Highlights from Sundance: The Movies, part 1
IT IS FINE! EVERYTHING IS FINE
This starts out feeling weird, exploitative, and uncomfortable; and in the end just felt weird and uncomfortable; with a message. The context basically makes the movie-violence/sex fantasies of a man with severe cerebral palsy, written by and starring a man with cerebral palsy. Despite critics calling this blanketly negative portrayal, I really think demonstrating that everyone has a dark side is a really humanizing position to take. I'm interested to see what people on here think when this one gets screened more.
TEETH
My favorite movie of the fest, by far. Think "Saved" meets 70s feminist revenge camp flick. But with incredibly professional production, and great acting (Jess Weixler, above, won the best performance award at Sundance). I really think this movie's gonna be huge if it's edited and marketed properly. Really, can you imagine a movie where the protagonist's vagina bites off assaulter's penises, and the protagonist is portrayed as a hero? Holy shit! And it's a very entertaining and fun to watch movie, at that.
WAR/DANCE
This definitely hearkened Mat Hot Ballroom for me, but with a very different setting: Northern Uganda. This film follows kids from the Acholi tribe-a group routinely kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by rebels fighting the Ugandan government-as they ready themselves and participate in a national music competition. While they compete against hundreds of other schools from all across the country, it seems like for the Acholi in particular dancing isn't only a matter of enjoyment and pride, it's a means of survival. The use of music and dance are essential to these people to deal with and transcend their environments; it's incredibly inspiring to watch, especially given each child's first-hand accounts of all sorts of violence against their families and themselves.
Part 2:
EVERYTHING'S COOL
THE NINES
..Coming when I have more free time. Tomorrow?