SXSW GETS COVERED or The Fortune Cookie Diet, No Sunshine Rocks and British Soccer Thuggery
Posted by Robert Samardick on March 18, 2009 under Film Festival | 
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Before arriving in Austin I had banked on not paying for any food, just eating the free offerings in the press “suite”. When I discovered the only food it had was promotional fortune cookies and some dried up supplement bars, I realized my fuel for the next five days will be coffee and starch. This is a hell of a diet when heavy drinking is involved, sometimes during the screenings.
AWAY DAYS
This British movie is covered in punk rock, every inch of it has a song playing behind. The story follows Albert, a young man who must decide whether to follow the good path of jobs and house loans or…. the bad path. This is the path of being a member of a brutal soccer gang. Albert meets Elvis and begs to be inducted into the “crew”, a raincoat and Addidas wearing group of thugs who stay sharp by beating other fans to death and ingesting mountains of alcohol. Elvis takes an immediate liking to Albert yet tries to dissuade him from taking apart his lifestyle. Elvis thinks Albert is better than that, and throughout their repressively erotic friendship Elvis strives to make Albert give up his desire to be a violent thug.
What begins as a sex, drug and rock n roll film turns quickly into a look at how violence controls the lives of everyone. Away Days is fast and loud. Import it immediately, do some smack and have a showing for your friends. Then you can all go out and attack strangers. Yes, I totally missed the moral of the whole film.
BACK ON THE STREETS
The ghosts of St. Patrick’s day still litter the city. Men wearing green top hats stumble down the streets, looking lost. Bottles of hard alcohol lay deserted on street corners, in the trash. The music festival begins today, a perfect combination. Loud music and hangovers. This also brings in a huge number of tourists, foreigners who are way too damn giddy and are likely to be attacked by mobs still wasted from last night. It is a dangerous combination and the only place to hide is in the cool comfort of the Paramount Theater. The film festival is winding down but inside the theaters are still tons of people. Whether they are hiding from the heat or genuine film addicts is not certain. At least they all clap at the end.
STILL BILL
This film is incredible. After the audience was done wiping away their tears, they clapped and hooted throughout the credits. It was like seeing hardcore Spingsteen fans watching the Super Bowl performance. Except the music was much better.
Bill Withers is part legend- part unknown one hit wonder, depending on who you talk to. The man behind such r&b classics as “Just The Two Of Us” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” is the star of the film. What looks like a typical rockumentary bio pic is actually a much more intimate look at who he is. Instead of giving a corny synopsis of his life the film follows who he is now, and what made him that way. Withers has not released a song since 1985 after a huge fallout with the record industry. He claims to have no desire to record again but that statement is tested throughout the film, resulting in him going into the studio and getting down.
Withers is as emotional as he is strong. Hailing from a small town in Virginia, he was able to overcome chronic stuttering to become a huge icon. Withers is a charming devil, a dictionary of inspiration and just really cool to hang out with. You’ll clap along with the songs and reflect on the current state of the music industry. Withers is the ultimate artist, a man who cares little about fame and avoids it at all costs.
BACK ON THE BUS
On the bus a homeless vet rants. “I’M A GODDAMN VETERAN, I’M A GODDAMN TEXAN” He stumbles about the area, terrorizing the unfortunate travelers. They avert their eyes, try to blend in with the seats. The bum realizes his audience is gone. his eyes scan the bus. “I’M A GODDAMN CANNIBAL!” Everyone looks up and he laughs. He mumbles to himself about how to get attention then falls out the door. People laugh, no one is sure if he is one of the SXSW performances. He could be, who knows, he was goddamn entertaining. The lines have blurred, the real have become the showmen, the bus becomes a venue. And the festival rolls on.
TOMORROW: THE PRESS vs. THE BLOGGERS, MUSLIM POP MUSIC, GAMEBOY MUSIC, SUCK BY SUCKWEST, and MORE FILMS!
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