TFF Last Day: In ‘Northwest,’ Crime Is Chosen Way

A mother (Lene Maria Christensen) turns a blind eye on her son's (Gustav Dyekjær Giese) misdeeds in "Northwest." Photo provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

MICHAEL Noer found the leads in his latest film, “Northwest,” through Facebook.

“I got this call from this woman who said I have two sons who might be right for the roles.”

The young documentarian, who continues his foray into the genre of feature-length crime films following his well-received prison drama, “R,” was looking for brothers around 17 and 18 who were one year apart in age.

“These two guys came in,” he explained yesterday after the third screening of the film at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, “and they were arguing and pushing each other. One didn’t have directions and the other had a hangover. We just watched them, and then they said ‘so, what do you want us to do’? I told them that had done it; I want you in the film.” (See video below).

The northwest of the title is a crime-ridden neighborhood of Copenhagen where brothers Casper and Andy, played by Gustav Dyekjær Giese and Oscar Dyekjær Gies, respectively, live. The older Casper undertakes pretty crime to support his closeknit family. That includes a mother and little sister. One day, bigger fish come calling, and Casper will eventually bring the heretofore sheltered Andy into the scheme.

It’s now ON! as the haunting “Northwest” chronicles their reception into the bosom of the Copenhagen crime underworld. The film has its last screening this evening at 2013 TFF.

“Northwest” does not have a Hollywood story ending. MN is keepin’ it real. “I wanted to present the film from the point of the main characters; they are not thinking about their feelings” or being plagued by crises of conscience around issues of right and wrong. In other words, it is what it is.

“Northwest” is based on the story of real-life siblings. In fact, some of the scenes were shot in their apartment where the director and stars spent some nights. “That little sister’s bed, that’s where I slept,” MN gleefully explained about several scene from the film.

Not only are the Giese brothers amateur actors, much of the “Northwest” cast is, too. Some are real-life gangsters, hoods and residents. The brothers on whose exploits “Northwest” is inspired were essentially film consultants. Working with amateurs can be tricky, and the “Northwest” production was no exception. Often enough, MN just went with their flow, a savvy move because this in part accounts for a certain authenticity in “Northwest.” It lends the film a cinéma vérité quality.

“This is their life. The film is shot in the neighborhood where they live. They are not thinking that I am going to be in a picture,” he stressed.

MN, who clearly admires his subjects and has about him the air of the geek who gets to hang out with the cool kids, saw in his cast acting techniques that came naturally. He recalls disclosing to one of the girls playing a prostitute that one particular day was her last day of shooting. Later in a scene, her line was to ask someone not to leave. “It was perfect. She was also asking me not to leave her. I liked the way that they brought what was happening in their lives into the film.

In “Northwest,” the viewer is privy to the decisions and circumstances that inform choices that can lead to the cemetery or to prison cells like the ones in “R.” There is, too, the added burden of knowing that many of these events are all-too real.

Uneasy partners in crime in "Northwest."

“This is the only life these guys know,” MN asserted about the events depicted in "Northwest." “It’s not like they were good and when they were 8 they turned bad. They were already bad. They love films like “The Godfather” and “Scarface.” They idolize gangsters; they idolize Tony Montana.”

“Northwest” has its final screening this evening at 6. Visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival to learn more about it and the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, including tickets and schedule. Rx.

TFF Day 11, 'Why He Is The Greatest: 'The Trials of ... Ali'

Muhammad Ali (center) faced religious persecution when he converted to Islam. Photo provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

WATCHING the riveting “The Trials of Muhammad Ali,” my mind kept returning to “42.”

It’s unfortunate that tonight is the final screening of the Ali film during its world premiere run at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. Most viewers won't see it until it premieres on PBS next year. It has one strong similarity to “42,” the film about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. (http://www.ow.ly/jZyqh)

Both provide a glimpse of the fight of black Americans for basic human rights in this country. Both MA and JR had a hellish time. The former did not have to fight for the right to participate in his chosen sport, based on his skin color. His fight was over freedom of religion, self-determination and principles, as well as a fight to be called Muhammad Ali and not Cassius Clay, once he had repudiated that name.

Director and co-producer Bill Siegel uses MA’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam War and the court trials that followed as a jumping-off point to examine a young man’s evolution from a bodacious, loquacious boy from Louisville, Kentucky to the dignified, laconic man the world knows today as The Greatest.

BS, a Minnesota native and self-professed research geek, brings a piece of American history to life, revealing much about the man most don’t know, particularly those born from the 70s forward. Through the film, the viewers learns why Ali was The Greatest and is The Greatest. Insights are provided into how he made a living when he was banned from boxing. One thing he did was a bit of acting. His strong suit is boxing.

Though "The Trials of Muhammad Ali" ostensibly refers to his court appearances, other trials are apparent. He was tried by the media, some fellow blacks, sports peers and America.

Muhammad Ali withstood his trials with defiance and determination. He's a great example to us all.

“The Trails of Muhammad Ali” has its final screening tonight at 9. Visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival to learn more about it and the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, including tickets and schedule. Rx.

TFF Day 9: In 'The Pretty One,' Atypical Twin Drama

Zoe Kazan doing double duty as Laurel and Audrey in "The Pretty One." Photo provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

HERE’S a story that is rarely told in the movies or anywhere else: Twin loss.

No, no, no. Not the apparent relief of the good twin after, left with little choice, s/he throws the bad one into a vat of hot liquid, forever destroying the demon, provoking cheers from viewers.

Rather, when the loss of the remaining twin cuts to the core, making her feel that part of her has died. When the twins love each other truly, madly, deeply. When there is no good twin-bad twin dynamic.

When there is no evil twin to drive the drama in the narrative. Don’t see that very often, right?

Perhaps things are beginning to change with director Jenée LaMarque’s enchanting feature film debut, “The Pretty One.” It has its last showing during its world premiere run at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival tomorrow night.

Zoe Kazan is illuminating as both the vivacious Audrey and languid Laurel in this modern-day fairytale … More shortly.

“The Pretty One” has its final screening on Thursday (25 April at 9 p.m.). Visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival to learn more about it and the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, including tickets and schedule. Rx

TFF Day 5: Discovering True Honor in ‘Before Snowfall’

OFTEN enough, real life is so incredibly disturbing, senseless and shocking that it is better digested through the prism of entertainment, whether it be film, television, theater, verse, etc.

Such is the case with “Before Snowfall” ("Før snøen faller") which addresses honor killings. The film is showing today at 4 pm. in the second of four screenings at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF). The large number of screenings suggests the popularity of the film and the curiosity about its subject matter. (See video above).

"The film for me is not about honor killings,” director Hisham Zaman said, though honor is an important theme in his work. “It is about this boy in this society who must become a man. This circumstance in this village is pushing him into this way.”

A fascinating element of the haunting “Before Snowfall” is the extreme lengths that some men will go to in the name of honor. It suggests that women who have been accused of dishonoring their families cannot escape a man who demands satisfaction, no matter where they hide, no matter how far away they flee to do so. There are eyes everywhere. In these societies exists an underground that stretches across the world.

The underground in the film brings to mind the Underground Railroad of escaped slaves that existed in the United States in the 19th century. The difference, of course, is that in the West the latter is commendable while the former is detestable.

Incidentally, “Before Snowfall” is not set in India but not that far away either. HZ’s story, co-written with Kjell Ola Dahl, begins in Iraqi Kurdistan, then travels to Istanbul and into Europe, including Norway and Germany, before returning to Kurdistan where a troubling cycle continues.

A runaway bride (Bahar Ozen) in "Before Snowfall." Photos provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

The story that would become "Before Snowfall" had been rooting around in HZ’s head for six years. In the interim, he made four other films. “I was thinking about this boy and a border and he would come of age and he was going to do something bad."

Indeed! The main character in “Before Snowfall” is 16-year-old Siyar (newcomer Taher Abdullah Taher), the man of his family. He is honor bound to defends his family’s name after his older sister goes on the run rather than submit to an arranged matter. Or should it be said that the men from the jilted man’s family push the boy in this direction and provide him with the means to carry out his act?

In pursuit of Nermin (Bahar Ozen), Siyar has some experiences and chance encounters that cause him to question his mission. Alas, they will cost him dearly. Siyar’s struggle between deeply entrenched tradition and potent external emotions is at the heart of “Before Snowfall,” which features many amateurs, including the exotically handsome TAT. He is a natural.

At great risk to himself, Siyar (Taher Abdullah Taher) must carry out what tradition dictates in "Beyond Snowfall."

After deciding against another boy he’d chosen for the role, the director set out again in pursuit of his Siyar and found him in Kurdistan in a group home for boys, some of whom had acting ambitions. It is not clear whether TAT, who had never been outside of Kurdistan before he filmed “Before Snowfall,” was an acting hopeful.

HZ was interviewing various boys, “then I saw this boy standing there and watching us …”

“Before Snowfall” is in Kurdish with English subtitles; It has additional screenings on Friday (26 April at 4 p.m.) and Saturday (27 April at 10 p.m.). Visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival to learn more about it and the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, including tickets and schedule. Rx.

TFF Day 3: Demise of an American Way in 'At Any Price'

“EXPAND or Die.” These three words have resonated across the heartland of the United States like a wildfire, destroying much of the country’s breadbasket and contributing to the spoilage of the U.S. food supply.

This mantra is played out in “At Any Price,” which makes its New York debut tonight at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF). "The English Teacher," starring Julianne Moore in the title role as a dedicated and newly reinvigorated educator at a smalltown Pennsylvania school, will receive its share of notice. Martin Scorsese’s restored version of The King of Comedy is the festival closer, that is its last premiere. TFF shutters on 28 April.

At the center of “At Any Price” is the Whipple family of Iowa. The patriarch is Henry (Dennis Quaid). He’s running a prosperous farm and covets even more prosperity. Henry has no compunctions about selling Liberty Seeds’ GMO (genetically modified organism) corn to meet his ends. Any recording in his conscience that might suggest that GMO corn is not the way forward is being ignored. (See video above).

Henry wants his elder son to join him in the family business, especially since it's about to expand. Favorite son Grant (Patrick Stevens) will have no part of farming and leaves Iowa to see the world. Left at home is second son Dean (Zac Efron) who has NASCAR dreams. Henry sneers at his son’s choice of career and just about everything he aspires to; nevertheless Henry tries to pen his dream on a reluctant Dean.

From here, a web of drama unfolds in “At Any Price,” which sometimes throws the main thurst of the film off track. The main storyline is the death of the family farm at the grubby hands of agribusiness. To sex up the story, however, director Ramin Bahrani adds to it infidelity, a sex kitten, opportunism and destructive family traits.

Occasionally, the film is overwrought in making its point. Yet, it is an important story, additives notwithstanding. Practically, it may be able to tell this story better than a million documentaries along the lines of “American Meat,” “Food Inc., and others. (Additional screening on Tuesday).

“At Any Price, a window on the lowdown, dirty business of destroying an American institution, comes to a head at an annual picnic where Henry has to decide once and for all what kind of man he is going to be.

Also showing this evening at 6:30 (additional screenings on Monday and Tuesday ) is “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.” The doyenne of theater takes her show on the road, telling tall tales along the way about the way it was. ES staged her last show a couple of weeks ago at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. ES is retiring back to her native Michigan. “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me” is not one to be missed.

The 2013 TFF features 53 world premieres, 15 North American premieres, eight New York premieres, seven international premieres and six U.S. premieres under various categories, including the competitive World Narrative and Documentary.

One of three documentaries to watch is “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic,” making its world premiere. Director Marina Zenovich presents a touching, if disturbing portrait of the iconic comedian straight outta Peoria, then to the top, then to rock bottom, then through a cycle of self-reflection and redemption. Contemporary comics, particularly those who traffic in the expletive in and of itself as the joke form of comedy, PAY ATTENTION; learn from a master.

Elaine Stritch has some parting words in “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.” Photo provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

What would a film festival be without Shorts, right? Right. Meanwhile, Cinemania has been rechristened the Midnight section. Films shown late or ‘round midnight. Pretty creepy, horrific fare along the lines of Danny Mulheron’s “Fresh Meat.” Herein, city slicker lawbreakers hightail it to an uppercrust suburb where the denizens have a taste for human flesh. Yuck!

Movies that merge filmmaking with the latest technologies, creating interactivity and the newish transmedia are under the rubric of Storyscapes. Goes far beyond Web movies, but they figure in the mix. Storyscapes is the wave of the present that few are aware of. Thankfully though, the film industry is adapting to this new medium much faster than the print journalism industry cottoned to New Media.

The man from Peoria in "Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic." Photo provided by Tribeca Film Festival.

A one to watch in the Special Screenings” section and the second noteworthy documentary is “The Trials of Muhammad Ali.” Much notice over the years has been taken of the Rumble in the Jungle. Little attention, however, has been drawn to the price the boxer formerly known as Cassius Clay paid when he refused to fight in Vietnam. Director Bill Siegel shares his take on that chapter in this world premiere.

Another popular feature at TFF is the slate of “Tribeca Talks.” This year’s Directors Series stars Clint Eastwood jawing with Darren Aronofsky. I repeat: CLINT EASTWOOD. That has the potential to be some chat. Arrive early!

Sitting for one of the “Tribeca Talks: After the Movie” panels is Whoopi Goldberg to chat about her directorial debut, “I Got Somethin' to Tell You,” the third of the aforementioned documentaries. Relying in part on interviews with various funny folk and found footage, it is a love letter and moving tribute to one Jackie “Moms” Mabley.

She is the grandmother of all female comedians. In this documentary, making its world premiere tomorrow evening (6:30), is a piece of comedy history about a woman who broke many barriers and who uttered many quotable lines, including the film’s title. One other MM bon mot: "There ain't nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one." (See video of Moms Mabley performance above).

Elsewhere, the 2013 TFF freebies are in play: Tribeca Drive-In (through 20 April), Family Festival Street Fair (27 April), Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day (27 April) and Family Screenings (21 and 27 April).

Visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/festival to learn more about the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, including tickets and schedule. Rx.