The SFIFF continues to showcase fascinating films from around the world. It ends soon (May 9th) so visit http://festival.sffs.org/ to get tickets to this week’s final screenings.
Computer Chess
(USA 2013, 91 min)
An existential satire of 1980’s computer technology and the burning topic (as it stood at the time) of human vs. computer, set against the backdrop of a small computer chess tournament. Devotion to an 80’s feel through cinematography, fashion, and hilarious social stigmas are definitely worth the viewing, though the film dives a bit unnecessarily into the psychedelic. It’s fun to see (and remember…if you’re old enough) how the computer geek culture has changed.
Google and the World Brain
(England/Spain 2012, 89 min)
This film traces the mission and legal ramifications of the Google Books project, in which the search giant attempted (and still does) to scan every book in existence into its database. We’re treated to a wide range of perspectives from all sides of the battle. The film does an outstanding job of presenting the background for one of the greatest predicaments of the digital revolution: where is the line drawn between copyright and public information?
Next Showing:
Sunday, May 5 at 6:30pm – Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
The Kings of Summer
(USA 2013, 93 min)
Beautifully shot and thematically diverse, this coming-of-age tale of three teens that spend a summer in their secretly constructed woodland cabin escape is quite the crowd-pleaser. Despite some over-the-top comical banter, the characters and story remain grounded in reality. The intelligent script from Chris Galletta combined with the inspired direction from relative newcomer Jordan Vogt-Roberts helps us identify closely with the emotional shifts that occur in each character as they’re broken down and slowly reconstructed.
