't like the original, and felt that the remake should/could have been more free than it was. He loved Geoff Marslett's scene the best, and felt that the 9/11 conspiracy theorist segment was right-wing propaganda).
After this discussion was exhausted, we left the theatre. Alex, Pablo and I went to have a drink, as this was Alex's final night in Argentina. I had a new white wine, San Felipe. It was a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin, and Semillion. Nothing special.
What an odd night it turned out to be. Although the response was overwhelmingly positive, that one very vocal, violently opinionated SLACKER fan certainly impacted my attitude. Showing a film is a very vulnerable task, and listening to his criticisms was like taking a full magazine of bullets. Hopefully, I will persevere.
I will have my picture in the paper tomorrow. At least I have that to look forward to. Until next time.
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