One of the pithiest summations of a recurring theme in this year’s SBIFF was articulated last night by a legendary figure who was unadvertised. That would be the enigmatic William Hurt, who, in his presentation of the Montecito Award to the great Isabelle Huppert, expressed his appreciation for the hosting organization. “This is the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, not the Isolationist Festival.”
Touche. The international aspect of the festival, and issues of government repression, immigrant-phobia and other hot-button topics make this year’s festival seem especially relevant and globally generous in outlook. Hurt went on to heap accolades on Huppert, and cited the importance of French cultural relations, in the film business and society, quoting French playwright and poet Pierre de la Montagne and Jimmy Cagney along the way. The recipient, an ever-articulate and thoughtful presence onstage, as she is captivating on screen, and looking smashing in a sparkling ensemble, seemed genuinely moved by Hurt’s speech, admitting, “I never thought I’d hear Montagne in Montecito.” Hmm, film title alert?
Speaking of cinematic voices from other lands, two of the strong films caught in yesterday’s schedule were from “over there” in old and older Europe — the Montenegro/Serbian film The Black Pin and Italy’s fascinating and refreshingly unusual/slightly experimental Indivisible, both well worth seeking out. Writer-director Ivan Marinovic has created a charming, funny, and bittersweet slice of Balkan village life with The Black Pin — so named for a provincial ceremony by which a witch is identified. A woman deemed by some as a witch has died, and the pending funeral, along with a real estate scheme subplot and a salty-tongued priest, keeps the screen buzzing in a contemporary-meets-folkoric way.
