And now, for my #1 pick to see at Sundance... (drum roll optional)
#1 A Film Unfinished (World Cinema Documentary)
yael Hersonski's powerful documentary achieves a remarkable feat through its penetrating look at another film--the now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record, despite its elaborate propagandistic construction. The later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings, showing the manipulations of camera crews in these "everyday" scenes. Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners and theatricals (while callously stepping over the dead bodies of compatriots) now appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors, alternately fearful and in denial of their looming fate. Hersonski relentlessly screens each reel as ghetto survivors and (amazingly) one of the original cameramen recall actual events, investing the cryptic scenes with detail, complexity, and authority. Rigorous in its regard for human tragedy and the power of images, A Film Unfinished indicts both the evil and astounding narcissism of the Nazi state.
Some movies are meant to be hard to watch. Like the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List. But just because a movie is hard to watch, doesn't mean it shouldn't be seen. I have always been interested in WWII and to have actual footage from that time period of things that most people have never seen, is remarkable and fascinating. I look forward to this movie not because of how I'm sure I will feel during and after, but because it's going to be powerful and I'm curious to see the actual reel of what the Nazi's filmed. It will give a more accurate picture of what they're really like, more so than most books can give. I'm sure I will be disgusted at what it shows the Nazi's doing, but I'm hoping to gain some insight into their lives.
This concludes my top five choices that I want to see at Sundance. I won't for sure be able to see all of them because of the ticketing process and other things, but I am confidant I will see at least one of my top films. We will see a total of 12-15 movies throughout the week which equals 2-3 everyday. It will be a busy schedule, but I'm definitely excited for it. I'll be talking about other films in Sundance and perhaps movie reviews of ones I've seen recently until I actually leave for Sundance.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
28 Days
My top two choices are not light hearted films. Not that any of them have been, but these two take a turn for much more serious films.
#2 12th and Delaware (U.S. Documentary)
On an unassuming corner in Fort Pierce, Florida, it's easy to miss the insidious war that's raging. But on each side of 12th and Delaware, soldiers stand locked in a passionate battle. On one side of the street sits an abortion clinic. On the other, a pro-life outfit often mistaken for the clinic it seeks to shut down. Using skillful cinema-vérité observation that allows us to draw our own conclusions, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, the directors of Jesus Camp, expose the molten core of America's most intractable conflict. As the pro-life volunteers paint a terrifying portrait of abortion to their clients, across the street, the staff members at the clinic fear for their doctors' lives and fiercely protect the right of their clients to choose. Shot in the year when abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church, the film makes these fears palpable. Meanwhile, women in need become pawns in a vicious ideological war with no end in sight.
I have always had a deep dislike of abortion. I think it's society's way of trying control someone's life. This is by no means my rant on abortion, but this movie sparked my interest because of what it's about. It will most likely be a movie in which it draws in the audiences' emotions as the story unfolds. It won't be an easy movie to watch because the fight is over life and death, but I think it will be a movie that lives on through the thoughts and conversations it will undoubtedly provoke after the film actually ends. The only other movie I can compare it to, or rather has any similarities is Juno. While I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, I loved the choices she made in regard to her child and how it wasn't necessarily looked down upon. To have a movie that promotes the pro-life position in society is so great and to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with 3 other nominations, is a step in the right direction I'd say. 12th and Delaware probably won't be easy to watch, but it will be powerful.
#2 12th and Delaware (U.S. Documentary)
On an unassuming corner in Fort Pierce, Florida, it's easy to miss the insidious war that's raging. But on each side of 12th and Delaware, soldiers stand locked in a passionate battle. On one side of the street sits an abortion clinic. On the other, a pro-life outfit often mistaken for the clinic it seeks to shut down. Using skillful cinema-vérité observation that allows us to draw our own conclusions, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, the directors of Jesus Camp, expose the molten core of America's most intractable conflict. As the pro-life volunteers paint a terrifying portrait of abortion to their clients, across the street, the staff members at the clinic fear for their doctors' lives and fiercely protect the right of their clients to choose. Shot in the year when abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church, the film makes these fears palpable. Meanwhile, women in need become pawns in a vicious ideological war with no end in sight.
I have always had a deep dislike of abortion. I think it's society's way of trying control someone's life. This is by no means my rant on abortion, but this movie sparked my interest because of what it's about. It will most likely be a movie in which it draws in the audiences' emotions as the story unfolds. It won't be an easy movie to watch because the fight is over life and death, but I think it will be a movie that lives on through the thoughts and conversations it will undoubtedly provoke after the film actually ends. The only other movie I can compare it to, or rather has any similarities is Juno. While I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, I loved the choices she made in regard to her child and how it wasn't necessarily looked down upon. To have a movie that promotes the pro-life position in society is so great and to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with 3 other nominations, is a step in the right direction I'd say. 12th and Delaware probably won't be easy to watch, but it will be powerful.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
31 Days
This time next month, I will be getting ready to go to Sundance. I'm kind of excited.
#3 My Perestroika (U.S. Documentary)
The Bolshevik revolution, the cold war, and the collapse of the Soviet Union defined the history of the twentieth century. With such a past, what does it mean to be Russian today? Robin Hessman's lovingly crafted documentary, My Perestroika, adopts the idea of the "everyman story," suggesting that the unheralded lives of the last generation of the Soviets to grow up behind the iron curtain hold the key to understanding the contradictions of modern Russia from the inside out. Crafted during five years of researching and shooting, and based on almost a decade of living in Russia in the 1990s, Hessman's film poetically interweaves an extraordinary trove of home movies, Soviet propaganda films, and intimate access to five schoolmates whose linked, but very different, histories offer a moving portrait of newly middle-class Russians living lives they could never have imagined when they were growing up.
This should be a really interesting film as it talks to Russians who have lived through significant time periods in Russia, but they are also events that affected the rest of the world. To have a life changed that dramatically in such a short period of time is remarkable and interesting, to say the least. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty raw footage and not much altered for the sake of the film. I'm really interested to hear about the experiences they had and how that has changed them.
I don't think I've seen a movie that could compare to the idea of the movie. If you have, let me know. I'd be interested in seeing one.
#3 My Perestroika (U.S. Documentary)
The Bolshevik revolution, the cold war, and the collapse of the Soviet Union defined the history of the twentieth century. With such a past, what does it mean to be Russian today? Robin Hessman's lovingly crafted documentary, My Perestroika, adopts the idea of the "everyman story," suggesting that the unheralded lives of the last generation of the Soviets to grow up behind the iron curtain hold the key to understanding the contradictions of modern Russia from the inside out. Crafted during five years of researching and shooting, and based on almost a decade of living in Russia in the 1990s, Hessman's film poetically interweaves an extraordinary trove of home movies, Soviet propaganda films, and intimate access to five schoolmates whose linked, but very different, histories offer a moving portrait of newly middle-class Russians living lives they could never have imagined when they were growing up.
This should be a really interesting film as it talks to Russians who have lived through significant time periods in Russia, but they are also events that affected the rest of the world. To have a life changed that dramatically in such a short period of time is remarkable and interesting, to say the least. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty raw footage and not much altered for the sake of the film. I'm really interested to hear about the experiences they had and how that has changed them.
I don't think I've seen a movie that could compare to the idea of the movie. If you have, let me know. I'd be interested in seeing one.
Friday, December 18, 2009
35 Days
Here is my #4 movie choice to see at Sundance
#4 Restrepo (U.S. Documentary)
In 2008 Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army's deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo. Ever wonder what it's really like to be in the trenches of war? Restrepo may be one of the most experiential and visceral war films you'll ever see. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal the humor and camaraderie of men and come under daily fire, never knowing which of them won't make it home.
I have always been fascinated with anything related to the military, so to have the opportunity to see what war is really like, while hard to see, will also be very eye-opening. I expect it to be a relatively intense movie as it is about war, but also emotionally because it will show what life is truly like as a soldier. I don't think many movies can effectively capture the experiences men and women in uniform have. Perhaps Saving Private Ryan is similar to what military life is like, but even then who knows. I have watched a show called Army Wives quite a bit that depicts life on a military post. It has brought to light topics and situations I never would have thought about when a family is involved in the military. I don't believe that all the movies and/or shows about military life can effectively portray their experiences, but I hope Restrepo can give an authentic representation of what the directors witnessed.
#4 Restrepo (U.S. Documentary)
In 2008 Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army's deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo. Ever wonder what it's really like to be in the trenches of war? Restrepo may be one of the most experiential and visceral war films you'll ever see. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal the humor and camaraderie of men and come under daily fire, never knowing which of them won't make it home.
I have always been fascinated with anything related to the military, so to have the opportunity to see what war is really like, while hard to see, will also be very eye-opening. I expect it to be a relatively intense movie as it is about war, but also emotionally because it will show what life is truly like as a soldier. I don't think many movies can effectively capture the experiences men and women in uniform have. Perhaps Saving Private Ryan is similar to what military life is like, but even then who knows. I have watched a show called Army Wives quite a bit that depicts life on a military post. It has brought to light topics and situations I never would have thought about when a family is involved in the military. I don't believe that all the movies and/or shows about military life can effectively portray their experiences, but I hope Restrepo can give an authentic representation of what the directors witnessed.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
38 Days
There are 38 days until Sundance and I still cannot believe I'm going to be going to one of the largest film festivals worldwide. It's an opportunity of a lifetime and I can't wait to start it. My friend and I started a countdown way back in September at 90 some days and the lower the number gets, the more excited we become.
We are able to request to see a few movies and I requested to see 5. From simply reading the synopsis of them, I had to just sit and think about the issues and pictures the film is going to try to paint. After watching between 12-15 powerful films, I know I am just going to need to sit, think, and process the subject of the film. It's going to be such an incredible experience.
Here's one film I want to see. I ranked it as my #5 movie.
#5 Blue Valentine (U.S. Drama)
On the far side of a once-passionate romance, Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) are married with a young daughter. Hoping to save their marriage, they steal away to a theme hotel. We then encounter them years earlier, where the met and fell in love-full of life and hope. Moving fluidly between those two time periods, Blue Valentine unfolds like a cinematic duet whose refrain asks, where did their love go? Framing the film as a mystery whose answer lies scattered in time (and in character), filmmaker Derek Cianfrance constructs an elegant set of dualities: past and present, youth and adulthood, vitality and entropy. The rigor of his process is visible throughout the film. Eliminating artificial devices, he has only the truth of the characters to work with. Because Gosling and Williams bring amazing intensity and emotional honesty to their roles, the experience of connecting to these two souls becomes truly moving.
This film has a lot of potential. In a society where most movies have happy endings, the chance Derek Cianfrance took to make a film that isn't all happy-go-lucky says a lot. It looks to be a realistic movie with real emotions. A lot of couples wanting to save their marriage probably try something similar and I'm really curious how the movie will play out. It seems to be like another 500 Days of Summer in which love is portrayed as it is in real life versus the Hollywood love story. I have high hopes for this film and I'm interested to see it.
Choice #4 coming soon...
We are able to request to see a few movies and I requested to see 5. From simply reading the synopsis of them, I had to just sit and think about the issues and pictures the film is going to try to paint. After watching between 12-15 powerful films, I know I am just going to need to sit, think, and process the subject of the film. It's going to be such an incredible experience.
Here's one film I want to see. I ranked it as my #5 movie.
#5 Blue Valentine (U.S. Drama)
On the far side of a once-passionate romance, Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) are married with a young daughter. Hoping to save their marriage, they steal away to a theme hotel. We then encounter them years earlier, where the met and fell in love-full of life and hope. Moving fluidly between those two time periods, Blue Valentine unfolds like a cinematic duet whose refrain asks, where did their love go? Framing the film as a mystery whose answer lies scattered in time (and in character), filmmaker Derek Cianfrance constructs an elegant set of dualities: past and present, youth and adulthood, vitality and entropy. The rigor of his process is visible throughout the film. Eliminating artificial devices, he has only the truth of the characters to work with. Because Gosling and Williams bring amazing intensity and emotional honesty to their roles, the experience of connecting to these two souls becomes truly moving.
This film has a lot of potential. In a society where most movies have happy endings, the chance Derek Cianfrance took to make a film that isn't all happy-go-lucky says a lot. It looks to be a realistic movie with real emotions. A lot of couples wanting to save their marriage probably try something similar and I'm really curious how the movie will play out. It seems to be like another 500 Days of Summer in which love is portrayed as it is in real life versus the Hollywood love story. I have high hopes for this film and I'm interested to see it.
Choice #4 coming soon...
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