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justindavidtuttle
Reviews
Born in a Ballroom (2019)
Powerful and captivating film with beautiful scenery and visual backdrop
Reviewed by Justin Tuttle. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.
Played to a packed house for it's World Premier, Born in the Ballroom was my favorite film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) 2020. It was a moving, touching, beautifully and professionally crafted film about a special matriarch, Eleanor Mailloux (affectionally called Mütter) and the lives she touched of those around her. Born in a Ballroom was directed and written by Jonathan Lacocque and Clara Lehmann. Clara Lehmann also appears in the movie as an actress, as Mütter is her late grandmother.
Set in the small Appalachian town of Helvetia, West Virginia (population 59), the movie centers around The Hütte, a restaurant that Eleanor Mailloux (hereinafter Mütter) founded. Helvetia was settled by Swiss immigrants and still to this day carries on many traditions brought over from Switzerland. The Hütte incorporates many authentic recipes which draws guests to the restaurant from far and wide to the restaurant. Mütter's family home caught on fire the night she was born. Her family found shelter in a neighbor's home and she was "born in the ballroom" of that home. In a way, her interesting birth story emulates the interesting life she was to lead.
Through the adept use of old photographs, vintage film, interviews of family and townspeople, and footage taken during the working restaurant, filmmakers Jonathan Lacoque and Clara Lehmann weave together a film that by the end makes you feel closely connected to Mütter as if she was your own special grandmother and her family as if they were your own. The filmmakers used special touches to create an inviting feel that draws you into the film. For instance, when showing vintage film, they used an old Zenith TV framed by books and an antique bottle to make it appear one was watching through that TV. The filmmakers took special care during interviews to not only draw out and edit in meaningful dialogue, they used depth of field techniques to subtly blur the backgrounds out to keep the focus of attention on the subject. I found that other techniques such as filming an image reflected off a mirror differentiated the movie from other documentaries giving it a more dramatic feature film feel. It is also noteworthy to mention that the filmmakers used different visual cues to note different moments of the story. For instance, during a scene when Clara is recounting Mütter's death, there is footage taken down low from blades of grass up to the sky as well as footage of fog hanging over the valley and town. Combined with those subtle cues of passing time coupled with Clara's words tugged at the movie viewers heart strings. When Clara cried, some of those in the audience also cried.
I had the chance to listen to Jonathan Lacocque and Clara Lehmann share about their story and professional background during a SBIFF filmmakers panel as well as a post viewing Question and Answer session. I have a feeling we will be seeing more from them in the years to come.
I highly recommend this film and hope it is released to a wider audience so that more moviegoers can feel a part of this story and see the work of such up and coming filmmakers.
Finding Farideh (2018)
Captivating story
Reviewed by Justin Tuttle. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.
I highly recommend seeing this movie. I had the chance to view this at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) for the United States premier of the film. Shown to a packed house, the movie is a compelling, emotionally gripping movie that pulls at your heart strings as Farideh (actress Eline Farideh Koning) seeks to find her birth parents in Iran after being adopted and raised as a child by a Dutch couple. The journey to find her birth parents was especially poignant because as a transnational adoptee she never really fit in either with her adopted family or her schoolmates (who bullied her for looking different).
Finding Farideh, a documentary, was directed by Kourosh Ataee (From Iran, A Separation) and Asadeh Moussavi (Discharged). It was written by Kourosh Ataee, Eline Farideh Koning, and Azadeh Moussavi. The sole cast member was Eline Farideh Koning (herein referred to Farideh). It was shot on location in Iran and the Netherlands. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
The movie chronicles Farideh's journey to find her birth parents. As noted, Farideh never felt like she fit in socially in Denmark. She also had an uneasy relationship with her adoptive parents and brother. She learned that she was adopted out of an orphanage in Mashad, Iran after being left in a public square. Prior to the trip she reaches out online, describing her background to see if anyone thinks they are her family. In an very interesting twist that really adds to the character and storyline of the movie, three separate families believe she may be related to them. When she arrives in Mashad, Iran she has all three families greet her in an emotional meeting. They then go get DNA tested to see who, if any are related to her. The DNA tests take one month to analyze and during the month we learn each of the families painful story of their reasons for why a female infant was adopted out. These included poverty and a kidnapping by an ex spouse. One of the potential birth mothers was especially convinced Farideh was her long lost daughter. Through sobbing tears upon seeing Farideh, she noted many similar physical similarities and was convinced she was her long lost daughter she had been grieving over. She described a life of anguish over her baby girl being snatched and spirited away by her abusive ex husband. In a way I couldn't help but hold out hope that she was the one who was indeed Farideh's birth mother.
In an especially touching and poignant scene, Farideh visits the actually orphanage in which she was adopted from. She is filmed in a room playing and interacting with young toddlers that were her age. I couldn't help but think this was a circle of life moment. Farideh had expressed a desire of having children and it dawned on me how amazing that would be if she herself someday adopted one of the children needing good homes.
Many tears were shed both by Farideah as well as myself during this movie. I found myself identifying with the pain felt by Farideh and watched with anticipation to find out who, if anyone, she was related to and if she could find some peace, healing, and reconciliation from the experience. Besides the compelling acting, of significance to me were the beautiful scenes shot in Iran giving me a feel for being there and what it would be like to travel and meet the people of the country.
Farideh spoke after the movie as well as during a filmmakers panel. I had the pleasure of speaking with her and talking about her story and life. I shared with her how this movie for me was topical given the current tenuous political climate between Iran and the US. By seeing regular Iranian citizens engaged in the same trials and tribulations of daily life, this humanized them to me inopposite of the picture painted in the news. Unfortunately, due to the travel ban, the producers and writers still living in Iran were not able to attend and it would have been nice to talk with them as well.
Again, I would recommend this movie. Especially to those that enjoy real life situations and are not simply looking for a feel good, happy go lucky movie.
Eline Farideh Koning at SBIFF, US premier, 1/18/20
The Delicacy (2020)
Fascinating story about the Santa Barbara sea urchin fishery
Reviewed by Justin Tuttle. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.
The Delicacy provides a very interesting and fascinating look into the Santa Barbara sea urchin fishing culture. I highly recommend this movie for anyone interested in marine biology in general and certainly if you live in Santa Barbara and want to learn more about our unique fishing heritage. As someone who has previously lived on a boat in the Santa Barbara harbor and interacted with commercial fishermen, this film was acutely alluring to me.
Directed by Jason Wise (Somm; Wait for Your Laugh), The main stars include Sea Urchin fishermen Jim Marshall, Stephanie Mutz, and Harry Liquornick. It also culinary TV personality Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern). The movie is primarily shot on location in and around Santa Barbara, California and includes the use of historical footage to provide depth to the storyline.
The story starts off recounting the history of commercial abalone fishing, how it collapsed from overfishing and was ultimately shut down in 1997. The film introduces some of the colorful sea faring characters plying for abalone during that time including a man named Jim Robinson (who becomes one of the dramatic story lines later in the movie). Fortunately, given the similar method of harvesting the abalone, fishermen were able to pivot and start harvesting sea urchins which had a huge demand from Asian markets. The movie also delved into the inherent dangers of this trade. The movie was shot entirely on film which gave the movie a certain richness in color which made it visually stunning for both the underwater scenes as well as the backdrop of the Channel Islands. The movie explored more sustainable practices developed by Elizabeth Mutz and her partner Harry Liquournick. Ms. Mutz, is an academically trained marine biologist and the only female sea urchin fisherman in California. She sidestepped the traditional practice of selling urchins to processors and directly takes them to some of the best restaurants in California. It was especially interesting to watch the sea urchins plucked from the water to later being beautifully prepared and placed on a plate at a high end restaurant.
The film debuted as a world premier at the Santa Barbara Film Festival (SBIFF) 2020. Following the showing, Director Jason Wise and actress Stephanie Mutz had a Q&A session moderated by SBIFF programming director Michael Albright. Mr. Wise discussed his film background and stated that while difficult to shoot nature documentaries on film, it "makes it look like a memory immediately" which I agree. Ms. Mutz gave background into the industry and explained that her business model is environmentally sustainable as they can harvest less urchins but make more money.
The filmmakers did a solid job of not falling into the trap of many documentaries wherein they follow the subject around with a camera and then make it a film. They used historical footage, solid interviews, and visual beauty to put together a compelling story line that drew the audience in. This was a combination of excellent directing, editing, and cinematography as well as the film medium itself.
Reviewed by Justin Tuttle. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.
The Delicacy provides a very interesting and fascinating look into the Santa Barbara sea urchin fishing culture. I highly recommend this movie for anyone interested in marine biology in general and certainly if you live in Santa Barbara and want to learn more about our unique fishing heritage. As someone who has previously lived on a boat in the Santa Barbara harbor and interacted with commercial fishermen, this film was acutely alluring to me.
Directed by Jason Wise (Somm; Wait for Your Laugh), The main stars include Sea Urchin fishermen Jim Marshall, Stephanie Mutz, and Harry Liquornick. It also culinary TV personality Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern). The movie is primarily shot on location in and around Santa Barbara, California and includes the use of historical footage to provide depth to the storyline.
The story starts off recounting the history of commercial abalone fishing, how it collapsed from overfishing and was ultimately shut down in 1997. The film introduces some of the colorful sea faring characters plying for abalone during that time including a man named Jim Robinson (who becomes one of the dramatic story lines later in the movie). Fortunately, given the similar method of harvesting the abalone, fishermen were able to pivot and start harvesting sea urchins which had a huge demand from Asian markets. The movie also delved into the inherent dangers of this trade. The movie was shot entirely on film which gave the movie a certain richness in color which made it visually stunning for both the underwater scenes as well as the backdrop of the Channel Islands. The movie explored more sustainable practices developed by Elizabeth Mutz and her partner Harry Liquournick. Ms. Mutz, is an academically trained marine biologist and the only female sea urchin fisherman in California. She sidestepped the traditional practice of selling urchins to processors and directly takes them to some of the best restaurants in California. It was especially interesting to watch the sea urchins plucked from the water to later being beautifully prepared and placed on a plate at a high end restaurant.
The film debuted as a world premier at the Santa Barbara Film Festival (SBIFF) 2020. Following the showing, Director Jason Wise and actress Stephanie Mutz had a Q&A session moderated by SBIFF programming director Michael Albright. Mr. Wise discussed his film background and stated that while difficult to shoot nature documentaries on film, it "makes it look like a memory immediately" which I agree. Ms. Mutz gave background into the industry and explained that her business model is environmentally sustainable as they can harvest less urchins but make more money.
The filmmakers did a solid job of not falling into the trap of many documentaries wherein they follow the subject around with a camera and then make it a film. They used historical footage, solid interviews, and visual beauty to put together a compelling story line that drew the audience in. This was a combination of excellent directing, editing, and cinematography as well as the film medium itself.