Imagine a jigsaw puzzle, that the more pieces you put together the harder it gets. That is my explanation of John Malkovich, and it is indeed a true classic. Stacked with a cast full of huge stars, it prior to watching it seemed almost impossible to fail. The best way to describe being John Malkovich is to think of it as jigsaw puzzle outside the box. Nothing is constricted, and it is clear that the director wants us all to keep an open mind to all possibilities.
The movie itself is something out of the ordinary, because the director seems to have to concern for breaking the barrier. Constantly the film is changing directions, and if you are the one who likes to constantly guess the outcome, than this movie is all you can handle. The film uses visual cues to play games with your mind. John Cusack does an excellent job in the movie representing the unemployed stressful aged man. While there is a strong comedic aspect to the film it has some dramatic aspects as well. Cusack is certainly not the only A list star cast in this movie, as Cameron Diaz plays an integral role cast as Lotee Schwartz. (more…)
Sundance is over, and it’s kind of a kick in the butt to get back into reality. I loved this false world I was living in, at the same time that it was real life. It was one man’s livelyhood on the line for his film, and another woman’s family backing her entire production costs. Real life and great worlds blended together to create a phenominal experience, and I want to share it with you now.
Friday Jan 16th
“Before Tomorrow” Sundance
Probably one of the most amazing films I have ever seen, it told the story of a family, and later a grandson and his grandmother. It definitely was amazing as my first film, and so beautifully shot. It had me and my seat neighbors in tears at the finale.
“Unmade Beds” Sundance
As I was one of the first to see the film for the class, and this was only my second film, I was excited for it. And I was excited for one of the great films at Sundance this year. While it had little plot line, I loved that it followed only the main characters around their less seen city. It was definitely a great coming of age film. (more…)
My ten day stay in Park City was an experience I won’t soon forget. Though I have no other winter terms to compare it to - yes, God help me I’m a freshman - it was the perfect blend of an exciting and relaxing trip. I dedicated myself to doing nothing but movie hopping, and the result was a (to me) staggering 25 films viewed during the trip. Thinking them all over there were definite front runners. Movies that resounded to me as a viewer for their original plot lines, jokes, filmmaking and informative q and a. For my own amusement, I tried to rate my 25 films from favorite to least, for there were also some movies that completely missed the mark!
1) I have to say my favorite movie had to be Lulu and Jimi, a love story set in 50’s Germany. A beautiful German girl rebells from her crazy mother and follows her heart to Jimi, a black american who works at the theme park. Together they go on a road trip to escape Lulu’s mother who is trying to abort Lulu’s baby and kill Jimi. The movie was touching, hilarious and filled with a cast of sexy, charismatic actors, it blew me away.
2) Mystery Team: Though not for everyone, the movie comic styling of Derrick Comedy Group made me a fan of this quirky detective movie from the start. It follow three naive boys as they try to solve a mysterious murder. As they see darker and more jaded youth around them they loose heart, but in the end, with many comedic twists and turns, solve the mystery as well as begin to understand themselves.
3) Peter and Vandy: A realistic portrayal of a love story told out of order. Touching and much more true to life than many romantic comedies, it left me hopeful for love in my life.
4) Paper Heart: A mocumentary following a comedian who doesn’t believe in love. Though her interviews with ordinary people are real, her romance with popular boy actor Michael Cera and her relationship with her director are scripted. This movie was hilarious in all its awkward and quirky moments.
5) The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle: Thank God for Sundance Film festival, otherwise a movie like this one would never be viewed. It is the very strange story of night janitors who find cookies in the garbage that cook while in your mouth. The men get addicted to the cookies which cause them to become pregnant with blue fish that they birth anally. Though the concept was certainly out there it was really artfully written, acted and shot, making it a creative gem instead of a self-indulgent waste of time. (more…)
Ashley Judd performs brilliantly in the extremely dramatic and touching film, HELEN. Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, Helen examines a woman who seemingly has the “perfect life” (a successful teacher, married, has a beautiful daughter) but is actually struggling with serious mental illness that is deteriorating her mentally as well as physically. We watch Helen being eaten away from inside out by her bipolar disorder and depression. We also witness the powerful and inspiring bond that arises between her and another woman through their struggles. The breakdown Helen undergoes is extraordinarily realistic as well as heart wrenching.
Talk about, depressing, dark and emotion driven, this film is not for the faint of heart. The cinematography compliments the story to a T. The muted and monochrome like colors juxtaposed with Helen’s descent into mental illness are genius.
What I really liked about this film was that it was not your cliche film what with predictability and a happy ending. I loved the elusiveness that existed within the story and how there was not always easy answers or any answers at all, and things didn’t always work themselves out. I also loved the message of never giving up no matter how hard it is and even when you want to give up more than anything. I am a big believer in the saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” and this message definitely emanates from the film. (more…)
From Marshall's film, When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Cooker
The last film, if you want to call it that, that I saw at Sundance was sadly disappointing. It was a New Frontier entry called The Works of Maria Marshall. This category is supposed to be about what’s next in stretching the boundaries of film. So watching what Marshall repeatedly said was meant for art museum installations in a theater just didn’t capture my attention.
The description of her work made it sound like it would embody the unflinching nature of independent film. She uses herself and her children in short films that are provocative and possibly disturbing. Her teenage son is seen shooting a gun and the first film she made is the son as a baby smoking a cigarette. I bought a ticket for it because I wanted to get that range of emotion that’s far from mainstream film. (more…)
Humpday was a film by Lynn Shelton about two old college friends. Ben (Mark Duplass) is married to a wife he loves, and the two are attempting to have kids. Everything gets thrown up in the air when Andy (Joshua Leonard), Ben’s old friend from school shows up on his doorstep at two in the morning. Ben is an artist, he travels, and lives a very “Kerouac-esque” life. After a drunken dinner party and subsequent night (while Ben’s wife sits at home with cold pork chops) the two entertain an idea that two straight guys having sex would be a perfect addition to Humpfest, a porn competition. This becomes a sort of macho challenge between the two old friends, each maintaining his commitment to this idea and each trying simultaneously to let the other know that its “okay” to back out. Eventually, Ben must tell his wife what his plans for Andy’s “art project” are, and things just go downhill from there. Deadset on facing the thing that makes both men most uncomfortable, simply to prove themselves, the situation is unmistakably funny yet also telling.
Mark and Lynn
With mostly unscripted dialgoue, the director says “the writing happened in the editing room”. Throughout the filming, neither the director nor the characters knew if both men were going to eventually follow through and enter the competition. This style of filming lent an air of sponteneity and realism that adds a lot to the film, with original dialogue such as “You know, you aren’t as Kerouac as you think you are, and I’m not as white-picket-fence as you think I am. These black and whites!” The film was shot in order, and over the course of ten days and was built entirely around the actors. It raised a certain philosophical question: should you do what scares you most, or makes you least comfortable, just for the sake of doing it? A funny, light comedy. Not ground-breaking or exceptional, but good.
Spring Semester has officially started. It’s hard to believe that my Sudance ‘09 experience has happened and is already over. These last two weeks are one of the best escapades of my nineteen years. There is no way that this final blog will be an accurate representation how much I enjoyed Sundance.
It’s hard to believe that anyone couldn’t love Sundance, but I guess it has to do with what you put into it, and depends on your view of films. I wanted to do as much as possible with an open mind. I could have done more, but I wouldn’t take anything back. I saw some amazing films, some of which won awards, others were bought, and many I can’t wait to see again. There were a few that disappointed me, but only one that I did not like. There were five films I would have liked to see but did not get to; I hope that they will in some way be distributed.
Not only did I get to see some incredible films, but the atmosphere in which I saw them made the experience that much better. For the majority of the films there was a Q&A afterwards done by the director, writer, producer, and/or the actors. This made the films considerably more personal; I was able to understanding and hear the creators point of view. The Q&A for Brief Interviews with Hideous Men helped me understand some of the choices the writer and director made, making me appreciate the film on a different level.
Lizzie and I had the chance to see the excellent Mississippi Damned at the Slamdance Film Festival, and while waiting in line we met the director and the editor of the film. We were both impressed by the story, cinematography, and the editing - the film immediately gives a strong impression of place, and the mood of the film alternates between a poetic and recollective style and an intense immediacy. The performances throughout the film were quite strong and the characters were utterly convincing.
Here’s a brief interview with the director, Tina Mabry. For more about the film, check out Lizzie’s review, and the film’s website.
I don’t know what I was expecting from this movie but I was pleasantly satisfied by the laid back style. It’s a journey through two lives that don’t come in contact until the end of the film. A lack of a real climax kept any urgency out of the story but it felt like a normal progression through the abnormal lives of the two strangers with no job, no permanent residence, not going to school and not really meeting until the end, even though they live in the same building. So what exactly do these two have to offer each other? Director Alexis Dos Santos plays with fate so that her characters don’t really figure out their own lives until they have a fateful conversation with each other. (more…)
Well I seem to have reached the end of Sundance 09. Even as someone who has a veracious appetite for films, I must admit, this feels like a good place to stop. After watching so many it will be good to give my brain time to process some of the artistic works which have been flashing before my eyes these past ten days.
It has been a fantastic ten days though. I’ve been so impressed by how many of the movies I thoroughly enjoyed. With only two films leaving me disappointed (Let’s Make Money, and Peter and Vandy), everything else managed to bring something interesting to the table at the very least.
But Sundance can never be boxed up and put out into a DVD collection because it is much more than just the movies that happen to be showing there. Everywhere I turned it seemed people who simply loved movies surrounded me. Some of these people get bored with cookie cutter Hollywood films, others just want to see something unique. Some were part of the industry, others desperately fought just to get their film made and shown here in Park City. It makes for a group of people who are fun to converse with while waiting in the freezing cold while you’re doled out a waitlist number for that flick you just have to see. (more…)
