14 films in 5 days at the Traverse City Film Festival 2014
14 movies in 5 days at the Traverse City Film Festival 2014. Ranked 0-5. Mansur J
1. Fishing without Nets. 2014/Kenya, Somalia, USA/ NR/ 109 min. I'm tired of Somali pirate stories. Last year saw The Hijacking, a 5. Didn't even see Tom Hanks's. 3
2. 5 to 7. 2014/USA/NR/ 97 min. Unbelievable ... until the end that tugged the heart strings. 4
3. Sneak Preview Stations of the Cross. 2014/ France, Germany/NR/ 107 min. 14 painful chapters "mirroring the 14 stations of the cross" I couldn't wait for them to finish. 3
4. Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus. 2013/Belarus, UK, USA/ NR/ 76 min. Actors show how important freedom is in Belarus. 5
5. Manos Sucios. 2014/ Colombia, USA/ NR/ 82 min. A thin, entertaining movie. 3
6. The Keeper of Lost Causes. 2013/ Denmark, Germany, Sweden/ NR/ 97 min. Incredible. 5
7. The German Doctor. 2013/Argentina, France, Norway, Spain/ PG-13/ 93 min. A fictional episode in the long elusive exile of Nazi Dr. Mengele, who eluded capture for 30 years until found drowned. 5
8. Fishtail. 2014/USA/NR/61 min. "Anthony Renzi's poignant glimpse into the life of modern-day cowboys as they go about their business on Montana's Fishtail Basin Ranch during calving season." I can't say they didn't warn me. 3
9. An Evening [live performance/showing] with Larry Charles. "Borat director, Seinfeld writer," creator of new show with Book of Morman star & Billy Crystal + a doc about a suicidal comic mentor friend he knew. 5
10. Excuse my French. 2014/Egypt/NR/99 min. A sorry excuse for a festival movie. 2
11. Short Documentaries. 78 min. Don't spend your money on short docs at a film festival. 2
12. Boyhood. 2014/USA/ R/ 163 min. Excellent. And when the show started late and ran long, the Executor Director of the festival held all the movies at all the other venues and provided special transportation for us.
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14. The Edukators. 2004/ German, Austria/ R/ 130 min. Good show from a past festival. 5