My 2014 Cleveland International Film Festival Schedule
Thankfully, this year the Cleveland International Film Festival doesn't overlap with telethon, the home opener or any of the massive assortment of things that caused problems last year. Even better, even though I procrastinated about buying tickets, I was still able to purchased 17 tickets today. I have actual tickets for all of these; I'm not on stand by even once so I'll be at all of these. As a bonus, my employer donated heavily to the CIFF so I got a coupon code that knocked a little bit off on top of that. Woo! So without further ado, here are the movies that I have tickets for at this year's CIFF.
Thursday, March 20
Continental @ 9:35pm. A documentary about a famous gay bathhouse in New York. I'm mostly going for the music, since all sorts of famous musicians played there.
Friday, March 21
The Verdict @ 7:15pm. A Belgian CEO turns vigilante after horrible things happen to his family and the culprit walks free.
New World @ 10:00pm. A South Korean crime flick with echoes of The Departed (which of course was a remake of the superior Infernal Affairs). I have liked virtually every Korean crime film I've ever seen.
Saturday, March 22
Maryan @ 1:10pm. It's a Bollywood film, vaguely based on a true story, complete with song & dance numbers by terrorists. At 2.5 hours, it's also easily the longest CIFF film I'll ever have seen.
Antarctica: A Year on Ice @ 5:20pm. What's it like to stay all winter on the seventh continent? This documentary tells us.
Paris or Perish @ 7:45pm. A French model is deported to Northern Africa and has to sneak back into France in time for Fashion Week. It looks like a light and frothy comedy.
Monsoon Shootout @ 9:50pm. A cop in India is pressured to hunt down someone his superiors say committed a crime. The real appeal is the three alternate endings.
Sunday, March 23
The Sax Man @ 7:45pm. Anyone who has ever been downtown in Cleveland has probably heard the Sax Man playing for change. Someone made a documentary about him; it turns out that he used to play with a bunch of 1970s funk acts.
Monday, March 24
Nothing. Not a damn thing.
Tuesday, March 25
The Winding Stream @ 8:55pm. It's a documentary about the many generations of The Carter Family.
Wednesday, March 26
Salvo @ 8:30pm. A mob hitman kills somebody. He then goes to kill the witness, but she's blind. And then he falls for her.
Thursday, March 27
Here Was Cuba @ 8:00pm. A documentary about The Cuban Missile Crisis. It probably won't include the key role played by the X-Men.
Marmato @ 9:50pm. A documentary about Colombian gold miners fight a big corporation that wants to use environmentally destructive methods on their village. My obligatory "big corporations are evil" documentary of this year's Film Fest.
Friday, March 28
SEX(ED) The Movie @ 8:00pm. Ever wonder why sex-ed is so fucked up in the U.S.? This documentary claims to explain it.
Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story @ 9:40pm. A documentary about Hustler magazine. It pairs nicely with SEX(ED), doesn't it?
Saturday, March 29
Just About Famous @ 1:40pm. A documentary about celebrity impersonators.
Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang @ 3:45pm. Spanish kids comic book characters get their own Harry Potteresque YA movie.
Why am I not going to more movies on Saturday? Because the Cinematheque is showing two things I really want to see that night:
The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a South Korean spaghetti-western-esque film set during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the 1930s. I missed it when it first played here. Remember when I said I love South Korean crime movies? That's why. It plays at 7pm.
Fear and Desire would probably be largely forgotten in America, except that it was the first film ever directed by Stanley Kubrick. He later disavowed it, but my completist gene is kicking in and I want to see it. It plays at 9:30pm.
Sunday, March 30
Born to Fly @ 5:30pm. A dance movie featuring the choreography of Elizabeth Streb, whose dances often can be confused with extreme sports.
That's nine documentaries, arguably 10 if you count the dance movie. Then there are four crime movies, a YA movie, a comedy and a Bollywood song & dance flick. If this plan holds together (and I have the tickets), then that would the most films I've seen at CIFF since 2009, and my second most ever.
Thursday, March 20
Continental @ 9:35pm. A documentary about a famous gay bathhouse in New York. I'm mostly going for the music, since all sorts of famous musicians played there.
Friday, March 21
The Verdict @ 7:15pm. A Belgian CEO turns vigilante after horrible things happen to his family and the culprit walks free.
New World @ 10:00pm. A South Korean crime flick with echoes of The Departed (which of course was a remake of the superior Infernal Affairs). I have liked virtually every Korean crime film I've ever seen.
Saturday, March 22
Maryan @ 1:10pm. It's a Bollywood film, vaguely based on a true story, complete with song & dance numbers by terrorists. At 2.5 hours, it's also easily the longest CIFF film I'll ever have seen.
Antarctica: A Year on Ice @ 5:20pm. What's it like to stay all winter on the seventh continent? This documentary tells us.
Paris or Perish @ 7:45pm. A French model is deported to Northern Africa and has to sneak back into France in time for Fashion Week. It looks like a light and frothy comedy.
Monsoon Shootout @ 9:50pm. A cop in India is pressured to hunt down someone his superiors say committed a crime. The real appeal is the three alternate endings.
Sunday, March 23
The Sax Man @ 7:45pm. Anyone who has ever been downtown in Cleveland has probably heard the Sax Man playing for change. Someone made a documentary about him; it turns out that he used to play with a bunch of 1970s funk acts.
Monday, March 24
Nothing. Not a damn thing.
Tuesday, March 25
The Winding Stream @ 8:55pm. It's a documentary about the many generations of The Carter Family.
Wednesday, March 26
Salvo @ 8:30pm. A mob hitman kills somebody. He then goes to kill the witness, but she's blind. And then he falls for her.
Thursday, March 27
Here Was Cuba @ 8:00pm. A documentary about The Cuban Missile Crisis. It probably won't include the key role played by the X-Men.
Marmato @ 9:50pm. A documentary about Colombian gold miners fight a big corporation that wants to use environmentally destructive methods on their village. My obligatory "big corporations are evil" documentary of this year's Film Fest.
Friday, March 28
SEX(ED) The Movie @ 8:00pm. Ever wonder why sex-ed is so fucked up in the U.S.? This documentary claims to explain it.
Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story @ 9:40pm. A documentary about Hustler magazine. It pairs nicely with SEX(ED), doesn't it?
Saturday, March 29
Just About Famous @ 1:40pm. A documentary about celebrity impersonators.
Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang @ 3:45pm. Spanish kids comic book characters get their own Harry Potteresque YA movie.
Why am I not going to more movies on Saturday? Because the Cinematheque is showing two things I really want to see that night:
The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a South Korean spaghetti-western-esque film set during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the 1930s. I missed it when it first played here. Remember when I said I love South Korean crime movies? That's why. It plays at 7pm.
Fear and Desire would probably be largely forgotten in America, except that it was the first film ever directed by Stanley Kubrick. He later disavowed it, but my completist gene is kicking in and I want to see it. It plays at 9:30pm.
Sunday, March 30
Born to Fly @ 5:30pm. A dance movie featuring the choreography of Elizabeth Streb, whose dances often can be confused with extreme sports.
That's nine documentaries, arguably 10 if you count the dance movie. Then there are four crime movies, a YA movie, a comedy and a Bollywood song & dance flick. If this plan holds together (and I have the tickets), then that would the most films I've seen at CIFF since 2009, and my second most ever.