Seattle Film Fest Chooses Brit Comedy A Favorite

Sat., June 14, 1997

By Dan Webster danw@spokesman.com

There is no such thing as one film festival. The 23rd Seattle International Film Festival, which ended its 25-day run last Sunday, was evidence of that.

Your experience depended on what you saw. And since the festival boasted 190-odd feature films and shorts in all, chances are that most people saw something different.

Consider the differences between the festival as seen by those who purchased full-series passes, a majority of whom saw 60 or more films (at least two saw more than 135), and the regular festival-goers, who likely saw many fewer.

Some 171 full-series pass-holders cast ballots, which resulted in the British comedy “The Full Monty” being chosen as Most Favorite film. But the ballots of more than 7,000 regular festival-goers earned the Hong Kong entry “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” the official title of Best Film.

Other festival awards, announced by SIFF executive director Darryl Macdonald during the closing night celebration on Sunday, were as follows:

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser for “Still Breathing.”

Best Actress: Robin Wright Penn for “Loved.”

Best director: Peter Greenaway for “The Pillow Book.”

Best documentary: “Licensed to Kill” by Arthur Dong.

Best Short: “Ballad of the Skeletons” by Gus Van Sant.

As for me, having seen only 35 films over four weekends, I have no quibble with either selection. Both, in fact, made my Top 10 list, which is as follows:

“The Full Monty” (Great Britain): When some unemployed steel workers grow tired of feeling sorry for themselves, they decide to make a financial haul by doing their own Chippendales-type of strip show. Moments of hilarity.

“Comrades: Almost a Love Story” (Hong Kong): Having come to Hong Kong to seek their fortunes, a couple of Chinese mainlanders flirt with the love that ultimately becomes their destiny. Funny and touching.

“The Quiet Room” (Australia): Facing the probability of her parents’ divorce, a young girl stops talking - except to us in voice-over. Touching and heartbreaking.

“Shall We Dance” (Japan): Stifled by his average life, a businessman sees a beautiful sad woman framed in a window, and that image leads him to the world of the ballroom dance. A Japanese version of “Strictly Ballroom,” both funny and poignant.

“Wonderland” (U.S.): For the 50th anniversary of the planned community of Levittown, N.Y., director John O’Hagan delves into the town’s history and its psyche. The result is funny, a bit mean, and utterly entertaining.

“Pretty Village, Pretty Flames” (Serbia): Two men, friends from childhood, find themselves on opposite sides of the internecine civil war. Dramatically stunning, if a bit over the top.

“The Myth of Fingerprints” (U.S.): It’s Thanksgiving, and for the first time in three years the whole family is together again. Only this time, long-held secrets are bound to come out.

“Lilies” (Canada): When a Catholic bishop is invited to a prison to hear the confession of a convicted killer in 1952, he is transported back 40 years and forced to confront his own inner demons. Absorbing and visually inventive, this Genie Award-winner (Canada’s version of Oscar) features amazing acting.

“Licensed to Kill” (U.S.): When he decided to interview men who had been convicted of killing gays, documentary director Arthur Dong wasn’t sure what he would come up with. What he found was a full range of emotions, from outright remorse to hostile self-justification, and a riveting portrait of fear and loathing.

“Loved” (U.S.): Robin Wright Penn stars as a victim of domestic violence who, years later, is forced to testify against her former batterer, whose most recent girlfriend killed herself. The problem: She might still love him. Infuriating, flawed and yet unsparingly honest, it is boosted by the performances of Best Actress Penn Wright, William Hurt and Sean Penn in a brief but effective cameo.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INTERESTING MOMENTS Every festival features moments that, either in a film or out, exist to make life the intriguing trip it is. Some top SIFF 23 moments included: Rebellion. As director Eric Dignam, Robin Wright Penn and various others stood fielding questions following the screening of “Loved,” Wright Penn’s husband and the film’s co-producer Sean Penn squatted onstage at The Egyptian and commenced to chain smoke. Self-protection. Addressing the opening-night audience for his film “Addicted to Love,” director Griffin Dunne said, “I love this movie. And if you don’t, it’s OK to fake it.” Contradiction. Peter Greenaway was named Best Director, but the festival-goers voted his film “The Pillow Book” as only the fourth runner-up. And the full-series pass-holders voted it third overall. Inventiveness. Considering the ample, full-frontal nudity that Greenaway put on display in “The Pillow Book,” the most inventive observation belonged to the Seattle critic who said that while star Ewan McGregor may be Scottish, he’s hardly shortbread.

This sidebar appeared with the story: INTERESTING MOMENTS Every festival features moments that, either in a film or out, exist to make life the intriguing trip it is. Some top SIFF 23 moments included: Rebellion. As director Eric Dignam, Robin Wright Penn and various others stood fielding questions following the screening of “Loved,” Wright Penn’s husband and the film’s co-producer Sean Penn squatted onstage at The Egyptian and commenced to chain smoke. Self-protection. Addressing the opening-night audience for his film “Addicted to Love,” director Griffin Dunne said, “I love this movie. And if you don’t, it’s OK to fake it.” Contradiction. Peter Greenaway was named Best Director, but the festival-goers voted his film “The Pillow Book” as only the fourth runner-up. And the full-series pass-holders voted it third overall. Inventiveness. Considering the ample, full-frontal nudity that Greenaway put on display in “The Pillow Book,” the most inventive observation belonged to the Seattle critic who said that while star Ewan McGregor may be Scottish, he’s hardly shortbread.