Free Drinks in Rotterdam

After seeing 15 movies in three days, it was time to unwind. The industry party at the Engels (!) building provided just that opportunity. After walking by Jafar Panahi to score some free beer, I bonded with my Brazilian counterpart about the genius of Metallica, Howard Hawks, and Clint Eastwood. The other critics in my program were ladies, and oh, they danced.

To give a brief update....Dainipponjin lived up to expectations, filled with ultra-deadpan humor and absurdist CGI. I also enjoyed the compositonal glories of In the City of Sylvia, the lovely romance of the post-tsunami Wonderful Town, and the humor of the Malaysian Flower in the Pocket. Tonight I saw Alexei Balabanov's super-acidic take on the last years of the Soviet regime, Cargo 200. Totally unforgiving and occasionally completely revolting, it's filled with grime, corpses, and sexual horrors like I've never seen on screen. I've never been so delightfully disgusted!

The first IFC update should be running soon, so look forward to that unprecendented insight in the near future. I plan on seeing some 4th generation Chinese films soon, as well as the Sundance critics hit, Momma's Man, directed by Azazael Jacobs, the son of the experimental filmmaker Ken, whose RAZZLE DAZZLE I was stunned by in these parts.

Goodnight!