Following The Path: The 2009 Santa Barbara Film Festival

The Santa Barbara Film Festival continued to bring the best of the crop to the American Riviera. The parties still played in small contingents because of the status of the economy but within the structure offered a better perception of the reason to be there: the films. Despite this, the structure, coupled with the onslaught of NAPTE, made film watching a little more challenging while maintaining schedules.Penelope Cruz: Performer Of The Year With her razor sharp performance, Cruz continued her persistence of vision which has already sustained her in recent years with her strong presence in Pedro Almodovar's films among others. Deemed "The Enchantress" by Executive Director Roger Durling during his discussion with her at the tribute, she lives by the creed to go against type...and she will always make films in her homeland. Josh Brolin who presented Cruz with the award talked about the paradox of it: "For this, it is not for me. It is for Penelope. And I love that it is not for me. I get to focus on someone else and what an adorable person to focus on". Cruz herself talked about the adulation associated with a nomination and people showering her with praise: "I just need to take a moment and not get too obsessed with it. I just want to enjoy it.". Later that night at an art deco structure up on a hill outside Summerland, the twinkling of the offshore lights permeates as drinks and deals are discussed in shadow and light. As the music inside picks up the beat, the upstairs VIP swirls with vodka as poses are made and looks exchanged into the heat of the night.The Jurors At the Penelope Cruz tribute, two actors acting as jurors from different backgrounds talked about their different approaches to this new angle of their professional lives. Rodrigo Santoro, best known for his turn as the Persian King in "300", says: "Today I was in a movie theater at 8am watching a film. I have never done that before. It is a little weird because you have to position yourself as a little more analyzing than being lost in it." By comparison, Efren Ramirez, best known to many as Pedro in "Napoleon Dynamite" had a more subtle perception having worked the festival circuit on previous films: "There is always a big divide between studio pictures and pictures that are good for the art. Being at a film festival, it is done for the art and the edge. I have seen six films already and two of them are very out there creatively. I think these are the new [artists] to see how far they can experiment and explore".

Woman In Berlin This foreign film plays somewhat along the lines of "Black Book" with less panache. Granted the acting by the lead Nina Hoss is still undeniably good as is the man who plays a Soviet general who invades Berlin during WWII. The movie examines the plight of survival (of women mostly) and the psychological warfare that took place in maintaining. Most of it is a lot more intense than necessary because, despite some high stakes, the follow through in terms of repercussions is fairly static. But again that is reality since war operates that way as well.$9.99 This stop motion film which hovers between the adult and child-like worlds does not know where it quite needs to be placed. It needed to jump into one side of the pool and go for the gold. The different specs of thought including an redeemed angel who is just as much of a snob as he was in life and a man who shaves all his hair on his way to becoming a quite different trophy for his model girlfriend has ideas that seem to spin out of control. The eventual redemption of the characters through self help books that sell for the above mentioned price just seems to reduce the progression to simple mathematics.

Modern Master Award: Clint Eastwood With a distinct air, jumping over a guard rail through a bunch of fans behind presenter Sean Penn, Eastwood does know how to make an entrance. Up close at his age, the man is still virile in spades and seems fairly humble. He is a movie making machine and shows no signs of slowing down. Even with recent films like "Gran Torino" and "The Changeling", he hit two significant strides. "Gran Torino" was a film he could not pass up and made it in Detroit. Watching some old spaghetti westerns clips, specifically a scene in total silence where he keeps shooting Van Cleef's hat around, you can see that at times he has had as much influence on film making at a more subtle level as such luminaries with names like Chaplin. When he directed his first movie "Play Misty For Me", he said he just walked in and asked Universal studio head Lew Wasserman if he could direct. Wasserman said yes. Wasserman then called back in Eastwood's agent saying he would have to do it for no money.Eastwood is on a winning streak and despite not being Oscar nominated for his two films this year, this coming year looks bright as he is about to start work on a film on Mandela in South Africa starring his old friend Morgan Freeman as the iconic leader in a role he was born to play. Sean Penn came up on stage to give the director that steered him to his first Oscar the tribute. Penn, as always in close proximity, has great humor which is sometimes lost in the press. The after parties for the Modern Master were split and seem to work on a better level at times than past years because the relaxation factor seemed to play into effect. The after party for people who wanted to mingle was held at the Harbor Restaurant at The Wharf where secluded booths looked out over the darkened beach as views of all things lovely were painted through lighted then dark aquariums. The VIP Party held late in a smaller venue next to the Palace off State had Eastwood leaving as we arrived around 12:30 with Penn staying a little later as the crab claws, luscious in their bouyancy were consumed and Jameson was toasted.American Riviera Award: Mickey Rourke After Moroccan food was celebrated in earnest, the Arlington played host to Mickey Rourke who with sitting up on stage for nearly two hours showed that his penchant has indeed changed somewhat. He attempted to explain his removal from the acting life that seemed so his. He was accepted into the Strasberg Studio and admits at times to following around Al Pacino. No wonder his greatest praise is attached to buoyancy Ford Coppola who he had a chance to work with in "Rumble Fish". Looking at his early 80s films and having talked to Mickey recently one on one for "The Wrestler", one can see regret surely but the work still remains. Michael Cimino also is painted as a necessary impression on the young Rourke. Mickey's first on screen appearance was in the infamous "Heaven's Gate". Rourke recalls a moment where Cimino yelled in his face and reduced him privately to tears. This indicates the tremendously vulnerability that this man has and the honesty he has to share it. Rourke regards that he got into acting because he really wasn't very good at thug life in Miami where he was trapped at times during what he calls the "Scarface" days. He went to NY with no money and ended up rooming with someone that was different than he was. He says that when he started acting he was working as a bouncer at a transsexual club in Manhattan. Mickey's life story is nothing if not colorful and has the makings of a movie itself.Rourke says he started to become upset at the system with "Year Of The Dragon" because the film was completely shunned by critics who just wanted to rip into Director Cimino for bankrupting MGM with "Heaven's Gate". The reality is that there are some moments in "Dragon" that are utterly beautiful especially one of Mickey breaking on a stoop in Brooklyn. The crucifixion of the movie is unfounded. But the shunning of that movie and of Cimino hit Mickey hard to the point that he literally checked out. There is the story that he was hardly there on "Angel Heart" but he said working with Alan Parker and Robert De Niro was something he couldn't pass up. Certain roles past then become blurry for him despite interesting forays like "Barfly", "Homeboy" and "Johnny Handsome" that never quite clicked with audiences. Surprisingly after committing himself to the boxing ring which destroyed his looks, it was Coppola that gave him a olive branch with "The Rainmaker". Sean Penn, also a friend, also gave him a key role in "The Pledge". He says that the comeback came but it took 14 years because he had burned every bridge.In terms of future roles, he says the talk of "Sin City 2" is just talk but depends on Rodriguez because Rourke admits that the makeup was hell. "Iron Man 2" is still talk with nothing sealed. Rourke is hot again but he seems to be playing it loose. As he told me back in December, he wants to have as close to an experience that he had on "The Wrestler" with Darren Aronofsky with his future projects. The problem is that that ideal doesn't always come to pass. But hopefully he can maintain some semblance of it. One of the great joys and surprises of the night was that Francis Ford Coppola came down from Northern California personally to give Mickey the award. You could tell from the surprise on his face that Mickey might not have known. That giddiness was there and it was really good to see that.The after parties came in reverse first stopping by the VIP Party which was slightly bigger than the Clint Eastwood shindig. This took place in First American on State. The dancing continued as Coppola relaxed in the forward area completely at ease on a couch as the 80s music seemed to reverberate. As the late night entered and Mickey left the enclosed back area, the toasts continues as a white dress turned in view. State & A continued from the main party late night as Firestone warmed under the heat lamps, quietly assuming its place.Closing Night After the documentary "Yes Madam Sir" won a bevy of awards at an morning ceremony as the Fess Parker Doubletree, a quick LA jaunt was needed before the closing elements of the festival were created. After a Deschutes hit the spot at Epiphany and a pirate skull spoke to the women, "Lightbulb", the closing night film, spoke of the ideas that need to be pursued and those that don't depending of the situation. At the after party at Soho, as the wind picked up, cigars were lit and the cast of characters joined the show. As the dancing continued inside from a waived vantage point, the year's prospect came into focus as stories were told and lives exchanged.