Today I saw 2 films although I should get credit for two for the first film due to the length (3.5 Hours).
1). Steve McQueen, who directed “12 years a slave”, brought his brand new documentary: “Occupied City.” It’s about Amsterdam, under Nazi occupation. His ingenious method of telling the story was to visually show sites in the city today, and the activities going on now while the voice narrative told what happened on that site during occupation. His impetus for the film was his wife’s ( Bianca Stigter) book on this topic. Both of them were present for a Q & A after the screening. They live in Amsterdam—-she’s from there and he’s been there 27 years. Of course we all knew that Amsterdam had been occupied —at least from Anne Frank—-but the extent of the inhumanity …. Well… what can I say… The cinematography was super and the message urgent.
I’ m not sure how well distributed this film will be, but if you have a chance, I do recommend it.
2) So the next film (“ Tuesday “)was a Completely different kind of film. Part fantasy, part tragicomedy, and other adjectives, Julia Louis-Drefus (who was here to introduce the film before the screening!!!) is in a Completely different role —-a mother of a terminal teenage daughter, who has great difficulty dealing with the situation. If you can suspend reality and just go along for the ride, I loved this film. It speaks to anyone who has dealt with death—and shows it in a way that is not painful but rather philosophical. I highly recommend this film.
There was a late night film but I’ve decided to be sane and pace myself.
I did see my former middle school student who comes every year. Fun!
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