Sundance 2022: Gary's Flick Picks
By Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
I am once again excited to be covering Sundance this year. And it was interesting that several films I saw at the fest last year—Jockey, Passing, and Flee—ended up on my Best of the Year lists. Curiously, films I hoped would get a release—On the Count of Three, Human Factors, and The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet—still remain largely unseen, while other films I saw, such as The Pink Cloud, and Strawberry Mansion, are just now getting theatrical distribution.
This year’s slate includes several films that will likely generate big buzz because of big names; Jesse Eisenberg makes his feature directorial debut with When You Finish Saving the World; Lena Dunham will likely garner attention for her new feature, Sharp Stick, and there is both a feature, Call Jane, and a documentary, The Janes, about women seeking abortions.
While I expect I will see most of those films, the titles that most interest me at any festival are the ones to discover. As such, here are the five films I am most interested in seeing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
The plot is simple: “A Danish family visits a Dutch family…and tries to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.” I love films that portray how folks behave in uncomfortable situations because they can reveal a bitter truth about human nature. (Ruben Östlund is a master of this approach). Moreover, as a viewer you can engage by calibrating your reaction to the events on screen. What also appeals about this film is that the director, Christian Tafdrup, began his career as an actor, playing the title character, a 13-year-old sex worker, in the great 1993 film, Pretty Boy. It has been interesting to watch his career evolve over the years with roles in films like A Soap, and After the Wedding, plus the TV series Borgen, as well as directing features like Parents. Tafdrup is no stranger to provocation, so I expect Speak No Evil to be quite stimulating.
Premiering Saturday, January 22nd at 1:55AM EST and a second screening on Sunday January 23rd 10:00AM EST, tickets available here.
I am very eager to see writer/director Gabriel Martin’s debut film about a Black family in Brazil grappling with the election of a right-wing president. This sounds like a ripped-from-the-headlines drama given the political situation in Brazil with Jair Bolsonaro, and it will be interesting to see how this story, which certainly has parallels to the situation in the U.S. when 45 was elected will play. I have some knowledge of Latin American politics, and I anticipate that the issues of racism, classism, and inequality that are sure to be addressed, will resonate.
Premiering Thursday, January 20 at 11:00PM EST with a second screening on Saturday, January 22 at 10:00AM EST, tickets available here.
Anytime a favorite character actor gets a leading role, I am all in, and Dale Dickey and her costar Wes Studi get plum parts in this debut feature by Max Walker-Silverman. Two childhood sweethearts, each widowed, spend a night together. I predict this film will be talky, and possibly stagy, but I love these actors, and a romantic drama about two people looking back on the lives they had—or might have had together—is squarely in my wheelhouse.
Premiering Thursday, January 20 at 11:00PM EST with a second screening on Saturday, January 22 10:00AM EST, tickets available here.
When I choose a documentary, I often select the film on a topic where I have absolutely no knowledge. Sirens, about the Middle East’s “first all-female metal band,” therefore, is a must. It is a world I simply cannot wait to discover.
Premiering Sunday, January 23rd at 4:15PM EST with a second screening on Tuesday, January 25th 10:00AM EST, tickets available here.
My passion for Latin American cinema put this Bolivian film high on my list. (I am a huge fan of Bolivia filmmaker Rodrigo Bellot). Writer/director Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s debut drama takes viewers to the Bolivian highlands where an elderly couple is facing change. I envision an authentic, moving, neorealist saga about aging and environment issues. I also assume I will love this. And if it is even the slightest bit sentimental, I will cry.
Premiering Monday January 24th at 11:00PM with a second screening on Wednesday January 26th 10:00AM EST, tickets available here.