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Whispers echoed through Main Street: Maybe it was an off year, maybe the festival lost its juice.
Still, a few gems emerged in the slush.
I dont think this is the fault of the festival programmers or organizers, by the way.
There might be a number of reasons for this.
Which I suspect leaves Sundance with a smaller pool of exceptional projects.
I do also feel like were still witnessing some of Hollywoods post-strike doldrums.
I was surprised by how many films felt like they needed a few more script passes.
So, maybe this years lackluster lineup is a one-off and there will be stronger choices next year.
Fran, I believe this was your first in-person Sundance.
What were some of the highlights of the festival for you?
The movie doesnt totally come together for me, but its undeniably a ride.
Did any of the movies you saw garner a similar vocal response from the audience for better or worse?
The response atKiss of the Spider Woman, for example, was quite loud.
Thats when you know a film is really working its magic.
Then there wasTrain Dreams, which I didnt see at its premiere but at a press-and-industry screening.
Those tend to not have much applause or anybody hooting and hollering.
But my screening ofTrain Dreamswas pretty much totally rapt.
Fran:I stayed for most of theTrain Dreamscredits in an attempt to pull myself together.
I hope people get to see it in theaters; it deserves a screen as big as its trees.
You saw far more of them than I did what stood out in the doc section to you?
And thus, the docs get screwed when it comes to the buzz factor.
Again, a movie I expected to make more of an impact at the festival.
Where was the coverage of this mans bravery?
Of course, I myself could have written more about these films.
Instead I was too busy waiting in line forBubble & Squeakor whatever.
At the time of our writing, only a small handful of films have sold.
InPeter Hujars Day, Sachs tones down the volume and the crop tops for something more intimate.
What unfolds on screen over 75 blissful minutes is both mundane and transcendent.
by Alex Ashe,Peter Hujars Daymight be Sundances best-looking film, its interiors warm and inviting.
I dont want to think too hard about what NYC rents were like in the 70s.
But Whishaw and Hall are at the center of the action, gentle and curious about one another.
Sachs clearly has great affection for them as these two artists once did for each other.
Its like eavesdropping on the two most interesting people at the coffee shop down the block.
Is there anything you didnt catch youll be keeping an eye out for later this year?
Last year I missedIts Whats Inside.
(Still havent seen it, in fact.)
In 2021, I missedCODA.
In 2020, I missedPalm Springs.
And this year I missedTogether, the Alison BrieDave Franco thriller(?)
that Neon picked up.
There definitely was a strangely downbeat atmosphere at this years festival.
That seemed to encapsulate everybodys mood.
I had expected maybe a kind of Last Hurrah vibe, but it felt more … postapocalyptic.
Like the last days of a going-out-of-business sale.
Less buzz, less anticipation, less hope, fewer people.
(Also, technically speaking, fewer movies.)
Hell, maybe it was the election.
Lets not forget that Sundance tends to occur very close to, and sometimes literally on, Inauguration Day.
If a distributor buysGEN_, will their company get shut down?
Will Mr. Nobody get shipped back to Russia if we profile him?
If somebody releasesZodiac Killer Project, will Ted Cruz do a citizens arrest?
Im joking, but Im also sort of not joking.
The craziest shit seems possible at the moment.
Bilge:I will say this, however.
but its also raucously entertaining (Shahverdi is a spectacular subject) and, at times, heart-stoppingly sad.
I was completely riveted.
