by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief & Old Sport

This might turn out to be a record year in terms of personal watches for me at a Sundance. As I write this, I have watched twenty-eight flicks ranging from shorts and documentaries to narrative pictures. With the festival running until January 29, I am hoping to squeeze in a few more with some of my most anticipated yet to come. In the meantime, here’s five features I caught, some of which will become available to watch online via Sundance’s website today. See below for ticketing info and check back soon for more of my dispatches from this year’s fest.

Run Rabbit Run
Written by Hannah Kent
Directed by Daina Reid

Sarah’s (Sarah Snook) seven year old daughter Mia has not been herself. The concerns first start when Mia is referencing a longing for people that she never had contact with in the first place such as Sarah’s mother, Joan, whom Sarah excommunicated from her life. Mia starts to don a paper rabbit mask and suddently disturbing artwork starts to pop up around the home. Things get more peculiar when Mia starts to make reference to herself as Sarah’s sister Alice. At the age of seven, Alice had went missing and was never found. This is information that was never shared with Mia and inevitably causes Sarah to unravel.

Run Rabbit Run is a slow burn psychological thriller that showcases an intensely powerful performance from Sarah Snook (from Succession). It is a story about the life’s true horrors: grief, regret, and children. I should have known by the unsettling picture (see above) that is being utilized to advertise the film, that this would be a film that would follow me around like a shadow. It is going to take a while for me to shake this one.

Run Rabbit Run will be available to watch online January 24 via Sundance, tickets here. Otherwise the film was acquired by Netflix and will be available to watch soon.

The Pod Generation
Written and Directed by Sophie Barthes

“Now is our future…”

Set in a not too distant future, babies are grown artificially and nature is a relic of the past. Rachel is an affluent corporate driven woman who decides she is ready to start a family. Unbeknownst to her husband Alvy, she makes an appointment at The Womb Center for a tour to learn more about artificial births. Alvy’s discovery of her intentions causes a rift in their relationship due to his background as a botanist and his naturalist sentiments.

Unfortunately, I found the story to be extremely muddled and confused. With that said, the production design is top notch and crisp. This was an interesting world to be in, despite the concepts and ideas not being fully realized. Unlike some science fiction films I have watched in the past (i.e. Planet of The Apes) in which the inevitable future seems far off, I believe that the ideas presented here are just around the corner. My struggle with the writer’s intent is that in terms of representation and the discussion around gender all seemed to be based in our current world, rather than future state. This, along with the overall direction, left me scratching my head.

The Pod Generation will be available to watch online January 24 via Sundance, tickets here. The film is still seeking distribution.

Cassandro
Written by David Teague and Roger Ross Williams
Directed by Roger Ross Williams

As an avid fan of professional wrestling (love that Danhausen!) adding Cassandro to my watch list was a no brainer. However, my familiarity with the genre of exotico wrestling is minimal, so I was excited to learn more from a film based on a real life wrestler.

Saúl Armendáriz (Gael García Bernal), is struggling to find his place in the amatuer wrestling world of El Paso, Texas. Being openly gay in what is often deemed a “macho” environment causes Saúl issues with fitting in and being given opportunity to shine. Often made to take the fall in his matches, he decides he needs to rebrand himself. To assist him with his reinvention he enlists a trainer and creates the exóticos persona, Cassandro.

Exóticos adopt a feminine persona to their overall gimmick as a way to reject the typical view of masculinity. This is accomplished with their ring attire, demeanor and overall character presentation. Often personalities such as these are made to take the fall, where as Cassandro sets out to flip the script for the win. Unfortunately, despite the great performance from Gael Garcia Bernal, the film itself fails to give a sense of what made this person so extraordinary and present the impact they had on the wrestling community. It possibly would have been better to focus on a particular aspect of this person’s life rather than getting bogged down attempting to provide all the details.

Cassandro was acquired by Amazon and will be available to watch soon.

Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out
Written by Austin Everett
Directed by Jake Van Wagoner

After a young boy Calvin (Jacob Buster) witnesses his parents being abducted by what he believes are extraterrestrials, he becomes known as the town’s eccentric weirdo. Ten years after the incident occurred there is still no sign of his parents and he has dedicated his life to finding them. When seventeen year old, Itsy (Emma Tremblay) and her family leave the big city life behind and find themselves in his remote community the two strike a friendship in pursuit of finding the truth.

It should be noted (in case it was not already realized) that this movie’s intended audience is the young teen crowd. Therefore, it should be of absolutely no surprise to have a soundtrack inundated with extremely bothersome pop songs. I was extremely disappointed that with their casting of Will Forte they did not make use of his singing skills. The man has a wonderful spaced themed hit already recorded, entitled “Cosmic Woman” that they completely left on the table. Sad.

With that aside, I found the picture itself to go heavy on the dialogue (much like the title itself, which needs to be shortened post haste) and take a considerable amount of time to get to a point in which I felt invested. Both Itsy and Calvin had great chemistry and overall I enjoyed spending time with them. Not gonna lie though, I would have liked to see more Will Forte. Unfortunately, much of the time instead is gobbled up by Itsy’s younger brother, Evan, who is a character that may inevitably lead its a viewers to question whether they want to procreate. Actually, with the state of the world, this may not be the worst outcome.

Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I feel Kinda Left Out will be available to watch online January 24 via Sundance, tickets here. The film is still seeking distribution.

Magazine Dreams
Written and Directed by Elijah Bynum

Killian (Jonathan Majors) is an aspiring bodybuilder that dreams of a cover story and making it to the big time, much like his idol Brad Vanderhorn. Sadly, Killian’s life is filled with various obstacles that are cause for setbacks and concern.

This film was not initially on my radar. However, due to festival buzz via the sosh medes, I decided to check it out. Sadly, I could have waited. Magazine Dreams, is a two hour tale that dares to not get to the point. Various ideas are uncovered at a mere surface level which left me with more questions than answers. With heavy subjects such as mental health, body dysphoria, racism, and violence one needs to tread lightly. Instead, with the lack of focus, it causes the story to meander and inevitably struggles to effectively convey an overall purpose. At the center of it all though, is a fantastic performance from Jonathan Majors that should not go understated. Although, I would not go as far to say I enjoyed it. As I witnessed Killian continue to spiral, the more elevated my anxiety became. Majors depiction of this role is panic inducing and the character consumes the viewer much like he devours copious amounts of sustenance… without hesitation.

Magazine Dreams will be available to watch online January 24 via Sundance, tickets here. The film is still seeking distribution.