Showcase for unknowns
In its sixth year, the Dances With Films Festival will showcase over 75 independent productions featuring unknown filmmakers and actors beginning Friday and running through the month. Among them is Christopher Rubio’s “Hale Bopp,” which takes its title from the comet that in 1997 shot across the sky for the last time in 4,000 years. For Andrea Mustain’s goddess-like but troubled Rachel, the comet symbolizes her meeting of a once-in-a-lifetime man, Brad Eric Johnson’s Ethan.
They are a great-looking couple, their sexual chemistry is just as great, but Ethan is as focused as the hard-living Rachel is unreliable. Rubio, who knows how to balance serious issues with lighter moments, is a no-fuss filmmaker with a sure sense of pace. “Hale Bopp” is a grown-up film about how hard it can be to grow up.
-- Kevin Thomas
Dances With Films Festival: “Hale Bopp,” 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Laemmle’s Monica 4, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica. (323) 850-2929.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
