We normally try to keep festival curtain-raiser intros nice, short, and punchy, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention what a monumental year it is for the Sundance Film Festival. This is the grand farewell to Park City, the fest’s home for decades, a location which is nearly as synonymous with its location as Cannes or Venice. Sure, they could theoretically move the institutions to other, similar spots, but there would be a je ne sais quoi hovering over one’s shoulder, an unfair comparison between new and old.
The typical problems (scheduling, foot traffic, snow, skiers, the flu) may continue in Boulder, but it’s hard not to feel the loss for Park City, Salt Lake City, and the surrounding Utah communities. SLC’s a colder, cheaper Austin — now that we’ve said that, there’s going to be legions of shithead podcasters and hack comedians moving here — and it’s a bummer that the region is losing one of its central cultural events to another city. This is not to say that the Boulder Sundances won’t be great experiences and that the move can’t be well-justified in a hundred different ways; it’s merely a reflection of local and personal sentiment as we understand it.
The other is that Robert Redford, its founder and the festival’s guiding light, died late last year. Redford was a true-blue movie star — he seemed to have a slight judder surrounding him if seen in person, as if one’s vision suddenly slowed to 24 frames per second — but out of his many legacies, his work with Sundance might be his most important. Many careers wouldn’t have taken off without the runway that Redford built. We can joke about “Sundance movies” or whatever, but the fact that there’s even a quantifiable stereotype is a testament to its influence. People liked what they saw, and their cinematic palates grew broader. Without that additional option that Redford provided, who knows what we’d be watching today. He’ll be dearly, dearly missed.
So, yeah, it’s a bittersweet Sundance this year, for the locals, for the volunteers, for the festival organizers, for our friends across those communities and many more. Now, we’ve covered the bitter, so let‘s get to the sweet: As always, the Sundance team have put together an incredible program. Seriously, we’d have trouble making a list even if we had enough room for 20 entries, but we’re always up for a challenge.
That’s why we’ve selected five of the movies we’re most excited to see during the fest’s last Utah rodeo, running from today (January 22) to February 1. From music docs to bizarre sex comedies to hyper-stylized tales of youth on the run, we got something for everyone right here.
BURN
We’re probably the only outlet highlighting this feature in our curtain-raiser, given that there’s high-profile titles from famous people in the program. But we’re not gonna lie to you — Makoto Nagahisa makes one of a kind cinematic experiences, and his last film, We Are Little Zombies, was the closest we’ll ever get to seeing Earthbound on the big screen. His work has panache and wit, which conceals just how hard they hit when the time comes. This feature, about a runaway teen joining a group of misfits and the drama that unfolds from there, seems to follow a similar model: it’ll delight you and then crack your jaw like an Anthony Joshua right hook.
THE DISCIPLE
Apparently all-caps titles are having a moment. Anyway! Joanna Natasegara’s documentary centers around one of the most infamous albums ever recorded, but not on the way you’d think: it’s about the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, of which there’s only a single physical copy. Centered around a charismatic outsider who hustled his way into music history, the doc’s (hopefully) gonna have some high-quality cuts from the record. Otherwise we’ll probably have been played by Martin Shkreli again.
The Gallerist
Everyone talked so much shit about Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw a few years ago that we’re sure this black comedy, about an art dealer trying to sell a corpse at Art Basel, will likely get panned as well. Wait, Cathy Yan directed it? She’s great. It’s got an awesome cast (Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Zach Galifianakis and more)? Yeah, seems it does. Fun! Either we’re out on a limb again or more people might realize how funny Gilroy’s movie is now that it’s got some company.
I Want Your Sex
Gregg Araki is one of Sundance’s most loyal acolytes, so it makes sense that this sex comedy — his eleventh work to screen at the fest — would premiere here as a fond farewell to the Park City Era. Apparently art world satires are having a moment as well, but in typical Araki fashion, there’s plenty of subtle and overt commentary on the state of sexuality. How else do you explain a movie dedicated to telling a story about Cooper Hoffman getting dommed by Olivia Wilde? Yeah, this sounds like a good fucking time.
The Shitheads
Macon Blair returns to Sundance after finally getting The Toxic Avenger to theaters, and his new feature has both a great title and a fantastic premise. Two losers (Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr.) are hired to transport a rich brat (Mason Thames) to rehab, only for things to quickly go tits-up. Franco and Jackson are a match made in heaven, and Blair’s no stranger to cooking up some crazy scenarios for his protagonists to endure, so we’re hyped to see how this yarn unrolls.