Indie films

Yet one more aspect in which I am oh so cultured. (I mentioned poetry in an earlier post and was immediately persecuted by my one loyal reader.) I like a good independent film. Notice I said a 'good' one. I'll define that word someday.

There are plenty of pretentious, artsy-fartsy, films out there, and you stumble across plenty of them when you take a chance on an indie film. But every once in a while you find one that really shines. Here I'll talk about a few of these:

Smoke Signals. I liked this one so much that I bought a copy for myself. It is based upon the short story 'This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona' by Sherman Alexie, from his collection "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven".

There is a scene toward the end that is probably one of the most powerful visual expressions of forgiveness that I have ever seen on film. It is of the main character, Victor, dumping his father's ashes into a river, after travelling across the state to get them and take them to this place. It is so powerful, because all along the film we see where his father failed him and how it affected Victor. We also catch glimpses into his father's struggles and why he abandoned the son. The scene also contains a voice-over of another main character, Thomas, reciting the poem "How do we forgive our fathers" by Dick Lourie. (Wunderkraut should love that!) Go look it up on YouTube. I'd post it here, but I haven't figured out how to yet.

Another really good indie that is out now is "Once". It is more or less a musical. Irish musician Glen Hansard plays the male lead, a street musician in Dublin who is pining away for the girl who left him, while another girl enters his life and gives him the motivation he needs to get on with his life. The music is acoustic and melancholy. This is one that is out now, and should be easy to find. A good date film. Warning: the language is a bit rough in places, but not what I would call gratuitously so.

And finally: American Movie. This is so funny. It is about two lovable slackers trying their darndest to make a movie. It is probably the most hilarious documentary ever made. Mark Borchardt is so determined that you can't help but pull for him. I mean, the dude has his mama wearing a black hooded cloak out in the middle of the Wisconsin winter, enacting a scene for his film "Coven". It is at times almost a movie within a movie. If you can still find this one, snatch it up. One caveat: guys will probably dig this one, while women just won't get it.

There you go. Some good films for a cold weekend. Check 'em out.