Festival Photos by Ray Keller

We landed at Sundance a day ahead of the official start and are already overwhelmed with the marketing blitz.

While the Sundance festival certainly started out as a venue for independent movies – movies that were not getting the attention they should have from the Hollywood studio system of the time, circa 1985 – it has slowly but surely become a studio system of its own. For independent film-makers, ‘getting into Sundance’ at this point mostly means getting your screenplay accepted into their workshops and with the help of the Sundance Institute, getting it produced. This is all fine on one level but I think it adds to the nature of this festival as a hype machine rather than a venue to see films from all sources.

As of last year the timing of Sundance has moved back a week, it now starts the Thursday after the MLK holiday rather than before. The locals have the theory that the reason for this was to allow the ski area to take advantage of that holiday. I can also imagine that this move allowed companies some time to transport their CES pavilions an easy 422 miles from Las Vegas to Park City, UT and get some more use out of them. I’m sure that’s what we’re seeing in some of these cases: Acura is here (as always), Canon as well and Samsung is here with a VR room. We took this picture through the window as they were setting up and managed to get in there the next day when it was open. I don’t know which of these speakers were actually making the sound but it did sound good.

There is also much hype of and by high tech darlings: Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, Kickstarter . Uber has a huge presence here, with a pavilion in the middle of party-central and parking lot filled with cars of eager Uber drivers waiting to pick you up. There’s also the Uber helicopter ride from SLC to Park City for the down to earth price of $200. Dropbox? You can use their site to exchange documents as you are making your film of course.

But hype schmype! What about the movies?

Even before the festival has started, Netflix and Amazon have been busy making acquisitions:

Amazon purchased “Complete Unknown” with Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon (his performance is reason enough to see “99 Homes” if you haven’t caught that one).

Netflix bought “Fundamentals of Caring” (Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez) for seven million. They paid five mil for the streaming rights to “Tallulah” starring Ellen Page and directed by Sian Heder. She got her start writing on the Netflix series ‘Orange is the New Black’. Netflix is the new studio. They also acquired an Iranian horror film, “Under the Shadow”.

I’d like to see an Iranian horror movie, just to see what’s up with that. It’s not on our schedule at this time. Ticket acquisition at Sundance is an ever-evolving affair. The lottery-to-get-a-time-slot-to-purchase-a-package-which-allows-you-to-buy-tickets-at-a-later-time-also-determined-by-lottery system was revised to free-for-all-scramble-to-buy-a-package-which-allows-you-to-buy-tickets-at-a-later-time-determined-by-a-lottery. And, fewer packages were available this year. But, more individual tickets were available. The advantage to this for attendees is that individual tickets sell for $20 while packages work out to $50 per ticket. The disadvantage was that there was no way to know that more tickets would be available for individual purchase, and that sale happened only a week before the festival began so I would think that people might have revised their plans to attend before that sale happened.

There is still the electronic waitlist system which also seems to have more tickets available but we did overhear some people saying that not a single waitlist-person got into the 1200 seat Eccles Theater for the opening night showing of “Other People”, a cancer drama starring Molly Shannon.

We saw our first movie this morning “Belgica”, review posted soon. So far we have tickets for 13 other movies, I’m especially looking forward to “Jaqueline (Argintine)” a scripted film consisting of a documentary film crew who’s subject is a woman who claims to have uncovered an assassination conspiracy (got that?). One film we couldn’t (as yet) get tickets for is “Weiner-Dog”, directed by Todd Solondz, it seems to be a follow-up to “Welcome to the Dollhouse” and I guess to “Palindromes”. Trouble is, the movie “Palindromes” opens with the funeral for the principal character in “Welcome to the Dollhouse”, Dawn Weiner. “Weiner-dog” centers around a Vet-tech named Dawn Weiner. Some characters are too precious to keep and too precious to lose.

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Wiener-Dog

If you know Todd Solondzes’ movies and like them, you won’t care what I write here, you will see this film. I endorse that action. If you don’t know these movies (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”, “Happiness”) or know them enough to hate them, you might cut hometheaterhifi out of your favorites list for this but I loved Wiener-Dog. This film is sort of follow-up to “Welcome to the Dollhouse” as the beloved Dawn Wiener makes an appearance. In this case Dawn is played masterfully by Greta Gerwig. We are meant to ignore the fact that this character was killed off in one of Solondzes’ earlier films, “Palindromes”. And we are happy to do so, especially when Ms. Gerwig revives her so faithfully.

“Wiener-dog” could really be considered a series of short films connected only by the shared ownership of a Wiener Dog. Dawn Wiener works as a vet-tech, rescuing the wiener dog from euthanasia. This is the only time we see how the dog finds its new owner. There is a campy intermission in the film showing wiener dog traveling the country while an unforgettable country song is sung in her honor. This song will take over your brain for days and the sequence lets us know that Wiener-dog is finding new owners and new homes.

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Here’s how I would describe what Solondz does: He takes irony, smashes it with a hammer, puts it in a vitamix and serves it to you as a nutritious, if not always yummy, smoothie. Many people come away thinking there is little or no humanity in the films but it’s the most human of the characters (Dawn Wiener for instance) that are portrayed with love as they struggle to make connections. This is tightly interwoven with deadpan humor and wry commentary on the state of society and the arts. In this film the themes of death and what is undervalued, too easily disposed of, is what is really central in each vignette.

Danny Devito’s performance as a wiener-dog owner and beleaguered film school professor is heartfelt and agonizing as he strives for recognition and success while the world is aimed only at the bottom line and racing to get there. Zosia Mamet (Girls) is unrecognizable as Zoe, a young woman visiting her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) attempting to get money for her artist-boyfriend. I can’t wait to see more from this actress.

Sundance 2016
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Virtual Reality at New Frontiers

Sundance 2016

Sundance 2016

The New Frontiers exhibit at Sundance is to show innovations in film making. Historically it featured art films of the type that are shown in museums. A few years ago there was an interactive sort of game where Sundance attendees attempted to track and eliminate a fictitious viral outbreak afflicting Park City. All this while a steam-bath portion of the display effected a real viral outbreak.

Sundance 2016

Sundance 2016

Last year New Frontiers was about 80% Virtual Reality (VR), this year 100% or more. It’s hard to imagine a steady stream of content compelling enough to get families to sit on a couch together, unable to see or hear each other while their heads are encased in extensive VR gear. It’s even harder to imagine however, that the gaming industry won’t be pursuing VR in a big way. Indeed, most of the displays presented an opportunity for interaction in worlds that looked very game-like.

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One other problem that the VR industry must overcome – safety. The exhibits here found it necessary to provide spotters for the people wearing headsets in order to keep them from falling over or otherwise injuring themselves or others.

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The green patches in the photos of the folks with giant pods on their heads are simply decorative bits of plant material. I thought it might have been there to provide earthy odors, completing an experience Virtual Outdoors. Guess I’d better claim that patent if it’s not already owned by John Waters.

Certain Women

The latest film by Kelly Reichardt . “Meek’s Cuttoff”, released in 2010 is the one you might know her by. In that film, women especially suffer the stark realities of the Oregon trail in 1845.

The promo line for “Certain Women” is “The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.” This is not a good description. Yes, it is a conglomeration of 3 short stories about women (by author Maile Meloy). Yes the film could probably have worked having been set anywhere in rural America but Kelly is a NW filmmaker (Sadly Ms. Reichardt no longer lives in Portland, OR but during the Q&A she said it was probably at Powell’s Books (Portland mainstay) that she discovered this author.) “Certain Women” was filmed in and around Livingston, Montana and it looks it.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

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But the description that says the lives of these women intersect and that they are blazing a trail seems way off base. I would say that dealing with limited opportunities for love and careers is what ties these stories together. The fact that they are the stories are shown as happening more or less simultaneously does add to the message that the vast landscape itself brings certain problems of its own. Country living, as they say.

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The stories start with Laura Dern as the lawyer for a man who has been injured on the job. He can’t get his head around the fact that the system is unfair and his (female) lawyer is the person he can turn to for understanding. In the second story, a woman is coming to terms with the state of her marriage. We see the change on the face of this character, so beautifully portrayed by Ms. Williams.

The final story is the most heartbreaking as a ranch hand, played by Lily Gladstone, develops affections for a young lawyer (Kristen Stewart) who has inadvertently signed up to teach a class on education law to local teachers. She didn’t realize that she would be driving four hours each way two nights a week. In this final story, we see an acceptance of the fact that many things don’t work out.

So there is a sort of progression from story to story but most in the audience were waiting for something to happen most of the time. And for this reason they rated the movie poorly. It’s not for everyone.

The scenery and cinematography is absolutely beautiful, even the drab and dreary towns are compelling. Perhaps because it was shot on film. The decision to go with film was done at the last minute when digital capture was simply not capturing the actual look of snow.

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Each year I seem to arrive at Sundance a little grumpy about the hype and façade-fakery of the Hollywood system but then the utter humanity of the actors and directors humbles me. At the end of the Q&A for “Certain Women” Kristen Stewart grabbed the mike to say some nice things about director Kelly Riechardt. Kelly immediately tried to run off the stage and was playfully restrained by actress Lily Gladstone.

Unlocking the Cage

Documentary by Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker. Documenting attorney Steve Wise’s fight to give animals personhood rights. D A Pennebaker is the legendary filmmaker, : “The War Room” and “Monterey Pop”. On “The War Room” as well this one, Pennebaker worked together with his wife, Chris Hegedus.

The animal rights movement has won huge victories in the past decades, there are laws on the books outlawing cruelty. Still, the situation is basically unchanged. If researchers or corporations declare that they have a need, or declare that they aren’t being cruel, it goes unchallenged. This movie has a few scenes depicting the cruelty that still goes on. And there are other issues, this movie has some gruesome images of animals killed for sport or poached for their parts (such as a Rhino horn) but they are kept to a minimum.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Anti-cruelty laws are a legislative solution, lawyer Steve Wise has taken a different route. Through the courts. What if animals had rights? Why don’t they have rights now? The answer is they aren’t persons. Ok, what is a person? Science has recently come to the conclusion that the brains and thought processes of apes, dolphins and whales and elephants is equal to or greater than our own. They have language. They have culture. They have intelligence.

While Wise is prepared to make those arguments they aren’t debated in the court proceedings shown in the movie, rather the judges seemed blocked on the basic notion that our laws were written for and deal with humans. Still, Wise was able finally to make some headway with at least one key judge (Barbara Jaffe) who sits on the supreme court of the state of NY.

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The case that Wise and his team are using in court is one of long term captivity of a chimp. The people involved feel that they are doing the chimp a service, having rescued it from a clearly worse situation. Still, the chimp is locked up with no companionship and limited interaction with humans. If this chimp can be declared to have rights, he would have to be freed, by court order. There is a chimp sanctuary ready to receive this guy but more than one person in the audience asked what the world might look like if Wise were to win his case. There wasn’t an answer. Wise stated that as a lawyer he’s focused on the clear legal path that is right in front of us.

Shorts Award Winners

We saw several good short films collected into one program of award winners. I want to urge you to find some way to see “Thunder Road”, directed by and starring Jim Cummings as a police officer doing an especially embarrassing job of eulogizing his mother, who loved to sing ‘Thunder Road’. You have to see this. I don’t how just yet. It doesn’t seem to be available online at the moment. This might be one of those rare shorts that actually ends up making the filmmaker some money somehow. It really should.

The movie is completely harmless and innocent but you might feel a tinge of disrespect for the dead because you are laughing so hard in the context of a funeral. It might help to know that during the Q&A, Jim Cummings told that audience that his mother has informed her sister (Jim’s aunt) that if he fails to re-enact this at her funeral, he is to be beat-up. You so have to see this. At the end of the credits you will see that it was shot in one take, the audience at Sundance could not believe it.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Jacqueline (Argentine)

This is the first feature from director Bernardo Britto who had only made animated shorts previously. Wyatt Cenac plays the director of documentary trying to track down and then follow a young Argentinian woman who has uncovered secrets about her government.

Like many films in the Next category at Sundance this one seems like some guys with a video camera took a couple of weeks to make a movie without much thought. In this case though there is a little bit of message that was meant to be conveyed specifically by something that looked like it was thrown together in a couple of weeks by guys with a video camera. That is, it shows some of the chaos and vanities of film making as well as the disposable nature of films and news. I don’t think the quality of the overall presentation would be enough to make it satisfying for most audiences even with that understanding.

There was some degree of budget for this movie – they had to travel to Argentina. And it does give a sense of what the mountains there are like. Seems like they are littered with dead dogs however, the filmmakers loved to show them in various states of decay. Wyatt Cenac is the only recognizable actor, he provides extensive voice over which is over-used.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

The 4th

Like many films in the Next category at Sundance this one seems like some guys with a video camera took a couple of weeks to make a movie without much thought. Did I say that before? In this case though the film works pretty well. Shot in LA, mostly on the 4th of July, director Andre Hyland plays a dude wanting to host a 4th of July cookout, but everything goes wrong.

The ‘everything goes wrong’ parts of this film are pretty predictable but they are done well enough that it is still enjoyable to watch. I enjoyed escaping to sunny LA while in the mountains of Utah in January. I suspect this will be on the Netflix soon enough and it would work for mild escape any time.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Little Men

A film about gentrification, how it changes things in neighborhoods, how it ends up dividing us by class and race. It felt very refreshing to see a movie with such a premise (as opposed to super heroes or yet another biopic). The execution of the movie reminded me of films by the Dardenne brothers (“Two Days, One Night”) but not done quite as well. The Dardenne’s are famous for having every character being a sensitive human being (kind of like real life) and for always filming right in their own neighborhood in Belgium. “Little Men” was filmed in Brooklyn and during the Q&A audience members were curious about which neighborhoods specifically. Answer: Director Ira Sachs pictured the film as being set in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, it was indeed filmed there but they also shot a little bit in Williamsburg.

The film is called “Little Men” because at the center of the story are two teenage boys. One is the child of a single mother (Chilean actress Paulina García star of “Gloria”), who makes her living in a sewing shop. The other is the child of Brian and Kathy Jardine (Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle) who, after the death of their father, inherent the building that houses the shop and the apartment above. The teenage actors are newcomers and they do shine in their roles.
More than gentrification, you could say this one is about how to be a good parent in the midst of difficult problems, in this case, money (to paraphrase Greg Kinnear in the post-film Q&A). Like Mr. Pig, this may be a good one to watch with teenage children. I think both of these movies had the line “Parents are people too.” Director Ira Sachs credited Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu who made “film after film about children”.

Another remarkable thing about this film – no cellphones anywhere. A work of fiction then and not at all like real life. But easier to watch than people constantly on their phones.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

NUTS!!

A documentary about Dr. John Brinkley, a man who made a fortune even in the midst of the depression by implanting goat testicles into men. Yep.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

There’s more to the story though. If nothing else, after watching this doc you’ll know a bit of American history that is worth knowing and that you probably never heard before. Indeed, this doc only happened because director Penny Lane (no relation to the famous groupie) happened to find the book “Charlatan” by Pope Brock while browsing in a library in 2008. Brock is interviewed extensively in the film.

The movie proceeds in the manner in which Penny Lane understood the book which is probably equivalent to the way the people of the time regarded Brinkley. He was a savior and hero to many, then there was a trial in which he did not fare well. At that point the film, as did the audience at Sundance, seems to revel in this man’s downfall and the notion that he was ‘nuts’.

It seems that the book and film presume that the surgery was bogus due to what looks to be an unfortunate inflation/conflation of the term ‘transplant’. Of course the animal parts cannot plug in and start functioning in place of our own (though transplanting pancreas cells from pigs has been tried as well). It seems clear though that there would be some residual testosterone (and other hormones) in the goat testicles that might cause a temporary boost to the levels of the human subject.

You might still call this a ‘transplant’ but ‘implant’ would have been a better term. Still, it was sad to see the filmmakers and audience take joy in the idea that this man was nothing but a quack and his patients were nothing but duped. Even in the dialogue created from the trial transcript Brinkley tries to explain as much but that thread goes nowhere. It’s more fun to accuse and blame it seems.

But all of that is only part of the film and part of the history. Brinkley’s real place in the story of America is in radio. The film does a great job showing how Brinkley utilized a radio talk show to sell his products and treatments. Laws were passed specifically to stop him ‘(The Brinkley Act’ was part of “The Communications Act of 1934). Brinkley skirted this law by building XER-AM in Mexico, just across the border from Del Rio, Texas. The station would eventually broadcast with 1 million Watts of power. Enough to reach to Canada.

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Mr. Pig

This is a really interesting, if not perfect film. The film aims to primarily be a commentary on parent/child relations, especially fathers. Most of the time is spent with Maya Rudolph playing the daughter of Danny Glover as the two drive around Mexico. As such it is a great travelogue for some really beautiful parts of that country. Finally the film makes some strong comments about modern farming and ranching methods. So the other passenger is a pig (he does a great job too).

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During the Q&A director Diego Luna said that the film was shot in order, and one of the benefits of this was that they didn’t have to have all of the answers. Things could be worked out along the way. But not everything is, at least from a dialogue standpoint. Some things are thrown into the conversation between Glover and Rudolph but not followed up on. The film still works as a whole but it seems like there was more potential there than was realized.

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The Q&A was especially fun. Danny Glover came out first, moving slowly as he hobbled his way to his seat. There was the usual mutual admiration between Ms. Rudolph and Mr. Glover. Maya Rudolph said that she was looking for a more serious acting role. “In comedy you can hide behind being funny. I wanted to do something interesting and meaningful.” Then, as Mr. Luna talked about his father being a farmer and how modern factory methods deprive pigs (among other animals) of a natural life, he demonstrated how semen is obtained from pigs manually. Ms. Rudolph had the 1200 seat theater in stitches as she picked up on the technique.

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Sundance 2016

How to Let Go of the World (and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change)

The latest documentary from Josh Fox. Mr. Fox scored one of the few environmental victories in the history of the movement, thanks to his first film “Gasland” which debuted at Sundance six years ago. He helped to bring about a ban on fracking in the Marcellus Shale, the New England rock formation that generates the water supply for much of the state of New York including New York City. So the movie begins with a (lengthy) sequence of Josh dancing in his living room. Then he goes outside.

As evidenced by millions of dead Hemlock trees, the North East, like everywhere else is severely affected by climate change – losing its biodiversity at a rate that should be inducing panic and willingness to make radical changes. Convenient for us, it’s probably too late. Even if we stopped dumping CO2 tomorrow, the damage we’ve already done is still playing out.

So what are we to do? As Mr. Fox said in the Q&A, “As a single person, you can do almost nothing”. The point of this film, that though we may be losing the world, we have each other and the potential to effect change directly, locally, maybe worldwide, by getting together and evaluating what it is that we value. It reminds me of an old movie directed by Mr. Redford himself: “The Milagro Beanfield War”. Would make a great double feature. The doc is coming to HBO in the spring, “The Milagro Beanfield War” is not on the Netflix but Amazon has the disc.

This is a really good doc, it goes on a little too much at times but Josh Fox makes his points with clarity and he has a knack for getting great footage. At one point he is participating in a flotilla protest over strip-mined coal being shipped from Australia to China. The police counter by putting people’s lives in immediate danger (the coal takes a bit longer but is more effective). Fox’s boat is capsized and so as he’s falling into the water he throws his camera to someone on a nearby boat, the receiver makes a miraculous catch and keeps filming.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Frank and Lola

Michael Shannon is the best actor yet to win an Oscar. Last year’s “99 Homes” has a lot going on but it is the tension and underlying anguish coming through on Mr. Shannon’s face that make that movie. In “Frank and Lola” the stern look is maintained in the role of Frank, a Las Vegas chef who, while wildly talented, is on a bit of a career slide having to resort to catering jobs rather than running a high end restaurant. He meets Lola (Imogen Poots), a beautiful young woman , recently graduated from fashion design school. As he is going to meet her at a bar he slyly hangs back when he sees a man (Justin Long playing ‘Keith’) seemingly hitting on Lola at the bar.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

The encounter turns out to be innocent, at least it seems so, though Frank misses that. Keith end up offering Lola the perfect job and more suspicion and jealousy ensues. I’ll stop there but that is really only about 10% of the movie, things get really dark and Michael Shannon’s imposing character is utilized to full effect. And even better, he is quite believable showing vulnerability through the rough exterior. It would have been interesting though to see some other actors attempting this, it is a tough assignment to be the tough guy, with rightfully diminished trust in his mate find a way and reason to keep trying. The reason has to do with past traumas experienced by this young woman. How to deal with these issues of trust and the less-than-perfect past that we all have is what the movie is about in the end.

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There were many film-fan type questions and comments at the Q&A. One audience member remarked upon the elliptical (Steven) Soderbergh type edits that were used near the end. Will have to learn about those. Director Matthew M. Ross is clearly a student of film.
Rosanna Arquette and Michael Nyqvist fill out the cast with excellent supporting roles. Watch this one when you want a thriller with some polish and heart.

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Operation Avalanche

Holy cow. This is one for the record books. It’s a comedy, that’s easy, now let’s see if I am able to describe the plot: In the height of the cold war, the CIA was aggressively recruiting from ivy league schools, amongst the recruits are a couple of filmmakers who declare themselves ‘The AV Club of the CIA’. They learn from their superiors that the moon landing is seen as crucial to demonstrating superiority over the Soviet Union and that the Soviets have a mole somewhere within NASA. The AV Club proposes that they go into NASA, posing as documentary film makers, to uncover the mole. They fail at that but end up uncovering much more, a plot to fake the moon landing should it be necessary to do so.

Why is that such a big deal? As stated by the director, writer, star of the film Matt Johnson: “This film could only have been made with the help of a great lawyer, without that the budget would have exceeded $60 million (just for location clearances).” In this case it the lawyer was Chris Perez, the same one that cleared “Escape From Tomorrow”. That horror movie that played at Sundance a couple of years ago. The film was (illegally – or so it seemed) shot at Disneyland with no permissions. The speculation was that “Escape From Tomorrow” was destined for obscurity but through an amazing crack in the fair use law you can see it on Netflix right now. The crack is that if you can film anywhere if you need that specifically for your story. Places themselves cannot be copyrighted. Moreover, you are not required to tell people that you are doing it, or precisely what you are doing.

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Here’s an example from “Operation Avalanche”, keeping in mind that they are creating a work of fiction, in which actors are pretending to be making a documentary (in the 1960’s). The filmmakers called NASA saying that they are making a documentary about the moon landing so would it be alright to come to over and film there? Oh, and can we have everyone wear period clothing? Don’t worry if you don’t have any, we’ll bring some you can borrow. So, there are ‘actors’ in the film, actual NASA employees, pretending to be 1960’s NASA employees. During the filming they thought they were in a documentary, turns out it was a mockumentary. Close enough for rock and roll.

If you think carefully about what I just described, it means that the filmmakers were limited to one take when they were pirating a location. On top of that, the film was not scripted, the scenes were set up with the desired action or result but it was up to the actor to come up with the dialogue on the spot.

The film is quite frenetic and the plot moves fast, in multiple directions as a CIA conspiracy should. Director Matt Johnson said that it was self-referential as well in that the CIA’s AV Club are narcissists, they want to create their own world and film themselves in it, as do these (real life) film makers. The fast pace is also part of their world, listening to them in the Q&A, it was clear that their minds move at a million miles an hour. I think I’ll have to buy this one on disc when it’s available so that I can slow it down and digest all that occurs.

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Their minds are quick and they really know their stuff. Matt Johnson stated that they watched “Gimme Shelter” ten times in a row just to get the feel for how things were filmed in the late sixties. They shot the film on video using modified zoom lenses from the time (the sixties). “Uncoated lenses from that era have a look that immediately makes it look vintage”.They then printed (transferred) everything to 16mm stock and then re-printed digitally to show the film. A 16mm version will be shown at the SXSW film festival.

A car chase with some vintage cars was especially exciting – and even more so to film it seems. Since the film is from the perspective of the camera of the documentary the car chase meant that the cameraman for the documentary was in the back seat of the Dodge Dart (I think it was) that they were driving. To capture the car chase he had to turn in all directions, he couldn’t wear a seat belt, and oh yeah, one of the rear doors kept flying open. So the car chase was filmed on the last day of shooting in case the car, or actors, were damaged. When you watch this, you might wonder as I did if they really shot out the windows of the old car. Nope, that was digital effects.

The filmmakers stated that making this film reinforced their notion that there was no way the moon landings could have been faked. They had a distinct technical reason for stating this – the moon landing as played on TV was a continuous 40 minute shot. The way to fake moon walking is to use slow motion, which wasn’t available on video tape at the time. Even if you could have shot 40 mins of slow motion video at the time – the amount of tape would have been prohibitive. Don’t know if I’m convinced of anything by that argument though – the CIA had and has nearly unlimited resources. Anything to beat the Soviets.

Lionsgate showed the kind of bravery appropriate to a lion and bought this film, it should be in theaters in the summer. Wow. Meanwhile, their first file “The Dirties” is available on Netflix streaming.

LO AND BEHOLD Reveries of the Connected World

A documentary about the internet by Werner Herzog. As he introduced the film Mr. Herzog said that he hadn’t intended to make this as a movie, rather he started it with the intention of making a series of youtube videos. After only a few days filming it became clear that the subject needed the larger, longer format.

Herzog is a master filmmaker without a doubt, and this film benefits from that but for me, a person who makes his living in the computer industry, there wasn’t a lot of new information. It was interesting to see Elon Musk and other notables in science and technology filmed in Herzog’s style where the footage we see starts well ahead of the speaking or questioning.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

The film is divided into 10 or 11 parts, beginning with the birth of the internet as part of DARPA in 1969, Herzog takes us into the room where it began. Other segments cover the growth of the internet, how society is reliant upon it, hackers, internet addiction. The final segments on Artificial Intelligence and some predictions for the future cover some of the coolest stuff. During the hacker segment, an interview with famed hacker Kevin Mitnick is particularly good as are interviews with brain science researchers at Carnegie Mellon. Some of the speculations are annoying however. The idea is put forth that if we could martial this vast array of computing power in order to automatically adjust the light level to our preference when we walked into room, then we would really have something. Yeah. Wow.

Indignation

Based on Philip Roth’s novel of the same name and directed by long-time Ang Lee collaborator James Schamus.

Logan Lerman is ‘Marcus’, as an only child and long-time employee in his father’s butcher shop, going to college on scholarship is very big deal. So he’s a more-serious student than his roommates, or anyone else on campus for that matter. Still, he’s a young man and ‘Olivia Hutton’ (Sarah Gadon) catches his eye. As the romance proceeds, it’s a little too much for the conservative mores of the time.

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Sundance 2016

This is an excellent movie, especially in light of the fact that it is Schamus’ directorial debut. The quality of the story telling and attention to technical details is amazing. In the Q&A after the film a question came from the audience about the costumes and color schemes used throughout. Schamus remarked that he developed a custom color palette for the cameras used in the shoot: “to match Kodachrome mixed with a little bit of Ektachrome”. I’m expecting an Oscar nomination for costumes and/or the cinematography. Still, there is a bit of a clinical feel overall, as if all of the parts are polished too much before connecting them together.

The presentation of the dialogue probably plays a part in that it has a Shakespearian tone. One of Marcus’s roommates is theater student, heavily into Shakespeare. It seems like his presence serves the purpose of tuning our ears to the idea that the characters will have very clear and detailed ideas that they present in lengthy sentences.

Sundance 2016

Set in 1952, this film presents an interesting next step in American culture after that presented by the current Oscar nominee ‘Brooklyn’ which I was fortunate to see at last year’s Sundance. While “Brooklyn” presents the promise of America under the guise of a young and innocent love story, “Indignation”, set only two years later in 1952, shows us a society more than willing to sacrifice youth in needless wars and ignore the fact and consequences of sexual abuse. Or even worse, actively withdraw compassion when it is needed the most.

Lovesong

Sundance 2016

This is the third film in the dramatic competition at Sundance for director So Yong Kim. Starring Jena Malone (“Hunger games”), Riley Keough ( “Mad Max, Fury Road”, granddaughter of Elvis Presley) and Brooklyn Decker. The director’s skill is well in evidence here, the film has the feeling of real life. During the Q&A she remarked that the first part of the film was unscripted, the rest of the film was developed in response to how the actors dealt the initial scenes.

Riley Keough plays ‘Sarah’, a young mother with an absent husband – Cary Fukunaga, director of “Beasts of No Nation” and the first season of “True Detective”. I’d call Cary’s role a cameo as he is seen only via skype. In Dean’s absence, Sarah’s college friend ‘Mindy’ (Jenna Malone) pays a visit. During the visit there are hints and then signs that this could be more than a friendship.

Sundance 2016

This film has the emotional impact that Todd Haynes’ “Carol” lacks. This one is more poignant and heart breaking because the characters are very relatable, they could easily be someone you know. It is set in the modern day and the issues for Sarah and Mindy have more to do with circumstance and uncertainty than societal oppression.

Sundance 2016

Riley Keough and Jenna Malone are both great in these roles, the camera is close to their faces and the story is there. 

Agnes Dei

This was far and away the best movie we saw at Sundance this year. While some of the others, such as “Indignation”, have a lot going for them, none of them gel and transport you as much as “Agnes Dei”. This movie envelops you in its story. It takes you there.

Sundance 2016

Part of the reason for that is that the story is incredibly compelling. Based on true events, after WWII, Polish nuns who have become pregnant due to repeated rapes by Russian soldiers are aided by a young French doctor. While this is not the only place or time such a thing has happened, in this instance we have the diary of the French doctor.

Sundance 2016

The diary was largely clinical, filled only with medical details so director/writer Anne Fontaine fills in the emotions of the story. That’s a bit of an understatement. I would love to go on and say more about the plot but I don’t want to spoil it for you. I hope you see this one.

Sundance 2016

Some other reasons the movie transports you: The cinematography by Caroline Champetier. To me Europe always looks great when it is cold and snowy but in this case it’s a cut above. Also the acting on the part of the Nuns, all played by Polish actresses who did not speak French (and the director does not speak Polish). If other movies could be half this good by limiting communication between directors and actors, it would be done in a minute.

Sundance 2016
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

While we live in an age where rape has become a weapon of war, there was some really good news relayed by the director during the Q&A. As we’ve seen in many films, the problems compounded by the shame that society imposes on situations such as these. Turns out that “Agnes Dei” was shown recently at the Vatican. Pope Francis took the microphone after and said that it was important for the church to see this, to face the truth.

Belgica

This was the first movie we saw at Sundance this year and for a while it was at the top of our list as the best movie we had seen. It doesn’t have a deep message or moral but it does such a great job of showing what it wants to show that it has to be acknowledged.

Sundance 2016

What it shows is the story of a bar, a true to life bar it turns out, in Belgium. During the Q&A director Felix van Groeningen reported that his father started a bar in 1989, the bar was taken over by two brothers. Actor Tom Vermeir informed us that he knew Felix’s father and the two brothers and that he was in an ‘Alternative boy band’ which would sometimes play at the bar.

Sundance 2016

All of that makes the movie sound kind of home-grown but that is not how it comes across. It is highly polished and compelling. The relationship between the brothers of course becomes strained by the business and their radically different personality types. Drugs and drinking are involved and figure prominently though Felix van Groeningen said that wasn’t what he was trying to show: “In the end it’s just a feeling you go to rather than having something happen.” There’s plenty that happens in this movie though.

Sundance 2016
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

There is the intense, realistic relationship between brothers, racial tensions throughout, trouble in the bar due to bad behavior and the drugs (lots). Most amazing though, the music, which was all (except for three songs) was filmed live. This is jaw-dropping. Even as the first song was played by a bar band knocking out a rocking Velvet Underground type song I was thinking to myself that I have to get this soundtrack. Van Groeningen reported that it will be available on CD, download or vinyl.

Between Sea and Land

The title on screen at the end of the credits said “(The Swamp) Between Sea and Land” so if this one makes it to theaters the title may be slightly different. It will be in theaters, somewhere, as it was bought at Sundance by Global Screen. Winning both the Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Acting probably helped.

Sundance 2016

Sundance 2016

The acting award was shared by Manolo Cruz and Vicky Hernández. Cruz plays ‘Alberto’ a disabled man, confined to bed, living with and cared for by his mother, played by Vicky Hernández.

Sundance 2016

Sundance 2016

Cast credited Vicky Hernández who we have seen before in “Proof of Life”. She has the ultimate sympathetic role as a mother, with no money, living off the sea, caring for her disabled son. The disability is severe and progressive. In the Q&A we learned that she had recently had multiple back surgeries and was in pain throughout the filming.

Sundance 2016
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

The other star of this film is the setting. The movie begins and ends with a helicopter shot showing the water-based village of houses (on stilts) occupying a small bit of water separated from the sea by a sand bar. For almost all of the rest of the movie the camera is there amongst the houses. This is a real place (on Columbia’s Caribbean coast) and the other people in the film are people that live there. During the Q&A Cruz said that one of the things he wanted to show was how, in these kinds of places, the people are poor, they have nothing, but they do things. They are not hindered, they find a way.

Sundance 2016
Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Audience remarked on the periods of silence in the movie. “Silence is part of this place and these people’s lives”. The earthy reality of this movie is one of the main reasons to recommend it.