Wordplay (PG), directed by Patrick Creadon, is playing at
Little Theatres and Pittsford Cinema | Interkosmos (NR), directed by
visiting guest artist Jim Finn, shows Saturday, July 15, at the George Eastman
House’s Dryden Theatre, 8 p.m.
Time well spent this weekend (six letters)
by Dayna Papaleo
In our big, beautiful world there are pen people and there
are pencil people. The ink devotees are daring, somewhat arrogant, and totally
willing to fall flat on their faces. Graphite disciples are sensible, cautious,
and orderly, and while that doesn’t sound terribly sexy, without them it would
be anarchy. It should come as no surprise that former president Bill Clinton
leans toward pens. Comedian Jon Stewart does, too. And if you have any idea
what I’m referring to, you’ve probably already seen director Patrick Creadon’s
documentary Wordplay. I’d also wager that, like me, you’re a pen person.
Wordplay takes us
inside the thrillingly nerdy realm of crossword puzzles by allowing us to spend
time with those who make them, those who solve them, and those who solve them really fast. The star of Wordplay, if there is one, would be Will
Shortz, crossword editor at The New York
Times since 1993 and something of a minor deity among the puzzle set. He
decided early on that his future would be in crosswords, going so far as to
take advantage of Indiana University’s create-your-own-curriculum option and
major in enigmatology (imagine breaking that news to your parents).
Through the ultra-amiable Shortz we meet a few of the puzzle
constructors who supply him with the 60 to 70 submissions he receives per week
— most notably Merl Reagle, who takes us through the creation of a crossword
puzzle. Reagle points out the symmetry of a puzzle and acknowledges the rules,
which include a set number of black spaces as well as a ban on clues relating
to bodily functions, lamenting that the word “urine” would have gotten him out
of more than one jam. It’s probably the most fascinating part of the film, as
Creadon highlights yet one more thing we see every day and give very little
thought as to how it came to pass.
Creadon visits with the more famous crossword aficionados,
including New York Yankee (and former Rochester Red Wing) Mike Mussina, the
Indigo Girls, and filmmaker Ken Burns. Jon Stewart trash-talks the puzzlemaster
in absentia as he defiantly tackles a grid with a Sharpie (“Bring it,
Shortz!”), and the ever-charming Clinton, still addressing truths we hold to be
self-evident (on crossword puzzles: “They’re fun!”), recalls a particularly
ingenious seven-letter clue the day following the 1996 election that could have
been answered with either “BOBDOLE” or “CLINTON.”
Using the same sort of narrative device found in recent
documentaries like Spellbound and Mad Hot Ballroom, throughout Wordplay we also get to know a few of
the crossword fans who will participate in the film’s centerpiece, the 28th
Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. A quirky lot, the contestants
share a deep intensity, colossal brains, and a warm camaraderie that was on
full display as Creadon filmed the crossword action, occasionally using a
split-screen that at first seemed confusing but was easily adapted to by the
time the competition heated up.
And, surprisingly, it is truly “action.” As in any
competition, there are hotshots and underdogs, and it’s not difficult to get
invested in at least one of the finalists (but not too invested; they are,
after all, รผber-cocky pen people). And from the renowned to the unknown, Wordplay‘s subjects are dripping with
wit. Reagle’s color commentary during the tournament is hilarious, and of
course, there’s Stewart, particular to the Old Gray Lady though admitting to an
occasional crack at the USA Today puzzle: “But I won’t feel good about myself.”
Filmmaker Jim Finn
will be in attendance at the Dryden Theatre on Saturday night to present
his debut feature Interkosmos, a faux documentary about an East German mission to
settle the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, replete with Busby Berkeley-esque
musical numbers, miniature sets, and stop-motion animation. At the heart of Interkosmos is a timid romance between
two of the cosmonauts, played out through static-y confessions and a bizarrely
funny debate over “The Trolley Song.”
Resourcefully shot in Illinois
and Central New York, Interkosmos is shocking in its Eastern Bloc loveliness, with the
film stock suitably tinged and scratched in furtherance of the illusion.
Composers Jim Becker (from Califone) and Colleen Burke (she plays piano in Bug
Jar faves We Ragazzi) have fashioned a score of celestial ’70s Teutonic
electronica that blends perfectly with the images. I know we’re bombarded with
musical mockumentaries about space colonization, but this is probably the best
one you’ll see all year.
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2006.
