Hey folks, Harry here. As is often the case with Sundance... Many of our reports come in as our spies return to their computers. Here... Joe Bradley, as he did last year, recaps his experience of celebrating a week at SUNDANCE! And Joe is very very upbeat about the films he saw this year... And I have to say that I am very very eager to see GIRLFIGHT... I've heard from lots of people that it is... VERY GOOD. Well, here's Joe...
Harry -
I've just returned from a week at the Sundance film festival. This is my fifth year at the festival, and this year has been the best I've attended, both in terms of the quality of the films shown and the coolness factor (parties, celebs, weird once-in-a lifetime happenings). Here's my top 10 list for films that I saw:
1. "Girlfight"
Believe the hype - this is the best film I saw at Sundance. This was my last choice among the films I selected under my pass "A," mainly because the Sundance catalogue description was totally underwhelming. The film, however, was fantastic - a totally involving and moving picture about a high school girl who decides to box, and the consequences that arise as a result. The lead performance by newcomer Michelle Rodriguez is awards material, as is Karyn Kusama's direction. I hope Screen Gems/UA (the distributor that picked up the film) markets this for the masses because I think this could be one of the biggest films of the year, if the push is done right - they can get the teen crowd, the arthouse crowd, the family crowd. Really wonderful.
2. "You Can Count on Me"
Sundance is always full of films about dysfunctional families but this is the first such film I've seen that really captures the way brothers and sisters push each other's buttons. The two leads, Laura Linney (from "Absolute Power") and Mark Ruffalo are fantastic, and Matthew Broderick does a great twisted variation on his character from "Election." Martin Scorsese was an executive producer on this one, and it's easy to see why - well written, directed, and incredibly funny and moving. There was almost no buzz about this film among festival goers - I couldn't figure out why, as it really is a fantastic film.
3. "SongCatcher"
The day I saw this film at the Eccles, Janet McTeer won the Golden Globe for best actress. She rocked in "Tumbleweeds," and does so even more in this film. It's a very interesting premise - a college musicology professor (McTeer) goes off into the Appalachians to visit her sister, and discovers the locals have a tradition of balladry that derives directly from the Scottish and English folk songs the professor has been studying at her university. She gradually becomes friends with the locals and falls in love with the country and people, etc. The movie is so good in that it really captures the flavor of a time and place in a way that avoids cliches. At the screening I attended, one of the stars of the film, a young girl (first name Emmy, can't remember the last), performed one of the ballads pitch perfect to the packed house - a classic Sundance moment.
4. "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Who'da thunk? I went to see this documentary about Tammy Faye Bakker for the camp value (the blurred makeup t-shirt - "I ran into Tammy Faye Bakker at the mall" - is one of my favorites), and ended up being totally moved by the struggles Tammy Faye has gone through and her total resilience of spirit. Tammy Faye was at the screening and was hilarious and touching - Roger Ebert, who was also at the screening, must have snapped at least 30 photos of her and seemed totally starstruck by the whole thing. Ru-Paul narrates the documentary (he wasn't at the screening, but I saw him yesterday on Park City's Main Street wearing a bright green checked suit and looking totally fab), and free bags of makeup were handed out to audience members.
5. "Twilight: Los Angeles"
I never got to see Anna Deveare Smith's stage performance of "Twilight," and was really thrilled that the film version was included in the festival. Directed by Marc Levin ("Slam"), the film interveaves actual footage of the Rodney King riots with Smith's portrayal of dozens of characters involved in some way with that particular point in history. Smith's ability to channel these people (including Daryl Gates and Reginald Denny) was incredible, and Levin has done an excellent job of making the theatrical parts of the film cinematic.
6. "Legacy"
Documentaries are almost always the best part of the festival, and this was one of the best I saw, about a Chicago family's five year struggle to get out of the projects. Incredibly moving and inspirational, I hope this film (directed by Tod Lending) gets a theatrical release.
7. "Things You Can tell Just by Looking At Her"
One of the three big commercial films I saw (the others, "American Psycho" and "Trixie", were not nearly as good), this movie has a dream cast - Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Amy Brenneman, Kathy Baker, Glenn Close, Calsita Flockart, Valeria Golino. At the screening, Hunter, Brenneman, Baker, Flockart (and attendee Emilio Estevez) were all sitting in the rows behind us, all looking very cool. The movie was really great - a series of vignettes about the loneliness of life in LA. Hunter could get an Oscar nomination for her performance. The movie comes out in April, I believe - totally worth checking out.
8. "Panic"
I was at the screening one of your other readers wrote about, so I won't go into details about it, but will echo her opinion that the film (with William H. Macy and Neve Campbell) is really great.
9. "The Filth and The Fury"/"My Generation."
The two big documentaries at the film festival both have problems but overall both are excellent. The first, directed by Julian Temple, is about the Sex Pistols. Johnny Rotten was at the screening - still full of piss and vinegar, looked great. The film was introduced by Danny DeVito - who knew he was a Sex Pistols fan? The film itself is fascinating - some of it doesn't work (the animation parts are kind of annoying) but it is well worth seeing, especially if you're a fan. The second film is Barbara Koppel's documentary about the Woodstock concerts - 69, 94, 99 - and the comparisons between the three. Koppel doesn't resist the temptation to show the rampant commercialism of the later festivals and the change in music (did she, however, have to stack the deck by showing only the most nihilistic bands of the 90s, and print their lyrics to get the point across?). The film is excellent, however, and is a fascinating tribute to youth culture over 30 years.
10. Groove Armada at the Sunday night festival party
Every night of the festival there is a party for passholders and volunteers. Film festival bigwigs and stars hardly ever attend (much too public) but there's always free booze and food and lots of groovy wannabes. Sunday night Groove Armada, one of England's hottest dj acts, spun discs and the music was great, and was the grooving.
Kudos again to the Sundance programmers and staff for a great festival!
JOE BRADLEY
