SIFF 2008: Don't Judge a Taco by Its Price

More of my favorite quotes from SIFF '08. (Click here for part one.)



Getting old is evil. There's absolutely nothing good about it.
-- The Edge of Heaven / Auf der anderen Seite (Fatih Akin)

A highlight of SIFF '08. Akin was a worthy selection for one of the four Emerging Masters (his Head-On made my top 20 for 2005; in retrospect, I probably should
have rated it higher). No more SIFF screenings, but I'm sure Heaven will return.


Art School Confidential's lovely and talented Sophia Myles
I like creepy men.
-- Mister Foe (David Mackenzie)
[Myles says the above to Jamie Bell's peeping tom.]
Another worthy selection for Emerging Master, though I wish SIFF had prog-
rammed Mackenzie's underrated Asylum (Patrick McGrath) rather than his ov-
errated Young Adam (Alexander Trocchi). No more SIFF screenings, but it op-
ens in August (date and venue TBA). A big believer in the literary adaptation,
Mackenzie next tackles Martin Amis's controversial 1989 novel London Fields.
I don't want to live a flat, tasteless life.
- Up the Yangtze (Yung Chang)
Hey, who does? I enjoyed this Chinese-Canadian documentary quite a
bit, and wish I had also been able to make it to former Emerging Master
Jia Zhangke's Three Gorges film, Still Life (Sanxia haoren). No more SIFF
screenings of either, but Up the Yangtze opens at the Varsity on 6/27.
One of the uses of money is that it allows us not
to live with the consequences of our mistakes.
-- Savage Grace (Tom Kalin)
Unlike Amie, I appreciated Kalin's long-awaited follow-up to Swoon-"like" may
be too strong a word-but she's hardly alone. This hyper-cynical piece of work is
an audience-divider if ever there was one, and some reviews have been down-
right vitriolic. No more SIFF screenings, but it opens on 6/20 (venue TBA).
With birth and urine, there's no procrastination.
-- The Wrecking Crew (Denny Tedesco)
I dug this labor-of-love music doc about LA session players just as much
as Amie and Gillian (and everyone else with whom I've discussed it), i.e. a
whole lot. Twelve years in the making, it's currently seeking distribution.
Don't judge a taco by its price.
-- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Alex Gibney)
I wrote, "Gibney's evenhanded depiction may disappoint true believers hoping for
a glorified puff piece, but [Hunter S.] Thompson's ability to speak truth to power
with wit and passion comes through loud and clear." No more SIFF screenings, but
it opens on 7/12 (venue TBA). Meanwhile, Gonzo narrator Johnny Depp, who star-
red in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, assumes the lead in Thompson's Rum Diary.
Actor Clark Gregg's directorial debut, Choke, is also full of some hilariously (and
expectedly) profane lines, most of which probably come straight from Chuck Pal-
ahniuk's novel, but I was unable to write any of 'em down, since I keep forget-
ting to replace my defective pen. In any case, I'd recommend it, especially if
you're a Sam Rockwell or Kelly Macdonald fan (Sherrybaby's Brad William Hen-
ke is also good value as Victor's soft-hearted buddy). Plays the Egyptian on
6/5 at 9:15pm and the Uptown on 6/7 at 4pm, and opens in September.

Henke and Rockwell watch Cherry Daiquiri do her thing
Images from The Guardian and OutNow! Image Gallery.