“For her, all seven deadly sins!” —Metropolis
I slept for 10 hours Tuesday night (likely more than the entire weekend altogether), have averaged only one film per day (how is that possible?) and already lost three pounds. Apparently I’m on the Film Fest diet. Nevertheless, I felt recharged and ready to see at least three movies Wednesday night though I’m confident none of them will top the screening of Metropolis with the Alloy Orchestra.
The new print of Metropolis includes far more discovered footage than I anticipated! The Thin Man character had been almost entirely eliminated from the film, and he’s central to the narrative. If you think you’ve seen Metropolis before, you haven’t. It’s seriously like a new movie. Plus, watching the film on 35mm is a treat. My friends Adam Ochonicky, Erik Chandler, Cara Ogburn, Gretchen Klein and (of course) Adrian discussed that early in the film the narrative didn’t even matter. There is such splendor in the images that it’s fun just looking. The high point for me, though, was when Maria, the robot temptress, started her dance. At first the music was SO up-tempo it almost seemed out of place! Adrian and I started shaking our shoulders “Love is a Battlefield” style, and I started fantasizing about getting to play that part. She’s all hips and arms. I loved it!
To back up for a moment, though, I should comment on the scene. Upon initial entry, I looked over the balcony edge to see how many people could afford first-floor tickets. (Festival passes were not honored. Downstairs tickets were $50 or $30. Balcony tix were $15.) It looked slim, so I started counting. There definitely were more people in the balcony, and I later learned the Film Festival stopped selling balcony tickets at some point, possibly to force people to pony up the cash for downstairs seats? (The balcony was by no means full.) I pondered the irony of attending a film about class and labor issues in a theater segregated, presumably, by class and labor issues.
Before the film began, we also questioned whether or not there would be an intermission. It seems a lot of people wondered the same thing, as when the “Intermezzo” intertitle appeared, most of the balcony audience started moving around and chatting. Thank goodness Maria broke out the pasties quickly in the second act, because people seemed ready for a coffee and a stretch; it appears her seductive ways transcend the screen as she sedated even the “unwashed masses,” as Adam called us, of the balcony spectators! (I think I want to be her for Halloween; I’m pretty in love with her character today.) All in all, I’m overjoyed I got to see the film with the live accompaniment, even if I could not see the band from my seat. Ditching a limo ride with Tony Shaloub to attend was 100 percent the right decision. (Sorry, Tony. I’ll try to make up for it by double-stalking you tomorrow!)
My feeling is that everyone was thrilled with the event. I spoke with costume designer Ashley Coffey prior, while Adrian violated the theater’s every crevice with his camera. She was volunteering but, I believe, attending as well. Normally our conversations go something like this: “Omg! Vintage dresses!” “I know! Vintage dresses!” “Seriously. Vintage dresses.” Last night was no different. Her friend Vinnie stood by and smiled, probably thinking, “Christ. Are these girls ever going to shut up about vintage dresses?” Oddly, later that night I ran into my student, Josh VanMoorleghem, and also talked about vintage dresses. He was on his way into the Irish film Perrier’s Bounty. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t love that film, especially since I’m constantly pushing the festival on my students!
Yesterday, I went to Ken Wardrop’s His and Hers, the much-buzzed Irish film, and Marwencol. (Metropolis screened again last night with the orchestra as well.) Today, is the RDI Stages Feed the Fish party from 5-7 (c’mon over), the first screening of both local productions Feed the Fish and Mark my Words, the first screening of the hyper-buzzed Uncle Boonmee (which I cannot believe was not sold out) and the final screening of Winnebago Man, which I need to prioritize. Yesterday and today, Milwaukee has better cinema than most of the rest of the year combined. I need to clone myself so I can catch all these films!
Quickly, I want to mention one more thing. UWM’s Lisa Hecht and artist Marcelino Stuhmer sat behind us at the screening, and before the film began, we again discussed the quality of the sponsor reel. (We sat with them during the opening night film.) People are still laughing at it and talking about it! Whatever, Susan Sarandon, this is the real star of the fest. Since the video wasn’t available last time I mentioned it, I thought I’d post it today. Enjoy, and see you tonight at the movies!
Milwaukee Film Festival Sponsor Trailer 2010 from Milwaukee Film on Vimeo.
