Hey folks, Harry here... I'm really excited to see 3 out of 4 of these titles. They all sound like fantastic concepts for Genre films that started from a brilliant premise and just followed through with real quality execution on a limited budget. Luckily, OPEN WATER got picked up, and the last two he mentions won awards, so they're likely to get distribution of some sort as well! Goody goody! Here ya go...
Hey Harry,
It's been years since I've written a review for the site but I was really inspired by a few of the films I saw here at Sundance.
OPEN WATER
Open Water (or as we've begun calling it: The Blair Fish Project) - This was a real audience favorite but suffered from some very uneven acting. The premise of the film is great. A couple who set out for a day of scuba diving are left behind by their group and struggle to survive. The film starts like "The Red Shoe Diaries": attractive unhappy couple, nudity, and a tropical setting but things take a big turn once their trip begins. Like the Blair Witch Project, this is a great premise but once you're in the situation you realize that there really aren't too many places for the story to go. To the filmmakers credit, the film does create some real tension but the acting is all over the place. The two leads seem to have been cast for their looks as opposed to their acting ability. Once their relationship begins to deteriorate, you really begin to wish you were alone in the ocean with better actors. In the end, it really feels like a great experiment but short of a good film.
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Napoleon Dynamite - Another audience favorite, but I wasn't a fan. It has some great gags but feels like a sketch that has been spread too thin. Some people will find the lead actors hilarious but I'm afraid most, like myself, find them annoying. The plot is pretty thin. Napoleon Dynamite and his brother live Iowa with his Grandmother, but when she injures herself while riding a dirt bike, his bizarre uncle comes to stay with them. Over the course of the school year, the three of them have some strange adventures and Napoleon actually finds a few friends along he way. If there was more heart in the story, I might have been able to connect to the film but anytime a bit of heart sneaks through, the film rushes to the next comedic set piece. Most of these bits feel obligatory rather than earned. Imagine a colder, less mature version of Wes Anderson and you've got a good idea of the what the film is like.
MARIA FULL OF GRACE
Maria Full Of Grace - An awesome film. As I write this, I heard it just won the audience award and it really deserves it. Maria lives in the suburbs of Bogota, Columbia and through her desire to create a better life for herself becomes a "mule" for a Colombian drug lord. The film very carefully follows her process of becoming a mule and then covers the grim details of her journey. For those unfamiliar with this process of smuggling cocaine into the US, men and women in Columbia are paid to swallow 40 to 60 small plastic bags full of cocaine. They are given plane tickets and are sent to the United States and to deliver the drugs. It is extremely dangerous and in addition to the danger of being caught, if a bag should burst it can be fatal for the Mule. All the details of the journey are covered and at times it feels like a version of "Wages of Fear" but instead of a truck full of nitro, our characters have to protect a gut full of pure cocaine. It is gripping and two things really set this film apart for me. First, Maria is a complex character and isn't "forced" into this line of work as much out of necessity as much as pride. She longs for a better life than what her Colombian existence provides her and she hopes that one or two trips will provide her with the money she needs. By the end of the film, she has really matured and has changed in her values. The second thing that sets this film apart is the positive portrait it paints of the Colombian community in New York. This community plays an important part in her journey and is a nice contrast to the drug runners that are often seen in film.
PRIMER
Primer - This is the coolest film of the festival. Not only does it embody the spirit of independent film (it was shot for $7000) but it is an amazingly strong directorial debut. People have compared it too Pi, but too me it is much more reminiscent of "The Conversation" or "THX-1138". So much love and attention has been poured into every aspect of the film that anyone who cares about film will want to treat themselves and check it out. Science Fiction fans will particularly want to check this picture out, since it is one of the most mature science fiction films made in recent years.
Like great sci-fi, it is not so much about technology as it is about the effect that technology has on people. In the case of "Primer", the people in question are a pair of friends who spend their weekends and evenings developing computer and science projects in their garage. Initially, the inventions appear to be mother boards and chips to help hackers but gradually they decide to try something much ambitious. Imagine how cool it would be to eves drop on Bill Gates or Steve Jobs as they tinkered in their respective garages and you'd get the sense of the early scenes of the film.
However, once their most recent experiment begins to take off we're enter the world of Einstein and Oppenhiemer. The dialogue is sharp and extremely well written - think "In The Company Of Men" by way of "Donnie Darko" and you get a taste of this great new film.
Holy shit!!! I just found out that it won the Grand Jury prize here at Sundance. Awesome! Now it will hopefully get a release. I saw this movie twice while I was up here and since the screenings weren't too crowded I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be released but it looks like it will get at least some modest distribution. A lot of people left the film scratching their heads, trying to figure out what exactly happened but those who got it were so energized walking out of the theater. Again, a very cool challenging movie that deserves to be seen.
That's it for now. Keep up the good work!
Vincent Parry
