So I attended the Sundance festival for the 2nd year. It was a blast! We had 8 people in 2 bedroom house with 1 bathroom! Yikes! But it went very smoothly! We are such a fine tuned machine! I watched 4 movies over the weekend... 1 bad... 3 great... Not bad!
King of Ping Pong
World Dramatic
Sweden, 2007, 107 mins, color
Director(s): Jens Jonsson
In icy Sweden, 16-year-old Rille faces a daily grind, trying to get
through life’s hassles with grace. Plump and moody, he’s the butt of
many a school joke and only an onlooker where girls are concerned. Home
life presents its own challenges: his single mom is dating a nerdy
older man, his absent father (a professional underwater diver) is
charismatic but undependable and usually drunk, and Rille and his
younger brother, Erik, struggle to feel grounded in the domestic game
of musical chairs.
Rille’s one refuge is ping pong. He’s an accomplished player and
supervises a community ping-pong program for kids, acting as mentor
and, okay, a sort of self-appointed king over his younger subjects. The
entire formula of Rille’s life makes for a tenuous equilibrium, and
this is threatened when family secrets are accidentally disclosed,
setting Rille and Erik on an emotional collision course. But in his
pained progress toward the chaotic adult world, Rille occasionally
catches a glimpse of the possibility of surviving and thriving.
Director Jens Jonsson renders this delicate story with finesse and
a quiet humor that infuses everyday drama, and even a few shocking
moments of near calamity, with lightness and warmth. Outwardly quiet,
but abuzz with emotional interest, King of Ping Pong is a lovingly
etched portrait of the awkward years, certain to be familiar to many
filmgoers.
*great coming of age story. A deep look at relationship between brothers. It looked sooo cold! It was snow everywhere!*
Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part 5
New Frontier Feature
2007, 90 mins, b/w
Director(s): Yang Fudong
New Frontier showcases uniquely innovative cinematic visions from the
art world that seldom find exposure in the film world. The powerfully
photographic imagination of rising Chinese art star Yang Fudong are on
display in this rare Festival engagement of his atmospheric and epic
tale, Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest.
This sensual and
poetic five-part series contemporizes a popular Chinese legend of seven
ancient intellectuals who survived the tumultuous transition between
the Wei and Jin dynasties by finding an indulgent refuge in pure
thought and bacchanalian delights within a bamboo forest. Yang’s
affluent intellectuals begin atop the breathtakingly picturesque Yellow
Mountain in Part 1, travel sexualized interior corridors of the city in
Part 2, experience an earthy rural life in Part 3, invent a new world
on a deserted island in Part 4, and finally return to the city,
integrating their experiences to take on the new urban challenge, in
Part 5.
Yang situates his epic exactly where detached intellect
meets extreme sensations. Action carries the same weight as inaction in
this abstract and contemplative work that engages with the operative
that comprehension is often best achieved in a state of immobility.
Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest may serve as a metaphor for the
overwhelming task--evident in China and many other parts of the
world--of keeping up with today’s torrential change.
**Ick! This movie was horrible... more than I can say... too experimental for me!**
U2 3D
Premieres
U.S.A., 2007, 85 mins, Color
Director(s): Catherine Owens, Mark Pellington
It goes without saying that U2 3D is not merely a concert film; it is a
concert experience—and one that will leave you fumbling around on the
ground for your jaw. An electrifying collage of South American stadium
concerts during U2’s 2006 tour, U2 3D mobilizes digital 3-D and
surround-sound technology to plunge us into almost supernatural
proximity to the musicians. Whether it’s dropping into The Edge’s sonic
orbit or passing over the crowd through a sculptural sea of
outstretched arms, we’re no longer on the outside looking in, but on
the inside looking in—a perspective shift whose novelty is at first
delightfully odd, and then pure revelation. The sense of intimacy with
the audience is uncanny, as if Bono has stepped right off the screen to
spend a moment with us, his extended hand mere inches from our faces.
Featuring songs that have touched fans for years, from “Sunday Bloody
Sunday” and “One” to ”Beautiful Day” and “Vertigo,” U2 3D establishes a
visceral bond that’s completely unprecedented in film.
U2 has always understood the power of multisensory engagement in
conveying its message, in this case, coexistence, so it’s not
surprising that the band would be inspired to explore the immersive
possibilities of 3-D. Call them polarized or rosy, from behind these
glasses, the world may indeed be a place of peace and hope.
**Its out on IMAX now and you should see it! It was amazing! You felt like you were on the stage the the band members... I will totally see it again at IMAX... plus the band was there to present it... sweet!**
Transsiberian
Premieres
Spain, 2008, 111 mins, Color
Director(s): Brad Anderson
Brad Anderson is a quintessentially independent film director known for
his attention to character psychology and the details and nuance of
place, traits that make the superbly crafted thriller Transsiberian an
uncommonly absorbing experience. One of those legendary train trips
that people used to dream about taking, the Transsiberian Express has
probably seen better days. An American couple, Roy (Woody Harrelson)
and Jessie (Emily Mortimer), decide to return home the long way from
their recent sojourn in Peking and meet another couple from the West,
Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara), with whom they quickly
form that tenuous bond that often unites fellow travelers away from
home. When Roy gets separated from the train at a stopover, Jessie
begins to realize that their compatriots aren’t exactly who or what
they seem to be. But the real dangers of their unforgettable trip have
only begun to surface; Russian cops (Ben Kingsley plays one), mobsters,
and locals are still to come.
As much a psychological puzzle piece as artful suspense, the film
showcases Anderson's newfound skill with dramatic action that meshes
seamlessly with his engrossing atmosphere. Blessed with a engagingly
subtle performance by the always-exemplary Mortimer and a surprisingly
fresh turn by Harrelson, Transsiberian transports us into a new and
different world and creates a unique cinematic experience.
**A great suspenseful movie... great story and well acted... i liked it a lot!**
Live@Sundance Videos
Meet the Artists Videos
Recent Comments