Day three of Cinequest San Jose features the Chilean drama “La Vida de las Pescas,” a re-cut of local favorite “Superhero Party Clown,” and a lot more. Richard von Busack’s informative preview is here, plus the Smith Brothers with filmmaker Phillip Guzman.

Check back here every day during Cinequest for the Smith Brothers interviews with filmmakers, directors and writers, and Richard von Busack’s Best Bets. And check out this Cinequest Guide, with capsule reviews of many of the films being shown at Cinequest. 

One of the highlights of today March 3’s Cinequest is the hushed and compelling Chilean drama La Vida De Las Peces or The Life of Fish playing at 7pm at Camera 12. Back in Chile after ten years of rootless hackdom as a travel writer, Andres (Santiago Cabrera, of TV Heroes) is attending a house party. He’s estranged from old friends as well as from the next generation; there’s alarming sexual questions from the sons; the daughters are forward, drunk and stoned. That’s when Andres runs into Beatriz (Blanca Lewin) clearly the love of his life, just as clearly married with children—though conveniently her husband and kids are elsewhere. Matias Beezes’s title refers to Andres’ beef with electronic media (which by his lights causes us all to live in a kind of fishbowl). Told in close-ups, it’s a televisionistic film and yet it was the ending that sold me: it’s well-staged, silent, sensitive: quite worthy of its attempt to recreate a love story in the Chekhov style.

A nice choice of films at 9:30. First, at the glorious California Theater: the mindbending 22nd of May from the Netherlands, in which a Rotterdam security guard is given a chance to overcome a lethal mistake he madeÉor, if you prefer your law-enforcers more polychrome, the popular success of last year’s Cinequest: Super Hero Party Clown at 9:30 at the San Jose Rep. This locally made film about a would be costumed hero slaving away as a kid’s birthday clown has been re-edited since last year’s work in progress screening, which played to sold out crowds. Line up early! I’m RvB, thanks for watching