This was my second time at Ebertfest and it did not disappoint.  Last year I was a volunteer and had a wonderful time.  Ebertfest this year lacked much of the celebrity appeal it was oozing with last year, I got to see Spike Lee, Brie Larson, Patton Oswalt, and Doug Benson all in the course of a weekend and that was just insane for me. So this year, at least for me, felt like it was more about the films than the guests attending, though there were still some highly notable attendees.

I had been excited to go to this year’s Ebertfest since the end of last year’s Ebertfest. I had eagerly awaited the list of films that were screening to arrive and have to admit I was slightly disappointed at having only heard of two of them, but I guess that is the point of Ebertfest given that it was originally called The Overlooked Film Festival.  I swallowed my sadness at the lack of famous people to brag about seeing live in person and began digging into the films that were screening and picked three to go to.

I ended up choosing End of the Tour based on the highly positive reviews I had heard from it’s screening at Sundance (and yes… the fact that Jason Segel was going to be there), Goodbye to Language because it was a newer, highly regarded Goodard film, and then Wild Tales, which I chose solely because it was described as comedic.Wild tales proved to be the most  pleasant surprise of the festival for more.  I had heard a bit about the film and watched a trailer for it before I was aware that it was screening at Ebertfest, but had trouble understanding what the film would be about.

It was difficult going to a earlier show, but the hours of sleep that I lost that day were more than worth it.  I was a bit skeptical if I would actually find the film funny or not, given that just a few days before Goodbye to Language was introduced as a comical film, but I spent most of it in utter confusion rather than amusement. Wild Tales begins in an airport, but once on the plane the hilarious, violent chaos that is Wild Tales truly began.

The film was an anthology of stories and though I enjoyed each immensely, my absolute favorite was called Until Death Do Us Part.  It was the last story of the film and perhaps the most hilarious of them all.  It’s set on a couple’s wedding day as the wife discovers her new husband has cheated on her with one of the guests and from that point she resolves not only to make that night a living hell, but the rest of his life as well. To see the way she devolves from a glamorous, happy bride to a vengeful, violent animal is amazing.

When the film ended I was crying from laughing so hard, it is the funniest movie I have seen in months and as the Q&A was about to begin I was a bit disappointed when I remembered only an actress and the casting director from the film were coming rather than the director. So you can imagine my absolute, unadulterated joy when Chaz announced that the director would be joining the discussion via Skype.  Though the internet connection was rocky at times, it was worth it to hear Damien Szifron discuss his genius film.

This was a great weekend at Ebertfest and I am eagerly awaiting the next.