Festivals like Sundance often force writers to entirely give
up on looking for themes with which to tie together films and just admit—“Here
are four movies I’ve seen that I want to write about.” In fact, the four films
in my first Sundance dispatch of 2015 have almost nothing in common, even
emerging from four distinctly different parts of the world and styles of film.
If they represent anything as a whole, it’s the diversity of a fest like
Sundance, which can deliver high-powered works from varied genres and countries
of origin…and varied quality.
The best of this quartet is actually a film that premiered
at Cannes last year, and is opening next week in New York and Los Angeles,
Celine Sciamma’s excellent “Girlhood.”
The film opened the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and has drawn mostly raves
since then. Marieme (a revelatory Kairdja Touré) is in that formative portion
of life defined by the title. She’s 16, and is growing up in an abusive
household with seemingly few options for escape. At the beginning of the film,
Marieme seems playful, almost as if in “childhood,” and she’s forced to make
enough life decisions by the end to say she’s in “womenhood.” Sciamma seems to
be saying that “Girlhood” is far-too-brief, especially for people forced to age
too quickly.
Marieme is an obviously smart but shy girl who finds herself
drawn to a trio of more outgoing girls (played by Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh
and Mairétou Touré). They’re more confident than Marieme, but the friendship
that quickly develops in this quartet gives Marieme the tools to make some
crucial decisions in her life. Sciamma doesn’t force the coming-of-age arc,
allowing her character to develop organically and believably, from the joyful
singing of Rihanna’s “Diamonds” to the way Marieme orchestrates vengeance for a
friend, nothing in “Girlhood” feels overtly orchestrated or manipulative. And, by the end,
Marieme feels like a friend, someone we want to see succeed. The final shot is
one that will linger long after Park City has closed.
“Christmas, Again”
is a less ambitious film, but works for some of the same reasons as
“Girlhood”—investment in a believable, likable protagonist. Kentucker Audley
plays Noel (obviously), a Christmas tree seller in New York City, returning to
his annual spot for a fifth consecutive year. This year, Noel is a bit more
melancholy than most. His regular customers note that his former gal pal is
missing and his new assistant is less than committed to the job of selling Christmas
trees. Noel is a helpful, kind person, but there’s an air of sadness around
him, even after he rescues a young woman (Hannah Gross) who has passed out in
the park. Is she the answer to his seasonal sadness?
To say that writer/director Charles Poekel’s debut film is
low-key would be an understatement, but there’s a quiet realism to the piece
that affords the final act some surprisingly powerful emotional beats. Audley
does his best work to date, conveying a deepening depression that doesn’t stop
this man from trying to be helpful to those around him. And Gross is a real
find, completely believable in every moment as the warmth that could rescue an
increasingly chilly heart. It’s a delicate, simple film that really works.
Finally for this first dispatch we have two wildly different
but interesting documentaries—“Beaver
Trilogy Part IV” and “Most Likely to
Succeed.” I haven’t been able to get to enough non-fiction films in Park
City this year, but I hope to remedy that by the time I get home. These two are
a good place to start. “Beaver” is the better of the two as director Brad
Besser has concocted not only a love letter to the infamous “Beaver Trilogy”
but a commentary on the often blurred lines between fiction and non-fiction
filmmaking. As subject Trent Harris says, “Reality
doesn’t have anything to do with anything.”
In 1979, KUTV in Salt Lake City got a new video camera and
producer Trent Harris went out to the parking lot to test the equipment. He ran
into an excited young man named “Groovin’ Gary,” who became the subject of
Harris’ improvised short film. He even followed this fascinating character to a
drag show, where he dressed up like Olivia Newton-John, but the documentary
turned bittersweet and felt somewhat incomplete. Perhaps because of that fact,
and maybe because of some behind-the-scenes dynamics with the original Gary,
Harris felt he had to do it again, recreating the entire documentary a few
years later with a pre-“Fast Times” Sean Penn in the “role” of Gary and on a
budget of only $100. Even that wasn’t enough. Three years later, he did it
again with Crispin Glover, believe it or not. The resulting “Beaver Trilogy” became
a cult hit, even playing at Sundance.
“Beaver Trilogy Part IV” is essentially the story of Harris’
unique films, which blur numerous lines—was the first one even “real” is worth
asking—but it becomes an oddity in itself with a great final act turn. Harris
is a fascinating interview subject, someone who always advises that you “Listen
to your strangers”—take a chance on the people that cross your path because
they could end up changing your life. That’s certainly what happened to Trent
Harris when he went to a parking lot with a video camera.
As a parent, “Most Likely to Succeed” hit me in that place
that’s naturally concerned about the education of my three young children.
Plenty of documentaries have been made about the failures of our educational system
in this country but Greg Whiteley’s film makes a case that our entire structure
of how we teach and learn needs to be adjusted to match the electronic age. He
fascinatingly points to the day in the mid-‘90s when a computer beat a master
at chess as the turning point, noting that the upward trajectory of how much
money this country can make and how many jobs it takes to make it started to
diverge. Technology was replacing menial jobs, and our school system, from the
bells that usher people to class to the basic skills that can now be done by
iPhones, is still built on an antiquated model.
Not at San Diego’s High Tech High, which has completely
upended the entire structure. Teachers are on one-year contracts, students don’t
get grades—they don’t even get lesson plans or much guidance. Conversation,
exploration and examination is encouraged above test scores. Naturally, it has
led to a lot of apprehension on the part of parents and even students, but it’s
an establishment that’s asking an important question about what’s important to
how we raise the next generation. Is it scary not to have the test scores that
colleges need? Sure, but something needs to change in this system or the middle
class will continue to suffer. And when one sees what the students produce in
this documentary—including a fascinating restaging of a Greek tragedy in the
Middle East by a female director and all-female cast—it’s hard to think that
they’re doing more good for these kids than rote memorization. Only time will
tell, but it’s a discussion that needs to start now. Maybe even in Park City.
