loosie: words: Finally, A Reason To Go To Utah

Finally, A Reason To Go To Utah

Our live and direct report from the glittery slopes of the Sundance Film Festival.

by A. Rosenbloom | 2003.02.12

Well, it was another successful Hollywood takeover of the small quaint ski town of Park City, Utah this year, as Sundance 2003 rolled into town. A nice place to vacation with the family for 50 weeks out of the year, Park City was not ready for the hoards of filmmakers, producers, actors, and critics like yours truly to invade and set up shop. Everyone from Hollywood spinsters to movie buffs from both coasts converged on the land of 3.2 beer and skiing for Robert Redford’s independent vision once again. While there were some returning guests, Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach) came for his second trip, and French auteur of shock Gaspar Noe for his third, this year’s program featured a nice selection of first time filmmakers. Two teams of documentary filmmakers successfully tried their hands at narrative, while figuring out a way to merge the two. Highlights listed below.

Films to watch for in the coming year:

The Station Agent -- First time writer/director Tom McCarthy (you may, or may not remember him as the fiancé of the girl getting married in Meet The Parents…didn’t think so) creates a nuanced and beautiful story involving an unlikely friendship between three people in upstate New Jersey. Actors Peter Dinklage and Patricia Clarkson (in one of four films featured at Sundance) turn in the best performances at the festival. Far and away the best film at Sundance this year, and likely to win over the world upon its release.

Capturing the Friedmans -- Documentary filmmaker Andrew Jarecki said he set out to make a film about the most popular birthday clown in New York City. Then he found out that the clown had an interesting childhood: his father and brother were both sent to prison in the 1980’s for child molestation. Thus begins the story of the Friedmans of Long Island; a family torn apart by the highly publicized case that sent Arnold and David Friedman away. The film, with the help of footage shot by the family while Arnold was home on house arrest, shows in great and excruciating detail what happens when a family is rocked by scandal.

Quattro Noza -- Graduates of the little known but excellent University of Colorado film program, Joey Curtis and his cinematographer Derek Cianfrance (who took home the top prize for cinematography) bring us into the world of underground street racing in Los Angeles. Shot over two years in and around Southern California, Quattro Noza is a Romeo and Juliet story set against the backdrop of the highly dangerous racing world. The story is not as important as the feat accomplished by Curtis and Cianfrance with the digital media. This film, more than any other, shows where the digital format can take us. Small cameras are placed on the fronts, tops, and sides of cars racing up to 140 mph for maximum reality. A true vision of the future of guerilla filmmaking.

American Splendor -- Documentary filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini take a turn at narrative with this story of real life comic writer Harvey Pekar. Paul Giamatti brilliantly plays Pekar with all of his nervous ticks and paranoia. The film follows Pekar as he decides to make his dead end life into art, as he writes his comic American Splendor with the help of his friend Robert Crumb. The film rewrites the rules on the biopic, giving the real life Pekar and his friends the chance to comment on the action displayed in the film. Berman and Pulcini create the most adventurous film at the festival.

All The Real Girls -- David Gordon Green’s first feature, George Washington, was seen little, yet lauded widely. Despite an imminent wide release, I fear the same fate may meet his amazing second effort. Shot on location in an around North Carolina, the film uses its spectacular locations as a character in what would otherwise be a simple love story. Paul Schneider and Zooey Deshanel turn in emotionally charged performances as the two lovers trying to make sense of their feelings. Though the film is about relationships, Green says that it is also about “how the sun sets, and how the leaves drop”. The stuff that Green calls the “boring stuff” might halt this wonderful film from reaching the audience it deserves.

28 Days Later -- I have to be honest, I thought Danny Boyle was tapped out. He had made three stellar films in a row (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary), and then The Beach. The only reason I excused the movie is because three times in a row he had delivered, and that is more than I could have asked from any filmmaker. When I saw his new film, 28 Days Later in the Sundance program my only thought was that I would give him one last chance to redeem himself. To say that he delivered, that he made one of the most enjoyable movies in recent memory, and that he redeemed himself would all be understating what he has done with this film. I shall refrain from giving away any summary, but I will only tell you that this is the most fun you will have at the movie this and next year. Equipped with a cast full of (essentially) unknowns and the brilliant cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, known for his work in the Danish Dogme films, he will surely be credited for reinvigorating a genre. Enjoy.