Fantasia. Opening night. When film fanatics, genre enthusiasts and closeted nerds take to the streets and congregate for the great mass of alternative cinemas, where one can watch films with his guts after leaving his brains at the door. It is also where jaded, genre-savvy film scholars can try and catch a glimpse of that most elusive of genre film features, innovation. Of course, one can always appreciate a well-made, if conventional outing in any crowded genre, but the real prize lies in finding a film that manages to stand out from said genre, be it because of a twist on narrative conventions, or any kind of technical novelty managing to elevate pulp fiction to the level of art. Few films can achieve this, and they're often very hard to find. Especially on opening night, where conventional tastes dictate the conduct of film programmers. Unfortunately, this year was no exception. The selection of Kevin Smith's horrendous Red State as the opening film was actually one of the most misguided attempts at crowd-pleasing to grace the festival in many years. It is also one of the rare slip-ups in this year's otherwise stellar program. At the very least, it gave me an interesting story to tell...
Opening night at Fantasia is a memorable moment indeed. The crowds are beastly, the energy is contagious and the impatience at the box office is epic. Unfortunately for me, I had no ticket for the opening film this year, as they were sold out scant hours after they went on sale. Thinking my absence from the first day celebrations a personal failure, I devised a plan to find myself a seat in the Valhalla of film madness. With a fat, black marker and a piece of cardboard, I fashioned a tool to guarantee a seat, one that would prove my love for film better than my obsessive collecting of old VHS tapes. 'Will pay 50$ for a Red State ticket', I wrote in letters as big as my marker could muster. Armed with such a weapon of mass persuasion, I left my Petite Bourgogne home with confidence. But when I reached Mackay street, a substantial surprise was in store for me. Contrary to what I had envisioned in my head, there was no file line of ticket holders by the Hall building, no serpentine accumulation of twitching bodies and eager faces. Instead of that, a constantly revolving door through which flocking congregationalists were slowly filling the auditorium. Upon seeing this, my plan came apart for I had wanted to walk beside the line and test a crowd which failed to materialize. Had there been a line, I'm convinced that I would've scored a ticket in less than a minute. But without a crowd, I felt that my chances had suddenly dwindled.
"Fuck Red State", I thought in a brief moment of lucidity, "I'll just see it when it hits selected theaters". And so, I decided to grab a ticket for King of Devil's Island instead. I wasn't fully happy with this decision, but I still managed, as I always do, to rationalize it all, convincing myself that I was about to see a more intellectual, and probably more rewarding film, but knowing in my guts that I craved the irreverent attitude and political incorrectness of Kevin Smith. At any rate, I shrugged my shoulders and took to the monstrous queue leading to the box office. I was scant moments away from sealing my fate by purchasing a King ticket when a faithful announcement was made. Tickets for Red State had just become available, as if some divine entity had, as one of my friends later put it, decided to reward my boldness. I jumped at the occasion, leaping across the velvet rope to exchange 9$ (instead of 50$) for a precious, precious ticket, driven by my gut feeling and unabashed love for the horrific and the weird. Although I didn't know at the time, it was quite unfortunate that this "blessing" came to be because, as satisfaction goes, it felt much better to get the ticket than to see the film per se...
Luckily for me, opening night was not completely wasted as the second film was right up my alley: a stellar, gorgeously produced HK action film the likes of which should've opened the festival instead of Red State.
Opening night at Fantasia is a memorable moment indeed. The crowds are beastly, the energy is contagious and the impatience at the box office is epic. Unfortunately for me, I had no ticket for the opening film this year, as they were sold out scant hours after they went on sale. Thinking my absence from the first day celebrations a personal failure, I devised a plan to find myself a seat in the Valhalla of film madness. With a fat, black marker and a piece of cardboard, I fashioned a tool to guarantee a seat, one that would prove my love for film better than my obsessive collecting of old VHS tapes. 'Will pay 50$ for a Red State ticket', I wrote in letters as big as my marker could muster. Armed with such a weapon of mass persuasion, I left my Petite Bourgogne home with confidence. But when I reached Mackay street, a substantial surprise was in store for me. Contrary to what I had envisioned in my head, there was no file line of ticket holders by the Hall building, no serpentine accumulation of twitching bodies and eager faces. Instead of that, a constantly revolving door through which flocking congregationalists were slowly filling the auditorium. Upon seeing this, my plan came apart for I had wanted to walk beside the line and test a crowd which failed to materialize. Had there been a line, I'm convinced that I would've scored a ticket in less than a minute. But without a crowd, I felt that my chances had suddenly dwindled.
"Fuck Red State", I thought in a brief moment of lucidity, "I'll just see it when it hits selected theaters". And so, I decided to grab a ticket for King of Devil's Island instead. I wasn't fully happy with this decision, but I still managed, as I always do, to rationalize it all, convincing myself that I was about to see a more intellectual, and probably more rewarding film, but knowing in my guts that I craved the irreverent attitude and political incorrectness of Kevin Smith. At any rate, I shrugged my shoulders and took to the monstrous queue leading to the box office. I was scant moments away from sealing my fate by purchasing a King ticket when a faithful announcement was made. Tickets for Red State had just become available, as if some divine entity had, as one of my friends later put it, decided to reward my boldness. I jumped at the occasion, leaping across the velvet rope to exchange 9$ (instead of 50$) for a precious, precious ticket, driven by my gut feeling and unabashed love for the horrific and the weird. Although I didn't know at the time, it was quite unfortunate that this "blessing" came to be because, as satisfaction goes, it felt much better to get the ticket than to see the film per se...
Luckily for me, opening night was not completely wasted as the second film was right up my alley: a stellar, gorgeously produced HK action film the likes of which should've opened the festival instead of Red State.
FILMS SEEN ON DAY 1
Red State
An atrocious, ill-advised and sterile mix-up of genres resulting from Kevin Smith's venture outside of his minuscule comfort zone. Read full review here.
ENTHUSIASTIC THUMBS DOWN
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Richly-produced, with terrific special effects and exciting fight scenes to boot, this is a treat to all fans of high-flying kung-fu epics. One of Tsui Hark's best, most accomplished films. Read full review here.
ENTHUSIASTIC THUMBS UP
