Sundance 2022: Growth Through Genre and Wisdom : Sonic Cinema

Sundance 2022: Growth Through Genre and Wisdom

Posted by Brian Skutle Posted on Feb - 12 - 2022 0 Comment

I think the next Sundance Film Festival I cover will have to be in person. Yes, there’s much to be said about the comfort of being able to watch films virtually, but it’s not really optimal in terms of being able to structure your film festival when the potential exists to do other things around screenings, and not just writing reviews or doing filmmaker interviews. Maybe because I had to work during this year’s festival had to do with it; maybe it was because all of my Premiere screenings were in the first five days of the fest, but something just felt off about covering this year’s Sundance. Maybe, hopefully, a trek in Park City would bring back the feeling the 2021 festival had.

One of the Premieres I had this year was actually a movie of Sundance past- “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.”. The 1992 film from writer-director Leslie Harris was a great reminder of the energy and sense of individuality indie cinema fostered at that time, and you can read my thoughts at my Patreon. Unfortunately, it also made me feel like a lot of the films we saw at this year’s Sundance were cut from a similar mold as other breakout hits at the festival. That’s not to say this year didn’t have some winners, however.

This year marked my “least productive” film festival in terms of watching movies since my first one, the 2019 Atlanta Film Festival. There are a lot of different factors at play for that, but as I’ll discuss, what I really liked out of Sundance this year is well worth watching. That said, there’s a lot of notable films from this year I’ve missed- no “892”, no “Cha Cha Real Smooth”, no “Something in the Dirt” or “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul”. Also no “Fresh”, “When You Finish Saving the World”, “Navalny”, “Dos Estaciones”, “Call Jane” or “The Territory”. I have every intention of catching up with all of them in the coming months, however. What stood out for me this year? Let’s begin the conversation.

Genre Reigned Supreme
The best movies I saw at Sundance this year were, on the whole, “disappointing” compared to the films I loved coming out of 2021. That might change as I catch up with the films above, but there wasn’t a lot that elevated to the level of “Mass” or “Summer of Soul” or “Passing”. What really connected with me, however, were genre films that put unique lenses up to humanity, and didn’t shy away from some of our worst impulses.

Let’s start with three horror films that were less about terrifying us with blood and guts, and more about holding up a mirror to the world, and what it is to be human. I came to it late in the festival, but Goran Stolevski’s “You Won’t Be Alone” tells a story of witches and blood magic, but through the eyes of a character experiencing life for the first time. Meanwhile, Mariama Diallo’s “Master” examines systemic racism at a largely-white University through the lens of an administrator (the terrific Regina Hall) given a house to run; a professor (Amber Gray) trying to make tenure; and a student (Zoe Moore) who’s struggling, and it might have to do with ghosts at the university. The hardest hitting of these three for me, however, was Christian Tafdrup’s “Speak No Evil”, a Rorschach test of an experience for filmgoers, a movie that aims to make you as uncomfortable as its characters before ratcheting up the horror when a Danish family goes to visit a Dutch family they met on vacation. Such a challenge it was for me to review that I ended up tying my thoughts on it into an interview with the director, which you can hear below.

More frustrating to contemplate is discussing a film in the midst of technical issues. Such was the case with my first viewing of Anisia Uzeyman and Saul Williams’s “Neptune Frost”. Having to try multiple times to watch the afrofuturist saga of rebellion, music, and connection Uzeyman and Williams came up with took me out of the movie, but while a second, more streamlined viewing didn’t considerably change my feelings about the film on a critical level, but it did help me appreciate the film on a thematic and emotional level more, such is the value of rewatches.

Far and away the best film I watched at Sundance this year, though, was Kogonada’s “After Yang”. This thoughtful, beautiful film does what great science fiction usually does, which is challenge us on how the real world is by studying our reactions to a world that not yet exist. For Colin Farrell’s father, he must weigh the value of life and memory when his family’s AI companion for their adoptive daughter has a failure. I’ve already seen it twice, and I cannot wait to watch it again.

Starting Anew
Coming-of-age can happen at any time. It’s become a familiar genre for school-aged kids, but the truth is, most of my personal growth has come in the past 15 years. The older you try to start over, or try to figure yourself out, the harder it gets. The more rewarding the ending spot, however. Many of the films that had the strongest acting at Sundance 2022 were cut from this cloth, and I loved it.

In a way, “Palm Trees and Power Lines” is a complicated variation on the form, and an argument can certainly be made that the main character has not- in fact- come of age. But the performances by Lily McInerny as young Lea, and Jonathan Tucker as her older boyfriend, are haunting as writer-director Jamie Dack gives us a thoughtful, and harrowing, look at grooming. Equally harrowing is “Happening”, wherein the main character- played by the excellent Anamaria Vartolomei- has to go through the experience of pregnancy, and precuring an abortion, at a time where it was illegal in France. Like Dack’s film, Audrey Diwan’s movie is not about coming-of-age so much as being trapped in a situation where men call the shots. Unlike Lea, however, Anne finds her agency is easier to hold on to when it matters most.

I was 30 when I realized that it was time for myself to change something up, less I stay forever caught in my anxieties and stunted growth, emotionally-speaking. In “Am I OK?”, Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno are best friends whom are at different crossroads- one sexually, one career-wise; the way that Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro bring those two ideas in Lauren Pomerantz’s script to have equal impact is as much a credit to the actresses themselves as it is to the directors. This is the closest thing to a true-blue “coming-of-age” film I saw at Sundance, and I welcome more along these lines.

On the older side, there were two films that had people nearing the end of their lives finding a new lease on living. First was one of the popular hits of the festival, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”, where a retired teacher (the wonderful Emma Thompson) hires a young escort to keep her company, and give her some sexual experiences she’s never had before. The way the dynamic between the two evolves over the film is what makes this such a rewarding experience. Finally, there is “Living”, in which the great Bill Nighy goes through the same reflection of life in the face of death we got in Akira Kurosawa’s beautiful, “Ikiru”. All of these are stories, and performances, to remember.

There was more, though. “The Worst Person in the World” played at Sundance, but it felt like an official launch of the film’s theatrical run as it goes for Oscar gold for its fantastic coming-of-age saga. “Duel” gives Karen Gillan a darkly comedic chance to play two versions of the same individual as they prepare for a fight to the death. “The Mission” gives viewers a look at the emotionally taxing lives of LDS missionaries in Finland. “Aftershock” looks to bring awareness of modern racial disparity in the healthcare system, while “Descendant” looks to make sure past racism isn’t forgotten. “Resurrection” gives us a great Rebecca Hall performance, and a cliff-diving act three, while “The Princess” uses familiar footage of Princess Diana to show us how she was trapped in her life in the spotlight. Finally, “Tantura” looked to illuminate the truth about one of the most complicated political quagmires in history, while “Fire of Love” showed us a couple whose shared passion fueled their love. Just another 11 days at Sundance. I can’t wait for the next one.

To close, here are some lists of my Top 3 Favorites in various categories, which I normally do on my film festival wrap-up podcast, but will do here, as I am eschewing the wrap-up podcast this year.

Best in Show
“After Yang”
“Fire of Love”
“Speak No Evil”

Best Feature Narratives
“Happiness”
“Am I OK?”
“You Won’t Be Alone”

Best Feature Documentaries
“Aftershock”
“Tantura”
“Descendant”

Best Short Films
“Hallejujah”
“Prayers for Sweet Waters”
“Stranger Than Rotterddam with Sara Driver”