by Sam Juliano
Eleven days of glorious Tribeca madness, and the 2015 installment of this exceedingly popular Big Apple venue has concluded. Lucille and I did have a whale of a time, even though our stamina took a major hit. We watched a total of thirty-six (36) feature length films with this final weekend of five-six-five proving the most frantic sequence of all. But in reality the festival is not quite over, when you consider that four or five of the Tribeca films I had wanted to see but couldn’t quite work them into an already wall to wall schedule engineered around my full time teaching position, are now playing at the nearby Montclair Film Festival that is set to launch this coming Friday. I have every intention of seeing the likes of Jackrabbit, Slow West, Dream/Killer, (T) error, and perhaps The Armour of Light and Kurt Cobain: the Montage of Heck over the first several days of the festival. I will then be able to complete my “Best Films of Tribeca” post by next Monday. With a doctor’s confirmation that I have a torn miniscus in my left knee, I know now the source of all my discomfort and pain over the last few months. This issue will require orthroscopic surgery, but not until sometime in mid-May,m as I have a three-day Washington D.C. trip with the school set to go on May 6th. I will resquire a shot of cortisone for the trip.
The Tribeca Festival included many highlights, but none more thrilling than meeting and shaking hands with Monty Python icon John Cleese and the rest of the troupe after a screening of The Life of Brian and before the presentation of the splendid documentary Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. To futher the celebrity glee, we sat on the next table to the troupe at a Chealsea Restaurant. This year’s Festival was a most impressive one artistically, and the star ratings and subsequent ‘Best Of’ post will reflect this happy re-cap.
The Festival for the most part was staged in three places: the sprawling Regal Cinemas near the World Trade Center, the Bow-Tie Cinemas on 23rd Street, and the SVA Theatre down the block from the Bow-Tie. For a number of reasons the 23rd Street location were vastly preferred, but still we took in several vital films at the Regal, which does boast excellent screens and seating.
Here is the full round-up of the twenty-six (26) films seen in the second and final week of the festival. The first half was given in last Week’s MMD:
Uncertain **** (Monday, April 20) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Men Go To Battle *** (Monday, April 20) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Applesauce ** (Monday, April 20) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Among the Believers ***** (Tuesday, April 21) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Far From Men **** 1/2 (Tuesday, April 21) Bow-Tie Cinemas
The Wolfpack ** (Wednesday, April 22) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Wondrous Bocaccio **** (Wednesday, April 22) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Transfatty Lives **** 1/2 (Thursday, April 23) Bow-Tie Cinemas
We Are Young, We Are Strong (Thursday, April 23) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Aferim! **** 1/2 (Friday, April 24) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Meadowland *** (Friday, April 24) Regal Cinemas
Crocodile Gennadiy **** (Friday, April 24) Regal Cinemas
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead *** 1/2 (Friday, April 24) Regal Cinemas
Hyena *** 1/2 (Friday, April 24) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Life of Brian (1979) ***** (Sat., April 25) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live **** (Sat., April 25) SVA
Prescription Thugs *** 1/2 (Sat., April 25) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Cronies **** (Sat., April 25) Bow-Tie Cinemas
As I Am: The Life and Times of DJ AM ** (Sat., April 25) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Scherzo Diabolico *** (Sat., April 25) Bow-Tie Cinemas
Bridgend **** (Sunday, April 26) Regal
The Song of Lahore **** 1/2 (Sunday, April 26) Regal
Cartel Land *** 1/2 (Sunday, April 26) Regal
Virgin Mountain ***** (Sunday, April 26) Regal
Sleeping with Other People ** 1/2 (Sunday, April 26) Regal
Good Kills **** (Sunday morning, screener)
Next week I will have a detailed examination up in my Best Of post.
