Justin Lin at Sundance 2012 Awards Ceremony / credit: David Magdael
I’m back in LA, enjoying the summer like weather… This year’s Sundance was a mixed bag for me, with the documentaries being the strongest component of the programming and questionable quality when it came to the batch of narrative features. But, that’s a trend that has been going on for awhile now, especially in the indie film world. Maybe it’s the fact that we live in an instantaneous world of 24-hour news cycles and Youtube video uploads capturing immediate reports and movements, ranging from the Arab Spring to “Shit My Blank” memes, life tends to be stranger than fiction. But, it was great to hang out with some Offender cronies, in a phat house, and in the end, my viewing experience in the second half of the Festival was much better. I already mentioned THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES and BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (which won the Grand Prize for US Dramatic Competition, which Offender Justin was on the jury for), in a previous Sundance report, so here’s my top picks from this year (in no particular order):
SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
This deftly funny film from writer Derek Connolly and director Colin Trevorrow, was inspired by the infamous classified ad seeking a companion to go back in time and to bring weapons. Starring Aubrey Plaza (PARKS AND RECREATION) and mumblecore film guru Mark Duplass, in a deadpan performance, this budding, slacker romantic comedy is also inspired by wisecracking ’80s movies like BACK TO THE FUTURE. The film played like gangbusters at the Eccles Theater, and it was super entertaining with witty writing, funny performances, and a lot of heart.
ROOM 237
The best documentary I saw at Sundance is this film geeky pleasure in the examination of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal THE SHINING and all its hidden messages ranging from semiotics and symbolism, to numerology, to conspiracy theories that have made this classic a mainstay of constant discussion amongst film and academic circles for years. Rewinding and manipulating the speed of some key scenes like it’s the Zapruder film, with intense theories from academics, film critics, and other fans that have very unique interpretations of not only the film but also of Kubrick’s oeuvre (he had a 200 IQ after all), this wonderfully delicious doc is for film aficionados only. Some of the theories are really out there, and some make you really go, “huh, that’s a good theory!” Check out the official website for more details.
VALLEY OF SAINTS
One of the few films from an Asian American filmmaker in this year’s Festival, VALLEY OF SAINTS deservedly won the World Cinema Award and the Alfred B. Sloan Award. A tender romance set in the politically tumultuous region of Kashmir, bordering Pakistan. Guzal, a boatman who wants to escape his doldrum life, lights up when he assists a young scientist named Asifa. This dynamic brings out competing forces of traditional culture and modernity, mixing deep seeded feelings that come out of the juxtaposition of natural beauty and third world obstacles. Beautifully and lyrically shot, the film unfolds poetically with the backdrop of potential violence in the town, which is really just business as usual in this region. Writer-director Musad Syeed does an exemplary job with this debut. Check out the official website.
1/2 REVOLUTION
The best documentary I saw at Sundance. A group of friends, living in Cairo and just a few blocks away from Tahir Square, document the first seven days of the revolution that occurred last spring. Gripping, scary, with an in-your-face and on the ground immediacy, you see the ebb and flow of hope and despair day-by-day, as the now disposed Mubarak’s hired thugs and police start to take over the streets. It’s a visceral, hand held testimony of the Arab Spring that CNN and Fox News is not capturing at all. 1/2 REVOLUTION is a testament of how digital cameras are putting these tools into the hands of the people, and why documentaries are just so mindblowingly better than narrative films right now.
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
Another amazing documentary, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN gained early buzz and an immediate sell to Sony Pictures Classics. Rodriguez, a ’70s rock musician faded into obscurity and never made it big in the US. But, his first album was bootlegged and made it to South Africa, where he became a major phenomenon. When his second album is finally released in South Africa, gaining him even more rock god fandom, two of his fans make it his mission to find out what happened to him and where the profits of his album sales are going to. The twists and turns in this well made and always entertaining film is yet another testament on how life is just more compelling and shows the life lines and connective tissues of art and culture no matter what country or culture you are from.
THE RAID
World premiering in last fall’s Toronto Film Festival, where it made a huge splash, THE RAID is a non-stop onslaught of violence and death, a breakthrough action film that harkens back to classic John Woo of ’90s Hong Kong fare. Directed by my friend Gareth Evans, THE RAID is essentially GAME OF DEATH, where an ambushed swat team is trapped in an apartment building and must fight their way down each level to escape the dastardly drug kingpin and his drugged out, machete wielding, animalistic minions. Showcasing Indonesian martial arts icon Iko Uwaise, this guy is the new international action star! Sony Pictures Classics will be releasing this film in late March with a kick-ass music soundtrack from Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. Highly recommended! Check out the trailer:
You can check out other “best of” opinions and wrap up reports from Indiewire, Entertainment Weekly and Filmmaker just to name a few. Next stop, Berlin!!!
