Quick Impressions
Sundance Film Reviews
I saw 10 films, which isn't a lot, but I was only there for the second half of the festival and wanted to spend time exploring Park City. Below are my impressions of the films I saw:Barking Water
When people ask me "what was your favorite film" -- this is the one I tell them. It may have been that it was my first film of the festival and I was excited to be in Park City again, or that I was drawn in by the characters who were of my generation and involved in a complex, time-lapsed relationship. Simply put, this is a spiritual visual poem with a Native American cast that you rarely have the chance to see.
Louise-Michel
Winner: World Dramatic Award, for originality
Not my cup of tea although the concept was inventive and I have to admit that I did laugh out loud more than once. Kept thinking that my twenty-something sons would appreciate the oft-times violent humor more. It reminded me of watching South Park with them when they were young. Louise-Michel exudes darkness, with heart-warming revenge at its soul. The twisted ending offers an odd air of fulfillment.
Adam
Winner: Alfred P. Sloan Award
I liked this film very much and it was a special treat to see Amy Irving on screen again. Adam features a male lead (Hugh Dancy) with Asperger's Syndrome which lends both sweet and gawky complications to his romance with a woman (Rose Byrne) who moves into the upstairs apartment. The acting is impeccable and the bittersweet ending leaves you feeling hopeful and open to possibilities. Picked up by Fox Searchlight for a 2009 release.
Everything Strange and New
An imaginative treatment of an all too common story about married couples in varying stages of discontent and longing for something other than the circumstances of their daily routines. Oakland, California forms an urban-angled backdrop to the scrapbook-like quality of the film. Interesting visual treatment.
Once More with Feeling
Good performances with a nice resolution. Worth seeing if you like stories about families coming through passage-related crises intact. Recommended for families with teens to spark discussion around values and commitment.
Lunch Break/Exit
This film duet sparked a constant flow of hostile people walking out of the Egyptian Theatre. I was one of the less than 40 survivors who suffered through and stayed for the Q & A. During Lunch Break -- a L-O-N-G continuous dolly shot down an interminable hallway in a shipping factory in Maine, I found myself counting all the yellow flashlights perched on shelves as the camera moved SLOWLY by. And hoping that the man who climbed down a ladder at one point (one of the heights of action), wearing dark overalls, was about to reign terror on all the souls the camera had passed during that L-O-N-G continuous dolly shot down an interminable hallway. I wanted badly to out my Blackberry and pass the time sending Tweets about the tiny details as lolling by on the screen (the film was shot in real time, during a lunch break at this shipping plant in Maine and then slowed down in editing). And then I started thinking about where I would go for dinner. And then, after more than an hour of this one long dolly shot rolling slowly down a hallway showing workers at this shipping factory in Maine on their lunch break doing very little, Lunch Break abruptly ended. And soon after Exit began. All I'll say about Exit is that the artist who filmed it referred to it as a dance.
Lunch Break/Exit belongs as an installation in some sort of new media experience space. It also has potential as commercial art for living rooms with giant digital displays.
Lyme Life
I had wanted to see this at the Toronto Film Festival but couldn't work it into my schedule so attended a past-my-bedtime screening at Prospector Square. It held my attention and I managed to stay awake. A rather twisted, sometimes depressing yet funny look at American family life in the '70s with good performances by a cast that icludes Rory Culkin in the lead, Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon and Jill Hennessey. And fittingly, Kieran Culkin playing Rory's brother. Still making the festival ciruit, Lyme Life is set to open the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival in April.
The Main (La Nana)
Winner: World Dramatic Grand Prize and World Dramatic Acting Award
A compelling character study, this was the first film from Chile to ever show at Sundance. I identified immediately with Raquel, the title character, because from the outset she is shown suffering debilitating headaches which her meds did not eradicate (I spent my second day at Sundance in bed all afternoon with a migraine). Forming friendships and jogging eventually rid her of her ailments. None of this has anything much to do with the plot -- I just fixated on the journey to headache cure. Well worth watching if you live in a town with a theatre that plays sub-titled films.
Paper Heart
Winner: Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
This quirky self-reflective search for the meaning of love featuring comedian Charlyne Yi is part docu-comedy, part puppet show, and left me worried about my children's generation. Interesting in form and includes the always charming Michael Cera and a compelling Jake Johnson. I liked it conceptually but the commentary about love offered no new perspective or insight even into Yi's own bewilderment and cynicism. Like going on a carnival ride -- fun but not thrilling.
Five Minutes of Heaven
Winner: World Dramatic Directing and World Cinema Screenwriting Awards
This intense Irish film, my final screening at Sundance '09, delves into the past of two men seeking reconciliation, revenge, and redemption. Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt star. It struck me when walking out of the Library Center into the snowy night after the screening, that my Toronto Film Festival experience last September had also ended with an Irish drama. On my bus ride back to Main Street I found amusement in considering how the two events might be tied together with some profound meaning. But my thoughts soon turned to treating myself to a meal at Zoom's and afterwards, enjoying a final hike back up Main Street in the snow to the Inn and a good night's sleep.
Cool,
Everything strange and new looks rreally good...
Thanks for writing, most people don't bother.
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