Rifkin's Festival (2020)
Mort Rifkin, a snobby elderly film critic from New York, is telling his therapist about the recent developments in his life. In the recount, he’s accompanying his much younger wife Sue to a film festival in San Sebastián. She works as a press agent for Philippe, a French director whose banal and derivative anti-war film is being universally celebrated as a masterpiece, to Mort’s chagrin. Mort quickly becomes jealous of Sue and Philippe’s relationship, which increasingly moves into open flirtation. Mort’s inner thoughts and fears causes him to have nightmares inspired by well-known black and white cinematic classics like Citizen Kane, Breathless, Jules and Jim, Persona, The Exterminating Angel, and 8½.
While at the festival, Mort reminisces about his life and the pretentious novel that he’s been writing for decades, trying to achieve a literary relevance that eludes him. He reflects upon his younger years when he used to teach cinema at the university and felt happy and stimulated. Meanwhile, he’s helpless to keep Sue and Philippe from spending time with each other. Eventually, he seeks medical advice about some chest pains and meets Joanna “Jo” Rojas, a Spanish female doctor who spent some time in New York and is now unhappily married with an unfaithful, temperamental artist. Joanna leaves a lasting impression on Mort and he repeatedly tries to engage her attention by faking health issues. Eventually, the two go on a sight-seeing drive through the surrounding country, both having a good time in the process.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Wallace ShawnMort Rifkin  Gina GershonSue  Christoph WaltzDeath  Elena AnayaDr. Jo Rojas  Louis GarrelPhilippe  Sergi LópezPaco  Damian ChapaFestivalgoer  Douglas McGrathGil Brenner  Richard KindMort's Father  Nathalie PozaMort's Mother  Enrique ArceTomás Lopez  Georgina AmorósDelores  Tammy BlanchardDoris  Steve GuttenbergMort's Brother |
Mort Rifkin, a snobby elderly film critic from New York, is telling his therapist about the recent developments in his life. In the recount, he’s accompanying his much younger wife Sue to a film festival in San Sebastián. She works as a press agent for Philippe, a French director whose banal and derivative anti-war film is being universally celebrated as a masterpiece, to Mort’s chagrin. Mort quickly becomes jealous of Sue and Philippe’s relationship, which increasingly moves into open flirtation. Mort’s inner thoughts and fears causes him to have nightmares inspired by well-known black and white cinematic classics like Citizen Kane, Breathless, Jules and Jim, Persona, The Exterminating Angel, and 8½.
While at the festival, Mort reminisces about his life and the pretentious novel that he’s been writing for decades, trying to achieve a literary relevance that eludes him. He reflects upon his younger years when he used to teach cinema at the university and felt happy and stimulated. Meanwhile, he’s helpless to keep Sue and Philippe from spending time with each other. Eventually, he seeks medical advice about some chest pains and meets Joanna “Jo” Rojas, a Spanish female doctor who spent some time in New York and is now unhappily married with an unfaithful, temperamental artist. Joanna leaves a lasting impression on Mort and he repeatedly tries to engage her attention by faking health issues. Eventually, the two go on a sight-seeing drive through the surrounding country, both having a good time in the process.
