16 Tribeca Film Festival Standouts To Look Forward To
With only a few days left to attend the Tribeca Film festival, we put together this list of some of the standouts so far. Here’s what we’re loving at Tribeca including seven comedies, two great documentaries, one mockumentary and some great dramas.
Starred Up. (Drama)
The best of the festival so far, this ultra-realist film from Ireland/UK focuses on a juvenile offender (Jack O’Connell) moved into the adult prison system. The prison he’s sent to also happen to be the longtime residency of his criminal father (Ben Mendelsohn). Despite parental warnings to straighten up and behave, he gets on the wrong side of both the prison staff and prisoners, making him a target for retaliation. One of the most claustrophobic films you’ll see, Starred Up is a great prison movie and one of the best father-son films. Don’t be surprised to see stars Jack O’Connell and Ben Mendelsohn during the 2014 award season next year, each giving to of the most unnerving performances in some time.
Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Art & Craft. (Documentary)
One of the most compelling men you’ll ever see is the subject of this kickstarted documentary, it tells the story of the greatest art forger of modern time. Mark Landis is an older man with a long list of diagnosed mental problems and remarkable talent for recreating any piece of art work. Compelled to play the role of a philanthropist, he spends all his time making art and giving it to museums, claiming authenticity to curators who were happy to accept the gifts. After hundreds of museums accepted, one curator finally discovers the fraud and makes it his own obsession to bring the deception to light. Despite his questionable behavior, Mark Landis is one of the most engaging and oddly charming men you’ll have the pleasure of meeting.
Visit the film’s website.
Venus in Fur. (Comedy/Horror/Fantasy)
Despite being an almost literal adaption of the play, also named Venus in Fur, the new film could only be made by director Roman Polanski. An odd mix of comedy, horror, and metaphysical fantasy, the film shows a late night audition which gets out of hand. Emmanuelle Seigner (reprising her role from the play) and Polanski look-alike Mathieu Amalric star in the two character film, all set in one location and performed in real-time.
Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Gabriel. (Drama)
Rory Culkin stars as a paranoid schizophrenic returning home from his institution. Despite his family’s concerns that he is not yet ready to return to everyday life, Culkin’s Gabriel is singularly concerned with reuniting with the girl he claims to be in love with. Filmed in a dark, moody version of New York city and upstate, Culkin’s maniac performance gives insight into his fractured state of mind, while David Call and Deirdre O’Connell play his concerned family and Emily Meade the objection of his disturbed affections. Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Zero Motivation. (Comedy)
Think of it as Stripes mixed with Office Space, but focused on women working at an Israeli military base. The comedy is divided into three chapters, all focused on the lives of young women working in the administrative office, biding their time and fighting boredom during their required two years of service. Laugh out loud funny, with a vibrant look and great performances by the leading ladies, it’s a comedy well worth a look. Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Alex of Venice. (Dramedy)
Luminous Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed) gets to showcase her considerable talent as an actress in this low-key domestic dramedy. As title character Alex, the film starts with her being left by her stay at home husband (director Chris Messina), leaving her to take care of their son, look after her confused father (Don Johnson) and while continue a high pressure court case. Winstead isn’t just a beautiful and talented actress, but she’s blessed with one of the most expressive faces on screen today, making the role of repressed Alex a perfect fit for the criminally underrated actress. Johnson is touching as her actor father past his glory, and the film manages to create a gentle, sweet tone and easy pace, while still having profound moments. Costars Timm Sharp, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Derek Luke. Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Traitors. (Drama)
A Moroccan thriller about a straight-edged, girl mechanic who takes a job from a drug deal to raise money to record a demo with her all girl punk band. Although seemingly out of her element, she goes a step further to prove her badass stripes by trying to deceive the dangerous dealers employing her. Featuring great original punk music, and classic thriller elements, the movie is also an example of true feminist filmmaking by writer/director Sean Gullette (star of Pi). Newcomer Chaimae Ben Acha makes an especially strong impression in the leading role of Malika. Watch the trailer on YouTube.
Manos Sucias. (Drama)
Two Columbian brothers find themselves transporting a torpedo across the sea for a crime boss. Oldest brother Jacobo hopes that this will be his last mission, but his younger brother is on his first run. While a large part of the film focuses on brotherly bonding (which itself pretty compelling) the last half is where the film takes off. Fearing for their lives, the film does not shy away from showing just how deep in they are. Socially relevant and entertaining, director Josef Wladyka keeps audiences on the edge of their seat. Co-produced by Spike Lee.
Kidnapping of Michael Houellebecq. (Mockumentary)
A quirky mockumentary supposing what might have happened when the controversial French writer Michael Houellebecq went missing during his 2011 book tour. In this scenario, Houellebecq (playing himself) is kidnapped by three gypsies with no ill-will towards him. Over a period of several days, Houellebecq smokes, drinks, learns about wrestling, meets a prostitute, all the while wondering why he is being held and frequently annoying his captures. Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm will enjoy this odd blend of absurdist and cringe-worthy dark humor. Learn more at tribecafilm.com.
Brides (Drama)
A change in prison laws in Georgia, allowing wives to visit their husbands, inspires a woman to marry her incarcerated lover and the father of her two children. Focused on carrying for her children and supporting the family, she quickly becomes disenchanted with the obligations of being the primary focus and outlet for a man spending six years in prison. Stark and depressing, but an extremely well made feature about the way prison is punishment for the prisoner’s family as well as the prisoners.
Get more information on their website.
Life Partners. (Romantic Comedy)
Like Bridesmaids without the gross-out humor, Leighton Meister and Gillian Jacobs play best friends who spend most of their free time in each other’s company. When Jacobs’s type A attorney begins a relationship with a hipster doctor (Adam Brody), Meister’s slacker, single lesbian feels abandoned by her best friend. Avoiding romantic comedy conventions, the focus of this movie is very clearly on the co-dependent relationship of girls entering adulthood (and adult relationships) and is a new spin on how friendships are often sacrificed for relationships. Costars Abby Elliot, Kat McKinnon, Gabourey Sidibe, and Julie White.
Intramural. (Comedy)
A scattershot parody film, every joke doesn’t necessarily land on mark, but a majority do, and most of the characters are funny. An intramural football game goes terribly wrong leading a freshman team to disband until their fifth (and hopefully last) year of college, hoping to defeat their enemy team, lead by SNL’s Beck Bennett (doing his best William Zabka impression). Nikki Reed plays Bennett’s cuter, nicer twin sister who falls in love with the captain of the underdog team Jacob (Jake Lacey) who is already engaged to a pretentious snob (SNL’s Kate McKinnon). Extremely broad, the movie is done in the style of Wet Hot American Summer, focusing on college and sport movie cliches and features an impressive collection of emerging comedians.
Human Capital. (Drama)
A hit and run accident is retold Rashomon/Pulp Fiction in an Italian melodrama about lust, greed, and privilege. The film is told from the perspectives of a father who invests in bad stocks, a wealthy wife focused on restoring a theater, and the father’s teenage daughter leading a secret life of her own. Events of the film are told and retold from different perspectives, until the truth comes to light in the final chapter. Although the social commentary is less than subtle, the storytelling structure and mystery of who committed the crime, why, and what connects all these people, makes the film utterly compelling. Slick and disturbing, lead actors Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, and newcomer Matilde Gioli each hold their own.
Get more information at tribecafilm.com.
The Battered Bastards of Baseball. (Documentary)
One of the true sports documentaries to embrace the motto “for the love of the game” this ESPN documentary focuses on the formation and eventual sale of the Portland Mavericks. With particular focus on team owner Bing Russell (actor Kurt’s very cool father) the Mavericks were a team of overlooked players who went to tryouts after being passed over by minor league teams with major league affiliation. Hairy, foul-mouthed, and entertaining team o players, they included a scrappy batboy (filmmaker Todd Field) and Ball-4 author/former Yankee Jim Bouton. The underdogs became the pride of Portland, before the hipster invasion, and real threat to the business of baseball. Made for the kids who preferred sandlot baseball to organized little league, this is one of the most crowd-pleasing documentaries at the festival. The only question you’ll have is why it took so long for this great story to be told.
5 to 7. (Romantic Comedy)
Anyone claiming great romantic comedies are dead should catch this beautiful new film by Victor Levin, making his directorial debut. A 33 year old wife and mother (Bond-Girl Berenice Marlohe) finds herself a lover in the form of a 20-something failed writer (Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin). But she establishes the rule of only being together from 5pm to 7pm, as to avoid conflict with her husband (Lambert Wilson) with whom she has an open relationship. Although his father (Frank Langelia) disapproves, the entire situation is treated with absolute class and respect, without a single unlikable character in the film. Marlohe and Yelchin as the couple, as are Langelia, Wilson, Glenn Close, and especially Olivia Thurby, as Yelchin’s cheeky mentor. Proof that there is still room in cinema clever romance, this might be the perfect date movie for audiences wanting something refreshingly original presented with old-fashioned style.
GUEROS. (Comedy)
A Mexican coming-of-age film with the nostalgia of Cinema Paradiso and vibrant style of Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket. First time filmmaker Alonso Ruiz Palacios (who won best first feature at the Berlin) has made a gorgeous black-and-white film about two brothers who during the 1999 student strike in Mexico City, take a road trip to find the singer-songwriter their father introduced them to. Along for the ride is the roommate and girlfriend of the older brother. All four lead actors are completely engaging in their roles, and the whimsical coming-of-age tale captures a magical time when an older brother can become a hero and a little brother can become a friend.
Read more from The Interrobang Recommends, including Filtered Excellence, Lock Yourself in Weekend, The Right Way and more.
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