Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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Monday, May 24, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Obselidia - Sundance 2010
So, I just ran across this article about British films at Sundance in my Telegraph.co.uk daily newsletter, and was reminded that I need to get blogging.
Obselidia, winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, is the movie I head the most conversation about at Sundance this year, people either liked it or didn't no one I spoke to was indifferent.
I am one of those who liked the movie, overall. The characters were likable (and annoying in real ways), the emotions sincere, the cinematography beautiful and the ending unexpected.
What disappointed me about this film had nothing to do with the film itself, I thought the description in the Sundance guide was misleading. It bothers me that they use this synopsis on the film's website, though it makes more sense after seeing the movie. Based on the description, I wanted the film to be more about George's encyclopedia of obsolete things, The Obselidia, than the human relationship between George and Sophie.
I did enjoy this movie and there is a possibility that I will see it again if it shows in Salt Lake.
Obselidia, winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, is the movie I head the most conversation about at Sundance this year, people either liked it or didn't no one I spoke to was indifferent.
I am one of those who liked the movie, overall. The characters were likable (and annoying in real ways), the emotions sincere, the cinematography beautiful and the ending unexpected.
What disappointed me about this film had nothing to do with the film itself, I thought the description in the Sundance guide was misleading. It bothers me that they use this synopsis on the film's website, though it makes more sense after seeing the movie. Based on the description, I wanted the film to be more about George's encyclopedia of obsolete things, The Obselidia, than the human relationship between George and Sophie.
I did enjoy this movie and there is a possibility that I will see it again if it shows in Salt Lake.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sundance 2010 - The Dry Land
What happens when you take two actors (America Ferrera and Wilmer Valderrama) best known to the wider audience for comic roles on TV and make them important secondary characters in a film about an Iraq veteran staring a relative unknown, Ryan O'Nan?
Magic. Movie magic.
This sadly real movie does not toy with emotions, does not draw them out with over the top drama, rather it makes you feel sorrow for James (O'Nan), his wife Sarah (Ferrera) his family and friends. Not pity, sorrow.
The movie starts with James return from Iraq, Sarah and their friend Michael (Jason Ritter) try to talk to him about what happened and his answer is "I can't remember." He isn't pulling punches or repressing his memory, he cannot remember. His PTSD has caused him to not remember what happened when his squad took a hit, leaving James, Raymond (Valderrama) and one other survivor, Henry (Diego Klattenhoff). Raymond tries not to tell him, and whitewashes his account of the hit their squad took, telling James he's better off not remembering.
After Sarah can't deal with James nightmares and other erratic behavior he and Ray decide to visit Henry at Walter Reed Medical Center, Henry finally tells James the truth about the hit.
The Dry Land is not marked as one I wanted to see in my poor, dog eared, scribbled in catalog. I am so glad I saw it.
Magic. Movie magic.
This sadly real movie does not toy with emotions, does not draw them out with over the top drama, rather it makes you feel sorrow for James (O'Nan), his wife Sarah (Ferrera) his family and friends. Not pity, sorrow.
The movie starts with James return from Iraq, Sarah and their friend Michael (Jason Ritter) try to talk to him about what happened and his answer is "I can't remember." He isn't pulling punches or repressing his memory, he cannot remember. His PTSD has caused him to not remember what happened when his squad took a hit, leaving James, Raymond (Valderrama) and one other survivor, Henry (Diego Klattenhoff). Raymond tries not to tell him, and whitewashes his account of the hit their squad took, telling James he's better off not remembering.
After Sarah can't deal with James nightmares and other erratic behavior he and Ray decide to visit Henry at Walter Reed Medical Center, Henry finally tells James the truth about the hit.
The Dry Land is not marked as one I wanted to see in my poor, dog eared, scribbled in catalog. I am so glad I saw it.
Sundance 2010 - The Temptation of St. Tony
I'm starting with last night's films and working my way back to the start, so the viewing and the review postings will not be chronological in any way.
The Temptation of St. Tony is an Estonian film, the first Estonian film ever to be accepted at Sundance, in several languages with subtitles.
At the Q&A the actors and set director who were present we asked about the metaphors in the film, and did their best to answer. With the director absent, they did an alright job, although I disagree with the interpretation they gave. It's been a long time since I've read Dante's Inferno, but at the end the movie struck me as a retelling of the Inferno in a contemporary setting. It helps that the movie began with the opening lines of Canto I,
"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost."
But I thought that there was a lot more of Dante than just that, even the ending in the ice, you may recall that Dante's deepest circle of hell is ice.
Tony is a factory manager whose life spirals out of his control, though until the end of the film he seems more of an observer than a participant in his own existence, not even arguing when he is told he needs to shut down his factory and fire his workers because the profit was 19.3 rather than 20%.
Even after sleeping on it, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this film. It has a feel of both French New Wave cinema and the German expressionist cinema of the 1920s (with a little Dada on the side), and reminded me of something else that I can't quite pin down. Maybe a near-nightmare dream I had and can't recall.
The cinematography is beautiful, the stark black and white of winter in Eastern Europe, with fabulously abandoned buildings, gives a sense of cold, bleak powerlessness. Kind of how Tony seems to have been going through life.
I really like this movie, without knowing why. It's a shame that the showing at the Tower on Tuesday evening was sparsely attended, I hope it has a larger audience in Park City.
My biggest regret about the movie is that they did not use yellow subtitles which are much easier to read on black and white.
This movie is weird, dark, beautiful, sad, bloody and sometimes funny.
The Temptation of St. Tony is not the strangest movie I've ever seen at Sundance, I think that honor will always go to 1998's The Pigeon Egg Strategy, but it's right up there.
The Temptation of St. Tony is an Estonian film, the first Estonian film ever to be accepted at Sundance, in several languages with subtitles.
At the Q&A the actors and set director who were present we asked about the metaphors in the film, and did their best to answer. With the director absent, they did an alright job, although I disagree with the interpretation they gave. It's been a long time since I've read Dante's Inferno, but at the end the movie struck me as a retelling of the Inferno in a contemporary setting. It helps that the movie began with the opening lines of Canto I,
"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost."
But I thought that there was a lot more of Dante than just that, even the ending in the ice, you may recall that Dante's deepest circle of hell is ice.
Tony is a factory manager whose life spirals out of his control, though until the end of the film he seems more of an observer than a participant in his own existence, not even arguing when he is told he needs to shut down his factory and fire his workers because the profit was 19.3 rather than 20%.
Even after sleeping on it, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this film. It has a feel of both French New Wave cinema and the German expressionist cinema of the 1920s (with a little Dada on the side), and reminded me of something else that I can't quite pin down. Maybe a near-nightmare dream I had and can't recall.
The cinematography is beautiful, the stark black and white of winter in Eastern Europe, with fabulously abandoned buildings, gives a sense of cold, bleak powerlessness. Kind of how Tony seems to have been going through life.
I really like this movie, without knowing why. It's a shame that the showing at the Tower on Tuesday evening was sparsely attended, I hope it has a larger audience in Park City.
My biggest regret about the movie is that they did not use yellow subtitles which are much easier to read on black and white.
This movie is weird, dark, beautiful, sad, bloody and sometimes funny.
The Temptation of St. Tony is not the strangest movie I've ever seen at Sundance, I think that honor will always go to 1998's The Pigeon Egg Strategy, but it's right up there.
Sundance 2010
Wow, Sundance time again and it's already the middle of the week.
I didn't realize how much I missed having a locals pass the last two years, school schedule made it impossible for me to plan three months ahead. But now I have been graduated with my Masters in Library Science and it's time for my traditional winter vacation. I anticipate 24 or 25 movies if all goes well.
I didn't realize how much I missed having a locals pass the last two years, school schedule made it impossible for me to plan three months ahead. But now I have been graduated with my Masters in Library Science and it's time for my traditional winter vacation. I anticipate 24 or 25 movies if all goes well.
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