In contrast, Entre Nos seems simple, natural and straightforward. A mother and her two children who recently moved to the strange land of New York City from Colombia, are abandoned by their husband/father. I was hooked with concern. How would they find a way to support themselves, without speaking English and with no discernible skill beyond making empanadas? The script’s organic unfolding and the mother’s quiet determination led me securely from one scene to the next. The film was written and directed by Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza (who is also on screen as the mother). In a subdued and charismatic performance, she adds to the film’s sense of reality. The filmmakers have a background of making documentaries and it appears that they used their experience to good purpose in their first narrative. Considering their personal connection to the film’s characters, it is remarkable that they were able to create this touching, heartfelt film without resorting to sentimentality. Not a Hallmark TV movie, Entre Nos has more in common with the neorealism of The Bicycle Thief or the more recent Maria Full of Grace.  

 

My Last Five Girlfriends is Julian Kemp’s adaptation of Alain De Botton’s book On Love. The basic plot is an explanation of what went wrong in the main character’s romantic relationships -- the subject of any number of comedies. But Kemp uses visual tricks including animation, puppetry, theatrical sets, masks and audiovisual aids to create a funny, colorful, unexpectedly witty, deliciously original, charming, and enormously entertaining film.  

 

Serious Moonlight is another kind of comedy written by Adrienne Shelly before her untimely death. When a husband tells his wife that he is going to leave her, she knocks him out and duct tapes him to a chair, declaring that she won’t let him go until he loves her again. The stakes in this dialogue-driven script are so high in the beginning that it didn’t seem possible for interest to be sustained. However, the possibility of the wife's insanity keeps the audience wondering where the film will lead. In this unique version of the battle of the sexes, the laughs keep coming until the “ah hah” ending. The clever dialogue reminded me of some of the verbal sparring in the movies of the 1930s, while the underlying menace made me think of Theatre of the Absurd plays. I could easily imagine this film being played on stage with few characters and essentially one set.  

 

Of the films that I saw, Easy Virtue was one of the most polished and expensive-looking with gorgeous sets, costumes and a tango with dramatic purpose. Director Stephan Elliott and co-writer Sheridan Jobbins adapted the screenplay from the Noël Coward play. Although set in the past, it has a fresh relevance and is both entertaining and meaningful. The two main female characters are well-matched opponents, creating dramatic tension under snappy dialogue and Coward’s hallmark stylishness.  

 

Finally, I’d like to give a personal shout-out to Darko Lungulov for creating a guy interested in a woman his own age in Here and There.  

 

For more about the Tribeca Film Festival and the activities associated with Tribeca Film, visit Tribecafilm.com.    

 

The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature: About Elly (Darbareye Elly). Written (and directed) by Asghar Farhadi. (Iran). Prize: $25,000.  

Best New Narrative Filmmaker: Rune Denstad Langlo for North (Nord). Written by Erlend Loe. (Norway). Prize: $25,000 cash. Sponsored by American Express.  

Best New York Narrative: Here and There (Tamo i ovde). Written (and directed) by Darko Lungulov. (Serbia, USA, Germany). Prize: $5,000 cash and the art award “Time Can Be a Villain or a Friend” created by Hank Willis Thomas.  

Best Narrative Short: The North Road (La route du Nord). Written (and directed) by Carlos Chahine. (France). Prize: $5,000 cash and the art award “Untitled” created by David Salle.  

The Heineken Audience Award: City Island. Written (and directed) by Raymond De Felitta. Prize: $25,000. 

 

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