Mostly British Party & Tati's Trafic

Last night I somehow found myself at the opening night party for the Mostly British Film Festival, even though I was not on the guest list & I had no intention of attending the actual opening night film. Nonetheless, I chatted with a film buff, ate some appetizers, drank a British beer, & had my picture taken with my companion in the posh premises of the Thomas Pink shirt shop.

A little later in the evening we made it to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts screening room for Jacques Tati's Trafic. I had only seen this once before many years ago, & I remember thinking it a sad come-down from Playtime. I had forgotten much of it, as it turns out, &, while I still don't think it a good film, it is very much a Tati film. The choreographed car pile-up scene is a slow-motion ballet. The 5-year-old in me loved the montage of drivers caught picking their noses in the supposed privacy of their cars. I even liked the strange plaster busts being given away as premiums at a gas station. So not a total failure, & I am glad to have seen it again as part of this series.

Between events I experienced a classic demonstration of how small San Francisco is. Stopping to get something to eat at a place halfway between the opening night party & the movie, I sat down & found myself right next to beastly blogger John Marcher, who, despite a week reporting from Sundance, regretted missing Ensemble Parallèle's Wozzeck.