And now, the end is near. And so I face the final curtain. My friend, I’ll say it clear. I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. I’ve seen a festival that’s full. I’ve travelled each and every highway. (Not really, mostly just Farwell and Downer but let’s just keep going.) And more, much more than this. I did it my way.
It has been a long three weeks full of popcorn breath, coffee breath, Red Bull breath, Sour Patch breath, tooth decay breath. Really just a rough time for dental care all around. But a great time for movies! The Milwaukee Film Festival is once again coming to a close for another year, and quite the festival it has been. If you haven’t had the chance to come out, there’s still time. The fest closes on Thursday, and for the next four days there are plenty of screenings to catch.
Here’s what I’m excited about this final week:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
1. The Milwaukee Show I and The Milwaukee Show II
MONDAY, MAY 5 AT 6 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
TUESDAY, MAY 6 AT 6 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
Every year, this screening of locally made shorts is standing room only. The people love Milwaukee. The people love shows. What more is there to say? I find the grab-bag of different styles and subjects fascinating, whether it’s a stone-cold serious drama or a lighthearted music video. And the energy at the showing each year is fantastic, as filmmakers and their friends and family all show up for the big day. It’s a great moment for Cream City Cinema. If you can’t make the first screening, there are so many shorts, they’re doing a second!
2. Cloud
MONDAY, MAY 5 AT 6:30 P.M. | DOWNER THEATRE
Neo-noir – it’s like noir, but neo. The same core ideas of the genre, but with a new, modern take. Kind of like how I started using deodorant, but am still fundamentally a very smelly man. Cloud is a neo-noir set in Japan. After a Tokyo factory worker makes a windfall reselling goods online, he quits his job and relocates to the countryside with his girlfriend. Then bad stuff starts happening because otherwise this wouldn’t be a movie – there are mysterious attacks on our protagonist’s peaceful new farm from unknown assailants. I’m looking forward to some action, and to unravelling a little mystery here.
3. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
TUESDAY, MAY 6 AT 1:30 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
THURSDAY, MAY 8 AT 6 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
I initially dismissed this movie because my grandmothers have both already died so clearly the “How to” thing no longer applies to me, right? But then it turns out this is fiction, not documentary! Whodda thunk it? The emotional comedy follows a “scheming young man” who moves in with his cancer-ridden grandmother, intending to secure her money for himself. Of course, this does not go smoothly.
4. DJ Ahmet
TUESDAY, MAY 6 AT 7:30 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
This movie reminds me of my short-lived DJ career. I guess no one wants to hear Nick Cave in the club. Whatever. I’m not bitter. Anyway, this flick follows a 15-year-old from North Macedonia with DJ dreams of his own. It looks like a charming, uplifting tale that I hope will help brighten the end of the film fest. And who knows? Maybe I’ll start spinning “O Children” again sometime soon.
5. 25 Cats From Qatar
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 AT 4 P.M. | DOWNER THEATRE
I’ve never had a cat, but I feel a certain affinity for them. Like me, they often recoil from human touch, run from people they don’t know and frequently disappear for long stretches at a time. If I could have a one-on-one chat with a feline, I think it would go well. We would understand each other. Well, this documentary is about cats – 25 of them. Katy McHugh, owners of Milwaukee’s Sip and Purr Cat Cafe, ran an unsanctioned operation to fly 25 cats from Doha, Qatar to Wisconsin for adoption after she heard about the feral cat crisis in the country.
6. 40 Acres
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 AT 8:30 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
This post-apocalyptic film is set in Canada, which made me realize that in my mind Canada has never factored into the apocalypse. I guess I just figured they’d always be up there making syrup and playing hockey, even when the rest of the world is reduced to nothing but radioactive waste and cockroaches. But heck, even our neighbors up north are going to get apocalypsed, I guess. The movie follows the last descendants of a Black family living on a farm in a food-scare Armageddon scenario who fight to protect their home from invaders.
7. Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Closing Night)
THURSDAY, MAY 8 AT 7:30 P.M. | ORIENTAL THEATRE
I have little interest in this movie personally because my heart is black and empty, and I no longer feel the joy that romantic comedy could once bring me. But I hope other people are not this way! The film festival ends its run with this literary rom-com set at the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England. The film’s description says it’s “utterly charming,” which I can’t help but hear said in the most flowery and drawn-out English accent imaginable. And the trailer does look amusing. Perhaps … just perhaps … I might go to try and rekindle that heart of mine.
