I was walking out of the Ryerson gym last Thursday evening at about 10:30, and there was a line outside the Ryerson Theatre stretching down about 1/3 of the block. I had never seen a rush line for a Film Festival screening that long before. Later on I found it is was the screening for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan at midnight. Sacha Cohen apparently arrived as Borat. I would have lined up if I knew!
Saturday I went to check out 2 films, Adrian Grenier’s Shot in the Dark and a Korean film called Family Ties. The first film was made before Grenier became famous in HBO’s Entourage, and is about his journey to reconnect with his biological father. It’s gives the audience a chance to see a very vulnerable Grenier and his reconnection with his long-lost father. It’s very surprising to see how similar they are, even though they hadn’t seen each other in 18 years. And yes ladies, he was there after the screening to answer questions.
The second film was also very good, showing us how members of various dysfunctional families can come together to form their very own new family. It was filled with anger and resentment and you could feel it in your chest throughout the viewing, yet it was touching at the same time.