which way home Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Watch This: Cary Fukunaga's Levi's Commercial
Filed under: Trailers and Clips »
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Ever since newbie writer-director Cary Fukunaga stormed this past Sundance Film Festival, taking the Best Director award for his fantastic film Sin Nombre (read my review here), I've been itching to see what the guy does next. While he's probably busy working on projects as part of deals with both Focus Features and Universal Pictures, it looks like Fukunaga carved out enough time to direct a commercial for Levi's 'Go Forth' campaign.
The commercials (there are two in total, with one directed by Lying helmer M. Blash) use Walt Whitman poems ("America", "O Pioneer") in a voiceover to illustrate the spirited adventure and liveliness of today's American youth, "but also to refresh and reinvent the idea of a pioneering spirit for the times in which we live," according to creative director Susan Hoffman. Fukunaga directed the "America" commercial, while Blash helmed the "O Pioneer" spot. The ads themselves are pretty unique and fun, and they're shot beautifully; it's stuff like this that has me itching to see what sort of sandbox Fukunaga will play in next. Sin Nombre, which follows the intertwining stories of three teenagers set against a backdrop full of people riding atop trains in the hopes of crossing the Mexico/U.S. border, is now available on DVD and I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it yet. I also suggest watching it in conjunction with the documentary Which Way Home, now airing on HBO.
Watch both Levi's commercials after the jump.
Tribeca in 60 Seconds: Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Independent », Tribeca », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »
One week into the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) and the screenings keep humming along. It's probably a softer buzz than previous years; some attendees have even dared to take a night or two off to care for other, personal matters (like sleep) -- something you'd never hear about at Sundance, Cannes, or Toronto. Perhaps that's a consequence of the festival being held in such a costly city: very expensive for out-of-towners to cover, and locals can't get away from their personal lives the same as when they're traveling.
Scene. Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience premiered on Tuesday evening (the post-screening party featured chocolate-covered bacon), and tonight Soderbergh and star Sasha Grey shared a panel to discuss the film. Eric Bana made an appearance in support of Love the Beast, a documentary he directed about his favorite car, and Zachary Quinto chatted with him at a party in the East Village. Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker walked the red carpet for Joshua Goldin's Wonderful World, in which Broderick stars. Racing Dreams, currently leading the Audience Awards voting, is apparently not a Go-Kart movie, as we have previously described it. Sorry!
Our Coverage. Eric D. Snider reviewed Raymond De Felitta's City Island ("a merry comedy about one of those quarrelsome Italian-American families where everybody fights a lot but ultimately loves one another") and Conor McPherson's The Eclipse ("an unusual mixture of somber character drama and supernatural horror"). Erik Davis took a critical look at Which Way Home ("a riveting documentary that taps into the same concept and themes of Sin Nombre, except it's all real and it's all heartbreaking to watch") and gave us a glimpse of the TFF flasher and other "bumps." Check out all of our coverage right here.
Tribeca Review: Which Way Home
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Tribeca », Theatrical Reviews »
Which Way Home and the recently-released Sin Nombre would make for an excellent double feature, as the former -- currently screening in the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival -- is a riveting documentary that taps into the same concept and themes of Sin Nombre, except it's all real and it's all heartbreaking to watch. Like Sin Nombre, Which Way Home follows the stories of several children attempting to illegally cross the Mexican border into the United States by way of riding on the tops of trains. But while Sin Nombre works in a fictional plot involving love, friendship and gang violence, Which Way Home covers the topic from several different (and fascinating) points of view. From the boys and girls riding the trains to the kids who've already been caught and are on their way back home, the film brings us everything we'd expect from a solid, well-made documentary -- injecting passion, honesty and heart into a topic that certainly needs more attention drawn to it.
Director Rebecca Cammisa attacks her subject from every conceivable angle; the most central (and noteworthy) being the risky life-threatening adventure of two best friends, Kevin and Fito. Both boys, barely teenagers, have set out from their small town on a quest to make it to America in the hopes that someone will adopt them, give them work (so they can send money home) and provide a better life. This is no small task, mind you, as a map early on shows us just how long (hundreds of miles) and tedious the journey really is -- with the boys needing to ride on the rooftops of cargo trains from one town to the next; each carrying a heavier police force as they inch closer to the border.
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