November 13, 2002
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Chockadoc IF HOLLYWOOD SPECIALIZES in trite fantasies, San Francisco's film community is best known for its serious truths. The Film Arts Foundation's annual festival doesn't evade those many documentary makers laboring in the fields of low-budget moviemaking, putting them front and center this year with opening night film A Dream in Hanoi. And the very San Francisco focus on social change through movies is part of FAF as well, particularly in a Mother Jones-sponsored series called "Agitators and Instigators: Docs Mother Would Love." Yet this year, it's fiction that's stranger than fiction, particularly in Jon Moritsugu and Amy Davis's local film-celeb filled Scumrock, where the deep underground mines an indie music vein. As always, strange and wonderful assortments of zero-cash moviemaking and quirky local color dominate the festival; our guide to a few of this year's best follows. 'Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story' A San Diego man, Shawn Nelson, steals an army tank and goes on a car-crushing rampage, but this isn't America's Wildest Police Chases. Instead Garrett Scott's engaging documentary explores both the larger story of a working-class community in decline and the background story of Nelson's life. Scott superbly uses mixed-media sources, including police helicopter footage of the mayhem, TV news reporters' coverage of the story, interviews with police and academics, and corny promos of 1950s San Diego. We see the history of crumbling suburbs following the post-cold war decline of the defense industry and a community of working-class whites ravaged by methamphetamine abuse. We also see Nelson's friends and family explain the personal impact of these larger social forces in candidly revealing interviews. As Scott gets deeper into the story, the tone goes from morbid humor about this assortment of misguided characters to real tragedy over the demise of a confused and desperate Nelson. With Mixed Feelings. Thurs/14, 8 p.m., Brava Theater Center. (Summers Henderson) 'A Dream in Hanoi' East collaborates (and clashes) with West in Tom Weidlinger's rich documentary set in the heart of Vietnam 25 years after "the American war." The film follows actors, directors, and producers from the Central Dramatic Company of Vietnam and the Artists Repertory Theater of Portland, Ore., as they work to bring a bilingual coproduction of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to life. But with two directors, two casts, and two languages, the heated struggle to find creative and cultural common ground quickly takes center stage. "It's like a wife with two husbands," says celebrated Vietnamese director Doan Hoang Giang, who wants to cut the script, up the action, and add characters to make the play more like traditional Vietnamese theater, much to the chagrin of the Americans. But despite the political disagreements, cultural misunderstandings, and communication barriers, what ultimately emerges is a portrait of two groups that find a way to create an amazing work of cross-cultural art. With Indiana Aria. Wed/13, 7 p.m., Brava Theater Center. (Sabrina Crawford) 'Dylan's Run' Twenty-nine-year-old congressional hopeful Dylan Glenn is young, African American, and Republican. Filmmakers Steven Johnson and David Rosenthal turn their cameras on the south Georgia native as he hits the campaign trail, taking on a white challenger in the Republican primary and the black, Democrat incumbent, Sanford Bishop, in the general election. Along the way, Glenn confronts racial issues and earns the endorsement of big-name GOP types like Newt Gingrich. Charismatic and clearly a born leader, Glenn explains he's a Republican because he "believes in growth and markets," and he wants to do right by his district, which is among the poorest in the United States. While Glenn's bid for the seat is eventually unsuccessful – and even if you hate Republicans – this intriguing doc is well worth watching. Sun/17, 1 p.m., Castro Theatre. (Cheryl Eddy) 'Love Will Travel' Indie film fans will want to seek out Teddi Dean Bennett's feature, a rare narrative in this doc-heavy festival. A makeshift family – a German tattoo artist/exotic dancer, her piano-player boyfriend, and her surly teenage sister – are unhappy with their San Francisco life, which is rife with loan sharks, sleazy strip club patrons, and opportunities for lil' sis to shoplift. Love Will Travel takes a while to get rolling, but once the trio ditches the unfriendly city for a new life in a Nevada ghost town, the mood gets lighter as a series of quirky locals are woven into the action – a tired indie technique, sure, but these folks (a pair of flashy-dressing brothers who are constantly punching each other, the sassy "Cottontail Ranch" madam, the acrimonious dog catcher, etc.) are original enough to forgive Bennett for cleaving dangerously close to cliché. Fri/15, noon, Brava Theater Center. (Eddy) 'A Place Named Destiny' Lately, Oakland has been getting a lot of attention for its skyrocketing murder rate and, well, not much else. For some positive news, for a change, check out Paul Ginocchio's uplifting doc about the Destiny Youth Arts Performance Company, an after-school program aimed at teaching Oaktown youth dance, theater, martial arts, and other performance techniques. The company also teaches participants valuable life lessons about violence prevention, leadership, and tolerance while providing a safe, familylike learning environment. Destiny follows the group as they prepare for their annual spring performance under the leadership of director Sarah Crowell. Several individual stories emerge – the fiercely talented young dancer who is finally able to control her temper through performing, the eight-year program vet who uses his experience to help mentor younger kids – but it's the shared passion of the entire group that makes the strongest impression on the viewer. Sun/17, 11 a.m., Castro Theatre. (Eddy)
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