Many of you know that this week it's been all about the Traverse City Film Festival - trying to organize one's life around a five day deluge of great films that you're not likely to see anywhere besides Cannes, Aspen, or Toronto. Thanks to Michael Moore, who just happens to live here, we've been lucky to see Borat (even before the US premier), Kite Runner, and way too many other films to tell you about in this little blog. This is the 4th year for the TCFF and it's bigger and better than ever.
Films I've seen this week include Up The Yangstze..... an astonishing documentary about the ongoing Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze, China's longest river.
Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days which is against a stark, urban backdrop in late-80’s Romania (two years before revolution removed communist leader Ceausescu from power), this masterful film follows the college student Otilia (in an Oscar-worthy performance by Anamaria Marinca) as she helps her roommate Gabita procure an abortion from the black market. Mongol : Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign film, this stunning epic action film by acclaimed Russian director Sergei Bodrov recounts the formative years of a young Genghis Khan.
But maybe the one film that stuck the deepest was the one I saw last night. Ever heard of the band Anvil? Me neither.
Their story is simply what we all face in our lives - the need to do something worthwhile and to have people like and respect what we do. To get real philosophical about it....it's the human struggle.
From the on-line notes for the TCFF......................
Even if you are about as metal as your aunt, you will be spellbound by "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," which is not just much better than most music documentaries, it's much better than most documentaries, period. You will laugh, but you will also be inspired to think and feel, and perhaps you will be literally moved to the edge of tears by the complicated-simple, stupid-smart, goofy-serious story that it tells thanks to Sacha Gervasi's inspired and impressive direction. Anvil, a band known as the “demigods of Canadian metal,” released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982’s "Metal on Metal." The album influenced a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, and went on to sell millions of records. This amazing documentary follows the criminally overlooked Canadian band -- a group whose core members started playing together in high school and are still going strong 35 years later. After nearly making it big, sharing the stage with acts like Whitesnake and Bon Jovi, the band has continually fallen just short of stardom, but hasn't given up on the rock-n-roll dream. A touching portrait of this real-life Spinal Tap, the film focuses equal attention on music, friendship, and the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into keeping this duo together for decades. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the L.A. Film Festival, the Galway Film Festival, and others. Following both screenings of the film, the band will perform a short live set on stage. And catch them later on Friday night at Union Street. This is a rare event not to be missed."
Metal On Metal .....1983
Their latest album is available on-line at www.anvilmetal.com
