In most scenarios, ID badges are kind of dorky. You know what I mean – those laminated photo IDs you have to carry around to get into your office building and can’t wait to put away at the end of the day.
At the Cleveland International Film Festival, however, there is nothing cooler than sporting an index card-size pass like a gem around your neck. This year, it seems like everyone is wearing something that reads “Director,” “Executive Producer,” “Movie Mogul,” (all three can be purchased here), “Sponsor,” “Guest” (usually a filmmaker) or “Media” (which I am wearing as I write this).
Festivalgoers display these badges of identification with pride as they traipse past the long standby lines and into any screening of their choice.
“Once you’ve bought a membership pass, you can’t go back,” one Executive Producer pass holder tells me, with a smile.
It’s so true.
Today, I used my beloved pass to get into what must have been, at least judging from the lines that stretched all the way to the Tower City food court, one of the most popular films of the festival so far – Vincent Wants to Sea.
This film from German director Ralf Huettner asks the question, “What would happen if three patients in a mental institution – one with obsessive compulsive disorder, one with Tourette’s Syndrome, and another with anorexia nervosa – decided to make a run for it and drive a stolen car cross-country, in search of the sea?"
Well, lots of hilarity, for one. (For example: do not steal a Bach CD from a music fanatic with OCD).
The story begins with Vincent, a 27-year-old man who has just lost his mother, being dropped off at a rehabilitation clinic by his narrow-minded politician father who cannot be bothered with his son’s embarrassing verbal tics. Miserable at the clinic, he and his obsessive-compulsive roommate, Alex, and a young anorexic woman, Marie (who is terrified of being force-fed), steal their psychiatrist’s car and embark on an unforgettable road trip.
Between the laughter and occasional stereotypes of their various maladies are many touching, insightful moments, along with the message that, while professional help is a good thing, it's sometimes even better to run away from it all.
Catch Vincent Wants to Sea on Monday, March 28 at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office within Tower City Cinema.
WATCH: Trailer for Vincent Wants to Sea
