By Amanda Gilmore
Each year, thousands of missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, are sent across the world to preach their gospel. The Mission follows four American teens who leave their religious communities and journey to one of the most non-religious countries in Europe: Finland.
Director Tania Anderson, in her first feature-length Documentary, brings us behind the nametags and into the lives of those who knock on our doors and stop us on the street. We are given access to the lives of four missionaries: Elder Pauole, Elder Davis, Sister Field and Sister Bills. We watch as they embark on this emotionally straining journey with limited contact with their families and facing constant rejection. Thus, creating an understanding and connection to these missionaries.
Through their two-year journey in Finland, a portrait is shown of two worlds colliding. A highlight is when Sister Bills is brought into a Finnish family’s home. The family listens with patience as Sister Bills explains her faith. They respectfully question certain aspects and Sister Bills calmly answers. Anderson has captured a moment where two opposing views come head-to-head. However, they listen and speak with respect and patience. In a time when our polarized society is quick to speak but refuses to listen this moment feels special.
Overall, The Mission gives us an in-depth, empathetic look into a group commonly judged from the outside. As we watch the missionaries come of age, a touching examination of the human condition. In the end, we’re all searching for a purpose within our shared human experience.
The Mission screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 24 at 4PM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 26 at 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
By David Baldwin
After premiering at Cannes this past July, celebrated Writer/Director Kogonada’s second feature AFTER YANG finally makes its North American debut. It takes place in the near future, where families live with sentient AI android helpers and companions. When Yang (Justin H. Min from The Umbrella Academy), the AI helper for Jake (Colin Farrell), Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) and young Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja), malfunctions and breaks down, the family is distraught. Jake bought him “certified refurbished”, so he cannot just get him repaired quickly. When his attempts at fixing Yang uncover that he has been recording memories, it sets Jake off on an existential journey he did not expect.
AFTER YANG is a quiet, contemplative film that examines loss and grief, at the same time as it hones in on joy and humanity. The Science-Fiction elements are a mere conduit for Kogonada (adapting Alexander Weinstein’s short story) to be able to hop in and out of dreams and memories. There is some feeling hovering around the power of nostalgia in some instances, but it feels more like the kind of heady, introspective material that makes you rethink your own memories. The rhythmic, fever dream nature of the Film will be off-putting to some, and spiritually hypnotic to others. Fair warning to the naysayers though – you will miss out on some of the most majestic production design and incredibly expansive use of colour to hit the screen in a long time.
The entire Cast is magnificent, with Farrell adding another terrific, meditative performance to his on-going career renaissance, and Turner-Smith and Tjandrawidjaja bringing a plethora of emotion and beauty to every scene they appear in. Min is great in his small role, as is Haley Lu Richardson who plays the mysterious Ada. And while I will not give away the circumstances, AFTER YANG contains one of the greatest post-modern dance scenes of the past decade. Maybe of all time. Expect many delightful memes and gifs to appear online once this wonderfully picture sees wide release.
AFTER YANG screens at Sundance as follows:
PREMIERE Jan 21 1:45PM EST Available Until Jan 21 4:45PM EST
SECOND SCREENING Jan 23 10:00AM EST Available Until Jan 24 10:00AM EST
By Amanda Gilmore
Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s Memoir, Golden Lion Winner Happening is set in 1963 France and follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) a promising young university student who learns she’s pregnant. She wants to terminate but her doctor refuses because of the unsparing laws against abortion. As the week’s pass, Anne seeks any means of ending the pregnancy in hopes of reclaiming her future.
Writer/Director Audrey Diwan brings us Anne’s harrowing journey with empathetic and unflinching honesty. Diwan expertly uses 4:3 aspect ratio which puts the focus on Anne and not the set. This creates a relationship with her instead of the society and its views on terminating the pregnancy. Society’s view on abortion results in Anne becoming isolated both mentally and physically. Diwan cinematically visualizes this through the use of silence.
Diwan’s direction is beautifully raw. She uses long-takes and unedited scenes, which creates graphic visuals that are difficult to watch but essential to accurately portray the dangers of Anne’s journey. Additionally, these takes effect Anne’s concept of time. She’s constantly running against time that’s passing from within her.
Happening is necessary viewing and one of the best films at Sundance ‘22. The Film also has one of the best performances from the unwavering Vartolomei. She evokes the turmoil of a young woman desperately wanting an education and experienced life, before helping raise another. Her vulnerability is unparalleled in her fearless performance of the courageous Anne.
Happening screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 22 at 11:15PM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 24 at 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
By David Baldwin
If you were alive in 1997, chances are you remember where and when you heard that Princess Diana died. Her life was cut short in a car accident in a Parisian tunnel and is the subject of the exhaustive Documentary THE PRINCESS. Academy Award nominee Ed Perkins has crafted a film that takes us through Diana’s life, from the moment the press found out the 19-year-old was being courted for marriage to Prince Charles (who was 12 years older), through their tumultuous marriage and right up to her funeral.
The sheer amount of archived footage that Perkins and his team sifted through and culled down into a cohesive 106-minute film is staggering to say the least. There are clips from news stories and interviews, and even candid footage from the media and paparazzi (complete with obnoxious commentary they probably wish they were not on the record saying). Perkins’ aim was to have the story told by the moving images, without the talking head historians offering their canned thoughts and opinions nearly 25 years after her death. It works in many instances, while others are a bit less insightful than they should be. That said, some of the interview footage he has assembled here does give you the kind of “finger on the pulse” thinking that you would have only received had you been there to hear and watch it yourself.
For anyone who does not know the whole story (or only knows parts), THE PRINCESS is a captivating look into one of the most important figures of the past century – whose influence has never dissipated, and whose story has become all the more prescient as her children have come of age. For anyone who does know Diana’s story and all the dirty, salacious details that come with it, THE PRINCESS just feels like a quick refresher that does not stay on one topic for long, and frustratingly slams to black before it really develops many of its ideas. It is an interesting and arresting Documentary either way; it just needed more of an important hook to bring it together for all audiences.
THE PRINCESS screens at Sundance as follows:
PREMIERE Jan 20 8:30PM EST Available Until Jan 20 11:30PM EST
SECOND SCREENING Jan 22 10:00AM EST Available Until Jan 23 10:00AM EST
By Amanda Gilmore
While on holiday in Tuscany, a Danish family becomes friends with a fellow travelling family from the Netherlands. Months later, the Dutch family invites the Danes to visit their countryside home. Once there, the hosts increasingly test the limits of their houseguests. However, the Danes continue to stay out of politeness but will that become their downfall?
Speak No Evil is one of the most twisted films at Sundance ’22. Writer-Director Christian Tafdrup serves-up a chilling Horror that will make you keep a distance from strangers on holiday. He uses the Horror genre to make a terrifying satire on the negative effects of politeness. The houseguests continue to stay following the vegetarian guest being fed meat and the hosts using the bathroom while the guests are taking a shower. These twisted actions escalate making for a deeply disturbing watch.
These escalations become exceedingly strange as most of us won’t find ourselves in this unnerving situation. Yet, Tafdrup manages to make the Film hit close-to-home. He achieves this by including everyday situations where we give the benefit of the doubt to strangers. His two couples are cast perfectly. The Danish couple Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch) portray the anxiety simmering behind the courteous smiles. While the Dutch couple Patrick (Fedja van Huêt) and Karen (Karina Smulders) are frightening as the eccentric and dangerous hosts.
Overall, Speak No Evil excels in being a bone-chilling examination of the lengths of being polite. After viewing, it might make you reconsider the politeness you extend to strangers.
Speak No Evil screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 22 at 1:55AM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 24 at 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
By Mr. Will Wong
Those of you who saw 2020’s Slavery Horror Antebellum, saw a nightmare realized right at the end as Janelle Monae‘s Veronica Henley escapes what she realizes was a Civil War re-enactment park where she was held captive as a slave. Writer/Director Krystin Ver Linden‘s directorial debut ALICE debuts at Sundance and was actually in development before Antebellum saw its release, though this Film begins where the imagined Antebellum, ends if you need a point of reference.
Ver Linden, who has worked with the likes of Quentin Tarantino, based this story on true accounts from actual people who remained enslaved after slavery had been abolished in 1865. This story centers on Alice (Keke Palmer), who has born into a life a slavery and this is all she has ever known. She serves the owner of her plantation, Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). That is until she begins to rebel and after getting into a violent fight with him, escapes successfully, only to realize it’s 1973 in Georgia and there’s an entire world out there she’s never seen. She gets the help of an Activist named Frank (Common) and left to her own devices, she finds out the truth about who she is and the life she was subject to. Alice makes it a mission to free all those others she left behind who were enslaved at the plantation.
Taking a cue from the groundbreaking Blaxpolitation films of the mid-’70s, paying direct homage in particular to the great Pam Grier, the Film takes a sharp tonal shift in its second-half, becoming a Revenge Thriller. We take no issue with the message which ALICE is conveying. It is cathartic and a platform for a new generation to benefit from learning about the gross injustices that shaped the African-American identity. We found the Film, though an admirable debut effort showcasing an all-in performance by Palmer, could have used a bit more detail, nuance and a more balanced pacing allocated to Alice‘s transformation. We found her progression a tad rushed and the Final Act unfolds all too quickly.
ALICE will see a theatrical release March 18, 2022 via Roadside Attractions, and can be seen at Sundance as follows:
By Mr. Will Wong
Writer/Director/Actor Cooper Raiff is at Sundance with his third Feature CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH, performing all three duties with equal dexterity. What he’s crafted here is sure to be one of the biggest breakout hits of the Festival. The Film is a sensitive, beautiful and touching coming-of-age story about a 22-year-old man named Andrew, still figuring life out after his girlfriend goes off to Barcelona.
When we meet Andrew, he moves back in with his mom (Leslie Mann), stepdad Greg (Brad Garrett) and little brother David (Evan Assante). He works a mundane job at Meat Stick, a Corndog shop, and after attending a Bar Mitzah with David, his charm makes him a hot commodity with all the local Jewish moms, and he soon finds himself with a hosting gig. He meets Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt), who is on the Autism spectrum and finds himself striking a real connection with the two. Though she is further along in life than he, Andrew finds himself falling for Domino (and she for him too), although she is engaged to be married to Joseph (Raul Castillo). He finds himself at a bit of an impasse figuring it all out and where he fits, as life is about to pull him potentially in several different ways.
Raiff does a superb job in his acting, writing and direction, giving us a full portrait of Andrew. He is a brother, a confidante, a boyfriend and though he is frustrated at times how things aren’t going in his favour or that he hasn’t put it all together yet, we never lose sight of his good heart. He views life with an observant understanding. This is balanced perfectly by elements of humour, lightheartedness and undercurrent of bittersweet emotions which Andrew experiences. This level of care and detail doesn’t just stop at Andrew. We see those around him for who they are and are asked what they want.
This Ensemble of Actors gel together just perfectly. Johnson, whom also serves as Producer, builds upon her impressive catalog of work here as Domino, giving us a quiet chaos and her chemistry with Raiff is electric even if ultimately their relationship is on platonic terms. Mann is effective as Andrew‘s supportive mother, even if his disapproval of her partner Greg provides several of the Film’s most memorable jokes. Promising young talent Assante brings out a nurturing warmth in Andrew, winning us over. And of course, the casting of newcomer Burghardt really punctuates how they got it all right with this Film casting an Autistic actress – a really fantastic on-screen debut that educates as much as it entertains.
This empathic journey of growth proves to be a rewarding one that delivers the laughs as much it is good for the soul, and we’ll be thinking about for some time. Beyond ecstatic for the world to get to know this Film.
CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH screens at Sundance as follows:
By Amanda Gilmore
First Lady Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) and her husband Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) are planning to reopen their Southern Baptist megachurch Wander To Greater Paths. The church was forced to close temporarily after they were disgraced after a scandal broke involving Lee-Curtis. They’re riding their hopes on a big comeback, but will their congregation return?
In their Feature debut, the Ebo Twins (Writer/Director Adamma Ebo, Producer Adanne Ebo) bring us a Dramedy that’s partially shot like a faux Documentary. Using changes in aspect ratio, audiences can identify what is and isn’t Mockumentary footage. In the first-half, this blending of on and off-camera makes the Film watch like a biting satire on for-profit religious organizations. We witness the over-the-top luxurious, extravagant world in which the couple live. Their walk-in closet is loaded with Prada and they have drive the flashiest cars.
This unique style of Filmmaking allows our talented leads some space to deliver some “divine” performances. The Comedy here comes in witnessing how drastic the couple’s on and off-camera personas are. One moment they’re preaching the gospel, one moment they’re alone shouting Gangsta Rap. Hall and Brown are great at capturing their characters’ desperation and desire for an image overhaul. Hall is “almighty” as a woman trying to save face and reclaim the spot on the stage she once stood on. Brown has never-ending endurance as an exuberant Pastor and is just delusional.
The second-half pivots, placing its focus on the sexual misconduct scandal surrounding Lee-Curtis. In doing so, the Film becomes more of a dramatic character study of our two leads. Brown continues to excel at exposing Lee-Childs’ narcissism and hypocrisy. However, he never seems to learn from his actions and we were hoping we’d get a bit of growth. The story also sets-up a competition between the Childs and an emerging younger couple, but doesn’t quite deliver the tension and rivalry we were hoping for. It is Trinitie who is given the real character arch and Hall nails it making us feel for this woman trapped in a marriage out of obligation.
Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 23 at 1:45PM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 25 at 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
By Amanda Gilmore
Following up on her Sundance Award-winning Documentary Knock Down The House, Director Rachel Lears gives us a thought-provoking Documentary about the Green New Deal, which has captured the imagination of millions with its promise for economic and environmental change.
Lears follows four young leaders and women of colour — US Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Executive Director of the Sunrise Movement, Varshini Prakash, Executive Director of the Justice Democrats, Alexandra Rojas, and Climate Policy Director at the Roosevelt Institute, Rhiana Gunn-Wright, who also wrote with Ocasio-Cortez as an Author of the Green New Deal.
Lears’ behind-the-scenes access to her subjects captures a coming-of-age story for a movement. She documents their social and political movements from 2018 to December 2021. The subjects examine the decades of leaders who have refused and continue to refuse to face the crisis, which has led to their unrelenting fight. Through their knowledge, the issue of climate change is clearly explained along with its relation to and further effect on other political and social issues. Making this one Documentary that has the ability to change minds.
Overall, the Film is an inspiring Documentary about young people standing up and taking action at all costs. Additionally, it works as an extension of their passion and urges us to act.
To The End screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 23 at 2PM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 25 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
By Amanda Gilmore
Julia (Maika Monroe) moves to Bucharest, Romania with her husband when he relocates for a new job. With no job of her own, she spends most of her days alone. When news serial attacker The Spider is suspected to be in her area, she becomes increasingly suspicious. She then notices her neighbour watching her from his apartment window and follows her around Bucharest.
Watcher is a slow-burnng Thriller with a great payoff. Writer-Director Chloe Okuno builds constant tension through lighting that creates shadows hinting at a lurking danger. The empty streets of Bucharest are used to haunting peak effect. Offering up an unsafe environment for Julia to exist with a violent attacker on the loose. Okuno mixes these eerie visuals with an unsettling score from Nathan Halpern.
The steady pace of the Script, co-written with Zach Ford, allows for the doubt to creep-in. Julia’s pleas to her boyfriend and police aren’t taken seriously. They hush her up or attempt to rationalize her statements. Ford and Okuno add the extra layer of Julia being thrown into a country and a language she’s unfamiliar with to add to the anxiety. All these things pick away at the audience, making them question if what we’re seeing is just our protagonist’s paranoia.
This type of gaslighting eventually makes Julia question herself. In the careful hands of Monroe, Julia’s nervous demeanour is portrayed with an exactness. Monroe shows Julia’s confusion to stick with her intuition and the self-doubt everyone around her is causing. This highlights a theme in Watcher about society demeaning women’s pleas and labelling them as paranoia. Okuno, Ford and Monroe come together to effectively deliver the message of always trusting your intuition.
Watcher screens virtually at Sundance:
Premiere: Jan. 21 at 11PM EST
Second Screening: Jan. 23 at 10AM EST (available for 24hrs)
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