Movies from Toronto International Film Festival: A Volunteer's View

My friend Arlene Rogers is one of the army of volunteers working The Toronto International Film Festival each year.  She has been doing it for a very, very long time. How Arlene and I met is here.

I couldn’t be there this year so my friend Arlene sent me this list of what she saw and what she thought.  Most of these films won’t make it to where we live (if they get distributed at all) and others will be big hits soon.  

Everything that follows is Arlene’s, except I think some of the loglines are from TIFF or distributors and in a couple of places I comment on her comments.  I link the titles to some reviews or iMDB or TIFF.  I put Arlene’s words in italics and mine in brackets.  Plain text is I think from promotional stuff.

It’s an interesting list and Arlene said I could share it so here it is. 

What an amazing Festival TIFF was this year.  There were dozens of films out of the 350 presented that I wanted to see but the films I saw except for a few were inspiring, educational, enraging, heartwarming and overwhelming at times.  Adjectives are hard to find to express my feelings about the films I saw and I wanted to get something on paper to you so, although this doesn’t say it all by any stretch, I hope it will encourage you to at least see some of  these films.  My comments are limited because of time and are just my impressions.  The Festival was a total delight and I just loved being a part of it.  Lots of lining up for films but it is all part of the enjoyment and it was great sharing impressions with other filmgoers.       Thank you TIFF.    

A PlaceBeyond the  Pines – (US)  A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with the police.
Directed by Derek Cianfrance. Starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper.

So many levels in this film, It keeps you totally involved.  Ryan Gosling displays yet another facet of his acting ability.  A lot of intrigue and I really was impressed with change of direction of the plot.

Every Day  – (UK)  I couldn’t find a summary of this film but it was such so engrossing.    Sadly not commercial and so I don’t hold out much hope for it being released but perhaps on a DVD.    It revolves around a man serving time in prison and the relationship with his wife and four children.  It was made over a five-year period and you see the children getting older and the changes in relationships.  It is a sensitive portrayal of the difficulties faced by a family with a father incarcerated.   I really was emotionally moved by this film.  [Michael Winterbottom is brilliant and so is Shirley Henderson so the film must be brilliant.]

 Quartet – (UK)  At a home for retired opera singers, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Maggie Smith, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.  Directed by Dustin Hoffman. Starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon. Tom Courtney, and Billy Connolly

This was one of my favourite films.  It was Dustin’s first time directing and he did a splendid job.  Need I say, having a stellar cast was a huge benefit.  Billy Connolly almost steals the limelight although the whole cast was amazing.  Billy Connolly is a comic and added so much fun to the film.  Try and not miss this one. 

LateQuartet – (US) Members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust.

Amazing cast who took music lessons to make their playing more authentic and I thought they excelled in this venture.  Their personal struggles with relationships within the group is engrossing and so well done.  I would recommend this as a “Must See”

 Mr. Pip – (NewZealand)  Living under the shadow of the Papua New Guinean civil war, an eccentric schoolteacher (Hugh Laurie) forms a unique bond with a young girl (Xzannjah Matsi).

This is a gripping and difficult film at times because of the war but should not be missed.  Really educated me in the terrible trials of Papua New Guinea and was exceptionally acted by Hugh Laurie.  I can’t believe he is the doctor in the television program “House”.   I have a totally new appreciation of his acting ability.

Song for Marion – (UK)  When his beloved wife (Vanessa Redgrave) falls ill, a curmudgeonly retiree (Terence Stamp) must take her place in the local seniors' choir.

Terrence Stamp gives a marvelous performance in this heartwarming drama.  Only hope that this gets released so you can see it.  A film you will never forget.

The Company You Keep – (US) Robert Redford directs and stars in this gripping political thriller. 

I found this, as stated in the promotional material, a gripping political thriller.  A real turnabout story.  It kept me interested through the finale.  Almost impossible for me not to like a film with Robert in it and I did find this absorbing.

RoyalAffair – (Danish)  A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.

Once again, a real education for me, not knowing anything about Danish Royalty.  A sumptuous historical drama, beautiful photography and except for the subtitles that disappeared too quickly.  Totally engrossing.

The Fitzgerald Family Christmas – (US)  Edward Burns returns to the family well once again with this warm, acutely observed story about an expansive Irish clan’s fraught yuletide when the long-absent patriarch declares his intention to come home for the holidays.

I wasn’t intending to see this film, but I heard from so many of the filmgoers I talked to that it was well worth it.  I’m so pleased I took their advice because I really enjoyed this film.  Full of family relationship difficulties and well performed.  Really a close up of many of the intricacies of family interaction.

What Maisie Knew – (US)  In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter divorce. ….  An adaption of a book by Henry James.

The performance of Maisie was the best I have ever seen by a child.  The film is a very sensitive portrayal of a child’s confusion and distress through the very volatile breakup of her parents.  This is a film for everyone.

Emperor – (Japan/US)  A post-World War II epic set in Japan  Tommy Lee Jones plays MacArthur.

This was in my opinion a gripping portrayal of the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II.  Informative and engrossing  for me  throughout.

Kon Tiki – (Norway/Denmark)  The story about legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his epic crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947.
This is an awesome film and please, please don’t miss it.  Thrilling and astonishing in every way.  I left the film wondering how it even got made.  Enough said because I could gush for ages.  

Thermae Roma – (Japan)  Japan’s biggest box office hit of the year is a sparkling time-travel comedy and one of the most unique films in the Festival.  Based on the hugely popular comic book, it brings modern Tokyo face to face with ancient Rome in a culture clash that has to be seen to be believed.
One seldom sees a comedy from Japan and for that reason it was quite fascinating.  Comedy is different in every culture and I found myself interested in the Japanese approach to comedy since it was a first for me.  I will say it was not comedy that spoke to me but enjoyed it for giving me an exposure to another culture’s comedy.

Everybody Has A Plan – (Argentina/Spain)  A man who assumes the identity of his deceased twin in Argentina.

Impressive filming and well acted by Morgenson.  However, the ending left me totally confused.  It ended abruptly and I had a lot of questions so found it disappointing.  However, since I don’t believe this will be distributed in North America there is little more to say.

The Paper Boy – (US)  The story of a young man who returns to his small Florida home town to help his reporter brother uncover the truth about a man on death row.

This was a brutal, raunchy and absolutely forgettable film for me.  The only saving grace for me was the performance of Nicole Kidman.  Such a change of character I could hardly believe  it was her.  [Won't see this review on the poster, but good for Nicole Kidman.]

Cloud Atlas – (US)  An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a ….  Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski. Starring Tom Hanks.

I left this film after about an hour.  It has been hailed as a masterpiece and I expect the technology is a major factor in its popularity.  It was so confusing with so many characters and moved from 1400 to 2040 and everything in between.  Too complex for me in the first hour.  Perhaps if I had stayed with it, my impression would be different but I went and saw “Song for Marian” immediately after, which I loved so I’m glad I left this one early.

[The Guardian (link above) called it "wildly over-reaching and not entirely unsuccessful," which is pretty faint praise. For a different, more reverent view see the New Yorker, article, although the New Yorker has become pretty wed to its own elitism and tribe; more Vanity Fair than thoughtful.]

Wasteland – (UK)  Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Denton (Luke Treadaway) sits in a police interview room facing interrogation.

I left this film after about an hour.  The strong north England accents left you missing some of the dialogue and the volatile nature of the actors just did not encourage me to stay.

I didn’t see the next two but they were obviously successful.

The People’s Choice Award went to SilverLining Playboy – (US)   After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. 

The People’s Choice for Documentary went to Artifact – (CDN)

The films I wish I had been able to see but I learned from other volunteers or film goers were very special are:

Inthe House – (French)

All That Matters is Past – (Norway) [Norwegian cinema is resurgent and interesting.]

Midnight Children – (Canadian)

Amour – (French) [Every French film should be named amour.]

Stories We Tell – (Canadian) [I'd like to meet Sarah Polley; her last feature was awful but brave and beautifully film and this seems very interesting.  Canada has the best english speaking film industry because it tells stories.]

The Master – (US)

Anna Karenina – (UK)  [Come on -- she's beautiful.]

* * * * *

I want to thank Arlene for this; she sees dozens and dozens of movies a year.  She sees all types of films from all over the world.  She is not a critic, and in fact when I asked her if I could reprint her list her only comment was “I am not a critic,” as though that devalued her opinion.  She is also not a sales agent, distributor, producer, festival programmer, journalist.  She’s just a fan of movies, which I believe makes her take more helpful and insightful than the combined and conventional wisdom of the industry.  That she took the time to send me the list is an act of friendship -- the least I could do was share it.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Hiking Vermont's Green Mountains.

          The two of us stood, talking, on the side of the field of the soccer game.  The rain started up again.  The fifth grade girls raced and danced the ball up and down the pitch.  These girls, growing up fast now, used to look like a swarm of bees when they were little, clustered around the ball as it pulled them to one spot and then the next.  Now, a bit older and more athletic the girls were a team, playing their positions, passing, talking to each other.  Serious, concentrating faces set against the first wet day of this long, glorious summer.  Along the sidelines parents, dogs, older and younger kids roamed the edge of the game.  Not everyone watched the action on the field; most just conversed and caught up after this long, glorious summer.  My little girl was out there and it was beautiful.

As we stood there in the rain, we talked about how to get the most out of being outside, before it all closes in and winter comes down on us.  We agreed one way, the best way, to squeeze the most out of these last days of summer, is to walk up and down our Green Mountains.  Although in this blog I don't often go for informational but mostly rather focus on experiential, where we live, in central Vermont, there is great hiking in the fall, and it is worth talking about a bit.

            The most accessible and straightforward hike remains the a small peak near our town of Stowe, Vermont.  It is called the Stowe Pinnacle.  We hiked it in the full sun on a recent Sunday.  The small parking lot was jammed and cars spilled along the edge of the dirt road.  I expected massive crowds on the trails, but it wasn’t that bad.  There was one woman in small heels realizing she’d bit off more than she could chew.  One family near the summit with a screaming two-year-old.  Otherwise it was peaceful as the woods should be.

            Pinnacle is a steep hike but short – about a mile and a half to the granite dome.  It is a pretty trail with some rock scrambles but nothing technical.  Don’t wear heels or flip-flops.  It’s not that easy. And bring water.  With these two tips most days you'll be okay.

On the way up the hill we did run into various pods of friends, which was good for a catch up.  At the summit, on the 600 million year old granite mountaintop, we sat against the rock in the sun and looked across the valley to what seemed like the edges of the world.  We could see other great mountains to hike: Sterling and Whiteface, Mansfield of course, Lincoln to the South, Camel’s Hump.    

Very near the Pinnacle, accessible by a ridge trail from near the top of Pinnacle in fact, is Hunger Mountain, another wild peak and a difficult climb.  It is well worth the effort.  Do it as a long day hike from Pinnacle or as a separate climb from it's own trailheads.  Either way it is a great one.

            Just a week before in fact my son and I drove over to Duxbury and hiked Camel’s Hump.  A five hour, hard scrabble loop – Monroe Trail to Alpine Trail to Long Trail back to Monroe Trail – we loped along, the dog doing two trips for our one.  We took snaps by the B-24 wing. (Yes, a wing from a WWII bomber; it crashed during the war and bits are there still.)  We sat at the top and talked, picnicked, explored. 

Camel’s Hump is a glorious hike, a mountain in wilderness, deep in a large state forest.  The summit is just above tree line, providing plenty of solitude, views in every direction of the Entire World.  Tall hardwoods line the path for most of the hike and, later in fall, create a ring of color to walk through.   There are trailheads in Duxbury, and Hungtington and, via the Long Trail, you can get to Camel’s Hump from the south as well, but it’s a long hike.  There are driving directions on the state's website.

            Another spot in our view from the Pinnacle was Whiteface, a short pyramid of a mountain.  Although short it is a steep and difficult hike.  There are many ways to get to Whiteface.  The best way in is from Johnson, where the Long Trail leaves Route 15 and makes a steady climb through old hardwoods.  It is the most silent wood I have ever walked in.  There are good shelters – Bear Hollow and Whiteface – to make the hike into an overnight for the adventurous.  The walk out from Whiteface can be along the ridge all the way to Smuggler’s Notch or a steep drop down to Beaver Meadow and Mud City.

            Closer in Vermont’s tallest peak, Mt. Mansfield, offers a buffet of hikes.  The Hazleton, which runs between the Nosedive and Perry Merrill, is an odd one: a wilderness trail between two ski trails.  Great with kids and friends.  I know.  We just did it and had a blast.  The Long Trail to the Chin is a tremendous hike – challenging, beautiful, rewarding – if you don’t mind being surrounded by people who did not earn it when you reach the top. That is because you can take a Gondola to near the summit and the Toll Road allows cars to drive to the top.  It is a big mountain so there is plenty of room, but it is not always remote.  You can lose yourself there, and I mean that literally, but you can also be surrounded by families with chips.

             Lincoln, a bit farther to the south, is easily accessed from the Lincoln Gap Road. Take Route 100 to Warren, my home town, and go past the village and take a right toward Lincoln, Vermont, which is another small, rural Brigadoon.  (If you drive the Lincoln Gap Road to Lincoln, keep your eye out for tremendous swimming holes.  One is a small waterfall into a tight pool.  You can dive through the fall into the stream, which is Hobbitian.)

To hike to Lincoln Peak and Mt. Abraham park at the top of the Gap Road and walk north along the Long Trail for a relatively easy hike to the top of the Mountain, which is also a ski resort, Sugarbush, or hike to the south where there are some beautiful and more remote ridgelines and views.  At the end of it all the Warren Store in Warren Village will be a good stop. 

The trails in Vermont right now are bone dry.  There are no bugs.  The hills are starting to take on that hint of Technicolor, which will only grow intense as the fall moves in.  If the weather holds we will take advantage and roam even farther afield to the north and east: Pisgah and Big Jay are very different but awesome choices; Belvidere Mountain; Hazen’s Notch, where you will absolutely see Moose, or at least walk in what they leave on the trail.  

Belvidere is a beautiful hike. There are stretches of trail out of a movie. In fact I shot the final scene of a short film on that trail, dragging my crew and cast of children deep into the woods to do it.  It was worth the walk.

            This all just scratches the surface.  You can learn more from the Green Mountain Club, headquartered on Route 100 just south of us, in Waterbury Center.  Their website is good on information but light on maps.  A quick Google will get you into any number of hiking blogs, however, such as ‘trimbleoutdoors.com,’ which has info on each section of the Long Trail (and a Google map).  

               Details aside there is something ethereal, other worldly, about walking in the Green Mountains. The light in our northern forests, our hardwood stands, the water bubbling along some trails and the deep silence of others make it an incredible experience.

Back on the soccer field, the girl’s game ended.  They sang out a cheer and walked toward us, the mountains all around.  I wonder how much of the joy from that field comes from the kids knowing, at least subconsciously, that in ten minutes in any direction they can be in the silence of deep woods and within a few hours be standing on top of the world?

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Why?

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

            At least where we live, in central Vermont, this summer is all about the good, the bad and the ugly.

            The good is the weather.  Vermont – and seemingly only Vermont – has had beautiful, warm weather stretching back to at least the ides of March.  Yes, there’s been some rain and cold and storm and humid heat but not too much.  Mostly it feels like Southern California.  Without the congestion.  The days pour hot, dry sun out of a clear blue sky.  Aside from a hateful deer fly season, the bugs are tame; gardens are busting with bounty. While much of the rest of the country has borne fire and flood, heat from the edges of hell and old-testament sized thunder and lightening we have had nothing but gentle breezes.  It is bliss.

            The bad?  Well for that you must be a Red Sox fan.  As baseball follows summer you’d hope the fortunes of the Sox would match the bliss of the season.  It is not so.  For those who do not follow the mighty Red Stockings let me sum it up:  they suck.  Watching the pitchers is as fun as getting through a holiday meal in a dysfunctional family – you don’t so much enjoy the experience as hold your breath and hope the whole thing doesn’t blow up. 

The batters are a tease – every now and then they show what they can do.  They then don’t do it for days and days.  And when one or two of the mighty sluggers start hitting well the manager is sure to say something stupid to put the players off their stride, sending at least one of the greats not only into a funk but actually to Chicago.  

I knew the season was a disaster on July 18.  Nothing particularly bad happened that day, but when I looked at the baseball app on my iPhone to see the score against the Yankees, and I saw the date, the number 18, I thought it was the number of runs the Yanks had put up.  I thought we were losing.  The game had not even started.  When I figured it out I was not surprised.

            Yes, for Red Sox fans the glory days of 2004 and 2007 are a heady medicine but, five seasons on, the dose is wearing off.  It had been a long time since a World Series Win.  No one told us about the wicked hangover we’d have when we woke from the dream.  

            And here are some pat clichés for our dear manager Bobby Valentine:  dead man walking; don’t let the door hit you on your way out; here’s your hat what’s your hurry.  Bobby Valentine makes Don “The Gerbil” Zimmer’s time at the helm in Boston seem like a golden age.

            And on that sour note we need to close with the ugly.

            The outstanding weather has a dark side.  It is not normal in these climes to plant a garden in March and see that the spinach wintered over in the fallow ground, to bake through May and June.

            The good side?  Maybe rosemary will start growing in Vermont like a weed the way it does in Italy.  Maybe we’ll be able to grow artichokes and eggplant without a hot house.  But the reality is this much change in the climate of our planet might be fine for the planet but probably is not fine for humans or the world as we know it. 

            Maybe global warming is all just a conspiracy, but not the kind Fox News has told us it is.  Maybe climate change is actually a move by the automotive-oil cabal to make diesel engines function better in formerly cold climes, keeping us addicted to oil but allowing us to go 800 miles on a tank before needing more.  Or maybe it is just a nearly intractable problem we’ll have to overcome our petty differences to confront.

             And maybe we’ll do that just after we all agree on the best way to provide decent, meaningful and world-class publicly funded education to all children, or provide people with meaningful work and income, or develop a rational immigration policy.  Maybe.

            So there you have it:  the good, a summer for the books, one to cherish and remember and enjoy for a bit more; the bad, my Red Sox, living through the worst hangover in the history of baseball; and the ugly, the reality the great weather is a foreshadowing, if not of doom than at least of maybe being able to grow figs and oranges in the hills of Vermont.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

It Is Summer

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

It Is Summer

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont.  (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Foxes Chickens Holidays and Death

Another rooster bites the dust.

We came back from our beach holiday to three unsettling discoveries.

First, Trevor the cock was gone.  A monster of a bird, tall, proud, determined, confident.  We were away for only a week but that's all it took and two years into a good life Trevor was no more.  Not just the rooster but something took all of the flock.

Second, the freezer was open and everything spoiled, a pool of viscous sticky liquid -- a gross mix of water, ice cream, juice from left overs dating back to the 1990's and assorted other sauces -- sluiced over the wood floor.

Finally, the bikes on the porch were still there but were knocked over.

Figuring out what happened to the birds was easy. Foxes are wily and quick.  The fox probably was bringing meat to her den for her pups -- pretty much what we do too so it is hard to sustain anger.  In a quick night attack she left nothing behind but a trail of feathers.

It took a few days but we solved the mystery of the open freezer.  Of course when going on vacation we worry about the ordinary mistakes -- is the iron on or the oven on, did we forget something unforgettable, did we leave the dog in the basement -- but I have never worried about leaving the freezer open.  No one admitted to even going near the freezer before departure.  Would a miscreant break into a house only to crack the freezer open? Tip over some bikes?  I mean, that's mischief but it's too refined, too subtle.

We have a swimming hole behind the house.  We have good friends.  They used the swimming hole, checked the house, grabbed a beer and grabbed some ice.  Damn.  The open freezer is now a closed case.

We solved the mystery of the fallen bikes as well, but first a silver lining:  The silver lining appeared yesterday morning.  One hen, a five and a half year old Rhode Island Red, a hen the kids named Rosie, returned.  She stood like a statue on the lawn.  She was in shock, lonely -- lost even -- but alive and physically well.  Those first days back Rosie wanted nothing to do with the barn.  She was trying to perch on the handlebars of the bikes on the porch, making them tip and fall.

So at least we know what happened and, as for the melted stuff in the freezer, we have perspective.

Trevor is gone.  He was regal and good.  He was the calmest rooster we've ever had the honor to complain about incessantly.  He crowed proudly, long and often.  He was a beautiful Dominique, a credit to his breed.

Can't cry over spilled decade old tomato sauce when your rooster's been killed.

Rest in Peace Trevor.  You will be missed.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Birds Falling Out of Nests

            The bird fell out of the nest.  It sat in the grass, looking startled and small.  The dog jogged over (‘uh oh’), but the bird flapped its inconsequential wings and floated at grass-top height, scooting away from the dog.  He was not interested anyway.  He lay down and yawned.

Where To Find A Ghost

My little girl is nine now.  She grows up more and more each day.  Her ears are now pierced, a gift from her grandma on the first day of a summer's visit.  She plays the violin and clarinet beautifully.  She is a good dancer and has taken to soccer.  She is very organized and thoughtful.  (In fact, talking to her on the phone the other day, inquiring about my efforts to do some painting around the house, she wisely said 'remember Dad, a good painter spills a little bit, or even a lot.'  What a wise and thoughtful thing to say to a bad painter like her dad.)

And then I found the list.

Summer's First Day

It is One Hundred Degrees and the Sun burns like a fire.  The sugar snap peas reach for the baking sky, laden with sweet, crisp seed pods.  The solid trellis bends to the north under the weight of the vines; the twine on the pine frame is taut like piano wire.

It is so hot and humid.  The only energy I can muster is to pick peas, stepping between rows of other greens, catching some breeze in the little shade of the vines. 

The garden is early this year, a month ahead.  Many plants sprout bright flowers, already gone to seed.  

It is summer’s first day.  The longest day.  Everything is growing and reaching for the sky.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont.  (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Pigeons, Guns and Cheetos

            The pigeons are a problem.  But without the pigeons I wouldn’t have the gun, and without the gun I wouldn’t have had to go to the gun shop, and without visiting the gun shop I would not now know the batter recipe, but I get ahead of myself.

Gardens, Chickens and Summer Projects

The gardens are all in.  Planted the corn yesterday.  The corn seed was the last to go in.  The soil was dry and warm.  I pushed each kernel into the earth with my thumb, driving it deep into the dirt and it felt like summer.  It typically does not feel this way where we live in late May.  The peas are well up, as are the greens.  Tomatoes, eggplant, all the sensitive shoots, they are in the ground too.  Sunflowers are in.  The rhubarb is already cut and will be baked into sweet crisps or pies before the end of May, at least the stalks not just eaten raw.  It is early to be so into what feel like summer.  I'll take it.

Short Film "The Brothers"

This is easier.  No link.  I am learning!

Enjoy the film as we head to summer. You can read about the film on the vimeo site.  You can read the short story here.  I would love to hear what you think.

Thanks,

D




David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Stream of Thoughts of Spring and Coming Summer

Climbing the stair master at our local gym, which is one of the most perfect gyms in the world, way beyond what a small town deserves, I flipped between two movies – Apocalypse Now and Music Man.  The time flew but I had a wicked headache when I got off the machine.

            The stair master is the closest thing there is to walking up a mountain.  Dwight “Dewey” Evans, probably the best right fielder in Red Sox history (with all due respect to Tony Conigliaro – we’ll never know), was an early adapter of this climbing machine.  I remember the controversy in the early-eighties when Dewey made the then-dead Sox drag his Stair Master around the league during the season.  I suppose hotel gyms were not so good back in the day.  At our awesome gym, called the Swimming Hole, an allusion both to rural landscape where we reside as well as the kick-ass Olympic size pool at the place, there are but two of us as far as I can tell who love the machine and we go to the gym at around the same time most days.  Maybe by writing about it the management will take pity and buy another one – or a ski erg.  Another great machine.

            When did our Swimming Hole change from a new sports facility in a rural town to an established, cherished institution in this almost-suburb?  I never knew we needed it but now I cannot imagine the town without it.  I don’t use it anywhere near as much as I should but I am darn glad it is there.

            I am not a diarist.  If I were it’d be easy to check this fact:  April has always been a cold month where we live.  There is typically snow on the ground through the month and the ski area is typically open and aiming for May.  We don’t usually start mowing our lawns until May.  We do not uncover let alone plant a garden until May.

It is not normal to be able to hike our mountains in April without trashing both hiking boots and trails due to wet conditions.  It is not normal to put in peas in March.  It is not normal to be sun burnt in April heading to May.  This all is not normal.

            Having said all that, and as you may remember from an earlier post now the peas are up (as are the lettuces, the collards, the spinach and some others), the sun is out and is bright, the lawn looks, to quote my son, “like the PGA.”  Can’t decide whether this is a good thing or not.  Kind of like watching Apocalypse Now and Music Man at the same time.  Weather as dissonance.

            And I’ll end this stream by quoting Katie Ives, editor at Alpinist magazine, a world class journal of mountaineering, writing, photography, illustration, and life, built with love just on the other side of our great mountain, now reachable by simple serpentine road rather than needing to drive around the edge of the world. 

Katie posted a note on Facebook (and I’ve come to peace with Facebook – it’s a cacophony of the inane but also not unlike, as a good friend put it, a coffee shop where you see familiar faces), commenting on the beauty of late-spring snow: 

Since last night’s storm, a layer of new snow lies across the hilltops, as brief and soft as the apple blossoms in the spring woods a shimmer of green rises from the valleys, with the sounds of water, growing brighter, and louder.

There is a thinness, a delicacy to spring and summer if you live in a cold place.  Katie, a much better writer, captures it.  I try to capture it here and there (take a look at the film I just posted about).  At the end though you cannot capture it; you have to go out and live it.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Short Film THE BROTHERS

Here is a short film, The Brothers, to get you in the mood for late-spring/summer.  It's a small film about judgment.  The story is here.  Adapting it for film was interesting.  The story didn't translate exactly and then, shooting it for zero-budget in two days with three other 'crew' (and mostly just one other), an untrained cast of kids and a dog, the shoot didn't translate exactly to the script.

It was not only interesting to make the film.  It was fun.

It was fun to build because of the story, of course.  It was mostly fun because we shot it with local kids and a dog, which is not easy.  My son, Callum, stepped up.  An older boy in town, also a Callum, was great.  He is I believe going to pursue film acting as a career (not just because of this experience).  We met the older Callum when he was my son's 'reading buddy' when our Cal was in kindergarten.  The other 'older boys' are kids I coached in little league and they all took it very seriously, worked hard, had fun on the ski jump and really paid attention and worked.  Young Park Crist plays the younger brother.  He is great.  I never coached him in baseball but wish I did.  He paid attention and did awesome.  It was funny too because he was so serious during the shoot and then became this goofy little kid again.  Actors.  His parents were cool with the script, too, which was nice ("okay, Park, you can say the word while filming but normally you can't! ...").

The crew was terrific.  We shot the film in a few days and needed to drive all over Vermont because I had specific places in mind for each shot.  It was hard work.  Christian Clark, who shot the film, is now a dear friend.  He did a beautiful job.

The festival thing was terrific.  Capalbio was an unforgettable experience where we met such great friends.  Being there with my son, 'the actor,' who was so into the movies at the festival and loved the people we met, was just unbelievable.

Last thing -- I recorded the sound as we shot and feel it colors the piece well.  Maybe listen with headphones ....

There's more descriptor about the film on the Vimeo website but mostly just enjoy the film.  Share it all you'd like and let me know what you think.



David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

Peas Are Up

            We came back from vacation to a warm, cloudy sky.  The lawn was long and buds crowded the trees.  The first thing I did was walk over to the garden and see the seedlings.  The peas were up, as were the lettuces.  The collards were only started.  No sign of turnips.  But the peas were up.

            I planted the peas – and the rest – in mid-March, which in Vermont is the same as saying I had Christmas in mid-November.  It’s just not done.  In a normal year, even a good year, I’d be turning the garden and planting the hearty seeds no earlier than now.  Well, it’s not a normal year.

            I weeded, pulling tree shoots and dandelions out of the beds.  I rolled the tractor out of the barn and filled it with gas and mowed.  Ennis and I went for a run, shorts and t-shirts.

            The temperature has dropped – fell like paint off a ladder – and it is now cold and wet.  A steady rain for a day and more now.  The lawn velvet green, beautiful, as close as our yard gets to golf course.  Our lawn, mowed out of primordial hay field and never treated with anything more than dog doo and the occasional back yard pee.

            I spent a rainy Sunday starting seeds inside.  Basil, eggplant, tomatoes (lots of tomatoes), hot peppers.  I negotiated a space in the house for my potted seeds.  I researched the price of screened topsoil.  I sourced some composted manure.

            Although spring came early this year – way early – I still can’t put anything else out because we could – probably will – still have a frost.  I’ll tend the seedlings inside, turn the beds, weed what’s planted and wait for memorial day, when everything else will likely go in.

            We’ll have sugar snap peas in May, though.  I’ll plant a second crop and we’ll have peas through most of the summer.  It is not normal but I could get used to it.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2012 David Rocchio

March Into Summer: An Atypical Spring In Vermont

            March is usually a predictable month.  Here, in the North it is usually still winter; only a faint harbinger of Spring.  Usually it comes in with fields of cold snow, bright blue skies, lengthening days.  As this photo shows, March typically starts with piles of snow above the windows, like massive waves on a white sea.  But this photo is from last winter.  It is not this March.  
           Typically March brings big storms and worries about barn roofs collapsing and never ending winter; typically March leaves with slight warmth and a big snow pack to make April just miserable.  But not this year.

Kids Do Well

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2011 David Rocchio