Labor Day

 This  is our last day! Our first morning show was the new Will Smith film called “King Richard”. He plays Richard, the father of Venus and Serena Williams. He tells the story of their childhood and his particular style of parenting to get them ready for a most amazing career. His portrayal is outstanding and I am sure will get lots of award nominations. It was a lovely story.  I’m sure it will get wide release.

I decided I wanted to get a final Covid test so that I could go home feeling safe after spending six days in close quarters with a lot of people! The rapid test showed I was negative. So that’s a good feeling. This festival did it right and kept us all safe.

Because I had to wait in line a long time for the test, I missed the opportunity to see one movie. 

So the second one that I saw  today was at the end of the day. It is called “Torn”. It was a documentary about a world renowned mountain climber who in the 1990s was killed in the Himalayas by an avalanche. 20 years later his family in the US went to Tibet to retrieve his body which had been buried in snow. We were expecting a movie mostly about the rescue but in reality it was about the people and the relationships and the long-term effects on the family. It was really an interesting story, and we all enjoyed it a great deal. I believe it will be on National Geographic at some point. 

So the festival is over  😢  We had a wonderful time and we learned that we can be safe during the pandemic if the rules are strict and are followed.

16 movies in total!!  

Sunday Sept 5

1.  Our day began with a tribute to Jane Campion best known as the director of the “Piano“. She was interviewed briefly and then they showed a series of clips from her films. The movie that she brought to this festival is called “the power of the dog” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons. It is set in Montana in the 1920s. It is very much a character study and not at all the typical Western that it appears to be.We found it to be quite compelling and quietly suspenseful , and of all the movies we have seen, this one engendered the most discussion and debate as we stood in line for the following movie. There were a lot of twists and possible interpretations.  

2. “The Duke”, with Helen Mirren and Roger Michell. The program said that it is a most delightful heist movie. And it was!  It was based on a true story about a painting of the Duke of Windsor that was stolen from the national Gallery in England in the 1960s.  It was entertaining and light and a good break from some of that more somber films that we have seen.

3. “Bergman Island” is about a married couple filmmakers ( including Tim Roth) who go to Faro island, off Sweden’s coast where they seek inspiration from the late Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, by visiting where he lived & filmed.  While our group found it interesting, I doubt that it will have wide appeal. 

Here is a picture of the four of us with some guys who we have run into every year for many years, and we catch up with their news and share reactions after each movie while waiting in line.

Saturday Sept 3,2021

A few comments about the festival overall. We really didn’t know what to expect with the Covid situation. But we really feel confident that all the people around us are as safe as possible. People are really good about keeping their masks on in the theater. It does seem that there are fewer people in attendance overall, however. Some of the screenings there are quite a few empty seats. But on the other hand, we have been in 2 screenings that were packed. But it seems perfectly safe. I hope we’re not unrealistic. It is our hunch that very few actors are in attendance this year. I suspect anyone that does not have to travel is  preferring not to, and I get that. So the only actors we are seeing so far are those who are being honored with a tribute.

I am so thrilled to have the condo proximity to our theater. When we leave one movie, we get in line for the next. But usually we have 45 minutes to an hour to wait for the next film. In that time we can run back to our condo and grab a snack or whatever. I hope we can get future condos with this kind of proximity.

 1 A tribute to Riz Ahmed and his film “Encounter.”  Well I already wrote about actors getting a tribute being the only ones in attendance and then unfortunately Riz Ahmed was not here! We were told that it was due to travel restrictions. They had a recording of a virtual interview with him that they did last night at another venue. This is a very bright guy! He’s an Oxford graduate in philosophy and it certainly shows. The director —Michael Pearce was here to introduce the film. We were not so sure whether we would like this movie by the description in the program. But my recommendation to you is regardless of what you read, this is a very good movie to see and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a lot of acting nominations. I’m sure it will have wide appeal. It was done by Amazon so it probably will be available there too.

2. “ The hand of God”—-in Italian,  set in beautiful Naples in the 1980s, as the writer/ Director said in his introduction, when life was less complicated and more naive.   The story follows a young man coming-of-age and discovering his creative side as well as his manhood. It is a family story with humor and pathos. For my friends who love Italy and Italian films, this one is delightful.  

3. “Belfast”— Kenneth Branagh is writer / director and Jamie Dornan & Judi Dench star. Branagh introduced the film (cool!) and said it was the story of him as a 9 year old in 1969 in Belfast during the “ troubles.”  The boy who played him was quite talented.  Dornan played his father and Dench his grandmother.  Excellent film!  Highly recommend  

Ok,  11 films so far & 2 more days ahead!  😁

Friday Sept 3, 2021

 1. Today began with a tribute to Peter Dinklage and a screening of his new movie “Cyrano”  When the festival pays tribute to someone they show clips from a number of their films and have a short discussion with them before the main event. It was fun to see the interview with him. Joe Wright, the director, introduced to film  Cyrano and told us that the film was made during the pandemic. They filmed on the island of Sicily and he said he edited the film at his house! I thought the best part of the film was the setting  and cinematography —gorgeous  —but the most surprising  aspect of this movie is that it is a musical! I was not impressed with the music and I have very mixed feelings about the movie overall but if you are a fan of Peter or the story, you will probably enjoy it.  

2. “Julia” is  a biopic ( world premiere)  about Julia Child and given that it is about such a fun person and often set in France, they had me at the title!  I found it to be at delightful retrospective of her career and her impact on cooking, cooking education & programs, and our culture overall. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up on PBS at some point. I do highly recommend it.

3. “The Same Storm” was also shot remotely, all during the pandemic and the subject is about what happened to us all during the pandemic. It has vignettes about how our lives were changed, e.g. dealing with loneliness, family in the hospital, distance learning, remote relationships…  My description isn’t good but I found the film to be a relevant summary of this period of our lives.  The filmmaker said he never even met some of the actors because nobody was ever in the same room with anybody else. We’ve all seen some rather uneven examples of zoom performances in the last year and a half. But I can say that this was certainly the best I saw. Some excellent actors such as Sandra Oh & Mary Louise Parker.  Before seeing it we feared it might be hard to see but it wasn’t at all!  I do recommend it  

The title was taken from a quote: “we’re  not all in the same boat; we’re in the same storm.”  

4 “ The French Dispatch”— This film was a sneak peek which means we did not even read about it in the program that we got on Wednesday. Just appeared on the schedule today.  It’s Wes Anderson. Enough said. He assembled a huge cast —some cameos—including Tilda Swinten,  Bill Murray, Frances McDormand,  Benicia delToro, etc…. I laughed at a lot of French language satire and some of his hysterics, but overall I thought it was uneven.  I expect it will have cult appeal.   Can’t begin to describe the plot.  

Thursday, September 2

 Thursday, September 2

This festival normally officially begins on the Friday before Labor Day. This year they added today, an additional day, to spread out people going to the various venues. There are 10 venues but  my group has the festival pass that only allows us to go to one theater, so we see whatever comes to us. There are pros and cons of the various kinds of festival passes and we have found this works out easiest. And we are usually not too disappointed.

Well so far today we have seen two fantastic documentaries.( please forgive me when I don’t capitalize or italicize titles of films, and forgive typos as I often am writing this on the fly and dictating.)

1. “Nuclear family”— The filmmaker, Ry Russo -Young, reflects on her life growing up with two lesbian moms and suffering through a difficult landmark court battle in which the sperm donor claimed parental rights. It’s possible you remember the story from the press and some TV talk shows perhaps in the 90s. This was provocative, compelling, and will keep me reflecting on the layers and nuances of all of the relationships in the film. It’s the kind of film that probably would only show in art houses? But if you have a chance, I highly recommend it!

2. “Muhammad Ali”—Ken  Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon have done a thorough job, as usual, in researching all the facets of this man. If you think it is just a boxing movie, you are wrong! It’s really about recent American history. We saw part one today and they will show the second and third parts in the next couple of days. However I’ve already seen that PBS has it on their schedule in a couple of weeks. So I definitely intend to watch the rest of it at home. Absolutely fascinating! And now I really want to go back and watch “one night in Miami” again with this new perspective!

3. “C’mon C’mon”—-is directed by Mike Mills and stars Joaquin Phoenix has a radio journalist (a la NPR)  who is doing a project to interview children and ask them about how they see the world and their future. Unexpectedly he needs to take care of his nine-year-old nephew for an extended period of time.   This child is the most incredible actor! The story is very touching and moving and shows us the worldview of children and adults as they try to navigate and understand their lives.  I would highly recommend this film.

So between yesterday’s early film and the three today, I have seen four fantastic films. And I’m so happy that two of them were documentaries, because I am a big fan of documentaries.

So this is off to an outstanding beginning to the festival. And what is crazy is that normally it would just be starting tomorrow, Friday.  

—Jane

Telluride 2021 one day before the festival

Sept 1 Wednesday 

We are so excited to be here. There are 4 of us this year: Michelle, Pat, Julie and moi. We got a condo right by our theater so it will take a matter of two minutes to get in line each day! This is huge.  There have been some years when we have had to walk a long way.

The festival has taken tremendous precautions to keep us all safe. We all had our PCR Covid test within the last five days and this morning we had to have a quickie done. So we feel safe that the people are around us will  probably be Covid free. And we are required to wear a mask in every screening.

I was invited to a pre-festival screening today because I am a contributor to the festival. The film I just saw is called “the lost daughter. “ Olivia Colman is in the starring role. She is fantastic as always. It was a very powerful film. I’m not going to write about it yet because my friends have not seen it yet. So I can add my opinions to this later.

I got a phone call today to tell me that I was cast in the play at Sun City Lincoln Hills. ( Greta who is Swedish). I’m very excited and look forward to getting to know all the folks in the theater group there.

I am very much enjoying the clean air and the cold temperature here! I had to wear a sweater and a jacket and we had some rain this afternoon! What a welcome change from Northern California.

So tomorrow we probably will see three films and I am hoping I will have time to write about them then. Happy to be back at the festival! I think this might be year 15 or 16 for me. 

Jane

From the program

August 21, 2021 --Prep for Telluride Film Festival 2021

We have lived through the most difficult and bizarre 2 years since I took my last (spectacular)  Road Scholar trip.  The Covid 19 pandemic got underway early 2020.  Besides that, I lost my dear sweet Roger in July 2020.  It was most sad and difficult, after our wonderful 43 years together.  

I moved to Lincoln in December 2020 and it is only now, August 2021 that I have the chance to plan a return to the Telluride Film Festival in Sept 2021.  With vaccines, Covid test results and masks in hand, I will take the first trip since 2019 with my Telluride friends, Michelle, Pat and Julie.

The festival is taking no chances.  Everyone with a festival pass had to submit proof of vaccines.  We will take 2 covid tests prior to the festival and will wear a mask to all screenings.  Audience size will be greatly reduced and more venues and 1 more day have been added to the festival.  

As before, I will write in my blog when I can, depending on time constraints.  We leave Calif. Aug 31 and the festival will be Sept. 2-6.