The 19th Los Angeles Film Festival got underway Thursday June 13 evening before a packed industry crowd in the main theater of the LA Live complex in downtown Los Angeles. For the second year in a row, the opening night film was a wacky comedy distributed by Sony Pictures Classics: last year it was Woody Allen's To Rome with Love; this year it was the North American premiere of the Spanish-language film I'm So Excited, from the Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar, which has already played throughout much of Europe and South America.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has all of the hallmarks of an Almodovar production: a dark underlying premiere (how a plane's crew and passengers react upon discovering that their plane may not be able to land), melodramatic characters (many of them gay or transsexual), lots of laughs (and a few clunkers) and appearances of varying lengths by his regulars Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Paz Vega, Carmen Machi and Lola Duenas. For better or worse, though, it feels a bit lighter than many of his past works, and seems less likely than most to contend for year-end awards.
The rest of the fest, which runs through June 23, is highlighted by screenings of Cannes holdovers Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Fruitvale Station and Only God Forgives; special screenings of the highly-anticipated popcorn pic Superman: Man of Steel, the latest Pixar flick Monsters University, and the Sundance sensation The Way, Way Back (the fest's closing night film); conversations with notable filmmakers ranging from Costa-Gavras to Spike Jonze to Maya Rudolph; and the presentation of the Spirit of Independence Award on Sunday to the Oscar-nominated writer-director David O. Russell.
