Ebertfest 2008: "The real deal in brown paper wrapping"

As film exhibition in North America crowds itself ever more narrowly into predictable commercial fodder for an undemanding audience, we applaud those brave, free spirits who still hold faith with the unlimited potential of the cinema. - Roger Ebert


Here's the (somewhat belated) wrapup on the 10th Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival.

Roger Ebert himself was "in exile," having broken his hip at the rehab center in Florida while trying to get himself in shape to attend. Having not yet regained the capacity for speech, Ebert has begun a blog/journal; here are his two Ebertfest entries: Ebertfest in Exile and Ebertfest in Exile II (or, why Ebert wants Joe vs. the Volcano, "a film that was a failure in every possible way except that I loved it" at his Festival). The best reader comment I saw posted was this one: "Will you PLEASE stay put? Or by 2013, the festival will be hosted by your brain in a vat."

And links to the Ebertfest 10 Photo Blog and Lisa Rosman's Festival Blog, The Broad View.

The festival traditionally opens Wednesday night with a 70-mm film, and this year was Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.



For me, the most interesting discussions came from directors Ang Lee (following the screening of Hulk) and Paul Schrader (following the screening of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters).
Lee indicated that Hulk was largely driven by issues between him and his father. See Lisa Rosman's post, Angsty Lee (and his Hulk). And while the military had no issues with Sam Elliott's portrayal of General Ross, there was a big issue with the fact that they didn't win! (As Lee said, what would be the point of the film if, in the end, Hulk was defeated?)

When a representative of Fuji, one of the primary financial backers of Paul Schrader's Mishima, told the (Japanese) man who had in turn promised their backing to Schrader, the man told the Fuji representative he would have no option but to "protect my family." Apparently this was a coded way of saying that, unable to deliver on his promise, he would be forced to kill himself. (Unspoken was the implication that this, in turn, would guarantee that no Japanese would do business with Fuji.) Fuji came through with the money, though they still officially deny any involvement. And the film has had virtually no distribution in Japan, all of which led Schrader to describe Mishima as "a film financed by no one, seen by no one." His view is that life doesn't have problems (which would imply solutions); rather, it has conundrums (to be explored). He also said that "Christianity, whatever you want to say about it, is a blood cult."

In her final post, Ms Rosman says her happiest surprise of this year's festival was Bill Forsyth's Housekeeping, and goes on to say about her flight from Champaign to NYC:

And on the final leg to NYC, Forsyth and I talked and talked and talked. Apparently hangovers aid my powers of comprehension. I’m glad. He is the essence of Ebertfest: The real deal in brown paper wrapping.