Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Three 'Review-letts' for the 2020 FL Film Festival, Starting This Week!
In-Focus Magazine was able to pre-screen three additional Festival films at the Enzian theater last week, including The Marching Band, You Had To Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution and Normal. Keep in mind, every film in a festival is not for everybody. Additional reviews to come soon for more great films you shoudn't miss, so hit that subscribe button below!
The Marching Band is part of the International Showcase. To some that may mean ‘oh, no, subtitles, ugh’, but if you miss this, you’ll miss a festival gem. An emotional journey about French brothers who never knew the other existed, with secrets exposed, laughs and lots of messiness – exactly like most families. Peeling layers off each other’s ‘personality onions’ to reveal unexpected similarities, while bonding over great jazz music. There’s also turmoil over social inequality. One is a world-renowned conductor, the other a local marching band trombone player. Each harboring some resentments; watching the actors work through these makes The Marching Band highly watchable.
You Had To Be There is one of the Spotlight films. I’m not extremely familiar with the musical Godspell, which was fine because YHTBT is a more of a retrospective of 1970’s Canadian comedians and a Gilda Radner lovefest than about Godspell itself. I was more engaged by the Second City TV sideroad the doc takes. How that boundary-pushing underground comedy series emerged from relationships formed between Godspell performers Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas.Andrea Martin’s reminiscences are entertaining and engaging. The multiple Gilda clips are bittersweet.
Normal Bob Odenkirk is back in another installment of his Nobody franchise. Well, not really, since this is a stand-alone narrative, having nothing do with his ‘feel no pain’ killer in those films. But if that’s what you like, here’s more of the same.Except this time the Yakuza are gunning for him in Normal, MN, and the whole town is in on it. In a town where arguments are settled with donuts, there are questions regarding the death of the former sheriff, who Odenkirk’s character arrives to replace. Is bloodily matter-of-fact a thing? If so, that’s what you’ll get a lot of in Normal.
For more information and for tickets, click here: https://2026floridafilmfestival.eventive.org/films
