SUNDANCE - BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD won My Heart and the Grand Jury Prize as Well!

Behn Zeitlin & Cast of Beasts of the Southern Wild at Sundance

The best film I saw at Sundance this year was Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Just reflecting on this amazing film makes me emotional because it moved me so deeply.  I knew as I watched the credits roll that it was bound to win the US Dramatic competition and it probably generated more buzz than anything else at the festival this year.  Fox Searchlight purchased it and I can’t wait for it to come to my hometown theater so that I can take my friends to see it.

The story is very magical and something that I have never seen from an American director—it was more reminiscent of something Spanish (Like Water for Chocolate or Talk to Her).

Hushpuppy and Wink

Beasts is the story of Hushpuppy, age 6, who lives in the “Bathtub” with her father Wink.  The Bathtub is a magical place beneath the levy.  Because she is 6, Hushpuppy interprets the world literally…her mother was so “hot” that she could set water to boiling, the ice caps are melting and freeing pre-historic creatures that have been frozen in the ice for thousands of years.  The magic is whimsical and freed me to view the film with fresh eyes.

Beasts can be viewed as a coming of age story.  It can also be viewed as apocalyptic because in the course of the movie, the rains cause the levies to break and flood the Bathtub, which virtually destroys Hushpuppy’s world.  Hushpuppy is losing her father and her home at the same time.  Beasts can also be viewed literally…Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana.  Although a specific location other than the Bathtub is never named, as a viewer it was impossible not to think about Katrina and its aftermath.  As such this film is also a cautionary environmental tale.

As amazing as the film, is the story behind it.  Beasts was actually part of a Sundance directing workshop in 2009 and backed by Sundance.  The screenplay is a collaboration by Zeitlin and his long-time friend, playwright Lucy Alibar.  It is a labor of love, years in the making and filmed on location in Louisiana.  Zeitlin did exhaustive casting searches and found the little girl who plays Hushpuppy in a library and her father Wink in a bakery (he is a baker).  Benh did not employ any professional actors in the film, but rather cast locals and then had them work with acting coaches.  As they rehearsed the scenes, they rewrote them so that the dialogue was natural for each character.

It is essentially perfect.  I fell in love with its magic and I believe that you will too.  Grade A.

SUNDANCE - RED LIGHTS is a Fun Horror/Suspense Flick

Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver,  Rodrigo Cortés.  Photo by Victoria Will. 

Red Lights is a paranormal thriller directed by Rodrigo Cortés that is currently playing at Sundance.  I have not seen Cortés’s previous film, Buried, so I went into the theater without any expectations and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I think Red Lights will do so well commercially that I am surprised it is even at the festival.

In Red Lights, Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) are professors (parapsychologists) who study the paranormal with the aim to reveal its fraudulent origins.  Robert De Niro plays Simon Silver, a famous blind psychic who has returned to the public eye after a thirty-year hiatus.  Tom becomes obsessed with proving that Silver is a fraud and all sorts of spooky things start happening around him.

The movie had a dark creepy suspenseful tone that reminded me a bit of Black Swan and I had to cover my eyes more and more frequently as the movie progressed.  There is a fun twist at the very end that I did not see coming—but I would rather not spoil it for you.

Two small complaints: I would have preferred the ending to be a bit more concrete and the final scene where Tom imagines the future doesn't work because it came off funny.  Tom imagines a happy future, but in his daydreams, he is covered in blood and the juxtaposition of blood and daisies was just odd and funny...it didn't fit the movie.  It did not tell me what was going to happen to Tom or Silver and I wanted to know.  But don't let that keep you from seeing this movie.  

Red Lights is a classic type horror film with enough story line to appeal to broad audiences.  This is the type of scary movie that I like…one filled with suspense and surprise endings.  You may enjoy it best if you think of it as an entertaining popcorn flick and not a critical Sundance success.

Millenium Entertainment already purchased the film for either 4 million or 6 million (I have read both online) so we can all look forward to seeing it some date night at the local theater.  Grade B.

SUNDANCE - ELENA is a Yawner

Elena is a Russian film in the spotlight category at Sundance. I have two good things to say about this movie:  I loved the music by Philip Glass and it is beautifully shot.  Other than that I would not recommend the film…I spent most of it waiting for something to happen.

Elena is an older woman, who is married to Vladimir—a wealthy retired man.  They live in a lovely apartment somewhere in Russia and their life is good.  Elena uses her pension to support her good for nothing son and his family (wife and two kids).  Her son is out of work and lives in some sort of government housing.  Vladimir’s daughter has also never worked a day in her life, but she was raised with a silver spoon.

(Spoiler Alert) Elena’s son needs money to bribe the university to accept his son in so that he won’t be drafted into the army.  Elena asks Vladimir for the money and he says “no.”  Fortuitously Vladimir has a heart attack and before he can invite his attorney over to draft a will that would leave most of his money to his daughter, Elena gives him a dangerous drug cocktail and he dies.  With no will, Elena and Vladimir’s daughter split his fortune and Elena moves her son’s family into her lovely home.  She gets away with murder.

That is about it.  In the end, I did not care about any of the characters and felt completely let down that the event the music led me to anticipate never happened.  Grade C.

SUNDANCE - I AM NOT A HIPSTER Rocks With Genuine Emotion

Cast of I Am Not a Hipster at Sundance: Destin Cretton, Lauren Coleman, Kandis Erickson, Ron Najor,Dominic Bogart, Joel P. West, Alvaro Orlando, Tania Verafield, Eva Mah,Tammy Minoff
Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America

I Am Not a Hipster is the debut film by Destin Daniel Cretton.  His short film, Short Term 12, won the Grand Jury Prize in 2009.  The story is about Brooke, an indie musician in the San Diego scene, who is mourning the loss of his mother. 

I found the first 15-20 minutes of the film a little lifeless.  Brook (the musician) was suffering from such a deep depression that the same bland expression on the screen started to get tiresome.  But just when I started to feel restless, Brook’s father and three younger sisters came to visit and infused the screen with life.  Watching the sisters and their love for Brook was very honest…like a real family.  Brook and his father reconciled with nary a word between them, just like most families I know—you just start talking to each other again. 

My favorite moment was when the three sisters were in Brook’s bathroom getting ready for bed and they opened his medicine cabinet and saw a picture of them all as kids and one of the sisters said, “he still loves us,” and taped the picture to the outside of the mirror where Brook saw it in the morning.  It was small moments like those—all three sisters sharing the bed and making breakfast together and in the ocean together that made for honest movie magic.  

I Am Not a Hipster has great writing and great acting too…across the board.  Dominic Bogart plays Brook subtly and his performance is very moving.  He has a Broadway background (Rent, Jersey Boys) along with film and TV and I can’t wait to see and hear more from him.  I also loved the sunny character Clarke (Brook’s best friend and manager) played by Alvaro Orlando...their friendship was delightful.  I want Clarke as my best friend.   

When the film ended, I was in genuine tears...nothing contrived in this movie.  What a gem!  Look for this film at your local indie theater during the year.  I have not heard of a purchase deal yet, but I cannot imagine that it will be overlooked.  The movie soundtrack will be released later this year.  Currently you can download some of the music at caninesmusic.com.  GRADE B+.  

Here is the trailer for your enjoyment:

PS.  The "R" rating is due to more than one "F" word.  

SUNDANCE Sayonara Day 3

My third day of Sundance began with the romantic comedy Liberal Arts.  What a relief.  Though I love drama, I was ready for some light-hearted fun and Josh Radnor's new film provided it.  I followed that with the documentary, The House I Live In.  Funny thing...the documentary was the most crowded theater of my Sundance experience...not a single empty seat.  It is about the failure of our "war on drugs" and was extremely thought provoking, though 20 minutes too long.

I rounded off my Sundance experience  with Julie Delpy's film, 2 Days in New York.  She wrote and directed it as well as composing some of the music!  I laughed so hard and  could so relate to everything...bonus was that the entire cast, including Chris Rock, were there for the talkback. So bummed not to have a good camera!

Now it is back to my life as a mom.  Some day I will spend an entire week at Sundance, not just a weekend.

Other films that I heard good things about were:  Ethel (which is coming soon to HBO), Sugarland, and Slavery By Another Name which premieres next month on PBS. I wanted to see Monsieur Lazhar, but ran out of time. It is Canadian and my favorite film last year was also Canadian...Incendies.

SUNDANCE Day 2

This afternoon I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild...the debut film by Benh Zeitlin. Amazing and my pick to win the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. Apparently every indie distributor wanted to buy it and it was finally purchased by Fox Searchlight. I followed that masterpiece with the Brazilian film, Father's Chair, which was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect film day. My only residual was a headache due to crying. Looking forward to a comedy tomorrow.

MY SUNDANCE REPORT DAY 1

Just concluded my first day exhilarating day at Sundance!  I had tickets to two films, I Am Not a Hipster and Elena.  Due to a severe snowstorm that shut Parleys Canyon (the canyon between Salt Lake City and Park City), my girlfriend and I were able to get into see Red Lights off of the waitlist…hooray!  Sadly, however, the same snowstorm prevented the directors and actors of today’s films I saw to make it to the Salt Lake City theaters for talkbacks.   I’ll start writing some reviews, but in a nutshell, I Am Not a Hipster was filled with honest and real emotion.  Elena was SLOW and left me with a lot of unanswered questions.  Red Lights was thrilling…it will be a huge success in theaters everywhere!