The Style of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Santa Barbara, like many Southern California beach cities, offers a sunny climate and casual and comfortable atmosphere that rubs off on the styles and attitudes of residents and visitors. Although I’m a new Manhattanite, who loves New York City, I’m also an Angeleno at heart and I love the vastly different styles of both areas. So when Muse invited me to go to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival to cover the fashion side of the event, I welcomed the change of style and pace.

I kicked off my weekend in Santa Barbara by watching the documentary Diane Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. The film, which was released with a book of the same title, is based on the life of famous fashion editor Diane Vreeland. It was an excellent way to start my trip covering the fashion and culture of Santa Barbara. Although Vreeland was a European American who worked in New York, she was a big advocate of the bikini and blue jeans so I think she would’ve appreciated how the women attending the festival incorporated the city’s casual beachy style into their wardrobes.

Female attendees and honorees of the festival found simple but clever ways to accessorize their casual apparel for the Virtuosos and Vanguards award ceremonies. Whether they were wearing an evening top with jeans, a t-shirt dress with leggings, or basic cocktail dresses, audience members dressed up their outfits with heels, blazers, and jewelry. Obviously the honored actresses Bérénice Bejo, Rooney Mara, and Shailene Woodley stood out with their red carpet outfits (Melissa McCarthy was also honored but sadly could not attend). At the Virtuosos Award ceremony, Rooney Mara looked chic in am emerald green Louis Vuitton dress. Although the stiff construction of the dress paired well with her sleek pulled-back jet black hair and porcelain-like skin, Mara’s dress unfortunately also matched her energy. She was incredibly uncomfortable and awkward during the whole ceremony! Shailene Woodley, who also opted for stiffer material, wore a navy leather 3.1 Phillip Lim dress. Woodley, a Southern California native, best exemplified the casual chic west coast aesthetic—she
dressed down and softened her edgy leather dress with a basic black blazer and by wearing her her flowy, long, and slightly highlighted brown hair down. The following night was the Vanguard Awards presentation, sponsored by Ugg Australia. I learned that Ugg is actually a Santa Barbara based company, which isn’t that shocking since their footwear epitomizes the comfortable, laidback attitude of the city. At the event, actress Bérénice Bejo surprised me by showing up in a white Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit. At first, I was really disappointed in her outfit choice; it was something only Diane Keaton could truly pull off. It did however pair well with her The Artist costar Jean Dujardin’s black suit. Throughout the ceremony Bejo proved to be such a well-spoken, poised, and charming woman that, by the end of the evening, I was less bothered by her outfit and insanely impressed by her radiating beauty and confidence. She proved the often ignored but incredibly important fashion point that the woman makes the clothes and that the clothes don’t make her.

Overall, the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival was a fun, sunny, and chill affair where attendees were able to enjoy great films while dressed in comfortable and cute apparel. See full post

The Film Festival Shoe Challenge - Ugg Australia

A continuation of my pieces on the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Film.com

I had originally come to the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival to take an Ugg Challenge of sorts and see if the famously comfortable shoes could help me make it through 48 hours of being on my feet almost constantly, without sacrificing style. I was skeptical at first - we all have our misgivings and preconceptions about Ugg Boots ever since they were commandeered by mini skirt wearing Los Angeles teens in the early 2000s, but after checking out some of their new products, and digging the visual, I decided to give it to a go. Fittingly, since Ugg Australia is based in Santa Barbara, the city was perfectly suited to this challenge. I saw tons of SB residents rocking some of the new styles, which makes sense considering the overall laid back vibe.


Unfortunately, the boots didn't arrive in time, so I only had my "hurty boots" (but man are they cute) and my dress sandals. The result was pretty awful. I ended up in pretty constant pain in my pair of boots, and when I switched to my sandals at night for relief, my feet were then freezing. I, who was initially skeptical of Ugg boots, found myself dying for them to arrive. Upon receiving them back in LA, I made my own version of the Ugg Challenge, wearing them for just as much time, on my feet as much as possible. Did they past the test? WITH FLYING COMFY GAME OF THRONES WARRIOR ELF LORD OF THE RINGS COLORS. This was the pair I got and I am luckily OBSESSED. They can reach almost to my mid thigh, or be pushed all the way down to be scrunchy at the bottom. And they are beyond comfortable. I call them my nap boots. Or my elf boots. Or my elf nap boots. And I can't wait to wear them coming up at Wondercon. The only downside? They are so comfortable, I literally want to fall asleep while wearing them. The more I walk, the more I want to take a nap. It's an odd sensation. But an awesome one, and one I wish I could have felt while still in Santa Barbara!


This has kind of gotten me thinking about pursuing a Film Festival/Convention Shoe Challenge that covers all kinds of brands, perhaps each one local to the city in question. I'm honestly sick of ending up in so much pain after every Convention just because I don't own the right kind of shoes, and I can't imagine I'm the only fangirl in this position. Since we have been trying to incorporate relevant style items (like True Blood makeup!) more and more, maybe this is a challenge that will actually go somewhere and help some of us out. Stay tuned! See full post

AFI 2011: Best of Fest #5-1

For #13-10 of our Best of AFI Fest presented by Audi, series, click here

For #9-6 of our Best of AFI Fest presented by Audi, series, click here

5. Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar)

As a Jew who went on birthright this year, I have no qualms about calling this movie, Israel's official foreign Language selection for the Oscars, one of the most delightfully Jewish pieces of fiction I've seen in years. It's witty, intelligent, moving, and riddled with guilt and inferiority complexes. This story about a father and son, Professor Shkolnik and Professor Shkolnik, who both work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem studying the Talmud, asks the questions, when does a role model become a rival and the student become the competition, and presents the theory that in a battle of egos, he who realizes humility first is always the winner. Expect your loyalties to fly all over the place in this smart, whimsical, and ultimately tragic intellectual comedy from acclaimed director Joseph Cedar. Inventive storytelling, a jaunty score and top notch performances help elevate an already brilliant script (it won the Screenplay award at Cannes) to even greater heights. To delve too much into the specifics of why this tale is so riveting would be to give too much away, but it's an absolute must see.

Favorite Scene: All I can say is this: It involves Uriel (the younger Shkolnik) and a tiny room full of scholars and a lawyer, and is one of the only sequences in the entire film where the score drops out completely

4. Extraterrestrial (dir. Nacho Vigalondo)

"Something urgent is not the same as something important. That's my lesson." This part of director Nacho Vigalondo's introduction to his new film Extraterrestrial stuck with me throughout the whole genre bending screwball comedy. The film opens with Julio and Julia, awkwardly dancing around each other the morning after a drunken romp. Normal post-one night stand protocol is thrown out the window when the twosome notices that all communication lines are down and more alarming still, a giant alien spacecraft is hovering outside the window. In any other film, made in any other country, by any other director, Julia and Julio would then embark on an adventure of epic proportions, falling in love as their adrenaline from massacring aliens brings them closer together. But this is Nacho Vigalondo, making a character driven story "filled with bullshit" (his words), not a soulless big budget sci-fi extravaganza. So instead, Julia and Julio use the conventions of alien invasion stories to weave an elaborate web of lies to cover up their brief affair when a nosy neighbor, Angel, and her alpha male boyfriend with a penchant for heroism, Carlos, check in on her. The series of lies becomes more and more elaborate as Angel discovers their secret, and Carlos experiences an entire film of his own off camera, seeking out alien insurgents and fighting to take back the city. Or so he thinks.

Extraterrestrial shows a masterful knowledge of every genre in play. No one could tell a story quite this humorously, this cleverly, without having a vast working knowledge of science fiction, romance, and classic screwball comedies, yet nothing about the film feels too well tread or unoriginal. Even with a straightforward narrative, a huge departure from Vigalondo's first feature, Timecrimes, the film keeps us guessing as we marvel at the absurd length these two people will go to, and at what end? With the world seemingly ending outside, how much does it matter if your boyfriend catches you cheating? It may have been more important to come up with a plan of survival, but the comically urgent human drama at hand took priority. Leads Julián Villagrán and the jaw droppingly gorgeous Michelle Jenner have incredible chemistry, which grounds the outrageous nature of the story.

Favorite Scene: A character makes a "confession" that is at once ridiculous and necessary, perhaps not to the physical survival of the human race, but certainly to the mental survival of the people involved in this comedy of errors

3. The Loneliest Planet (dir. Julia Loktev)

The winner of the Grand Jury prize, and for good reason, this story about the notion of what is masculine and feminine and the roles their fluctuation plays in our lives and relationships connected to me on a deep and immediate level. Nica (the charming Hani Furstenberg) and Alex (Gael Garcia Bernal) are happily engaged to be wed and on a backpacking trip together in the republic of Georgia. She is goofy yet tough, he is strong yet caring, and they are the picture of perfection. While in the mountains with their tour guide, Dato, a moment occurs so small, so brief, so fleeting that if you look down at the wrong time, you *will* miss it, but so powerful that it dramatically alters the dynamic of this perfect couple perhaps forever. Guilt, shame, resentment and passive aggression swallow the second half of the movie, a sharp contrast from the light, adventurous beauty of the first half. A landscape which at once seemed so freeing and filled with potential becomes claustrophobic and uncomfortable. A film like this, with little dialogue and almost no action, could have easily crashed and burned in lesser hands, but Loktev's confident direction has you completely enraptured, aching for a satisfying resolution, but unsure if one could ever be possible.

Favorite scene: Directly after the "incident", Nica and Alex walk on opposite sides of the screen, a range of emotions hanging in the air, the only sound to speak of coming from the repetitive plodding of their shoes in the muddy terrain.

2.Kid with a Bike (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)

In this hopeful fairy tale from the Dardenne brothers, a young boy abandoned by his father at an orphanage goes on a series of quests to find the familial love he has been so callously denied. In one particular instance of desperation, the boy, Cyril, sneaks out of the orphange and goes back to his old apartment to find his father, or at the very least, find his bike, an item so important to him, there is no question in his mind that his father would leave it for him. Here, he encounters a woman, Samantha (played with a delicate softness by Cécile De France) taken with his vulnerability, who becomes determined to give him what he needs in more ways than simply tracking down his beloved bike. Thomas Doret gives a heartbreakingly realistic performance as Cyril, seamlessly shifting back and forth between problem child and sweet little boy (a routine mimicked by a very different kind of child in our #1 choice below) as he seeks acceptance and worth. He is still too young to lose faith or sink into despair, and Samantha recognizes that if a glint of hope remains in his eyes, he can be saved. To awkwardly quote Shame, which also screened at AFI, he is a good person who came from a bad place, and it's Samantha's mission to nurture Cyril until he feels the love he deserves.

Favorite Scene: Cyril and Samantha go biking and share lunch. Simple, understated and a preview of their potential happy ever after.

1. We Need to Talk About Kevin (dir. Lynne Ramsey)

No amount of nurture seems to be able to bring the titular boy in Lynne Ramsay's bold return to the silver screen out of the darkness. This is a film so relentlessly upsetting that to even think about it is to rip a tiny tear in your soul. Tilda Swinton plays Eva, a mother dealing with her son's unquenchable thirst for destruction. Screaming non stop as a baby and staying in diapers till well into Elementary School are signs pointing to a defect in the boy, but all the doctors deem him normal. Still, Eva sees a side to him hidden from the rest of the world. The rot inside of him seems aimed solely at his mother and taking her down one notch at a time. But no matter how disturbed she gets by his actions, and how designed he is to ruin her, he is her son, she loves him, and nothing means more to her than his acceptance, no matter the cost.

Ultimately, Kevin may feel the same way about his mother, seeking a deeper connection to the person he felt never truly loved him, as he was initially unwanted and the reason why his mother's passion for travel had to come to an end. Because we see the film from Eva's perspective, we relate to her exasperation with him and it isn't until the movie is long over that we begin to think back on her mothering skills and wonder how much they may have affected Kevin's outcome.

Tilda Swinton bears her soul with the performance of her career, John C Riley does a fine job as her optimistically oblivious husband and Jasper Newell and Ezra Miller shine as Kevin. Both (along with Toddler Kevin Rock Duer) are stunningly beautiful and portray their up and down moments with a twisted believability.

Favorite Scene: Kevin gets sick to his stomach and for a brief evening, shows his mother the love she craves. Although he resorts to his cruel tendencies the next morning, their bond on that night has repercussions for years to come. Whether his behavior was genuine or part of a plan to upset his mother further is left to the viewer, as all dissections of the emotions running so high in this film are, but no scene better captures the heartbreak of a parents worst nightmare coming true, then this all too momentary look into what Eva's life could have been.

See full post

AFI 2011: Best of Fest #9-#6

For #13-#10 of my Best of AFI Fest presented by Audi, series, click here

9.Carre Blanc (dir Jean Baptise Leonetti)
The best of the dystopian sci fi films presented at the fest (I also caught 80s head trip Beyond the Black Rainbow and the very Russian Anna Karenina by-way-of the fountain of youth Target), Carre Blanc depicts a society where the dead are casually used as meat, job interviews are all trick questions in the form of cruel tests, and a waiter can be beat to death for spilling champagne, but the only item reported on the news is what happened in the latest Croquet match. A disembodied voice on the loudspeaker constantly informs its citizens of the rapidly declining population, sandwiched between encouragements for teenage girls to become artificially inseminated and the same piece of elevator musak repeating on a loop. The suicide rates are high, the birth rates low and the disenfranchised work force is encouraged to smile at all times. But perhaps most horrifying is how little people seem to notice that this world has gone too far. The film asks the question, is being normal in a monstrous society just as damning as being a monster in a normal society and how do you rise above? Jean Baptise Leonetti crafts a strikingly foreboding atmosphere with the skill of a seasoned auteur, but doesn't sacrifice concise storytelling (with a healthy dose of frightening social commentary) for the sake of “mood”. Leonetti is firing on all cylinders in his feature film debut and of all the filmmakers showing at AFI is the one I’m most looking forward to keeping an eye on.

Favorite Scene: Not so much a scene as a moment, but the instance we realize the film has marked the passage of time by taking advantage of its established world in a clever and subtle way gave me actual goosebumps.

8. Coriolanus (dir Ralph Finnes)
As far as adapting Shakespeare goes, Coriolanus is about as good as it gets. As someone who has studied Shakespeare in numerous ways, including as a classically trained actor, I can say with no hesitation that Ralph Finnes pulls off a remarkable bit of craftsmanship in his directorial debut, bringing much more of a refined POV to the table than I was expecting from an actor-first. Setting this political story in a modern day version of Rome as consumed with the 24 hour cable news cycle, poll numbers, and ever growing insurgencies as we are and displaying it through handheld camera work and intimate close-ups brings a naturalistic urgency to this century's old portrait of a man thrown into an impossible position. Displaying his grasp of what cannot be sacrificed when capturing Shakespeare cinematically, Finnes often lets the camera hang in the air, allowing the story to be told the way it was meant to be, letting the breaths of the actors communicate their intentions, not the work of an editor in post-production. Finnes and the brilliant cast of players surrounding him tackle the Shakespearean text with a self-assured precision and hearty understanding helping to turn this often impenetrable story into an accessible, searing political drama. Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox astound in their specificity and realism, making verse look easy, and Gerard Butler, displaying some pathos for once, is the most likeable he’s ever been. I ecstatically look forward to Finnes using his talent and savvy and pulling together the perfect creative team for the task at hand to adapt a play I'm more familiar with that hasn't yet received the proper big screen treatment.

Favorite scene: Vanessa Redgrave dares you to defy her as Volumnia, mother to Caius Martius Coriolanus, in a scene where she pleas with him to bring harmony to Rome. If you’ve ever wanted to see a true professional nail an obscure Shakespearean monologue, here’s your chance. Vanessa Redgrave, get ready to meet your seventh Oscar nomination.

7. Pina (dir. Wim Wenders)
Confession: I’m not a fan of dance. I don’t understand it, I can’t do it, I don’t want it. But when I heard that German visionary Wim Wenders had constructed a 3D documentary about the art of Pina Bausch, I couldn’t stay away. Wenders and Pina had been friends for years already when Wenders approached her about making a film together. He wanted to find a way to communicate the beauty of her brand of storytelling with the world at large, but kept coming against the roadblock of film not yet developing the correct tools. After seeing the U2 3D doc, Wenders knew he had found the way to properly capture her craft. Sadly, just a couple of days before test shoots were to begin, Pina unexpectedly died . Wenders almost abandoned the film completely, but was urged on by those that loved her to keep going, so he decided to turn the film into a tribute. What results is a documentary unlike anything you’ve seen before, that defies convention and proves 3D’s use as a tool for the progression of art. In lieu of talking heads, Wenders employs a Warholeqsue series of moving portraits accompanied by voiceover, allowing us to see Pina’s dancers in moments of stillness as their voices surround us, honestly reflecting on the woman and teacher they loved so much. Archival footage of Pina floats above the proceedings as if her ghost is participating in the story, as eerie and effective a use of 3D as I’ve seen. Adopting Pina’s own choreography technique of “questioning”, Wenders asked each dancer to improvise a movement that encapsulated their memories of Pina. These movements were then formulated into solo pieces and set against locations around Wuppertal, the home of Pina’s dance company. The mountains, the forest, a factory, a cityscape, even on a suspended railway car, these pieces will move, inspire and spark your creativity, without you even realizing. Ultimately, this is why the film succeeds. The proof of Pina's legendary mastery is evident in the way your mind and body react as you experience her work and impact on those around her.

Favorite Scene: A section from one of her pieces, Mueller’s Cafe, that was one of four dances restaged and shot in 3D for the film, that can best be described by me as an embodiment of the line “the course of true love never did run smooth” The ferocity with which the three dancers throw themselves into this simple repetition of 7 or 8 basic moves had the audience spontaneously break out into applause upon its conclusion.

6. Michael (dir. Markus Schleinzer)
Movies about pedophiles are never easy and this Austrain film about a creepy Tony Hale lookalike, named Michael who keeps a ten year old boy locked in his basement, is no exception. In a departure from most films of this nature, no information is ever explicitly given and no sexual act is ever explicitly shown, the film is mostly communicated in befores and afters, small, but telling moments. Michael himself is a fascinating creature who takes equal pleasure in quoting torture porn to the boy as he does behaving like a strict yet loving father, allotting time for TV, providing fresh home cooked meals, and taking him on day trips. As an audience, we become filled with questions and concerns, eagerly awaiting a rescue, never sure if it will come. Director Markus Schleinzer, best known for casting the films of Michael Haneke, deliberately removes all judgement and solely tracks the day to day interactions between this man and this boy, a perspective not often seen. But no amount of objectively chronicling a few months in the life of a child molester makes the act any more acceptable, which is part of the point. Even the most mundane implications make you want to this man to pay for what he's done and pay hard. The last frame of Michael is frustrating, yet powerful, and a fitting end to this slice of a-very-fucked-up-life drama.

Favorite Scene: A simple tracking shot of Michael walking to his car in a parking lot with a new friend had me on the edge of my seat fighting back tears. See full post

AFI 2011: Best of Fest #13-#10

Crossposted on Film.com

This past week in Los Angeles, AFI threw it’s 25th film festival, presented by Audi, taking over the Chinese and Egyptian theaters on Hollywood Blvd. The films screened were divided into nine categories. Galas & Tributes, Special Screenings, Guest Artistic Director, Spotlight and Midnight were ineligible for awards, while World Cinema, Young Americans, and Breakthough all had an Audience Award at stake, which went to KINYARWANDA and JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI in a tie, WUSS, and WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT, respectively. New Auteurs had not only an Audience Award, which went to BULLHEAD, but three prizes awarded from a specially selected jury, THE LONELIEST PLANET receiving the Grand Prize, ATTENBERG the Special Jury Prize and Matthias Schoenaerts in BULLHEAD walking away with accolades for his universally lauded performance. But with 26 screenings under my belt, I figured I should award my personal Best of Fest to the thirteen films that struck me personally the most, from all categories. First up, #13-#10.

Note: I saw Melancholia and The Adventures of Tintin separately from the festival in a non-review capacity, so will not be including them in this list. Though had they been a part of my AFI experience, they would have both easily made the cut. 

13. With Every Heartbeat (dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining)
In this Swedish romantic drama, two soon to be step sisters, one of whom is engaged to be married, find themselves drawn to each other at their parents’ engagement celebration. Ruth Vega Fernandez does a great job as the conflicted Mia, but it’s Liv Mjones as the free spirit Frida that steals the show with her offbeat confidence and grace. Although the third act becomes a bit too formulaic for my liking, the attraction between these two women is palpable, resulting in one of the best love scenes on screen this year, and their entire love story is well worth watching.
Favorite Scene: After an unexpected encounter in the woods alters their previously icy relationship, Frida climbs into bed with Mia and the unexpected occurs.

12. The Dish & The Spoon (dir. Alison Bagnall)
Alison Bagnall returns to the scene after an eight year haitus with this sad, sweet look at two lost and dejected souls who find comfort and care in each other. Greta Gerwig plays Rose, a woman who just discovered her husband’s infidelity and is on the brink of losing it altogether. Gerwig’s performance dangles the question in front of us – did her husband cheat because she’s crazy, or is she this unhinged solely because of the adultery? As she begins to formulate her plan to take down the other woman, she encounters an equally alone British teenager, played by Olly Alexander. The two quickly bond and embark on a safe, quirky, perhaps even pretend, romance straight out out of third grade, complete with stories, costumes, games and role-playing. Whether this connection is real or a coping mechanism remains a concern as we revel in their awkward glow.
Favorite Scene: After their first real kiss, Rose and the boy plot out their future together, complete with marriage and ten kids. It’s utterly innocent and endearing in the best way possible. For a brief moment, you think they could be in it for the long haul.

11. Jeff Who Lives At Home (dir. Duplass Brothers)
When a movie opens with a slightly flabbier Jason Segel ruminating on the relevance of M Night Shyamalan’s Signs to life at large, and meaning every damn word, you know it’s going to be good. In this delightful follow up to last year’s Cyrus, about three people who find themselves stuck in lives they never wanted, forced to find their true paths on one fateful Louisiana day, the Duplass brothers deliver yet again. Segel’s optimism as the titular Jeff is infectious and could melt even the most cynic movie goer’s heart with his determination. And, can I just say, Susan Sarandon looks amazing? Like. Amazing. I had a smile plastered on my face for practically the whole film and in a fest full of mostly depressing material, it was a welcome change of pace.
Favorite Scene: Judy Greer’s Linda and Ed Helms’ Patrick have a confrontation about their marriage that challenges the quirky other-planeness of the universe that had been so carefully established. It’s not the typical choice to have Judy Greer play the person most grounded in reality, and the film greatly benefits from thinking outside of the type-cast box.

10. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (dir. David Gelb)

This film that tied for the World Cinema Audience Award takes a look at the three Michelin star sushi bar in Japan, widely considered to be the best in the world, Sukiyabashi Jiro, and more specifically, the man behind it, 85 year old Jiro Ono, and his two sons, the oldest of which, Yoshikazu, will eventually and inevitably succeed Jiro as head chef. Although director David Gelb originally set out to make a documentary on sushi restaurants all over the globe, after his experience with Jiro and he food he makes, there was no question that Sukiyabashi Jiro would be the focus. We learn about the techniques that took years to discover, hone, and pass on. Everything from the temperature and texture of the rice, to the fish dealer, to the cut of the fish, to the number of minutes spent massaging an Octopus has been boiled down to a science. Or to be slightly more accurate, an art. The family drama surrounding the question of whether the son can truly follow in the footsteps of his father, the legend, brings in a whole other level. As an audience member, I equally found myself wanting to get to Japan as soon as possible to make sure Jiro himself would be the one crafting my fish, and wanting the food community at large to acknowledge that Yoshikazu will be the best heir to the restaurant any father could ask for. But Gelb takes Jiro far beyond a simple documentary. A goal of his was to shoot food the way Planet Earth was shot, which explains the clean, direct and full cinematography and in order to properly set the tone of watching a master at work, Gelb chose music from Philip Glass to accompany Jiro’s tale, elevated music for an elevated skill.
It should also be noted that in the post-screening Q&A, director David Gelb was asked where he recommends we have sushi in Los Angeles, and the first suggestion was Sushi Nozawa, aka my favorite sushi place in the U.S.
Favorite Scene: We are taken through the entire, specially created, twenty piece menu, described by food critic Yamamoto as a symphony broken into three movements. Each piece of fish looks as delectable as if it were right in front of you and guaranteed, your mouth will inadvertently water. See full post