Post Telluride Film Festival Reflections

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Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o from 12 Years a Slave in Telluride

When was the last time you saw a double feature at the movies? Well, I went to one three nights in a row this past week and I’m still processing my emotions from what I took in. I watched films that inspired and moved me, entertained and informed, some of which have been billed as big contenders for this year’s Oscars. (See Can Telluride Continue to Steal Venice and Toronto’s Thunder? and In Toronto, the Oscar Smackdown Gets an Early Start) No, I don’t live in New York or L.A. This wonderful opportunity for film viewing was provided yet again here in Telluride, Colorado as part of the after-the-festival doings of the Telluride Film Festival. These three evenings of post festival movie watching have always been one of my favorite parts of this great festival and as time goes on and the festival rises in importance, I realize just how lucky I am to take in these films, some of which were shown as sneak peeks at this year’s 40th anniversary festival, scooping other world renowned festivals such as those of Venice, Toronto and New York. (Read Film Reviews from the Telluride Film Festival:  Alexander Payne and Many More Pleasures and for more of the lowdown.)

The Coen Brothers in T-ride

During the actual festival, I was mesmerized by Robert Redford in “All is Lost” and “Tracks,” the film adaptation of one woman’s amazing journey across the Australian desert with camels. Post festival, I delighted in discovering the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the early sixties in the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis,” a confirmation of sorts for me that the life of creative types does typically balance between great moments of despair and drama and pure joy. The French film and Cannes sensation “Blue is the Warmest Color,” left me titillated and nostalgic for my time in France as a young twentysomething albeit without all the lesbian sex.

My last night of double viewing, however, packed the biggest wallop of them all. Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” made me laugh and cry, since it hit home in many ways, and I think its universal themes of struggle, aging, alcoholism, hope and the general quirkiness of people will have the same effect on folks across the globe. Brad Pitt (accompanied by his wife, Angelina Jolie) popped into T-ride rather unexpectedly last weekend, creating quite a stir. He was here to present “12 Years a Slave,” a brutally real and honest film that will leave you pondering it for days, if not for life.

That’s what good movies do—they leave you with an impression that you carry in your heart, mind and spirit forever. And for me in Telluride, the works presented at the Telluride Film Festival carry me through much of the year. I don’t mind getting most of my fix in one dose, especially when it’s one of such superlative quality. Film aficionados take note.

Thank you to Telluride Film Festival, Arun Nevader and Pamela Gentile for the use of the photos in this post.