A 3rd generation filmmaker of one of cinema’s most lauded families, Gia Coppola impresses in her debut feature, Palo Alto, an adaptation of a book by James Franco (who’s also in the movie) that captures the listless, limbo-like haze of high school through interweaving stories of several troubled teens. While the film technically falls into the “teen drama” column, its authentic, unapologetically filthy depiction of adolescence sets it apart.

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Photos Courtesy Adam Clay

Much of Palo Alto‘s authenticity stems from its cast, all appropriately aged (this is important) and all quite…normal looking. It’s a good thing, as most teen movies’ stars are too prettied up to be relatable. Jack Kilmer, son of Val (who makes a brief, comical appearance), and Emma Roberts lead the brilliant cast, who all convince as conflicted, bored, lustful youths partying, getting in trouble, and goofing around in parking lots. Coppola, a photographer whose work impressed Franco enough to entrust the stories of his hometown to her, has a natural eye for composition and color, capturing the intensity and urgency of teen life with her luscious, moody imagery. Each character is chaotically emotional and has a unique set of inner conflicts to reckon with. This is the best representation of modern teens in memory.

SFIFF57 offered up another debut feature, this time from co-directors Tom Dolby and Tom Williams with the world premier of the Lake Tahoe-set Last Weekend. A family drama about an affluent couple (Patricia Clarkson and Chris Mulkey) hosting their spoiled adult children and their significant others for a weekend in their home on the sparkling lake, the film has its moments but is hampered by a script that needs more sharpening. Watching entitled rich folk complain about everything while feasting in paradise is a joke that gets old quick.

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Photos Courtesy Adam Clay

The film, which has almost zero plot to speak of (not a knock), is completely fueled by the contentious family dynamics. The savvy young cast, which includes Zachary Booth, Alexia Rasmussen (Proxy), Joseph Cross (Milk), Devon Graye (Dexter), and Jayma Mays (Glee), all approaching their prime, embody their bratty roles tastefully, never going overboard or outshining each other. Clarkson and Mulkey guide them along, and the fresh faces keep up without a stutter. Cross and Clarkson share some particularly venomous scenes together, epic mother-son spats that steal the show. Fran Kranz (Cabin in the Woods) and Rutina Wesley (True Blood) play nothing roles that amount to a well-acted waste of time.

Tsai Ming-Liang made a Miyazaki-like announcement at the premiere of his new film Stray Dogs in Venice that the stunning film about an impoverished family would be his last, to the sadness of many arthouse aficionados. The lauded auteur is leaving the cinema world on a high note, however, as Stray Dogs is as gorgeous, boundary-pushing, and incomparable as his previous work (What Time is it There?, The Hole).

As has become his signature style, Tsai presents his tale in a series of fixed, ultra-long shots whose uncompromisingly elongated form reveals intricacies and shifting emotion unseeable by way of conventional quick cuts or even shots like Scorsese’s Copacabana classic. Spectacle is not the objective here, with the shot lengths surpassing the ten minute mark in some cases. Tsai paints a dark, stark portrait of a family living in squalor on the streets of Taipei. We see the children bathe in a dingy public restroom, the father hold up advertising signs at a busy intersection in the pouring rain. It’s a haunting, gut-wrenching film, and one whose beauty lies not just in Tsai’s immaculately composed shots, but in the 4th dimension of time itself. And you don’t even have to shell out an extra ten bucks for 4-D glasses!

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the festival so far has been Craig Johnson’s The Skeleton Twins, which from movie stills ostensibly appears to be a star vehicle for SNL all-stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, but actually turns out to be an unexpectedly affecting sibling drama peppered with funny moments for the comedians to please loyalists. Hader and Wiig play the titular troubled siblings Milo and Maggie, each with self-destructive tendencies.

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After ten years of not speaking, Maggie invites her brother to stay with her after a suicide attempt. She’s in denial about her dissatisfaction with her marriage to the cheerful Lance (Luke Wilson) while Milo, an emotional wreck more aware of his fatal flaws, struggles to tie up loose ends in his past life while trying desperately to keep Maggie afloat in her failing marriage. It would be fair to categorize The Skeleton Twins as a dramedy, though the dramatic element is more intensified here than your average Apatow effort. It’s a dark movie, and Hader and Wiig’s comedic chops translate well to the emotional spectrum of acting (Wiig’s already proven this, but this is Hader’s first dramatic leading role). In fact, the laughs sometimes outstay their welcome, as the comedic scenes are egregiously tailored to the actors’ signature personas and distract from their better, dramatic character moments. This one’s definitely worth keeping on your radar.

After spending the previous day watching two very slow-moving films, I figured I was ready to take on the latest film from one of the masters of ‘slow cinema.’ I’ve been a huge fan of Tsai Ming-Liang’s work over the years, but his last film Visage was more or less a flop when it premiered at Cannes four years ago. When I sat down for an afternoon screening of Stray Dogs, Tsai’s latest (which also won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice), I wasn’t sure of what I was going to get. Thankfully, I got the first truly great film I’ve seen at TIFF this year.

Stray Dogs

As many other reviews have said by this point, plot and narrative don’t have much of a place in Stray Dogs. A single father (Lee Kang-Sheng, a regular in Tsai’s films) lives in poverty with his two children (Sheng’s real-life nephew and niece), and they encounter three different women who might actually be the same person. Spending time going over these kinds of details are fruitless anyways, as it’s not what Tsai is interested in either.

Tsai’s slow style ends up portraying homelessness and poverty in a way that I can’t say I’ve seen before. With nowhere for these characters to go and nothing for them to do, Tsai conveys the huge physical and emotional weight of time on these people with every moment. The father tries earning income by, ironically, holding up signs advertising real estate. There are several shots where the camera stays motionless, observing him standing in the rain for 6 or 7 minutes at a time. The series of shots reach a powerful conclusion when they show Lee in a close-up, crying as he sings an old song.

It’s only one of the many stunning moments throughout Stray Dogs, as Tsai shows he still is a complete master when it comes to form. His shots may go on for a while, but they’re framed with such care and precision it’s hard not to immerse oneself in what’s on screen. Even scenes like one where Lee eats a meal for nearly 10 minutes is captivating to watch. For the character it’s presumably their first proper meal in ages, and the camera treats it with the same importance as the father does.

The eating scene is one of the lesser examples of the literal and figurative lengths Tsai goes to in Stray Dogs. The most buzzed about scene since its premiere involves Lee kissing, suffocating, eating and crying over a cabbage for 11 minutes. Yes, it’s absurd, but watching Lee run through so many emotions throughout the scene is a marvel to watch. And amazingly nobody has put too much of an emphasis on the penultimate shot, a scene that bowled me over completely in its extremity. It’s one of Tsai’s best moments in his long and wonderful career, and shows just how powerful duration can be when used wisely. It might not be the best entry point for Tsai’s films, but anyone willing to embrace the style will be in for one of Tsai’s best (and, sadly, possibly last) works as a director.

RATING: 8.2

A Field in England

On the flip side, Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England proved to be a depressing indicator for me that the director’s downward shift in quality since his first feature is here to stay. Taking place during the English Civil War in the 1600s, a group of deserters come upon an alchemist in the woods who drugs and uses them as helpers for a treasure hunt. The combination of a period piece with psychedelic imagery sounds like it could make for a great match, but most of A Field in England is a slog to get through. Read more in my full review, which is linked below.

Full Review of A Field in England

Next up:

I take a little break before returning with Johnnie To’s new film, along with Sion Sono’s next attempt at doing something batshit crazy (and early word says he succeeds with flying colours).