Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tribeca Day 4 - Triple Documentary Feature

It was a long wet day at the Tribeca Film Festival yesterday. Say what you will about the festival, and I will have a great deal to say when it's all over, the volunteers and staff are excellent. They are courteous helpful and make all the other problems at least bearable. Sixteen cheers for them.

As for the films it was a mixed bag yesterday.

Thieves by Law, a world premiere documentary on three Russian "mafia" men, is at best an okay Discovery Channel special. It was not worth the aggravation of shifting screenings (it conflicted with a fourth screening which I didn't attend) and dealing with the rain. Its unfocused and kind of pointless. Its a self congratulatory tale for the subjects, but says little else. If you've seen or read anything, you know more than is shown here.

Freetime Machos is a film about some friends on a Finnish rugby team. Its a film that flew and was enjoyable but didn't seem to have a reason to exist. (It's good enough for a more detailed review later)

Into Eternity is the third really good film I've seen. Its a meditation on what do you do with spent nuclear waste and how Finland is dealing with it. The images and music are amazing. (Another fuller piece will follow)

For now that's it. A day off from the festival before I go back tomorrow and the next day.

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