Sundance film festival yields great new finds
By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
PARK CITY, Utah  The Sundance Film Festival is only half
over and already serious buzz is developing about a number of
films. The premieres have lived up to their popularity and the
dramatic and documentary competitions have yielded some great
finds.
Lines are also getting longer. As more of the film industry
escapes New York and L.A. to frozen Utah, getting into screenings
becomes somewhat of a nightmare. Recent premieres such as Miami
Rhapsody and Search and Destroy have turned away literally hundreds
of people with waiting list tickets. Overheard at Miami Rhapsody
was one local couple who complained, "This line is taking forever;
let’s go see The Lion King."
Yet such commercial fare is generally scorned at Sundance.
Giuseppe Tornatore’s A Pure Formality was a hit due to its cerebral
dialogue and "Twilight Zone" twist. Other artsy films have strong
followings as well.
The frontrunners in the dramatic category seem to be Parallel
Sons, Brothers McMullen, The Wife, Living in Oblivion, Party Girl
and perhaps Four Corners of Nowhere. Parallel Sons is one of the
best, John Young’s story of a small town white guy who’s got
dreadlocks and listens to rap. When he meets an African-American
correctional facility escapee the two forge an unlikely friendship
that ultimately turns passionate. Young’s steady economical
direction and strong performances from leads Gabriel Mick and
Laurence Mason make this the most consistent and powerful
entry.
Two festival favorites, Steve Buscemi and Tom Noonan have also
been drawing raves for their newest films. Buscemi, lead of the
1992 Grand Jury winner In the Soup, stars in Tom DiCillo’s Living
in Oblivion, a film-within-a-film about creating a movie. Buscemi
has been lauded as the director of the project, while Noonan is
back after his success last year with What Happened Was … With
The Wife. The film is one night in the lives of four almost insane
people, a psychiatrist couple and two of their patients at an
impromptu dinner party. As they rip each other apart and then heal
quickly for the next revelation, Noonan’s precise dialogue and
great camera presence makes this quiet movie edgy and
entertaining.
Entertaining is the strong suit of Daisy Von Scherler Mayer’s
Party Girl, where Parker Posey metamorphoses from a rave scene
queen into a library clerk. Pumping with grooving tunes and a hyper
performance from Posey, this film is destined to be a cult classic
as well as a fave of teenage girls everywhere. And it explains the
Dewey decimal system.
Yet the best film of Sundance is only 18 minutes long. Trevor,
the tragicomic tale of a young boy coming out in high-pressure
school society, is a sweetly succint story that does more in
seconds then most films can in hours. The title character’s passion
for Diana Ross, his longing for the most popular boy at school, and
an obsession with death make him fantastically loveable.
Unfortunately, there has also been a flip side to the quality
product. Many festival-goers are complaining about the unusually
high number of unimpressive movies, including the cheap but
unworthy Rhythm Thief, the nonsensical mess Naked Jane, and
unintelligent Fall Time. Angela, the story of two 10-year-old girls
trying to save their mother’s soul, is being felt sorry for because
it’s less than well-made. One has to keep an ear to the ground to
avoid some of Sundance’s lesser films.
Another gain in perpetual tip-acquiring is locating the parties.
While some of the receptions are stale and forced, many of the
less-official soirees are packed with celebrities and people worth
talking to. Free food and alcohol are plentiful, and if a hick band
isn’t polluting the airspace, the lush after-parties are the best
way to find out you should avoid Naked Jane and watch Parallel
Sons. If you’re lucky, you can catch three hours of sleep before
waking up at 7 a.m. to stand in line.