Festival

Michelle and I had the opportunity to attend a film as part of the Portland International Film Festival on Friday, and it was really an interesting experience. The Festival runs for about 2 1/2 weeks every February, and I believe this was the 31st incarnation of it. Films are shown in several participating theatres in downtown Portland during the evenings and all day on weekends. The theater that we attended was actually below street level, which was kind of cool in and of itself, as when we were coming and going we could look up through the lobby and see people walking outside on the street above.

Anyway, we saw an Argentinan film called "La Antena," or "The Aerial" in English (although, I think a more literal translation of "The Antenna", would have been more appropriate). The film was billed as an animation/live action mashing with homage to Tim Burton and several Hispanic directors. The plot revolved around a city whose residents had had their voices stolen by a powerful man known as Mr. TV. So when they spoke in the film, instead of a voice being projected into the theater, there was no sound but the actual text of what they said exiting their mouths and floating around onscreen (in Spanish). It was an interesting concept to be sure, and definitely a fascinating visual style. So anyway, Mr. TV was plotting to steal peoples' words as well, leaving them unable to communicate, and I won't spoil what happens in case you want to see it.

Michelle had a stronger knowledge of Argentinian/South American history that helped to appreciate the plot more, but I understood its meaning once she gave me a bit of background. But it was nevertheless fun to feel like we were part of the Festival crowd, even if only for a night. I'm told that on many of the films, people involved with the production are on hand to field questions after the screening, but that was not the case in ours. If you have the opportunity to attend a film festival, I highly recommend it as a fun and interesting night out.