Trips to the Broadway Center

Last night I was able to go to the Broadway Center Cinemas, one of my favorite places on Earth. My life living in Utah has seen me wasting hours upon hours of my life at this wonderful cinema. The Broadway Center Cinemas is run by the Salt Lake Film Society (get information on screenings, and more importantly on becoming a patron here) an organization that is wonderful and deserves our support. Because of the SLFS I have had several of my most intimate and moving experiences with film, and what I have experienced because of them plays in heavily with why I want to be a filmmaker and an artist. 

It has been too long since I've been to the Broadway Center. I was able to go last night with a close friend, and together, we shared two wonderful films together.

Let the Right One In is a slow, subtle Swedish film about two 12 year-olds coming to know each other and deal with their growing affection for one another. As far as plot goes, I don't want to speak about it much more, because I feel as if I would have enjoyed this heartwarming and beautiful tale if I new less about it going in. The film is slowly but perfectly paced, allowing the character relationships to blossom and develop naturally. The story also progresses in a natural and beautiful arc, accompanied by affecting performances by the two young leads. What really impressed my in the film was the sound. Using silence when many films would use far too much music, and using deep human noises for certain scenes create an effective and often horrifying environment. 

I won't say much more about Let the Right One In, because I don't want to spoil it too much, and I also don't want to overhype it. But honestly, the film is perfect. In retrospect, I cannot find one flaw in the film. No hyperbole, I'm serious. Not one flaw. I loved this movie.

The second film was the epic and wondrous Synecdoche, New York. It is Charlie Kaufman's latest film and his directorial debut. The exciting thing about this film is that it is Kaufman directing Kaufman, so we are left with solely his vision, no filtering. While his collaborations in the past have been massive successes , this is 100% Kaufman pur jus. The last time I was this excited about seeing someone bring just their vision, and solely their vision, to the screen was Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. For me, both films are triumphs for their respective filmmakers. 

I don't know where to begin with Synecdoche, New York. As with all of Kaufman's films, the plot is unorthodox, to say the least. Theatre director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is given a Macarthur grant and decides to do something big and truthful, creating an ever-growing replica of life in New York City. That's probably about as simple as I can make it, but it is increasingly complex. The film that I would relate this to would most likely be Fellini's 8 1/2, due to Synecdoche's tale of the struggle to create as well as the tale being told largely by analyzing Caden's relationships with the women in his life. The film also has no problem analyzing itself and its themes on several different meta-levels. 

Synecdoche is a grand, sweeping tale playing with time and consciousness as if it were a near-annoyance. It's protagonist's struggle to connect and create is a beautiful tale that touched me, as well as my friend, deeply. It also sports a new score by the incredible Jon Brion. 

I plan on spending more time over my Christmas break at the Broadway Center, and I hope to have as many marvelous film experiences as I did this weekend.