Opening Night/”United” Screening
The 14th Annual San Jose Film Festival
It’s that time of year. Celluloid is in the air. Lights are being dimmed in theaters. Stories are being told. Directors and Screen writers, actors and producers, filmologists of local note and world renown have descended upon San Jose en masse to share some of the world’s interesting, entertaining, creative, oddball, and “out-there” films. Cinequest opened the 14th Annual San Jose Film Festival March 3 to an excited and expectant audience.
It’s time for the Maverick filmmaker to bring their wares to the Silicon Valley public. Mavericks stretch the envelope in creative thought and process. Mavericks seek to discover new and rewarding ways to tell a tale. Mavericks sometimes leave mainstream to explore strange personal places. An estimated 300 film makers and 60,000 film goers will be attending any of the 174 films being shown. The festival runs through March 14 and printed guides showing schedules and locations are a-plenty downtown San Jose.
San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales welcomed the enthusiastic crowd to a 12-day feast of film and warned that next year would bigger and better as he outlined
revitalization changes being planned to downtown San Jose and highlighted possible new venues to be made available to Cinequest.
Films came from around the globe. Films with a Latino connection, films from the Pacific Basin, films that focus on Norway. There are drama and comedies and
science fiction films. There are specialty short films of various types. Films of all kinds. In addition, there are forums on movie making and film selling.
The capstone of the evening was the North American premiere of “United,” a romantic comedy about love and soccer. It’s not quite the festival discovery as “A Beautiful Mind,” from years ago, but “United” will leave you smiling. Filmed in a small Western Norwegian town, the story is simple and delightful. Kare (Havard Lilleheie) has a personal dream of playing for the English soccer team, Manchester United. He also wishes to wed the beautiful Anna (Berte Rommetveit). Unfortunately, he dreams larger than his initiative and ends up working in a warehouse. Waiting for Kare to mature, the frustrated Anna is being chased by Stian, owner of the same warehouse. Dragging his feet, Kare keeps tabs on the soccer world by coaching local kids. Iversen, played by 12-year old Sondre Sorheim, was almost a scene stealer having some great lines and a strong, natural delivery.
The delight of the night for me was to meet the “United” director, producer and the romantic leads. This was director Magnus Martens’ first feature film in which he offered a smooth and touchable story, the actors sensitive and real and reacting well to one another. Martens experience in television and commercials and working with children helped him tend reign on his young group.
His cast didn’t come completely from stardom. Rather, it was gathered, in part, by serendipity. Rommetveit, offering only some local theater, was chosen over 30 more experienced women. Lilleheie did came with TV and standup comedy credits (and had already worked with Martens) on other projects. The engaging Sorheim was discovered simply walking with his family in the neighborhood while waiting his turn for an audition. Remarkably, the film only took five weeks to shoot. The film is rich in local scenery, a gentle spirit, and a wonderful story. Even with English subtitles, the movie was a treat.
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