MOVIES THAT STAND OUT
The Mill Valley Film Festival is serving up another high- quality cinematic platter, one that’s stuffed with features, documentaries and shorts from around the globe, including many from the Bay Area. To celebrate its 40th year, organizers set a goal to have at least 40 percent of the 2017 lineup be female directed. They wound up with 44 percent and are committed to seeing that grow to 50 percent by 2020.
It is but one of many traditions that make the festival stand out. Another is the many appearances by celebrities and filmmakers. This year, the fest’s tributes and spotlights include Kristin Scott Thomas (Oct. 6), Sean Penn (Oct. 7), “Mudbound” director Dee Rees (Oct. 7), Holly Hunter (Oct. 8), “Carol” director Todd Haynes (Oct. 13) and Andrew Garfield, whose performance in “Breathe” (Oct. 14) is generating awards talk.
And “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater (Oct. 12) will come to screen his “Last Flag Flying” at the Rafael Film Center.
The festival continues its traditionof kicking it offwith two opening night selections. JoeWright’s drama “Darkest Hour,” with Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, will be shown at CineArts Sequoia in Mill Valley while “Wait for the Laugh,” an insightful documentary on the intriguing life of comedian Rose Marie, shows at Century Cinema in Corte Madera.
The two closing night selections are the historical biopic “The Current War” with Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult as, respectively, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla; and director Greta Gerwig’s eagerly
anticipated set-in-Sacramento “Lady Bird.” Gerwig will be attending.
Mill Valley Film Festival is always amagnet for high-profile indie films that are generating awards chatter. This year’s no different. A few of the hottest tickets include: “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” a drama about ACT UP in Paris; “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” with Annette Bening playing Gloria Grahame and Jamie Bell portraying her younger lover; “Tangerine” director Sean Baker’s seen-through-the-eyes-of-kids drama “The Florida Project”; the family-friendly “Goodbye Christopher Robin”; the Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren road trip dramedy “The Leisure Seeker”; Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game,” with Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba; Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water”; and Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” with Frances McDormand.
There is, of course, muchmore. Here are 11 films worth seeking out, many with Bay Area ties.
“THE LONG SHADOW” >> In this compelling documentary getting its world premiere at MVFF, Berkeley filmmaker Frances Causey revisits her Southern heritage to explore the evolution of slavery and expose the racism that festers today. “Shadow” is a gripping personalized history lesson, with Causey covering salient points, including how economics drove the despicable trading of humans. Her of-the-moment feature couldn’t be more necessary.
SCREENINGS >> 6 p.m. Oct. 7, Lark; 10 a.m. Oct. 10, Lark; 11:15 a.m. Oct. 11, Rafael.
“THE DEEP SKY” >> In this sensual soulsearcher filmed in the Bay Area and receiving a world premiere at MVFF, an attractive Oakland couple (Sarah Rose Butler and Kelechi Nwadibia) spice up their relationship by inviting a magnetic woman (LuiseHelm) under the bedcovers. That enticement — intended to expand feelings — winds up fueling deeper questions. Oakland director Frazer Bradshaw keeps it sexy, but he’s more interested in being thought provoking than sexually provocative. SCREENINGS: >> 9:15 p.m. Oct. 7, Sequoia; 8:45 p.m. Oct. 9, Lark.
“KIM SWIMS” >> What drives someone to relentlessly pursue a monumental physical challenge, such as becoming the first woman to swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge? Director Kate Webber taps into the motivations of San Francisco’s Kim Chambers, from her past injury to her never-give-up mindset. You’ll be cheering her on too.
SCREENINGS >> 1 p.m. Oct. 7, Sequoia; 10 a.m. Oct. 13, Rafael.
“ESTEBAN” AND “FELICITE”>> These two foreign-language indie gems deserve some attention. Director Alain Gomis’ “Felicite” slowly but powerfully captures the desperation that a single mom and singer ( Vero Tshanda Beya) in the Congo’s capital city experiences when her son suffers from a crippling accident. Director Jonal Cosculluela’s “Esteban” is a quiet, equally immersive feature about a big-hearted little boy (Reynaldo Guanche) who yearns to play the piano and persuades a growly piano teacher to help.
SCREENINGS >> “Felicite,” 2:15 p.m. Oct. 7, Rafael, and 2 p.m. Oct. 11, Rafael; “Esteban,” 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11, Rafael, and 6:15 p.m. Oct. 12, Lark.
“METAMORPHOSIS: JUNIORYEAR”>> With so many teen movies being made by people long removed from their teen years, it’s refreshing to find a film starring, written and directed by someone working toward that cap and gown. Based on Betsy Franco’s young adult novel, the ambitious drama is framed around mythological characters as classic themes play out — self-worth, partying, etc. — at school and home. It’s an impressive feat fromPalo Alto High School students, who get an assist from the Franco family.
SCREENINGS>> 12:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Sequoia, followed by a teen screenwriting workshop; 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15, Lark. “THE SQUARE” >> Director Ruben Ostlund (“Force Majeure”) solidifies his reputation for specializing in discomforting mindbenders with this sprawling, award-winning black comedy that’s set in the attentionseeking museum world and ruminates on our inability to communicate effectively. Three quarters in, it floors us with a bizarre but crazy-amazing sequence that gets more upsetting as it progresses.
SCREENINGS >> 8:45 p.m. Oct. 8, Sequoia; 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13, Sequoia.
“THE LIGHT OF THEMOON” >> Trying to convince someone to watch a film that realistically portrays how a sexual assault changes the lives of a Brooklyn architect and her boyfriend is a tough task. But Jessica M. Thompson’s drama is worth it, as it honestly explores how a resilien two man tries to keep her life together.
SCREENINGS >> 8:45 p.m. Oct. 9, Rafael; 6 p.m. Oct. 11, Larkspur.
“CALLME BY YOURNAME” >> The unquenchable ache of desire and the grandeur of the Italian countryside are beautifully captured in Luca Guadagnino’s passionate adaptation of Andre Aciman’s lyrical novel. As a strapping doctoral student visiting his professor’s family home in Italy, Armie Hammer’s never been better. But it is relative newcomer Timothee Chalamet as the inquisitive 17-year- old Elio, a youth smitten with this handsome American, who stands out. His depiction of tortured obsessive craving is a fine art.
SCREENINGS >> 9 p.m. Oct. 12, Sequoia; 3 p.m. Oct. 14, Larkspur.
“WONDERSTRUCK”>> Todd Haynes is one of our most magical filmmakers, an expert visual craftsman and a master storyteller. Here, he tenderly adapts “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” author Brian Selznick’s touching story, flashing back and forth in time and shifting from black and white to color while chronicling the plight of two lonely and restless young characters. It’s a high point in a prestigious career.
SCREENING >> 7 p.m. Oct. 13, Rafael; includes tribute to Haynes.
“QUEST” >> This lovely, uplifting drama is exactly what we need now; a story honoring compassionate people. It’s inspired by the generous actions of Berkeley High School coach and teacher Tim Moellering, who helped redirect the life of Santiago Rizzo. Now Rizzo pays tribute to the late Moellering and others who reach out to help others in a time of need. Filmed in the East Bay and starring Gregory Kasyan as “Mills,” this fictionalized account follows a young graffiti tagger’s process to become liberated from an abusive environment. SCREENINGS>> 3:45 p.m. Oct. 14, Larkspur; 2:15 p.m. Oct. 15, Rafael.