For the third straight year we were able to take in the Sundance Film Festival viturally. While it’s still a dream of ours to make the trek to Park City, Utah someday, it’s an amazing privledge to be able to take in so many festival offerings from the comfort of our homes.
This year we caught over 30 films and have broken down our thoughts into individual capsule reviews that will be sharing through separate recaps in the order that we saw them.
With that said, here’s the first recap of Sundance 2023:
Sometimes I Think About Dying (director Rachel Lambert)
Daisey Ridley is strong and gets to showcase her range as an actor in Sometimes I Think About Dying, a film that tackles depression and anxiety as well as the doldrums of office life. Director Rachel Lambert confidently navigates this tough terrain of showcasing such dark themes. It’s a bit is too sullen and languid to ever gain as much cinematic momentum as we’d like, feeling like mumblecore Office Space, just without that Duplass-esque touch.
Rating: 6.5/10
The Pod Generation (director Sophie Barthes)
The Pod Generation, written and directed by Sophie Barthes, takes a look at our reliance on technology and the risks when that starts to bleed with not only human interaction, but actual procreation. While it offers an intriguing premise and features two very committed performances from both of its stars, Emilia Clarke & Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film’s ideas feel half-baked, ultimately feeling like it would have been better served as an episode of Black Mirror.
Rating: 4.8/10
Radical (director Christopher Zalla)
Director Christopher Zallas co-wrote Radical along with journalist Joshua Davis based on Davis’ 2013 WIRED cover story about Mexican teacher Sergio Juárez. This inspirational story sees a teacher who sees the best in his students and puts it all on the line to bring it out of them. Eugenio Derbez stars as the teacher, a role similar to his game-changing turn in CODA, but a welcome one at that. It’s safe and formulaic, yet every bit as moving of a crowd-pleaser at the same time.
Rating: 7.0/10
Run Rabbit Run (director Daina Reid)
Sarah Snook stars in Run Rabbit Run, a Babadook-like horror psych-thriller combination that director Daina Reid sadly casts in a stale and predictable light. Snook does all she can to keep this afloat, but it provides minimal true scares, and features the same sequences over and over, with minimal payoff until it’s far too late. Netflix acquired the film just prior to the festival, where it will likely keep people minimally scared as people use it at background fodder while doing chores. Snook deserves better.
Rating: 4.0/10
Shayda (director Noora Niasari)
Shayda, written and directed by Noora Niasari, is a touching tale of an Iranian woman living in Australia (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi), taking care of her daughter (Selina Zahednia) as she takes residence at a woman’s shelter during the fallout of her divorce from her abusive husband (Osamah Sami). Directed with care and featuring a compelling performance from Amir-Ebrahimi, Shayda is a heartbreaking and effective work.
Rating: 7.4/10
Kim’s Video (directors David Redmon + Ashley Sabin)
This documentary about the once-iconic New York City video store Kim’s Video is one part look into the store, and the story of what happened to the epic collection of films when it shuttered its doors. It’s a fascinatingly whacky true story that makes for a so-so documentary thanks to the frustrating and strange format in which its told. Sometimes less is more.
Rating: 5.9/10
Polite Society (director Nida Manzoor)
Polite Society is a zany fun action flick from writer/director Nida Manzoor, is a zany fun action flick that feels very Joe Cornish/Edgar Wright in its kinetic action and wry sense of humor. A coming of age story of an aspiring stuntwoman (Priya Kansara, a star in the making), as much about the testing of two sisters’ bond. A bit too manic and there are some rushed aspects, but there is enough heart in the story to balance it out. Plus always great to see a film like this from a different point of view. With Focus Features backing this, we think this one could end up being another surprise cult hit in the vein of Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Little Richard: I Am Everything (director Lisa Cortes)
Little Richard: I Am Everything follows a standard documentary format from director Lisa Cortes. It offers plenty of informative details and facts about the iconic trailblazing musicans for both casual fans and diehards alike. The first half is its most engaging, sadly it loses some steam as it goes on but it still is a must-see for all music fans.
Rating: 7.0/10
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