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A FEAST FOR THE SENSES, A CHALLENGE FOR THE BRAIN. . .MAY 22, 23, 25 & 26 THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE In the confusion following a massive power outage, an awkward demolition derby Pieces of the mystery begin to come together as Turkeylegs sets out to find her Reviews: "It’s a real dream of a film." "No, really: Mad love for any movie that doesnt bat an eye at the idea of a disarmingly pretty, pregnant young woman with one broken arm getting behind the wheel at a demolition derby. Helmed by the restless cinematic mind behind previous MFF shorts favorites such as Hillbilly Robot and Knuckleface Jones, The Guatemalan Handshake is director Todd Rohals feature debut, and it bristles with his anarchic visual language, offbeat humor, ephemeral sense of narrative, circuitous character sketches, and freewheeling sense of mirth. Its also infused with an elusive but profound sense of sadness, as if something truly horrible lurks just outside of each frame or shortly in the future for each character. Set in a small Pennsylvania town near the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, Handshake follows its characters various searches for something. The towns slightly different local boy Donald (Will Oldham) chases after a dog and then mysteriously wanders off. His best friend, a 10-year-old girl named Turkeylegs (Katy Haywood), meanderingly looks for Donald following his disappearance. Donalds kinda/sorta girlfriend, Sadie (Sheila Scullin)the broken-armed, pregnant womanlooks for something, anything, and thinks she might find it in the annual demolition derby that her Guatemalan father usually wins. Donalds father (Ken Byrnes) looks for his electric car that Donald was last seen driving. And the skating-rink employee Stool (Rich Schreiber) looks for anybody he can call a friend or, better, girlfriend. Rohal illustrates this whimsical tale in visually vibrant vignettes, lending the movie a feel of inspired, interlocking short stories." “A film filled with surprises and rewards, Rohal mines a deep well to unlock a trove of ideas. Unforgettable images “A wonderfully exhilarating and strikingly original work.” "Invention and personality to spare...not to mention marvelous mysteries, quirky connections and cockeyed running gags that Rohal “Todd Rohal's wonderful debut feature, The Guatemalan Handshake, is more inventive in its first ten minutes “This Slamdance charmer looks like a throwback to the days before Sex, Lies and Videotape ushered in an era where "One of the coolest and most original indies of the last year." "The Guatemalan Handshake captures the feel of a good childhood summer, full of summer camps, carnivals, lightning bugs, rope-swing swimming, fireworks, roller-skating, and demolition derbies. At first glance, the plot is not entirely obvious, but on further examination, all of the pieces to the puzzle are there but just need to be put together. It puts the audience in a warm comfortable place where everything might not be right, but there is a sense of joy, humor and adventure in working towards making things better. It is a film full of awkwardness and blissful confusion that is likely to draw comparisons to not-so-similar films like Welcome to the Dollhouse and Napoleon Dynamite, and is the sort of feature-debut that suggests another seat might soon be needed at the table with the likes of Malick, Solondz, and Lynch." "If Napoleon Dynamite taught you that your friends are all gullible saps, this comedy of disconnect offers a good counterpoint. Director Todd Rohal spikes the quirkiness of his Technicolor dork saga with genuine Gummo-style weirdness, and justifies the randomness with well-executed, deeply felt ideas." AND REMEMBER! 50% OF THE PROCEEDS GO STRAIGHT TO THE FILMMAKERS!
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The Renting Room (2002)