Note: Last week, we crashed the L.A. Film Fest and got away with it. As is usually the case, we took to partying it up over writing about the films. So this week, we tell you what we saw, and why you need to get on each movie we recommend. Which is basically everything we attended, as we have impeccable taste, but you knew that.
One of the films that has stayed with us since hitting up the LAFF is the rabble rouser Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe. A story close to where our hearts would be if we hadn’t already sold them to the devil. It’s your average documentary about a struggling artist that robs, steals, vandalizes, causes pain, and is an all around son-of-a-bitch, and yet gets paid mad money for his genius. Don’t believe us? Check out the description from the movie’s myspace page:
Choe devises numerous criminal schemes that afford him to hitchhike across the globe via trains, planes and automobiles. By skirting the legal constraints of society, he is allowed to “freely” create his art. Eventually, his nonchalant law-breaking style lands him in serious trouble. After a series of arrests, he finds himself in solitary confinement in a Tokyo prison, totally broken down and uncharacteristically still. During these dark times, he finds himself reflecting on his own selfish history, one riddled with heartache caused to his friends, family and his long-term girlfriend. Upon release from prison, a radically religious Choe, returns home with the hope that he can overcome his criminal temptations and repair the damage caused to loved ones.
We see Choe’s unwillingness to grow up, his struggle to make it as an artist and his fight to hold on to his sanity. Faced with an ever-growing appetite for destruction, Choe realizes that in the end he must make sense of the chaos that echoes in his head, face his demons and learn how to harness them for the good of his life and burgeoning art career.
From the beginning of the movie, you get that sink-or-swim introduction. It’s guerilla style filming starting back from 2000 and on to the present day. What you see isn’t just a boy fucking around, but the growth of a boy to a man who continues to fuck around and take his chances despite all the shit that’s happened to him as a result of his recklessness. Choe is one of those people who’s life is so intense that at it’s best, you can’t help feeling happy for the guy. And at it’s worst, makes you feel a hell of a lot better about yourself and your problems.
The documentary just premiered at the LAFF and features tunes from Ratatat and Justice.1 Be on the lookout for it at an indie theater near you or in stores on DVD sometime in the future. Trust us yo, this shit is worth it.
- We’re pretty sure they didn’t have official permission to use some of their music, but in our eyes, that compliments the doc perfectly.
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