AFI Fest 2014: Day five

AFI Fest, the longest-running international film festival in Los Angeles, took off at Hollywood Boulevard. Over the past week, directors from around the world, including new auteurs and renowned award-winners, made appearances at the TCL Chinese Theater, the Egyptian Theater and the Dolby Theatre to support their newest projects, with numerous awaiting fans in tow.

A&E senior staffer Sebastian Torrelio attended AFI Fest this week, scoping out the newest selections on the festival circuit and films that may be coming to American audiences in the near future. On the fifth day of AFI Fest coverage, three movies took familiar ideas in new directions, letting the benefits and woes of screenwriting run entertainingly wild.

“The Fool”
Directed by Yury Bykov

Cynical to a fault, Yury Bykov’s “The Fool” attempts to make a simple premise engaging but doesn’t quite hit the mark. Like all good everyman stories, Bykov casts his lead as a man without much to drive his aspirations, constantly looking to give his musings some purpose. That man is Dima Nikitin (Artem Bystrov), a plumber who has been working on the maintenance of an 800-resident apartment. The place is torn to shreds, nearly every member living inside of it treating each other as inhumanely as their rooms. A large crack appears on the outside of the building that catches Nikitin’s eye – the crack spans the entire length of the complex, going through several floors, and out the other side. According to Nikitin’s calculations, the building has fewer than 24 hours to stay standing.

The rest of “The Fool” plays out as a criticism of Russian authority. Nikitin has to go through the government to help evacuate the people still inside the apartment, but corruption takes hold as district officials realize how few resources they have to take care of a problem of this magnitude. The best of Bykov’s characters are written with a sense of enduring passion, whether they hide it behind an expressionless sense of drama, such as Nikitin, or release it in furious rages against their peers, such as Mayor Nina Galaganova (Natalia Surkova). “The Fool” hinders itself more than it lets itself run free, often creating a vortex of cynical bureaucratic ideas that drags down any character who gets near it. Bykov shows off his writing talents with powerful dialogue and engaging scenes but needs to watch for signs of maudlin cheesiness within his more overwritten moments.

“The Homesman”
Directed by Tommy Lee Jones
Roadside Attractions

“The Homesman” is clearly an excuse for Tommy Lee Jones to live out his cowboy fantasies. In it, Jones dances, slaps around a few cowboys and takes revenge on ones with which he has a bone to pick. At the very least though, “The Homesman,” which Jones also directs, is entertaining and a fair argument for the man’s talent from behind the camera as much as in front of it. Jones plays claim jumper George Briggs, who is saved from the noose by frontier pioneer Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). In exchange for his life, Cuddy recruits Briggs to help her escort three women – all of whom have recently gone mentally unstable – across the Missouri River from Nebraska to Iowa. The trip takes several weeks, and along it, Briggs and Cuddy are tested by their own patience more than how well they can survive.

Each shot of “The Homesman” takes in the great plains in vivid detail. The scope of Briggs and Cuddy’s trek along the central states is reminiscent of the most beautiful, old Westerns. The similarities stop there, however – “The Homesman” doesn’t feel like much of a Western in terms of embracing traditional ideas and conventions. As Briggs becomes the good guy in the story, he leads the women with a gruff sense of optimism and determination, letting any villain, of which there are few, know who’s in charge. The thematic purpose behind Briggs’ unpredictably funny actions provides more heartbreak and emotion than the typical, free-ranging life of a cowboy. Jones has created a straightforward story set in the Midwest that, although couldn’t be set at any other place or time, has a universal feel following its dusty trail. In the scope of Jones’ illustrious career, “The Homesman” provides a noteworthy addition to meditate on.

“What We Do in the Shadows”
Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
Unison Films

AFI Fest’s “midnight” category, along with the popular concept of “midnight movies” that it’s named after, is meant for crowd-pleasing fanfare, whether funny or frightening. A perfect example of this genre is “What We Do in the Shadows,” a ridiculous parody of monster movies that, while leaving the crowd holding their sides, knows where to draw the line on over-the-top hysterics. New Zealand filmmakers Taika Waititi and Flight of the Conchords comedian Jemaine Clement direct and star as Viago and Vladislav, two vampires followed around their manor by a documentary team for several weeks. The camera crew analyzes their night lives, along with roommates Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) and Petyr (Ben Fransham).

Though several hundred – or in Petyr’s case, 8,000 – years old, the vampires appear youthful, remaining the same as they were when they were bitten. They regularly invite human guests over to their house for “dinner,” feasting on them when they arrive, until one human (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer) manages to transform. “What We Do in the Shadows” continues the “mockumentary” style examining how the group of vampires, far too old-fashioned to blend into New Zealand’s regular nightlife, embrace their new friend and the teachings of technology he brings with him. With every new revelation, the movie turns predictably silly but never loses its luster. A lot of this relies on exquisitely unkempt performances from Clement and Waititi, but their smart screenplay takes a lot of credit as well. Perfectly designed to entertain its target audience, “What We Do in the Shadows” is a ghoulish piece of comedy gold.

– Sebastian Torrelio