My Virtual Time-warped Journal of the 1987 Seattle International Film Festival…
Seattle, Washington USA, May 14 through June 8
Explanation: Due to a little bit of incompetent timing for a certain Blessed Event by The Missus and myself, I am not going to manage my usual 80+ films at the Y2K edition of the Seattle International Film Festival. Looking for a way to get around my time constraints, I have however found a way to travel back in time and relive the 1987 Seattle film festival.
How, you ask? Well, as it happened, thirteen years ago I convinced my then employer to give me time off to see as many films during the festival as possible. Amazingly, he agreed, but on the condition that I write a review of every film I saw. This I dutifully did, and each day reviews of the previous day’s films were circulated around the office. Since this was pre-World Wide Web, these classic commentaries existed in hard copy only and have been neglected ever since. Until now. I am using this occasion to add these early writings to the body of film criticism on this web site.
So let us return to the days of Ronald Reagan, Dallas and Miami Vice and relive the twelfth year of the Emerald City’s glorious film fest…
Total number of festival programs seen: 68
My personal festival top ten listSummary of short films
Friday 15 May
Charleen & Backyard
Abel
Miss Mary
Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
Saturday 16 May
The Parting (The Farewell)
Speriamo che sia femmina (Let’s Hope It’s a Girl)
Gothic
Sunday 17 May
Secret Festival
I Played It for You
Vergeßt Mozart (Forget Mozart)
American premiere of Notte d’estate con profilo greco, occhi a mandorla e odore di basilico (Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil)
Monday 18 May
Malabrigo
L’Amant Magnifique
Tuesday 19 May
Amazing Grace and Chuck
Puteshestviye molodogo kompozitora (The Young Composer’s Journey)
Wednesday 20 May
Meier
Die Reise (The Journey)
American premiere of Pas în doi (Paso Doble)
Thursday 21 May
Baryton (The Baritone)
American premiere of Iris – Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Acress (Monique van de Ven)
Friday 22 May
A Composer’s Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera
The Trouble with Dick
A Walk on the Moon
Kurotokage (Black Lizard)
Saturday 23 May
Chuck Solomon: Coming of Age & Oscar Wilde: Spendthrift of Genius
Rendez-vous
The More Things Change…
Komikku zasshi nanka iranai! (Comic Magazine)
Sunday 24 May
Secret Festival
Other Halves
The Right Hand Man
Otra vuelta de tuerca (Turn of the Screw)
Monday 25 May
Secret Festival
Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier)
American premiere of Personal Foul
Dolls
Tuesday 26 May
American premiere of Flodder
American premiere of Ido van (Time)
Wednesday 27 May
My Little Girl
American premiere of High Season
Thursday 28 May
Special program: In CinemaScope with Leonard Maltin
Segreti segreti (Secrets Secrets)
Friday 29 May
Archival screening of Macario
Hey Babu Riba
Angustia (Anguish)
Saturday 30 May
American premiere of Blood Diner
Il Diavolo in corpo (Devil in the Flesh)
Personal Services
Sunday 31 May
Trancers
The Last Movie
Special program: A Tribute to Dennis Hopper, featuring a screening of Der Amerikanische Freund (The American Friend)
Monday 1 June
An uns glaubt Gott nicht mehr (God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore)
A Nagy generacio (The Great Generation)
Tuesday 2 June
Santa Fe
Impure Thoughts
Wednesday 3 June
Welcome in Vienna
World premiere of The Perfect Match
Thursday 4 June
Archival screening of Gone to Earth
Tampopo
Friday 5 June
Hard asfalt
Dirty Dancing
American premiere of Straight to Hell
American premiere of Dead-End Drive In
Saturday 6 June
The Beat
Jean de Florette
Prick Up Your Ears – Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Actor (Gary Oldman)
Street Trash
Sunday 7 June
Secret Festival
Good Morning, Babylon
Better late than never (post-festival viewings of festival films)
Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog) – Golden Space Needle Awards for Outstanding Picture and Outstanding Direction (Lasse Hallström)
Links to official film festival sites