As a staff member for Sundance Film Festival, I was allotted eight free tickets (last year we got ten). But besides those eight, I was allowed to use my staff credentials to get into other screenings for free when there were extra tickets available.
Since people come from all over the world to this Festival, and I don't know if I'll ever work for it again, I decided to take full advantage of my credentials and time off to see movies. I saw ten movies (kind of) and one VR experience (kind of). And even though I'm on Team Nonfiction, I ended up seeing more fiction films than I expected to.
This blog post will have the same basic format as last year's. Imagine this Festival catalog (which I edited) opening up like the books in those old Disney movies.
One of my duties was to edit the film descriptions as they came in, then send them back to the writer for their approval. I edited the description for the Taylor Swift documentary, and I wrote this in my email (I don't have access to my work email, so I don't know the exact wording, but this was the idea):
"I've finished editing the Taylor Swift capsule, and it's Red-y for your appproval. I like how you Fearlessly describe her and her reputation. If you have any questions, Speak Now."
And the writer responded:
"Your email was very clever! I haven't seen anything that funny since...1989."
When it was announced that there was a Taylor Swift movie, my sixteen-year-old niece, Allie, said that she and her friends wanted to go to it. So for her Christmas, I got three tickets to it: one for me, one for her, and one for a friend. But none of her friends could go, so we took her mom/my sister to see it. It was the first film I saw in the Festival, on Friday, January 24, at the Grand Theater on SLCC's campus.
Miss Americana. This documentary follows the life of Taylor Swift, who, like her or not, might very well be the best singer-songwriter of this generation. She talks about how she made an entire belief system centered around the approval of others—which made it very difficult during the Kanye West incident of 2009 and when her reputation album didn't get nominated for a Grammy in 2018. It shows how she dealt with her sexual assault case from a few years ago (a radio DJ groped her at an event, so he was fired, and then he tried to sue her for millions of dollars, but she countersued for a dollar and won). More recently, in 2018, after going through the trial, she decided to end her political silence. A lot of media for this documentary latched on to the political aspect, which I wouldn't consider to be the main focus of the movie. But they probably did that because there wasn't much to latch onto. Taylor Swift is a fascinating subject, but the movie itself seemed disjointed and jumped all over. It was really just a movie about T-Swift, with no clear message or storyline. So if you're a fan of hers (and can handle her grittier aspects), you'll like it. It does make you appreciate how hard it would be to be a celebrity, realize that they have lots of insecurities too, and be content with your own ordinary life. 6/10.
Probable rating: R for strong language throughout; also tasteful discussion of her sexual assault case.
Last year, I felt a little bad that I didn't share any tickets with my family, so besides Miss Americana, I got an extra ticket to my next movie, on Saturday, January 26, at Redstone Cinemas in Park City. I took my mom to this one.
Come Away. This is one of the Festival's Kids movies, and it follows three siblings, David, Peter, and Alice, as they enjoy a quiet English life and play imaginative games about pirates, tea parties, and Neverland. Their life goes into turmoil when David falls into a river during a thunderstorm and dies. Their dad (who is black) re-enters a life of gambling, and their mother (who is white, Angelina Jolie) turns to alcohol. Meanwhile, a snooty aunt wants to make Alice more ladylike. Alice and Peter pawn their father's watch to pay off the gambling debt, not knowing that the pawnshop owner (who is like the Mad Hatter) and the man who buys the watch (who is like Captain Hook) have a family connection. Now, the production values—the sets, costuming, etc.—are all very good, and so is the acting, even by the kids. Unfortunately, the wonderful acting cannot save this mess of a story from itself. It tries to tackle too many heavy topics—grief, class and race dynamics, gambling, alcoholism, estranged family members—without doing justice to any of them. It randomly introduced many story elements without explaining or resolving any of them. It is a dark, depressing movie. I'm not necessarily opposed to depressing elements in movies, but it seemed like they were thrown in haphazardly just for the sake of having something dark. And it was overly ambitious to try to include all the references to both Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. It might have been better if they had picked one story to focus on. And even though those two stories are whimsical and fun, this movie is boring. If I were Angelina Jolie, I would be embarrassed to be associated with it. 4/10.
Probable rating: PG for disturbing, scary scenes and for alcohol use.
Then my next film was on Monday, January 27, again at Redstone Cinemas.
Us Kids. You might remember that almost two years ago, I went to the Salt Lake City March for Our Lives (which I forgot to mention on my decade in review in December!). Since I went to that event, I felt a personal connection with Us Kids, which follows the students of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as they organize to protest politicians' apathy about gun violence—first at the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, and then as they boarded a bus to tour the country. It features many of the outspoken kids, including their issues with PTSD, but it especially focuses on a girl named Sam, who was shot in the legs and had shrapnel hit her face. Twice Sam spoke in front of large groups on TV and threw up in the middle of her speech. She went on to befriend the younger brother of a star swimmer who died in the shooting, and this brother was also hit in the back of his head with a bullet. I don't know if this movie will convert the unconverted, but as I watched it, I felt the way I did when I went to March for Our Lives in 2018. I was filled with righteous indignation at the people who refuse to do anything or who want to protect guns more than they protect children. (Some people were using a picture of David Hogg's face as target practice. Can't they realize that's tasteless at best and borderline evil?) I was also filled with optimism for the future that these kids were able to band together to do remarkable things, and I hope that as they and other students vote, we can actually get some commonsense laws in place. The documentary made it clear that the kids support the Second Amendment and are not anti-gun. Sometimes I wonder if these rallies and activism actually make a difference, but the film shows how the kids did make a difference. Voter turnout among youth increased dramatically. People who accepted money from the NRA were voted out of office (including Mia Love—go Ben McAdams!). And many companies terminated their associations with the NRA. This movie makes me want to get more involved again with gun control initiatives. (Back when I was a teenager still learning about politics, I just assumed that gun control was something Republicans wanted, because it seemed so logical and I thought Democrats were usually wrong.) A treat came during the Q&A. Not only was the director there, but so were Sam and the family of the slain swimmer. It was moving to hear them speak and to think of the unspeakable tragedy they had been through. 8/10.
Probable rating: R for language, a heavy topic, and some distressing scenes. This movie did not focus on the shooting itself but rather on the aftermath, so the violence is minimal.
One of the ways you can get into films is to sign up on a waitlist on the app. Then you show up at the theater and get in line according to the number you got when you joined the waitlist. People can pay once they get in, volunteers can exchange a voucher for a ticket, but staff get in free to any movie if there's room. So on Monday night, I headed to Salt Lake's Broadway Theatre to try to waitlist for a film called The Mole Agent. But I didn't get in. You can get in to films if you have a ticket most of the time. But some people pay for special passes that let them get into any film, and they even have priority over ticketholders. So many passholders showed up that even some of the ticketholders were turned away, so I certainly didn't get in.
But then on Tuesday, I wanted to see it in Park City. I was on the waitlist, but I wasn't sure if I could get in. I thought I would also waitlist for another movie just in case. But I forgot until I had already submitted the request that you can only waitlist for one movie at a time. It kicked me off the waitlist for The Mole Agent, and I had to sign up again. I went from number 23 to 134! I was second to last in line. But I think the film crew gave up their seats so everyone could get in. I barely made it! As it turns out, there was another way I could have gotten tickets: many films have a select number of tickets available to staff and volunteers, which you can get just for asking. I didn't realize that until Thursday, but that would have saved me some stress. Oh well. I still got in. Since I was late, I missed the short that preceded it, Día de la Madre, and only caught the tail end, which didn't make sense to me because I didn't know what was going on.
The Mole Agent. This unusual documentary comes to us from Chile (in Spanish with English subtitles), where a woman was concerned about her mother's well-being in a nursing home, so she hired an investigator to check it out. According to the filmmaker's Q&A, the investigator could not check it out for himself due to a broken hip, so he hired an octogenarian gentleman named Sergio to move into the nursing home for three months as a spy to make sure no there was nothing wrong. Sergio had a hard time learning some of the technological requirements, such as his phone, his camera pen, and his camera glasses, but he nevertheless moved into the home. The filmmakers told the facility that they were making a documentary, but they didn't tell them what it was really about. The movie starts out as a spy movie complete with spy music. But the "target," the woman whose care he was supposed to investigate, was not very social and did not care to talk with Sergio. While Sergio did his job as a spy, the movie took a turn as he befriended the various female residents of the home (there were forty women but only four men). He became very popular and was chosen as king of the nursing home at the center's anniversary party. One woman fell in love with him and wanted to marry him. Another shared her poetry and expressed her frustrations that her children never visited her. One of the complaints about the home was that clothing and jewelry went missing, but these were not stolen by any employee but rather by a resident named Marta who was losing her mental faculties. Early in the movie, Sergio said he had a hard time distinguishing the women because they all looked alike. I experienced the same problem, but I think it was this same Marta who would stand at the home's doors and ask people to let her out to take her to her mother's house. Since her family never visited her, nurses would call her and pretend to be her mom, so Marta would plead with her "mom" to come and take her home. It's one of those scenarios that's simultaneously amusing and tragic. I really enjoyed watching this film. Sergio is a genuinely likeable fellow; in a recorded video after the film, he explained that he is still friends with the residents of the home, even though his spy cover is gone. It is not meant to be a sad movie, but anytime you talk about nursing homes, there is a certain level of sadness. It makes you appreciate your aging family members. 8/10.
Probable rating: PG for issues of aging and dying, as well as some smoking. I honestly don't remember anything objectionable.
On Wednesday, January 29, I returned to Park City to waitlist into another fiction movie.
Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness. I wanted to see this Iranian movie (in Farsi with subtitles), even though it's fiction, because Yalda is the Iranian solstice celebration, and you know how I am with holidays. A young woman named Maryam has been sentenced to death for killing her husband, Nasser. The CEO of a major company, Nasser insisted on marrying her temporarily while his wife was out of the country, but the condition was that Maryam not become pregnant. When she became pregnant, Nasser was furious, and some kind of accident happened in which he was fatally injured. He didn't die immediately, however, and Maryam fled instead of seeking help for him. She says it was an accident and she didn't know he was still alive. There is only one person who can spare her: Mona, Nasser's only daughter. Mona and Maryam appear on a talk show called Joy of Forgiveness, each telling their side of the story. If Mona forgives her on TV, Maryam will be spared. The TV audience can send in text messages whether she should be forgiven or not; if Mona forgives her, and enough people text that she should be forgiven, the show's sponsors will pay the blood money. Then there are additional twists and surprises in the story. I ended up liking this movie more than I expected. It was intense and gripping. It's a commentary on the treatment of women in Iran, as well as a commentary on reality TV. I don't know if there are really Iranian talk shows as intense as this premise, but I think there are some that are surprisingly grim, at least according to the cinematographer at the Q&A. The filmmakers had to have Iranian censors present at the filming to make sure everything they did was legal in Iran. The director couldn't come to the premiere because of international tensions right now. 7/10.
Probable rating: PG-13 for mature themes and for language, as well as for some intense scenes.
In addition to films, the Festival hosts a variety of virtual reality exhibitions. I thought I would try one out after Yalda was over. I made an appointment and walked around Park City before I had to go back the the Festival Headquarters, where it was occurring.
Then that evening I had a ticket for a screening that wasn't a movie, but rather
Indie Episodic Showcase: three short-form series with a few episodes each. I got tickets to this one because I was interested in only the first of the three series. I was sitting next to a quirky, enthusiastic radio DJ wearing bright green jeans.
Awkward Family Photos. Back in 2010, my mom (!) introduced me to the Awkward Family Photos website, and I've been a fan ever since. Maybe it's an immature waste of time, but there are so many pictures that crack me up. For the series, they hired an artist who likes to re-create old pictures, even making all the props and costumes to make it perfect. These are the two pictures that are the subject of the two episodes.
Probable rating: TV-G for these episodes, though other episodes would likely be TV-PG.
The Ride. This fictional indie series (with each episode very short) follows Wayne, a rideshare driver who feels like the universe has called him to be a life coach for his passengers. As he asks very personal questions and inadvertently offends his clients, he never gets a positive review on the rideshare app. He also has problems with his girlfriend, Dana, who has never really left her ex behind. This series was funny, but it was very repetitive when you saw each short episode back to back. It was also wildly inappropriate; this would never be allowed on broadcast TV because of language. I'm a goody-two-shoes, so this isn't the kind of thing I like. 4/10.
Probable rating: TV-MA for language and sexual content.
Hey Lady! It seems that the sassy, nutty old lady is a common trope in fictional media, but this series takes it to a whole 'nother level. "Lady" is an old woman who doesn't give a $&^@ about societal norms or what people think of her, who does whatever the &@^* she wants. Even truly horrible things. She locks a yoga instructor in a portapotty, sends venomous snakes to her probation officer, and trolls baristas by making them make forty-two coffees at a time, only to tell them she wanted them made a different way. Her adult kids (whom she named after dogs—Lassie, Sparky, etc.) can't stand her shenanigans. Lady is also aware that she is in a series and makes frequent references to cameras, episodes, and scenes, which confuses all the other characters. This was even more inappropriate than The Ride, meaning that once again, it's not the kind of thing I like. Lady is the protagonist, yet I wanted her to end up in jail or locked in a miserable nursing home. It was funny, but I don't think this could ever be a long-running series. It would get old very fast. 3/10.
Probable rating: TV-MA for language and sexual content.
On Thursday, January 30, I went to Temple Theatre in Park City, which is actually a Jewish synagogue. This time, I finally figured out how to get a ticket without the waitlist (but I still got on the waitlist just in case).
The Painter and the Thief. In this documentary, a Czech painter named Barbora moved to Norway and had some of her artwork on display in a museum. One night, two thieves broke into the museum, removed two paintings from their frames, and fled with them. They were caught, but the paintings were not recovered. In court, Barbora approached one of the thieves, Karl-Bertil, and asked if she could paint his portrait. She hoped she might befriend him and that he might tell her where the painting ended up. But Bertil said he had no recollection of the theft because he was high on drugs. Barbora learns about Bertil's past—his rough childhood, his involvement in gangs and drugs, his life of crime—but also learns that underneath his problematic lifestyle, he holds immense talent and potential. When Bertil sees the portrait of himself, he breaks down in tears. But that's only the beginning of the story. While he is high, he flees from police and is in a car accident, then spends weeks (months?) in a hospital and has to have his hips screwed back together. Meanwhile, Barbora has problems of her own. I wasn't sure how I felt about this film; it was interesting, but something about it bothered me. I think it was just too long. In the Q&A, the filmmaker said he initially planned to make a ten-minute short about the story, then it kept getting longer. And I agree that it needs to be a full-length movie; there are many interesting plot developments. But some elements of the film were just distractions. 8/10.
Probable rating: R for language, lots of smoking, and mature themes (drug addiction, criminal activity, and domestic abuse).
On Friday afternoon, I returned to the Broadway Theatre to waitlist for a documentary called The Truffle Hunters, but the crowd was so big that once again, not all the ticketholders got in. All the nearby parking was full, so I had to pay ten dollars to park at the Conference Center and then walk. For nothing! But I used the opportunity to spend half an hour at the Church History Library to do research before I headed to my next film at SLCC, for which I asked for a staff ticket.
Nine Days. This fiction film was filmed in Utah, and it had an interesting premise, so I decided to go. The movie starts with a man named Will watching videos of people's lives on TVs, recording their moments on VHS tapes. He is especially drawn to a woman named Amanda, whose video feed ends when she dies in a car crash. Soon, people start showing up to his mysterious house in the middle of nowhere to be interviewed. His job is to interview and test the candidates over a period of nine days, because exactly one of them will be chosen to be born and live a life. Will is just one of many such interviewers, and the lives he watches on TV are other people he has selected to be born. Will has already lived a life. It's sort of a secular twist on Saturday's Warrior. This was a fascinating premise, but the story wasn't quite as interesting. (That's the same problem that plagued Come Away, but this movie does a better job.) I also feel like many filmmakers feel a need to include gritty things just for the sake of having them, like angry outbursts and talking about sad things automatically make a movie better. They do not! But for an independent artist, this wasn't bad. 7/10.
Probable rating: PG-13 or R for language and some mild violence.
Then Saturday, February 1, was my last day for seeing films, and I did have my final ticket to use.
The Killing of Two Lovers. This fiction film was directed and written by Robert Machoian, a BYU professor. I felt I needed to support the alma mater. But don't expect it to end up on BYUtv or at Deseret Book; it has lots of f-bombs. (For what it's worth, they're all expressed in angry situations, so they're not exactly gratuitous.) It was filmed in Kanosh in Millard County. I wasn't sure whether or not it was meant to take place there; I think I heard a reference to Fillmore (my dad's hometown, the seat of Millard County), and the school bus has a blurry but still readable "Millard County School District" on the side. The film opens with a jarring scene: a couple is asleep in bed one morning, and the main character, David, is standing next to the bed pointing a gun at them. But when he hears movement in the house, he exits through a window and returns home down the street. David and his wife, Niki, have separated, and David moved back in with his dad while he and Niki decide if they want to work things out. Niki has started dating a man named Derek, and David is very jealous. Their daughter, Jesse (that's how it's spelled in the credits, though they probably meant Jessie), is not happy with the arrangement and tells her dad that her mom is cheating on him (not knowing that David already knows). But David says she's not "cheating" because they agreed they could see other people while they were separated. The couple's three sons (played realistically by Machoian's sons) are more oblivious to the situation and still love seeing their dad, even though they still live at their mom's house. Remember in Wait until Dark, how the music and soundtrack was suspenseful and had lots of sound effects? The "music" in Killing of Two Lovers reminded me of that. The movie was suspenseful and engaging. But it still was obviously a low-budget film. Some of the dialogue was hard to understand (a flaw with either recording or with sound mixing), and the end credits had lots of typos. 7/10.
Probable rating: R for language and PG-13–level violence.
I had a few options for my last film, but I decided to go to Park City to see one that I would be unlikely to see anywhere else. The shuttle was behind schedule, and I worried I might not get there in time. But while I was waiting, I was trying to live in the moment appreciate how pretty it was.
Sandlines, the Story of History. This film, in Arabic with English subtitles, illustrates the history of Iraq from the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 up to 2017. But not in any ordinary way. It is acted out in the desert by the children of a small Iraqi village, with herds of sheep and goats as a sort of supporting cast. At least one of the kids has never even heard of Iraq as a country; to them, their village is their country. A kid in a top hat and a striped shirt represents France. A kid in a red jacket on a bicycle represents the UK. And so on with other nations and historical figures: the Ottoman Empire, kings, Saddam Hussein, the US, ISIS. It was intentionally simplistic, and bloopers (such as kids not knowing their lines and one boy's father calling him on the phone while they were filming) were included in the cut of the movie. It was charming in its own way, and it made me realize how little I know about the history of Iraq and Europe. But I couldn't help but think of the perfect setting for this movie: high school history classes when there's a substitute teacher. 6/10.
Probable rating: G or PG for discussion of wars.
And that's it! It was exhausting to see all those films. But since I'm not working right now, and January is a terrible month, it was a fun way to spend my time. I really did enjoy it, even though I'm not much of a movie person.
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