Sundance Film Festival 2011 - Movie Review Example

13 April Sundance Film Festival – Critical Analysis One of the largest film festivals in the world is the Sundance Film Festival that takes place in Utah on an annual basis. Over the years, this film festival has become renowned all over the world for its excellent taste and choice in awarding movies that have not only based themselves on trying to make and bring about a change in the world, but also movies that have class and portray meanings of concern to others. This festival has helped a number of independent film makers as well as famous directors of American descent come together and showcase their work and talent on a global basis. It is a great opportunity for any film maker to come forward and present his work to an international forum and panel of eminent people selected yearly. The festival hosts a series of different kinds of movies from all genres and includes feature films, short films as well as documentaries and dramas. The festival is now managed by a non profit organization that goes by the same name, i.e. Sundance Institute. This paper is a review of some of the movies that stood out during the festival in the current year, 2012. It was held from the 19th of January to the 29th of January 2012. This year, just like all the previous years, there were commendable movies shown which portrayed the talent of many directors, actors, screenwriters, etc, and helped them gain a platform to showcase their abilities. Some of the movies have been discussed within the purview of this essay. The movies discussed in the paper are Beasts of the Southern Wild, Like Crazy, ’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card, 2 Days in New York, 6631144, 5 Broken Cameras, About Face: Supermodels Then and Now. These movies were exceptional on their own, and some of them even won the best awards for the season. A well analysed description has been further provided for each of these movies and the kind of talent and fresh potential they have brought forth to the world of cinema, on an international basis, in the world today. Beasts of the Southern Wild: Written by Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a dramatic American film about a young girl called ‘Hushpuppy’ and her father, ‘Wink’. The two live in a Delta community called ‘the bathtub’ which is located at the edge of the world on the southern part. Like every father, Wink tries his best in order to help his daughter make her peace with the ways of the world from a very young age so that she is able to live her life without his presence in it one day. He tries to assure her that even though he would be around, there would come a time when she would have to stand on her own feet and make something of herself without her father there to protect her. The film further revolves around how Hushpuppy goes in search of her mother when her father passes away due to a deathly disease that he soon is diagnosed of. The film also follows the rising of various creatures of mythological existence called the ‘aurochs’. The film also contains folklore, making it interesting for a younger generation of the audience to follow it. It consists of how Hushpuppy stands at the end of the world in order to prove that they were once a part of it before it was taken over by unwanted beasts. It helps to depict the strong bond between a father and his daughter and how the two can live together and create harmony in each other’s lives. Also, it talks about the survival of the fittest as it portrays Hushpuppy’s journey from a young naïve girl to a mature young woman who understands the consequences of living in a world where she might even be forgotten. The film won an award in the drama category. Like Crazy: Love is the source around which most stories – both real and fiction, circulate. Like Crazy was one of the main movies to look out for at the Sundance Festival of 2011 as well because of its simple yet stark portrayal of young love. It is a movie about two college students who go from being just friends to in a relationship, but how their love is forced to wander over distances because of visa issues faced by one of them. This movie is a wonderful depiction of most long distance relationships in the 21st century and how people cope with them. It shows how mostly young people these days need to follow their respective careers as well and thus in a way, almost everyone falls into a long distance relationship somehow or the other. But despite the miles, the love is not lost if it is pure and true. Infidelity and cheating have been portrayed in this movie as objects that lure a person away from his focus and goal, but how fighting them to keep track of one’s love and life is important. The story follows the lives of two young college students, with very quick and witty dialogues full of narration in places too. The main aspect of finding this movie appealing is its simple yet real depiction of the lives of two people very much in love, something like Before Sunset/Before Sunrise. It follows both the characters as they struggle to find their place in life while keeping a certain portion of their hearts reserved for themselves. The movie also has a lot to teach the younger and current generation about having the patience and taking the responsibility to wait for someone one truly loves. It is very intense and has some excellent pictography and cinematography to look forward to as well. ’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card: From the talented mind of director Todd Sklar comes this movie set in modern day American society; a film about a family that has fallen apart and only the death of one of them can bring them closer to each other – a phenomenon that is rampant in American society today. The film consist of Jim and Dave, two young brothers that have not spoken to each other or met one another in a very long time. They have grown apart to such an extent over the years that they do not even like each other. However, when they get the news of their father passing away, they are forced to come together for a period of a week and that is when they find out that a limited edition Skybox Series Alonzo Rookie Card from 1992 is the point of contention which will bring them together and make them stay together for their father for some time at least. This short film of just 12 minutes is a comedic squabble between the two brothers who are so selfish that even their father’s death cannot bring together a peaceful reunion. Working as a precursor to feature length film Awful Life, Sklar described his thinking behind linking films by declaring “I thought it would be cool to be able to not just know exactly what we’re doing next, but have it tie into the short itself.” The dysfunctional brothers portray a reckless relationship which they try to regain and solve with the help of both drama and amusement throughout the course of the film and thus make it an interesting watch. 2 Days in New York: Written and directed by renowned French actress Julie Delpy, 2 Days in New York is a must watch for all those that are her fans, and even those that are not. Some say that the film is extremely witty and that the time spent watching it is a well spent 91 minutes. The film revolves around the intimate life of Marion and Mingus, a couple living in New York, very comfortably, with their cat and two children from their previous marriages. The film opens with a wonderful relationship brewing between the two (portrayed by Delpy and Chris Rock) and how the same is interrupted and obstructed when Marion’s father, sister and sister’s outrageous boyfriend come to visit. The family has its own traits and characteristics that turn the film into a hilarious piece. Aspects of racism and sexuality make their way into the film as the two try their best to not let their relationship fall apart because of the intruding nature of Marion’s family, as they are pushed to the very limit. It is wonderful to watch the two keep themselves together even though all the frustration and annoyance creeps into their lives because of the crazy French family. The film witnesses a conjoining of two people from different backgrounds and is also an eye opener for all those that thought people belonging to different backgrounds will not be able to make it. Despite Marion’s family, the two are able to sustain themselves and through an array of witty dialogues and fun scenes, they maintain their relationship in a most dignified and beautiful manner. Amidst all the members of the family, the kids, the sister and her boyfriend, the father and of course Marion and Mingus, the film goes through an entertaining series of events. 663114: Directed by Isamu Hirabayashi, a Japanese director who was honoured for his short animation film, 663114 is a wonderful seven minute depiction of life through the eyes of a cicada. The insect is aged 66 years old, giving the indication of him having lived a long and healthy life, and having looked at various wonderful and gory sights during the course of his lifetime. The seven minutes of the film portray a big earthquake, a big tsunami and a big accident that followed because of the advent of the two. Every sixty-six years a cicada makes its way out of the earth and climbs up a tree to shed its ski, however nature fails to take the same course of action this time as the film tried to draw a parallel between the catastrophes that took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The insect poses a fundamental question about the future of our planet. The film has a very different view point however is very hard hitting on the mind of the viewer. The film also helps the viewers to understand the impact of the big earthquake and the tsunami that had hit almost all of Japan, through the eyes of not only the people but other living beings such as insects, animals and birds. Nature is a very important aspect of life, something man tends to forget when he is in pain and needs help to escape from the clutches of it. It is nature that makes a man and puts him in the position that he is in and thus the tsunami and the earthquake were also natural in form. The film won a special mention for the best short film in the Berlinale Generation 14 Plus category. The various colours used within the film help it to transform the viewer into a parallel universe of pain and trauma along with other emotions for a period of almost eight minutes and leaves an impact on him even after. The film tries to send out the message of preserving the environment and may be classified along the lines of other animated films written and directed in order to help save the environment. 5 Broken Cameras: Directed by Emad Burnat, 5 Broken Cameras follows the story of a powerful tale told by each camera that has been found with numerous photographs in it. Set in a village in Palestine called Bi’lin, the photographs taken in the five broken cameras that were found are picturesque enough to take anyone’s breath away. When the Israeli army encroached upon this village in Palestine, its people chose the path of non resistance in order to make some room for the colonists that were Jewish by religion. The first camera bought by the director in 2005, helps to document the birth of his fourth son Gibreel and to commemorate the life in Palestine at the time of his birth and after. The film contains elements of the Israeli wall being built in order to segregate the settlements of people and disarm the population. The young Gibreel Burnat entraps himself into a peaceful struggle with life in the village throughout the journey of his growing up, and deals with the revolution as a peaceful man as trees are bulldozed, people are killed, and the wall of course, is built. Furthermore, each and every camera which had captured moments of the village – both the serene as well as the harmful events that took place during his years of growing up gets destroyed and these two aspects of the film are the main contentions or metaphors that indicate the conflict that later erupts in Palestine. Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi together get hold of these five cameras in order to tell an emotionally touching story to the world, from the focus of the images captured. The film was present in the world documentary category at the festival and also won an award in the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award category. The 90 coloured minutes that pass on screen are enough to make the bravest hearted of them all shed a tear or two because of the feelings that have been captured on screen and portrayed in the most wonderful manner. It is one of the most extraordinary pieces of art that depicts the clash of two societies coming together and fighting for a place to live in – a place where only the higher powers have a say and the people at the grass root level only want peace, love and affection. Amidst the torture and the pain, as young Gibreel loses his innocence and treads on the path his father carved out for him; and as the cameras are found, the story unravels in an almost horrific but exciting fashion, making it one of the best watches at the festival for a large audience from world over. About Face: The Supermodels, Then and Now: Modelling is not an easy task; it is a feat only achieved by some of the strongest women in the industry. The world of fashion involves a high number of gambles and risks where most women often fall prey to the negativities of life. Their beauty is by birth, however showcasing the same only takes place as they grow up and manage to take care of themselves in a manner which enables them to sell themselves to the world. Since history, there have been few women that have remained timeless all over the world; some of them, surviving even today have the most beautiful features which were once remembered but now forgotten. About Face: Supermodels Then and Now is a wonderful depiction of the intimacy that women of beauty shared with the film and fashion industry decades ago. It is a narrative of their lifestyles then and their lives now, the differences, comparisons and contrasts in the same. Each and every woman in the film has remained a pioneer of beauty in her time and the evergreen face of hers, thought promised to be remembered today, has brought a myriad of emotions to uncover in her life. Every interview within the film helps in unravelling the encounters of these women to the rest of the world and the deeds and actions committed by them in order to be where they are today. The film has been directed by one of the best portrait photographers, Timothy Greenfield Sanders and he has done his best to depict the lives of those that were lusted after, admired and impressionable for a very long time in the past. Every woman has shared her views on the philosophy of fashion and the strength required in order to endure the same in a candid manner. Footage has also been taken from the life of Calvin Klein and Eileen Ford in order to understand the glamour and excitement associated with the fashion world. The story also looks into how social issues became a major problem with models mainly; the stress that they were forced to undertake in order to get their jobs done, get ahead of the rat race and even be acknowledged in the industry itself. They took drugs, alcohol and even having sexual intercourse with influential men for reasons of money, fame and power. Some women even had to undergo days and days of being harassed by men forcing them to go against their wishes and then leaving them with nothing but rags and an undignified state of mind. These models had to truly part with their conscious at times in order to be in shows, showcase their beauty and bodies as well as be known of popular repute among the people. Despite this, they remain timeless icons today, and Greenfield’s beautiful documentary about their lives helps to uncover the past and the mistakes that they made; that they urge others in the modern day not to. The film depicts true power and a struggle that these women had to put up with in order to be where they are, and they have thus been saluted for their deeds rather than being condemned for the wrongs that they had committed. The film premiered in the category titled Documentary Premieres and is a complicated yet simple account of the lives of women who have made a change in their lives as well as in the life of society in general. They are true idols for the fashion industry in the modern era. In conclusion, the Sundance Film Festival of 2012 was a wonderful experience with a number of interesting and emotion invoking films being shown. Just like every other year, the films shows this year as well have been chosen wonderfully and have very different perspectives attached to them. Every individual should spend time watching some of them in order to gain a different view on thoughts recurring over society altogether. Works Cited "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." Beasts Of The Southern Wild. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." 92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." 2 Days In New York. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." 663114. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." 5 Broken Cameras. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . "Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah." About Face: The Supermodels, Then And Now. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . Read More