More films to report:
- City Loop – This was a debut from former journalist Melinda Chayko. It’s a story of six individuals who work at a fast food restaurant and what happens on one long night. It’s composed of individual segments told from each character’s perspective and the narrative folds back on itself in some really clever ways. Good performances from a cast of unknowns, also. I’d give it 7/10
- Angels of the Universe – This is my favourite film so far. A beautifully shot and told story of one man’s struggle with schizophrenia, based on a book by the director’s best friend about his brother. Achingly sad and yet life affirming. It’s a shame no one will probably see it outside of Scandinavia. My second Icelandic film of the festival (who knew??). This is easily a 9/10.
- Chasing Sleep – Starring Jeff Daniels as a man whose wife doesn’t return home from work one day. He spends the days and nights getting progressively more freaked out and unable to sleep. It’s been compared to Roman Polanski’s Repulsion, but I think it doesn’t quite achieve what it wants to. Still interesting and of course a bravura performance from Daniels. 7/10
- Signs and Wonders – [there were still tickets available for this film this morning, so Brooke and I decided to add it to our schedule] Great cast including Stellen Skarsgard, Deborah Kara Unger, and Charlotte Rampling, (Skarsgard and Rampling were at the screening, and Brooke got both their autographs) about a man who leaves his wife for another woman and then changes his mind. It starts off as a film about infidelity but veers into cheesy thriller territory. Also notable for being completely shot with digital video cameras. It felt like an American film trying to be an European film. 6/10
Also, today was my first day of jury duty. I reported to the pool of potential jurors and sat in on two different trials. The first was a civil trial and I didn’t get called up. The second was a criminal trial, with four defendants facing a total of 40 charges. Jury selection went on for the whole day, and I was chosen as juror number 8. We finished the day with only 10 jurors, out of a total pool of almost 90 people, all of whom were rejected by counsel. I’ll be on this jury for the next two weeks. I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how the whole process works, and listening to both sides in the case.