Dream stops, drummer poor, kidney bingos, needs D Tour. Part Two: October 25-27
By Don Simpson
Alabama Moon – Moon (Jimmy Bennett) and his Pap (J.D. Evermore) are living the Libertarian dream – homesteading in the backcountry of rural Alabama. Pap raises Moon to never trust anyone, especially the government. That’s all well and good, until Pap dies and leaves eleven-year-old Moon alone in the wilderness. It’s not long before the local constable (Clint Howard) – who obviously learned everything he knows from Roscoe P. Coltrane – and his hound dog are hot on Moon’s trail. Director Tim McCanlies turns what could have been a hokey children’s movie into a rich (and sometimes very sad) philosophical essay on human existence a la Into the Wild. Assuming the worst after McCanlies’ disappointing Secondhand Lions, this was actually one of the most pleasant surprises at AFF.
D Tour – Pat Spurgeon is a musician whose lifelong dream of being in a successful rock band is coming true with his band, Rogue Wave. Unfortunately, just as Rogue Wave starts to take off, Spurgeon’s kidney (a transplant he received 13 years prior) begins to show signs of failing. As a career musician, Spurgeon is uninsured and has no back-up plan. Faced with twice-a-day dialysis and a search for a new kidney, Spurgeon simultaneously prepares to embark on a grueling tour with Rogue Wave (he does not want to forfeit his lifelong dream). D Tour follows Spurgeon on his rocky and emotional quest for a matching kidney. Produced, directed, shot and co-edited by Jim Granato, D Tour deals with two seminal issues for the health and well-being of the world: the need for adequate and affordable health care for everyone and the importance of being an organ donor. We are reminded that most musicians, evenly the successful ones, are barely making ends meet financially – they can barely afford to eat healthy diets, let alone afford health care on their own. Needless to say this story is a real tearjerker.
How I Got Lost – Cleverly book-ended by two significantly traumatic dates for New Yorkers in the aughts (September 11, 2001 and August 14, 2003), How I Got Lost tells the story of two friends who are caught in a downward spiral into the depths of depression. Andrew has developed a taste for booze, which he hopelessly attempts to balance with his career as a trader on Wall Street. Andrew’s best friend, Jake, is a broken-hearted sports writer – he was recently dumped by the love of his life, Sarah (Nicole Vicius). Andrew loses his Wall Street job and Jake opts to assist Andrew recoup as a distraction from all that is wrong in his own life. Andrew convinces Jake that they need to hit the road. During the road trip, Jake encounters multiple people who help him find direction in his life. However, the trip does not have the same outcome for Andrew. Written and directed by Joe Leonard, How I Got Lost is a bittersweet and intimate drama about discovering happiness and meaning in the midst of turmoil.
Stoner – The premise: four housemates who are perpetually stoned. Michael (Michael Greene – also the writer and director) is soon to be a college graduate. His mother (Cyndi Williams) is always on his back about taking responsibility and getting a real job, but Michael would rather get high. Eventually Michael realizes that he could make some mad cash if he started dealing…drugs that is. Unfortunately, everything that can go wrong for Michael does. Something Michael was never taught in dealer school: You should always know your clients. (Just like clients should always know their dealer.) Mark (Eddie Mathis) is a womanizer and seems to attract some fine ladies. Unfortunately, Mark makes some poor choices and winds up getting a hefty punishment for not keeping his wiener in his trousers. Kirun (Kerem Sanga) is the book-smart, antisocial one of the house. He discovers weed and comes out of his shell…maybe a little too far out of his shell. Dan (Dan Bui) is a kick-ass banjo player – man can he riff on that thing. He seems like a good kid. Unfortunately, some psycho self-help freak-a-zoid named Kuldeep (Aravindh Ragunathan) takes a liking to him. All in all, Stoner is fun.
Strigoi – Vampires are the new black these days, with multiple primetime television shows staring vampires and an onslaught of Hollywood vampire movies. What differentiates Strigoi from the other vampire fare is that there is nothing sexy or seductive about Strigoi. Written and directed by Faye Jackson, Strigoi focuses on another common trait of vampire tales – the metaphor. In Strigoi, the metaphor is purely political: bloodsucking communist landowners. Jackson also relies upon the original Romanian folklore about strigoi, rather than the much bastardized version of the vampire found in pop culture. Vlad (Catalin Paraschiv) returns home to Romania after living abroad. He stumbles upon a mysterious death that has been ruled accidental but smells of foul play – it also seems someone forged his name on the autopsy report. Curious about overt coverup, Vlad commences an investigation. The obvious bad guy is communist bully Constantin Tirescu (Constantin Barbulescu) – who we witness being buried at the opening of the film. Vlad does not know that Constantin was already killed as he interviews the undead commie bastard about the murder.
