Long story short
The critics weigh in on S.F. IndieFest

A Certain Kind of Death (Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock, USA, 2003) When Ronald Tanner died of AIDS-related causes, his fate was still unfinished. For one thing, the gay widower became the chief real-life character in this excellent documentary, which maps out the bureaucratic and social rituals set in motion by the death of a person who has no immediate next of kin. In bearing witness to Tanner's posthumous "existence," the directors can't help but construct a fractured biography of his life – just one of many paradoxes in this wise, unflinching, and at times morbidly funny movie, which examines institutional process with Frederick Wiseman-like attentiveness while also crafting a muted, less condescending version of Errol Morris's early-heaven's gate portraiture. Because a Los Angeles Coroner's Office official discovers – and marvels over – the fact that Tanner mapped out exactly where he should be buried in relation to his family, the sad symbolism of his eventual resting place is magnified. Sun/8, noon; Feb. 13, 2:45 p.m., Women's Building. (Johnny Ray Huston)

Corner of Your Eye (Jesse Spencer, USA, 2002) San Francisco filmmaker Jesse Spencer puts Groundhog Day, Mulholland Drive, and good old-fashioned relationship drama through the SaladShooter and comes out with an auspicious first feature. A convoluted plot involving something called the "corner-virus" (highly contagious, it causes the infected to see eyeballs lurking in every nook and cranny; victims also share eerily real dreams about being in the audience of an amateur-hour magic show) links three people: would-be writer Sam (Aaron Ross), best friend Paul (Drew Lanning), and coffee-shop worker-turned-corporate climber Sarah (Nancy Stone), who's Sam's girlfriend through much of the film. A typical love triangle this ain't, what with all the hallucinations and clown suits and mixed-up memories. But for all its weirdness, Corner of Your Eye's exploration of Sam and Sarah's coupling is remarkably insightful, illuminating the good (Sam's shabby apartment becomes more stylishly decorated the longer he's with Sarah) but focusing mostly on the bad (Sarah is portrayed as brittle and argumentative; plus, their lives are so mismatched that the only quality time they have together is when they're both dreaming about the magic show). Corner of Your Eye is ambitious without being pretentious, which, in the world of debut indie films, is saying something. Feb. 11, 2:45 p.m., Roxie; Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Women's Building. (Cheryl Eddy)

'The Duel Project': Aragami (Ryuhei Kitamura, Japan, 2003) and 2LDK (Yukihiko Tsutsumi, Japan, 2003) Two Japanese filmmakers, Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Trick!) and Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus), met at a film festival and cooked up a cinematic challenge: they'd each make a movie featuring two characters, one setting, and an epic battle. Though IndieFest will collect votes to determine a "winner," both flicks are well worth seeing: intense, action-packed, and more than a little bit ridiculous. Kitamura's Aragami concerns a legendary "long-nosed goblin" who's grown tired of immortality, roaming the countryside eating human flesh, terrifying all who cross his path, and so on. He's delighted when a samurai warrior stumbles upon his lair; several glasses of vodka later, the demon, who can only die if he's killed in battle, convinces the warrior to fight him. A good amount of swordplay and one-liners ("This looks like it could be fun!") follow. If I had to pick a champion, though, it'd be Tsutsumi's 2LDK, which boasts a far more creatively brutal fight scene – and here the combatants are young women, rival actors desperate to land the same lead part in something called Yakuza Wives. They're also roommates, and it doesn't take much for petty concerns (shampoo theft) and passive-aggressive politeness to escalate into an all-out war involving ninja stars, swords, a chain saw, a fire extinguisher, and whatever else is handy around the apartment. Mee-ow. Sun/8, 9:30 p.m., Roxie; Feb. 12, 9:30 p.m., Roxie; Feb. 14, noon, Roxie. (Eddy)

Funny Ha Ha (Andrew Bujalski, USA, 2002) Way more real than The Real World, this slice-of-life look at a postcollege wanderer is so truthful you'll swear director Andrew Bujalski is actually a documentarian, not a feature filmmaker. The fact that he uses 16mm film – which looks exactly like a home movie – makes it even more convincing. But Marnie (Kate Dollenmayer) is a fictional character, even if she seems exactly like someone you know (or perhaps exactly like yourself). Unsure about what she'll do with her education, or with life in general, Marnie is skinny, shy, pretty, and prone to romantic awkwardness. See, she's had a crush on Alex (Christian Rudder) forever, but he doesn't love her back – though they're good friends, he assures her he "thinks the world" of her and is given to stopping by her apartment late at night, and they have an easy, genuine rapport when they're alone. But, yeah, he doesn't love her back. Meanwhile, she's also being pursued by a dorky suitor who's clearly wrong for her (played, with supreme bravery, by Bujalski). I could have watched the enormously likable Marnie fumble through her life for hours, but alas, the film's a mere 89 minutes long. And that's just about the only bad thing I can say about it. Tues/10, 7:15 p.m., Roxie; Feb. 14, 4:30 p.m., Roxie. (Eddy)

Gory Gory Hallelujah (Sue Corcoran, USA, 2003) A product of Seattle's Von Piglet Sisters (director Corcoran and writer-star Angie Louise), Gory Gory Hallelujah takes a familiar premise (travelers stranded in a strange town) and sprinkles it liberally with a rather overwhelming amount of over-the-top-ness. Four thespians – a hippie, a Black Panther, a Jew, and a woman – meet when they all unsuccessfully audition for the role of Jesus. Still dressed in their homemade Christ costumes, the frustrated actors hit the road together in search of fame, fortune, and the New York City Jesus Christ Superstar auditions. Naturally, they don't get far before wackiness ensues; a burly brawl with a ruthless gang of Elvis impersonators sets them off course, and they're soon trapped in the town of Jackville, home to religious zealots, sleazy real estate developers, a brothel, hillbillies, a secret cult of militant feminists, etc. And that's all before the zombies show up. The Von Piglet Sisters' goal was clearly to create a meta-cult film for the ages, and there's no denying their enthusiasm. But while Gory Gory Hallelujah has its moments, there's also a forced zaniness at work here that gets tiresome long before the film ends. Sat/7, 9:30 p.m., Women's Building; Feb. 13, 11:45 p.m., Roxie; Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Oakland Metro. (Eddy)

Gozu (Takashi Miike, Japan, 2003) Low-ranked gang member Minami (Hideki Sone) has lost his mentally deranged superior Ozaki (Sho Aikawa) on the way to Ozaki's planned execution. Recovering the missing mobster means having to navigate the suburban badlands of Nagoya, a town populated by grotesques and weirdos, and being pushed to the breaking point by outrageously black-humored, queasy scenarios cooked up by director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Sakichi Sato (Ichi the Killer). Miike claims he's made a horror movie here, but this is as much a psychosexual case study as a savage parody of the macho mannerisms of yakuza movies. Straights be warned: Gozu seldom takes breaks from being totally irrational and can get downright irritating in its pursuit of shaggy-dog jokes. But adventurous viewers will be duly rewarded by the final reel, which contains scenes as mind-blowing as anything in the already hard-to-top Miike filmography. Sat/7, 4:30 p.m.; Tues/10, 9:30 p.m., Roxie. (Patrick Macias)