Fourth Row Center

Today we attended four films at the Seattle International Film Festival, starting with a mediocre film at the Secret Cinema before moving on to the Neptune Theater for the rest of the day. In Rescue Dawn, the true story of Dieter Dangler, director Werner Hertzog weaves a tense, nail-biting story of a US Navy airman shot down in Laos during the Vietnam conflict. Dangler is captured and imprisoned and quickly sets about planning an escape. Deplorable conditions in the camp are made worse by famine, and when the camp guards begin running out of food and plot to kill their prisoners, Dangler acts. Christian Bale is riveting as Dangler in a performance marked by the actor's dramatic weight loss in the third act. (Bale also shed 60 pounds for 2004's The Machinist .) We spent the evening enjoying two films from France: the anticipated comedy My Best Friend from director Patrice Laconte and the thriller Them , which was at times so creepy that people were literally jumping out of the...

On my first day at the Seattle International Film Festival I jumped right in with a dark comedy from the Netherlands called Waiter . Described as being Charlie Kaufman-esque, with overtones of The Purple Rose of Cairo thrown in for good measure, this black comedy follows the tedious life of Edgar, a beleaguered waiter who is put upon by his abusive customers, his ailing wife, his unpredictable girlfriend, his unreliable co-worker, and his grossly inconsiderate neighbors (who happen to be with the mob), and generally by life itself. Edgar's existence is miserable, and apparently more self-aware than we realize, he storms into the home of the film's screenwriter demanding a change of luck and better lines. The writer complies, but to a point. The writer's girlfriend has other ideas, and tinkers with the film's screenplay resulting in not only chaos but a near revolt from other characters in the film-within-a-film. Waiter was dark without becoming bleak, and at times upro...

The Seattle International Film Festival is screening more than 400 films this year in seven venues across Seattle, requiring the avid festival-goer to navigate from Capital Hill to Downtown to the University District to Seattle Center to the East Side. There are plenty of movies to see, and a good deal of time is spent moving from place to place or standing in line. After many years attending the film festival I have developed something of a Film Festival Survivor Kit. A sampling of the items I will always have with me: The Festival Guide. This indispensable volume provides not only information about the festival and its venues, but details on each film showcased. And during the occasional waiting period it's nice to have something to read. Kleenex and lozenges. I have a cold. Mints. Sunglasses, my Sundance pocket umbrella. Standing in line for good seats outside the Egyptian or Neptune Theaters (one needs to arrive early to ensure one is comfortably settled in at fourth row center...

I like survival stories in a world changed by a cataclysmic event. It is what has always drawn me to movies such as Romero's Dead Films. Dawn of the Dead is not the best acted film in the world, it is not even the best written film. But the thought of living in a ruined world populated by the Dead fascinates me. 28 Weeks Later , the sequel to 28 Days Later, starts off running. Literally. The Zombies of 28 are a different breed than Romero's. They are the result of an infection known as the Rage Virus. Once bitten(the virus is transmitted by saliva or blood), a person becomes infected in a matter of seconds. Also, unlike Romero, they do not shamble along. They run. And they run fast. But apparently, if you cut off (or consume) the food supply, they eventually starve to death and die. And that is what has happened. The virus was contained to England, and the US has set up a green zone where repatriation can begin for Britons lucky enough to be out of the country when the virus...