film festival!

I was privy to a most unusual film festival a few weeks ago. This was a two-week celebration of the odd, the rare, and the quirky. The Psychotronic Film Festival boasted ten such films, as diverse in subject matter as in country of origin. Alas, I was unable to see all of them, due to schedule conflicts mostly, but I thouroughly enjoyed the six I attended. The first I saw was actually the second night's feature, a British film, later developed into a tv show, titled after the professor at its center. "Quatermass and The Pit," out in 1967 in its mother country, changed its name to "Five Million Years To Earth" for its US debut a year later. This bit of science fiction was full of the xenophobia all the rage in that day, tempered by the presence of a single female scientist. Interesting, defnitely.
The fourth film of the series, and my second, was a comedic farce about sex. A local (i.e., from the States) movie, "Scenes From The Class Struggle In Beverly Hills" had the misfortune of being released in 1989 shortly after the death of one of its featured young actresses. What a shame! The movie is hilarious, tracking the sexual escapades of its two male leads as two households are merged for a brief time. if you get a chance, track it down and enjoy a few laughs! This was a fitting note to end my first week of the festival.
On the first night of the PFF's second, and final, week, "Bare Knuckles" was to have been the feature, a macho, physical, 1970's flick. That was not to be, but our intrepid host managed a bit of last-minute mojo to offer "The Night Of The Juggler" in its stead. Released in 1980, this one still had a 1970's feel to it, as well as an incredible car chase with Mandy Patinkin as the cabby giving James Brolin advice while they, literally, "follow that car!" One scene, in particular, persists in my mind: as Brolin's character is listening to his ex-wife whine, he flips his mane of hair away from his face and looks into the camera. Classic move!
The next night was actaully a film I had seen before, many years ago whilst a student in Tallahassee. That town boasted an art cinema in one of its malls and "Tampopo", a Japanese film, debuted there in 1987. Starring a young woman trying to make a go of her noodle shop and the men who set about helping her, the story is delightful and guaranteed to make you want to rush out to your nearest Japanese restaurant. Thank God I had the sense to eat ramen soup before the show - this time!
The next evening I missed, as I was working, but I did catch the last two films in the festival. Both were science fiction, both were comedies, and both were just my cup of tea! "Tomorrow I'll Wake Up And Scald Myself With Tea" hailed from Czechoslavakia, circa 1977, and was a cult classic. Time travel has a big part in this one, with many laughs, despite a scratchy disc. The protagonist figures out how to use the time matrix in his favor, along with the incredible blue cleaning agent that I would dearly love to have! I would see this again any time!
"Spider Baby, or The Maddest Story Ever Told" finished out the festival with an upbeat night. Starring Lon Chaney in a comedic turn as the caretaker of three odd orphans, the film is definitely quirky and was a great way to close out ten nights of such fare. Thanks, Jim!