Atafeh and Shireen

One has to remember how lucky we have it. We can listen to the music we like, and to love the people we want to love. For some that is not so true.

In Maryam Keshavarz’s ”Circumstance” she looks at the burgeoning sexuality between two Iranian young woman. Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) an upper class young Iranian woman who family lives a more liberal lifystyle and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy), who lives with her grandmother and uncle in a moderate apartment. The two explore their sexuality through an underground music and alternate lifestyle scene (where Atafeh’s friends ask her to help them dub “Milk” and “Sex and the City“).  

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Set in Ohio, somewhere near Columbus, “Take Shelter” tells the story of Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) and his slow decent into Schizophrenia or so we perceive. The film begins and we find Curtis exiting his home, the camera pans slowly right revealing a gigantic storm approaching. A light brown rain begins to fall, it looks similar to motor oil. That’s when Curtis wakes up.

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Kasey, Will, James, Hannah, David and I with some of the Superheroes

Last night a bunch of us ventured over to the Slamdance headquarters to catch a screening of Michael Barnett’s documentary entitled Superheroes.  We had heard a lot of buzz about the film, but weren’t entirely sure exactly what it was about or what it’s angle was.  I think most of us went into it expecting to see a bunch of costume-wearing, crazed, deluded comic book nerds who believe they have superpowers.  And yes, there were more than a few comic book fanatics involved in the film.  However, there were also ex-convicts, tattoo artists, school teachers, and even a fair number of women.  What they all had in common was a belief that the world is not as safe as it should be and a deep-rooted commitment to making it better in some small way.  And for the most part (with a few exceptions like Master Legend) they all seemed remarkably grounded, sane, and fully aware of the fact that they possess no actual superpowers.  We went into the film expecting to laugh at the people in it, and at the start of the film we definitely did a little bit.  But by the documentary’s conclusion, I think we all a new-found respect for these “real-life superheroes.” (more…)

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Brick” is a neo-noir film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The title refers to a block of heroin compressed roughly to the size and shape of a brick. It was Johnson’s directorial debut and in 2005 “Brick” won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the Sundance Film Festival. The plot of “Brick” revolves around the search for a missing girl (Em) who eventually turns up dead. Who killed her remains a mystery and Levitt’s character takes it upon himself to solve the mystery behind her murder. He enlists the help of his friend (The Brain) and together they shake down the student body of their California High School. Along the way, he intrudes into the inner workings of a local drug syndicate run by the Pin (Kingpin).

One thing that impresses me most about “Brick” is that besides the $450,000 budget, it was shot in only 20 days. What makes this film so wonderful is its dialogue. This film feels so fresh and original. Every character has their own motives and secrets and it would take even the best detective mind to figure out the ending before it happens; it’s a brilliant twist. I won’t spoil it here. Levitt does a smash up job as the lead protagonist (Brendan). We really feel for him and we want to follow him every step of the way on his journey to uncover the truth. “Brick” is a very well shot film. The cinematography on the film was done by Steven Yedlin, and most of the filming was done on the weekends so as not do disrupt the casts classes. Yeah, the majority of the cast were high school students. Awesome!

“Little Birds” tells the story of two childhood friends who runaway from home seeking adventure. All their lives Alison and Lily have lived near The Salton Sea, in my opinion one of the most depressing places I’ve ever seen. One day they meet a group of boys and in some way Lily feels that they could lead her to a better life. A couple days pass and Alison and Lily run away to Los Angeles leaving their families and lives behind; but once there they find that their fantasies of adventure were just that, fantasies.

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Well it’s the fourth day of Sundance, and I have seen the best film; or at least the best film so far. Today I saw “Another Earth” and it was great! I haven’t seen a film that felt this unique and fresh in a long time. “Another Earth” is about a girl who, after a horrific accident, seeks forgiveness in the man she took everything from. Eventually she learns to love him and because of her, he can turn his grief into a new born spirit. Together they change their lives.

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Superheroes, directed by Michael Barnett, is a documentary revolving around the lives of “Real-Life Superheroes.” These people, as a hobby, decide to spend their nights patrolling the streets of their towns and cities in search for criminals and crimes in action. When first entering this movie I thought it was going to be about mentally ill people who believed they have super powers and ran around in costumes thinking they could save the world. In reality the film was much more. These “heroes” are ordinary people who typically hold ordinary jobs and decide to spend their nights and off hours helping those in need. Not only to they try and deter crimes happening at that moment but they also bring necessities like food, water, basic clothes, and toiletries to homeless people and those less fortunate. During the Q&A after the film some heroes in attendance spoke about talking to communities to raise awareness regarding crime in their areas. (more…)

“Green is the color of hope. Green is the color of Islam.” The Green Wave opens to animation of a young boy running down the street with the narrator talking about how his nation has been searching for its lost voice for over one hundred and fifty years. He talks about how for a few short weeks his generation felt like they were closer to that goal than they’d ever been before, but he is afraid that as it had been before, it was nothing more than an illusion. (more…)

Knuckle, directed by Ian Palmer, is a documentary about a clan of Irish travelers with a long lasting family feud. In order to resolve the issues they have with each other, the two main families, the Joyce and Quinn McDonough’s, bare knuckle fight each other. Instigated by videotapes, the rivaling families call each other out for a day of brawls and bribes. Palmer follows James Quinn McDonough for 13 years watching his fights and trying to uncover the history of the family feud. James at a younger age was a prized fighter but stopped until he was called back to fight for the McDonough family. He won every match and boasted that no other traveler could beat him. This unfortunately instigated more fights and the clan threw money and men on the table to take on the famed Quinn. (more…)

Ticket to Paradise is by far my favorite movie at Sundance (so far). A teenage girl, Eunice, is molested by her father and she runs away from home. Starting her adventure, she meets up with 3 other teens and follows them to Havana in order to start a new life. She falls in love with one of the guys, Alejandro or Ale, who has a different idea of what beginning a new life means. His plan is to infect them all with AIDs so they can enter a hospital for free food, shelter, clothes, and freedom to do what they want. Unfortunately, no one else finds this idea as intriguing and they leave Ale to do what he wishes. Eunice struggles on the streets to find food and shelter, refusing to go home and risk a life with her abusive father. Eventually reuniting with Ale in the hospital, she infects herself and remains there with him.

Directed by Gerardo Chijona Valdes, this Cuban subtitled movie is a beautifully done film focusing on teenagers and their struggle to stay afloat in a world they don’t agree with. With fantastic character development and a great plot, Ticket to Paradise, takes you into the lives of troubled youth and really examines a culture unfamiliar to many.

This movie kept me sucked into the plot the entire time and I never lost passion for the characters. Learning about punk and rock culture in Cuba was extremely interesting especially since I come from a similar past. This is a movie I would recommend to all, as it is a multifaceted drama.