PSIFF Report: Rambling Thoughts, plus Notes on Citizen Dog and Time Off

In the popular consciousness, the City of Palm Springs is renowned as a luxurious place to retire, though partisans could point to its hip history as the second home of stars such as Frank Sinatra and its current reputation as a hip and growing gay and lesbian community. Palm Springs lies about two hours' drive from Los Angeles, and organizers have pitched Hollywood hard to showcase the festival as a viable launching pad for award contenders and have been successful in recruiting a wide variety of celebrities to attend. Situated first on the festival calendar year and conveniently concluding before Sundance and Rotterdam, featuring comfortably warm weather, it's attracted a program that threatens to topple over because of its sheer size: 252 films over 12 days.

The first screening I attended on Monday afternoon (January 9) drew about 50 people to an obscure Thai film, which is impressive, to say the least. Though many attendees appeared to be retirees -- the volunteer who introduced the screening asked everyone to turn off all electronic devices 'but not your pacemakers' -- I spotted several younger couples and singles.

The obscure Thai film was CITIZEN DOG, a delightfully modern fable with a heart. Painted with a dazzling palette, it's a romance with musical numbers, a deadpan leading man, and a fastidious leading lady. Director Wisit Sasanatieng previously made TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER, which Miramax has allowed to collect dust for more than four years. One can only wish that CITIZEN DOG receives, at the minimum, a widely-available DVD release with English subtitles.

Do not miss CITIZEN DOG if it plays anywhere in a cinema near you! After it premiered at the Toronto festival last September, Todd wrote an excellent review, which you can read here.

Not so delightful was TIME OFF, a picture having its US Premiere and also a part of the fest's Chilean Film Spotlight. Francisco Perez-Bannen, Carolina Castro, and Sigrid Alegria play leading roles.

A woman tells her romantic partner that she wants a one-week break in their relationship, a "parenthesis," a little time off. She thinks there is something wrong with him, though she doesn't know what. He's an insomniac who works the late shift at a 24-hour video shop and can't see anything wrong with the relationship.

Early in the week, he meets another girl who attaches herself to him in the most casual, friendly, yet clingy way possible. Meanwhile, our hero tries to contact his putative girlfriend, who studiously avoids his telephoned entreaties. Both man and woman discuss their concerns with a mutual friend who always listens yet has seldom spoken after suffering a personal tragedy.

The initial sequence takes the handheld "shaky cam" theory to a semi-nauseous extreme. Thereafter filmmakers Francesca Schweitzer and Pablo Solis (who share writing, directing, and editing credits) settle down a bit, but the camerawork remained unsettled, constantly and nervously moving about the mostly interior settings. Neither the story nor the characters were compelling, and such a narrow point of view was presented that it was very difficult for me to engage with the material. I stuck it out for 45 minutes, until two of the characters talking about their hunger reminded me of my empty stomach. Combined with the nervous camera, I decided it was time to get something to eat.

By the way, the Palm Springs Regal 9, where I spent the day, has lovely leather chairs in all its auditoriums, with solid sound and projection. It's a great facility, and I happily spent as much time as possible there during my three days and change stay at the festival. Next up are several reviews and at least one more report.