Inside: The Santa Fe Film Festival

Puppets in stop motion are Charlie Kaufman's depiction of what it means to be alone

Of the many films that will open at this year’s iteration of the Santa Fe Film Festival, there are perhaps none with more buzz than the special kickoff event for Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa. What began in 2005 as a staged radio play starring David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Tom Noonan (Heat, Damages) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Welcome to Me, The Hudsucker Proxy) has evolved. It’s been reimagined, mounted a successful Kickstarter campaign, has been rewritten and remade over a period of two years as a stop-motion animation film.

Anomalisa follows middle-aged author Michael Stone (Thewlis) as he faces the crushing realities of loneliness and regret while on a business trip to read from his new book on customer service to a group of customer service professionals. It's just about as mundane as it comes, but what begins as a run-of-the-mill series of experiences like taking a cab, checking into a hotel or ordering room service soon unfolds into the chilling and unsettling realization that every single person Michael encounters, be they man, woman or child, is the same person. Literally. He is so very alone, but this isolation makes a sort of sense. He is dismissive to his wife and son via telephone, he is awkward and impatient with well-meaning drivers and bellboys, he holds on to a weathered and time-wrinkled "Fuck you" letter from a lost love—Michael is surely an asshole. But the concept that his loneliness translates into a world where everyone has the same face and voice is introduced so subtly and so casually that the first few times, we think that's what is happening. It seems more likely that our minds are playing a trick on us; every single person Michael meets is voiced by Noonan, who somehow manages to hold onto a similar vocal cadence while giving each character a seemingly different persona.

"It's a metaphor for the kind of experience we have in not being able to connect with people," writer/co-director Kaufman tells SFR. "It wasn't our intention to be shocking, though…If that was our intention, we would have gone very cartoony, for something that looked like kid's animation but that would make you think, 'Oh my God! This is not for kids.'"

And then Michael hears a new voice amongst the rabble: Lisa (Leigh). He is immediately obsessed with the very plain woman and begins to feel for the first time in ages that he is perhaps not alone. Together, they interact in awkward yet realistically flawed and human ways, which is juxtaposed starkly against the stop-motion world they inhabit and the bizarre design of the puppets. Lisa sings Cyndi Lauper to Michael, whose tearful reaction to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is one of the most touching moments in recent film and gives a new weight to the kicky new wave classic. There is a sex scene that might usually be construed as bizarre, given the medium, but the technical prowess of the stop-motion team behind Anomalisa actually presents the inherent weirdness in oral sex as well as the ultimate carnal act with a quiet and reserved dignity that most human actors can't achieve with the same gravitas. Certainly these are puppets, but they've been built so realistically and brought to life so convincingly by their actors that we almost forget they aren't really human.

Santa Fe Film Festival liaison Chris McCarty, who is also not sure what his title means, takes credit for bringing the film to the attention of festival organizers.

"After I read Kristopher Tapley's Variety article on Anomalisa, I called him at his office and told him about our great festival," McCarty says. "At my request, he got in touch with Paramount Pictures, and we now have Anomalisa as our opening-night special presentation."

It's a lot to take in, but the dull pang of emptiness permeates every scene, constantly reminding us that this could just as easily be our own lives, and the brilliant use of stop motion serves to not only add artistic flair, but to provide a much-needed buffer between our own insecurities and how they might be mirrored by Michael's legitimately terrifying existence. But if the subtext of loneliness is the confusion consistent with the inability to connect, then Kaufman's newest film may just be his best work yet.

Gimme 5

A lazy guide to hitting the festival highlights

For five glorious days beginning Thursday, Santa Fe is transformed into a cinephile’s dream as the Santa Fe Film Festival takes over the theaters and dozens of films are shown. That’s not even mentioning the panel discussions, after-parties, galas, dinners and so forth. But your time is precious, we all get that, and it’s hard to pick exactly which movies to check out. Don’t sweat it, film nerds, because the fine folks behind the scenes are here with five of their personal picks. Please note these aren’t endorsements of any kind, they’re just great flicks as chosen by the festival brass. Use the information wisely, because you can’t see ’em all.

Amy

The tragic tale of singer Amy Weinhouse’s meteoric rise to musical fame and ultimate death at the hands of addiction, this British documentary has generated no small amount of chatter since it was announced. It’s a tale that’s much deeper than “Rehab.” According to festival hostess Kieren Sequioa, “It’s the kind of powerful and important movie that I think speaks to the artistic demographic.”

6:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 3
Violet Crown Cinema
1606 Alcaldesa St., 216-5678

Mask Director’s Cut

Peter Bogdanovich directed the true story of Roy “Rocky” Dennis, a young man living with an extremely rare disorder called craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. With unforgettable performances from Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott and Cher, Mask will remind you that you do indeed believe in life after love…or at least you’ll try to remember that age-old adage about book covers and being a judgmental dick. “A lot of people from younger generations maybe haven’t seen this film, but it’s a powerful and important story,” festival liaison Cathy Stoia points out.

12:30 pm Friday, Dec. 4
Center for Contemporary Arts
1050 Old Pecos Trail,
982-1338


Men & Chicken

A Danish black comedy starring David Dencik (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Hannibal), Men & Chicken has picked up a reputation as a movie that is not only authentic in its take on the hardships of family, but as an absolutely wickedly funny take on brotherhood.

“There’s a good deal of physical humor in this film, but also existential pondering,” SFFF Board President Omar Hamid says.

6 pm Friday, Dec. 4
Violet Crown Cinema
1606 Alcaldesa St.,
216-5678


Raiders!

Budding filmmakers Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala probably never thought their shot-for-shot fan version of the Speilberg classic, Raiders of the Lost Ark, would ever be seen by the world, but when the movie happened to be screened publically some years ago in Austin, it became an instant cult hit. This doc follows Strompolos and Zala’s process as well as the infamous filming of the airplane scene that took over 20 years to accomplish.

“This is the perfect thing for film fans,” Hamid adds. “We’ll also be screening the film they actually made.”

6:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 6
Violet Crown Cinema
1606 Alcaldesa St.,
216-5678

The Last Picture Show

The second Bogdanovich film to appear on this list, The Last Picture Show hearkens back to a time when the story was the thing in the world of film. Based on the Larry McMurtry novel of the same name, we follow a group of teens in the ’50s who come to terms with their own identities as they grapple with life in a podunk town. Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won Oscars for their roles. Even better is how a young Jeff Bridges acted his way into our lives and our hearts as Duane Jackson. Ask anyone who is knowledgeable about movies, and this one is almost always on their list.

“The landscape of film has obviously changed since this one,” board advisor Brian Espinoza says. “But this is filmmaking at its very best.”

Bogdanovich himself will be on hand to discuss the movie.

6:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 6
Violet Crown Cinema
1606 Alcaldesa St.,
216-5678

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