05.10.09 – DAY 3 – Stay away from the balls

Ouch! An all too familiar pattern was already emerging but at least we had a morning film today to keep us on track and off crack.

CROPSEY – PRADO – 11:00HRS

When do you stop looking for the boogeyman under your bed and start looking for him out in your neighbourhood? This documentary looks at the point where urban myth told by children to scare each other, or by parents to ward their children away from potential danger, turns from make believe to reality.

Looking at the events surrounding the disappearance of a number of children on Staton Isand in the 70´s and 80´s the filmaker´s take their own personal recollections and those of community members closely involved with the original incidents and look again at events in light of the fact that the man eventually convicted for the abductions was due up for parole. There´s some question as to its inclusion at Sitges but the film took an interesting look at how society can be conditioned and manipulated, and how adults, not just children, can be made to believe the boogeyman exists as long as you pick the right character and cast him in the wrong light.

……..We managed to find a more productive use for the time between films and penned our thoughts on events so far. The disappointment of THIRST had been re-channeled to hope for the upcoming Auditori back-to-back

METROPIA – AUDITORI – 15:00HRS

Sold on the trailer´s unique visual style we were glad to be catching this unusual animation feature on the Auditori´s big screen. In an attempt to promote happiness and well being the future Europe presented in the film has been linked by a giant underground metro network stretching from Scandinavia to the mediterranean, and London to the Eastern border with Asia. Opposite to it´s supposed intended purpose this has instead driven people farther apart and devoid of free spirit, however, it unfolds that this may have been the plan all along as the corporation behind the metro project turns out to have had far more of a hand in moving the population than is at first realised. An interesting but relatively straight story is given more impact by original visuals but perhaps relied too much on this when more weight could have been given to the central theme of population manipulation by big corporations.

………A short loop back to the Auditori´s entrance as we were straight back into the next screening.

MR.NOBODY – AUDITORI – 17:00HRS

Life constantly asks us to make choices but what if by not making a choice all the possible scenarios and permutations could then play out simultaneously? What if we could live out all our ¨possible¨ lives? Moreover, what if we knew how all of these possible lives would play out, would we still be able to choose which to live?

This was Colin´s 2009 SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK and will be the subject of a more detailed review as and when Colin´s come back down to Earth and is ready to reveal what´s frying his brain. For the meantime we´ll just say that this film was genius and, while Leto´s performance was exceptional considering the challenging nature of the material, it was an absolute triumph for the director, Jaco Van Dormael, that a theme that exists at such a subconscious level could be lifted and interpreted on the screen in a very human way.

……..Though the team is slightly divided on just how good MR.NOBODY actually is it´s lifted spirits and calls for a celebration. As if we needed an excuse. So it´s off to Hernan´s to contemplate the meaning of Life, the universe, and everything.