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…)

After a mind-numbing movie (Cold Souls, incidentally) I was ready for the lighthearted pseudo-documentary Paper Heart to help me remember why documentary film is so important. Paper Heart follows Charlyne Yi, a stand up comedian and musician who doesn’t believe that she can fall in love. She travels across the country interviewing people about their thoughts on love while she forms her own opinion. In the process of the documentary she herself experiences a surprising twist in her love life when boy heartthrob Michael Cera shows a romantic interest. This particular movie experience was unique in that I was one hundred percent enthralled by the movie.  I absolutely loved it, until the question and answer period. I felt like a little girl at a magic show who is suddenly shocked by the curtain being removed and the trick being proved as a fraud. But the movie, independent of the director’s comments, was one of the best I’ve seen while at Sundance.

Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera

When I believed Paper Heart was purely a documentary, there were so many wonderful, unique, believable aspects of the film. The whole audience was engaged; I have never heard such raucous laugher throughout the whole thousand-plus crowd, you really fell in love with this awkward, quirky tomboy in her quest for answers. There was a very natural, behind the scenes feeling to Paper Heart, often throughout the film it would show the sound and camera equipment. In the romantic scenes with Michael Cera it would sometimes pan over to the director and crew sitting near by which made the film all the more relatable and interesting.

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The listing for Cold Souls fascinated me when I first flipped through Sundance Film Guide. It described a science fiction film in which souls can be extracted from the body and purchased and sold on a black market. Knowing only this, I had to assume the film would take a metaphysical approach and examine the duality between the body and the soul.

The film starts of with a quote from Descartes in which he describes that the pineal gland in the brain is the physical location of the soul. I assumed this quote would be used to ease us into this exploration of dualism; unfortunately it seemed only to function as a plot device by letting people know the idea behind the soul residing in a physical part of the brain was not new. It also let us know where we need to stretch our creative imagination in order to enjoy this science fiction comedy. (more…)