Sundance 2020

What an experience! Here are the films you will be seeing this year in theaters and on various formats on line. We saw as many films, panels, Q & A sessions and did as many interviews as we could there. Studio films, Indies, documentaries and more. Saw people we know and made new film friends from all over the world.

THE CLIMB – Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin who co-wrote this funny buddy film, directed by Covino. First seen as a short that premiered at Sundance in 2018. What happens when two friends who are too close, can’t get away from each other no matter how they hurt each other? It’s all about  friendship, romance, marriage and family. Unusual in the way it’s shot. The opening scene biking up a mountain in France discussing Kyle’s upcoming wedding is a 7 minute continuous shot, but there are more in the film that are very effective. Covino and Marvin are engaging, even more so when they interact with members of Marvin’s family and the women in their lives. Interviewed Gale Rankin (Glow) about her character. George Wendt appears briefly.

Sony Pictures Classics       1 hour 34 minutes  R

TESLA- Director Michael Almereyda works with Ethan Hawke again, but this movie is all about the inventive men changed how electricity could be delivered. Hawke plays Tesla, the genius who worked for Thomas Alva Edison (Kyle MacLaclan), but went off on his own after being overworked and discounted by the inventor of the light bulb. Hawke’s soft, mumbled Eastern European dialect detracts from the overall effect of the film. Tesla also comes in contact with George Westinghouse (Jim Gaffigan in a small role). Interesting that Almereyda uses the female character, Eve Hewson as Anne, to narrate the film. She breaks the 4th wall as the storyteller. Her father, J.P. Morgan, bankrolled Tesla’s research. The director throws in artifacts from the future that don’t seem to belong in the film. Almereyda does it for effect, but it’s sometimes confounding. The structure of the film is confusing but brings out facts about historical rivalries and the development of inventions we use every day.  

Bleecker Street     113 Minutes   Now PG-13

RON HOWARD PANEL- Director Ron Howard was fascinating and forthcoming in his first live appearance at Sundance. His film Splash was presented at Sundance Film Festival in the 1980’s. Howard discussed making his first documentary, Rebuilding Paradise, showing not only the fires that devastated the city of Paradise, California, but the aftermath and the effect on firefighters and residents who lost everything. Howard had a personal interest talking about visiting Paradise growing up. Howard says his goal in filmmaking is to engage audiences, not just entertain them. He wants to inspire people to take action to stop climate change. He’s also working on developing an animation project, another first for the director.

BE WATER- Bruce Lee was a hero, but until he became a household name, he had trouble overcoming Asian racial bias as an actor to become big box office as a Hollywood legend. Bao Nguyen’s documentary for ESPN details his background as a child actor in Hong Kong, his struggles in Hollywood and how he became a star only after returning to Hong Kong to make four successful films. The director found and uses well the archival footage of Lee as a child, an actor and home movies with his family. It’s a fascinating study, both invigorating and sad, of who Bruce Lee was and how big a star he could have become. 

ESPN            104 minutes      Documentary 

CRIP CAMP – This very moving documentary follows kids with profound disabilities in 1971 who were able to go to a camp where everyone was treated normally and equally. There they, played and bonded friendships that lasted their whole lives. Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht direct the film showing the kids playing at the camp located near Woodstock around the time of the music festival, and following their journey into adulthood and activism.The film also shows how they worked together to get equal rights for others by building an organization that lobbied Congress, protesting in Washington until, finally, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed.

Netflix        1 hour 46 minutes       Documentary

DREAM HORSE – What happens when a small Welsh community, down-on-it’s-luck, finds a way to work together to make a dream come true? This  feature is based on the documentary, Dark Horse, that won the Sundance Audience Award in 2015. Toni Collette plays Jan, the woman who talked her husband, Brian, and an eclectic group of neighbors into forming a syndicate to pay for a mare to breed to get a foal that could become a race horse. The horse isn’t the only one jumping hurdles in this film. Euros Lyn directed and Neil McKay wrote a realistic script. This film is shot beautifully with lots of heart. This inspiring story will have you cheering from your seat. 

Bleecker Street     113 Minutes      PG

IRONBARK – Benedict Cumberbatch and Merab Ninidze in this spine tingling Cold War spy thriller are compelling. It is based on a true story. Brilliantly directed by Dominic Cooke with a very tight script by Tom O’Connor. Cumberbatch plays a British businessman who is enlisted to help steal Soviet secrets about preparation for nuclear war to try to prevent it. His interaction with Ninidze, who plays a high ranking official in the Soviet hierarchy, make it a dangerous game. Dominic Cooke directs the film with the CIA, Great Britain’s MI6 and Russia moving strategically as chess pieces following them in a slow, deliberate progression of the story. This is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis which ups the stakes. Rachel Brosnahan, (Winner of StarMeter award at Sundance) plays the CIA agent in an unusual dramatic turn. She is effective playing a composite character of women and men in the CIA who were involved in this mission. Know that it gets very dark with disturbing images, but it is a story well chronicled.

Sony Pictures Classics 1 hour 34 minutes  R

THE FATHER Anthony Hopkins is extraordinary switching attitudes on a dime as a senior with dementia who puts his daughter, played by Olivia Colman, through her paces. This powerful film follows the journey of a man who is slowly losing his grip on reality and often acting out against his loved ones. Director Florian Zeller told us in Q & A that he structured the film which he co-wrote, as a puzzle with multiple layers. It is a well-constructed mind-bender. Hopkins lets go completely. Olivia Colman plays well the patient and sensitive daughter who needs to get on with her life. The realistic portrayal of the descent into dementia is disconcerting. Also starring Imogen Poots, and Rufus Sewell. It is Theater Director, Florian Zeller’s, first feature which he co-wrote with Christopher Hampton. 

Sony Pictures Classics       1 hour 37 minutes              Now PG-13

WHIRLYBIRD – Bob and Marika Tur, are the first husband and wife team to become the first TV news reporters covering breaking stories live from a helicopter in the 1980’s. They were first on the scene covering the O.J. Simpson chase and the Reginald Denny beating and protest that followed. Besides the amazing archive tape of Los Angeles from the air, the couple show why this was groundbreaking, their relationship working and raising a family together, what led to the couple’s divorce and Bob’s subsequent transgender transformation. In addition, their daughter, MSNBC anchor/reporter Katy Tur, talks about her parents influence on the family and her career. This is a multi-layered documentary that covers news, family, love and marriage with all of the important visuals digitized. 

Fishbowl Films      1 hour 43 minutes        Documentary

COME AWAY – What would happen if Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland were brother and sister? Director Brenda Chapman (Brave) created this fairy tale mash up.  Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo are the parents of three children with grand imaginations. Jordan Nash as Peter, Keira Chansa as Alice, and Reece Yates as David are encouraged to play. Chapman has them going between real and dream worlds until they collide and tragedy strikes. This is the origin story of Peter and Alice’s journeys.  Jolie’s delivery is too slow and deliberate and her sister, aunt to the children, is very manipulative. Like most fairy tales, it gets very dark. Too scary for little ones. Also starring Michael Caine and Derek Jacobi.

Endurance Media         1 hour 34 minutes        Not Rated

CURATED BY MEDIA – A full day of panels dealing with diversity in media which included TV, film and advertising. We sat in on one led by Elijah Long, actor/writer and an Executive Producer of the film, Tesla, shown at Sundance. Particularly interesting was the discussion with Brand Strategist, Talia Boone, regarding how and why Jay-Z uses his success and power to further diversity in the business and help those who don’t have it.  Producer and Cinematographer, Tommy Oliver weighed in about how to audition and be considered for roles that are not just for people of color.