Telluride fest sky high

Festival takes changes in stride

By TODD MCCARTHY

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's political thriller 'The Lives of Others' was gathering buzz by Telluride's end.

The challenges facing Westerners who would grapple with combustible Third World conditions, the legacy of political and cultural figures of the recent past and a skunk making its presence known underfoot in a dark cinema were all part of the heady brew imbibed by cinephiles at the 33rd Telluride Film Festival.

Fest unspooled over Labor Day weekend under brilliant skies at the Colorado mountain town.

The big news for regulars here was the Sunday announcement of the retirement of fest co-founder and co-director Bill Pence and his wife, Stella, the event's invaluable managing director. Transitional moments at Telluride are as rare as pandas in the Rockies, so it's hard to know what Pence's departure will mean in the long run. But Gary Meyer, who will replace him, has worked with remaining co-director Tom Luddy for years, so no one is expecting a significant change of course.

As for the films, attendees arrived here wondering if Telluride could possibly match the high-profile trifecta of last year, when it debuted "Brokeback Mountain," "Walk the Line" and "Capote," all of which went on to awards-season glory.

A repeat of anything like that was always unlikely. This brief, 3½-day fest has never been about Hollywood platforming and forecasting anyway, but rather about mixing the best of new international films with choice rediscoveries from the past and a strong array of in-person artists responsible for both.

All the same, the specialized distribs became more aware of Telluride's value than ever after last year, and were therefore out in force over the weekend with a lineup of new films including Todd Field's "Little Children," Steven Shainberg's "Fur," Roger Michell's "Venus," Kevin Macdonald's "The Last King of Scotland," Douglas McGrath's "Infamous," John Scheinfeld's docu "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" and, in unannounced sneak previews, Phillip Noyce's "Catch a Fire" and Mira Nair's "Namesake."

None of these hit an indisputable home run, but several -- certainly "Little Children," "Venus," "Infamous" and "Namesake" -- generated strong audience response that should signal commercial potential down the line. There's also no doubt that the virtuoso lead perfs of Peter O'Toole in "Venus" and Forest Whitaker in "Scotland" will figure in people's minds at year's end.

One docu world-preemed here that grabbed viewers by the throat and wouldn't let go: Asger Leth's "Ghosts of Cite Soleil," a film whose very existence is amazing as it portrays up close and first-hand the lives of gun-waving Haitian gang leaders in the world's worst slum.

By fest's wrap, one film was far more frequently mentioned by people as their No. 1 favorite than any other--Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's East Germany-set political thriller "The Lives of Others," which was confoundingly rejected by the Berlin and Cannes film festivals but picked up for the U.S. by Sony Classics. Werner Herzog, not known to often praise pictures from his native country, said it was the best German film he's seen in ages.

Another big hit here was Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu's Cannes prize winner "Babel." Also generating upbeat reactions among the eclectic mix of international titles were Corneliu Porumboiu's "12:08 East of Bucharest"; Ray Lawrence's "Jindabyne"; Andrei Kravchuk's "The Italian"; Christopher Smith's comic horror item "Severance"; and, most out of left field, Simon Curtis' new three-part BBC TV series "20,000 Streets Under the Sky," an adaptation of three 1930s autobiographical novels by Patrick Hamilton about pub life on Euston Road.

Peter Bogdanovich's new version of his 1971 documentary "Directed by John Ford" drew passionate responses, as did the onstage chat sessions with author and raconteur extraordinaire Michael Korda, here to speak about his uncle Alexander.

Tributes were extended to vet editor and sound wizard Walter Murch, with an accompanying new docu about him; Penelope Cruz, here with "Volver"; and maverick Aussie helmer Rolf de Heer, who presented "Ten Canoes." Critic and historian David Thomson received a special medallion, while vet cinephile, publicist, festival scout and filmmaker Pierre Rissient received the exceptional honor of becoming the third individual, after Abel Gance and Chuck Jones, to have a Telluride screening venue named after him, Le Pierre.

Arguable highlight among the revival screenings was the unspooling of restored 1919 Australian silent "The Sentimental Bloke," directed by Raymond Longford and with a beautiful musical accompaniment by the country music ensemble Jen Anderson & the Larrikins. Samuel Goldwyn Jr. presented his father's and William Wyler's "Dodsworth," Paul Fejos' classic "Lonesome" made a welcome return and fest guest director J.P. Gorin brought along three films by the far-too-little-known French director Jean Gremillon, "Maldone," "Remorques" and "Lumiere d'ete."

But the screening those who were present will never forget was the 70mm unspooling of Jacques Tati's 1967 masterpiece "Playtime." At about the hour-and-45-minute mark, a great rustling commenced on the Galaxy Theater's main floor, followed by outright panic and a stench that was unmistakable: A skunk had somehow made its way into the cinema and was scurrying around under the seats -- another Telluride first that would be hard to reproduce anywhere else.