In ‘n’ Outta’ the Arthouse

From East Germany to Mexico City to Kurismaki

You know it’s film festival time in Santa Barbara when, on a
cold and soggy Sunday, you can map out the
dopest route between several films moviefone has never
heard of. From late morning to midnight, the dogged
festivalgoer could take in The Lives of
Others, a newly-Oscar nominated German film about Stasi,
the secret police force; a cool and arty Mexican documentary,
In the
Pit, about a bridge construction in Mexico City (as much a
profile of the working class as the project); the dazzlingly,
mock-doc reconstructed Inuit-meets-Danish explorer tale of
The Journals of
Knud Rasmussen; and the happy story-crossing atmospheric
French froth of
Avenue Montaigne.

Oh, and most impressive of all (for those in tune with the
director’s unique vision), we got a look-see at the latest from
director Aki (Man
without a Past) Kaurismaki, Finland’s Jim Jarmusch. Like
Jarmusch, Kaurismaki knows about the imperative of the
well-composed, unhurried shot and the potential expressive power of
gently-broken rules and expectations in cinema. His new one, Lights in the Dusk,
about a hapless loner for whom fate has a pocket full of woe in
store, is full of his own brand of neo-Finnish-noir. Color and
lighting are worth the price of admission, as is the hypnotic and
formal pace and texture. Even this glum and tawdry femme
fatale tale in Helsinki feels like a zestier version of a
Robert
Bresson film.

Generally, Sunday’s crop represent the kinds of films which the
expanding universe of film festivals (reportedly now up to 1,400
worldwide) is ideally suited. Which among them can we expect to find
in regular release over the next year? The Lives of
Others, an engaging and poignant history lesson about
East Berlin in the last gasping years before the Wall
fell, stands a strong shot at the arthouse circuit. (A
trailer from that film is below.) Avenue Montaigne is
a feelgoody tapestry, probably headed for an
arthouse near you/us.

Alas, Kaurismaki’s new one — not as strong as Man
Without a Past, but stunning nonethelees — may not make
that public screening grade. But he’s one of those acquired
tastes and festival icons well worth seeking out, coming
soon to a DVD outlet or Netflix near you.