Labyrinth (1986)

Why it's here:
We already know David Bowie as a singer with incredible presence; it seems right to check out his presence as an actor. He doesn't disappoint!

Specs:
Just over an hour and a half; PG

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.7

More about the film and our reaction to it:
My 15 year old gave this a high compliment when he said, "this film surprised me. I really liked it." That's as good as I can expect from anyone these days and clicked with me, because I felt the same way.

Of course it is heavily steeped in 80s weird funk, but it is good. And I've now seen, time and again, that good movies can really transcend their date-trappings.  We noticed many transcendent themes in this film that make it a classic story of adventure and the comforts of home and stability. In fact, in large part, it seems to have borrowed plot and purpose from the Wizard of Oz. There are also numerous parallels to the story of Alice in Wonderland and even Harry Potter.  It is a classic fantasy tale told with high-level production values for its time.

The only human actors to have any appreciable screen time are Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie and they are both extremely solid. Connelly plays a teenager who wishes for (and then gets) more adventure. Bowie plays her evil nemesis -- the Goblin King -- i.e. the guy who's taken her baby brother. The Goblin King is shadowy, unknown and unknowable; he is mysterious and amorphous; he is compelling and repulsive. And Bowie is perfect in the role. He shows the screen presence we were expecting and the acting chops we were not. Connelly, too, is admirable here. She is understated, unflappable, direct and shows very little teenage primping and posing. Pretty amazing, really.

The animations, muppets and special effects are very enjoyable if you watch with the right attitude. Don't expect modern CGI, just high-end visual effects circa 1986. There is a lot of "technology" going on in the production and, at times feel it feels a bit cluttered. But it is all cool and in fun. Near the end when Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie and the baby are scrambling around on an Escher drawing come to life, the effect is extremely well done and very cool. Overall, the effects add greatly to the whimsical fantasy story and the feel of the film is etherial and entrancing.


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Back to the Future (1985)

Why it's here:
It slipped in at the last minute. We've seen the film before, so I wasn't going to include it in the festival, but right when our family was smack in the middle of the 1980s, the local art-house movie theater scheduled a showing of this film on the big screen. Unfortunately, I had to work!, but my family attended the screening and had a blast.

Specs:
2 hours; PG

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
8.1

More about the film and our reaction to it:
Well... I wasn't there. So I guess that means I don't have to write about it...? I can just tell you this: my family came home jazzed up and gabbing -- both unusual occurrences.  They already knew that loved the film; but what they really loved was seeing it on the big screen. Any opportunity to see a great film from the past in the theater should really be seized.

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The Gods Must be Crazy (1984)

Why it's here:
I remember watching this quirky strange movie back in the day and being absolutely charmed by it. Though there was little I remembered about the film -- save the amazing performance by native Bushman actor, N!xau -- I knew it was good and wanted to share it with the kids.

Specs:
1 hour 45 minutes; PG
(A note about the date; I saw that the US release date was 1984, so we watched it 'in' 1984 in our festival. However, I learned later that the film was actually made in 1980. Oh well!)

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.8

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This awesome film is charming, sweet, funny, and quick-paced. It unfolds in a unique way, starting off like a documentary telling the story of a tribal community of Bushmen in Africa, contrasted with the busy life in the nearby city. However, the film takes a clever shift when men in a helicopter drop a coke bottle and life for the tribe becomes unstable. Nixau goes to return this unwanted 'gift' to the gods and hilarity ensues as we follow him on his adventures.  Other parallel adventures, involving bumbling revolutionaries, a school teacher, and an earnest but nervous field scientist start to intersect and play out much like old silent short films do. Everything is absurd; everything is played for laughs; and there is a kernel of humanity and meaning at the core. Its a very well made movie that we thoroughly enjoyed.

As far as the rating goes -- PG has me seriously exhausted. It is such a huge and confusing category. We saw the PG rated Dead Poet's Society recently (our review coming soon) and it features boys ogling a magazine image, which alone wouldn't be so troubling, but the nude picture itself is shown full on camera for several moments of on screen time. And, don't even get me started on horrific, scary and violent images including melting faces, in Indiana Jones, also PG.  Yet, here Gods Must be Crazy is a film that plays innocently in the vein of a silent movie but gets a "PG" rating because of brief cultural and non-sexual nudity and slapstick shenanigans. This movie deserves a PG no doubt, but to my way of thinking is extremely appropriate to larger audiences in a way that either of the other two I just mentioned clearly are not.  My constant advice for any film from 1970 - 1990 is don't trust the MPAA rating! Look deeper into what a film contains or doesn't contain.

If you do watch this film, the most important thing will be to have an open mind and few expectations, because it is likely different than anything you've seen before. It is its own fun adventure; but there is no reason that modern American audiences, including families, cannot hop along for the ride with the right attitude.

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