About a year ago, I was looking on the Sundance website, trying to figure out how I can get to it. At first, I had thought about volunteering at the festival. It stated that more information for the festival is released in the fall each year, so this past fall, I went to check out the website for more information.
What I ended up doing was putting my name into their lottery drawing for both the movie passes and the individual ticket packages. And then I completely forgot I did that.
A few months later, I got an e-mail stating what my time slot was to purchase a movie pass. I wasn't sure if I was going to go - I looked into hotel and airfare, and it was going to be expensive, not even considering the movie pass. There was only one movie pass I was going to get, and I told myself that if it was still available when it was my time slot, then I'd get it and make things work.
And looking back, I'm so glad I got the pass.
After some planning and re-planning, my trip went from one night to four nights - I'm SO glad I didn't just go for one night. That would've been a huge mistake.
Anyways, I got to Park City Wednesday night; basically, I just went straight to my room and fell asleep. I woke up early the next morning and walked to the theater for my first movie, I Melt With You. It caught my eye, because it has Jeremy Piven in it. Thomas Jane and Rob Lowe are also in it. It's about four 44-year old college friends that get together for a week. They do it every year, where they basically let loose from their lives - it was a lot of drugs and drinking. Rob Lowe is a doctor in the movie, and he comes to this house they've rented with a bag FILLED with pills and drugs. And within the week, they manage to polish off about everything. It was kind of funny; the house they rented was big enough for about 50 people - and it was just the 4 guys. Well the movie has a crazy twist, and it gets pretty dark. I absolutely loved the soundtrack for the movie. Each song was great and perfectly placed within the movie. But, I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. It definitely got mixed reviews. Perhaps it was just so dark for being 9am. The movie did get picked up, so I'll be interested to see if it hits theaters. I think there might need to be a few changes for it to hit the theaters though.
After that, my movie pass didn't start up until the next day, so I tried my luck with doing the wait list. And it did not go so well. Well, I guess I tried it for two movies and I got into one. But I know if I go back again (or should I say, when I go back again), I will definitely have a movie pass. The movie pass is definitely the way to go. The first movie I tried to wait list, I spent about three hours waiting around....and didn't even get in. Just a waste of time.
But I did get into the second movie I waitlisted. This too was a dark movie; and strangely enough, it had basically the exact same plot as I Melt with You. But to.get.her was based on five teenage girls. Less drugs and drinking. But these five girls all get together at a beach house for a weekend. And, that's basically all I can say without giving it away. Now it doesn't get as dark as I Melt with You, but it definitely has a twist that I did not see coming. I'm not sure why I saw the twist in I Melt with You; perhaps I read about it before the movie, but I didn't see the twist in to.get.her.
Here's a picture of the cast. On the far right is the writer/director. Next to her are four of the five girls. The two guys are also actors in the movie, and I can't remember who the lady is on the left. They had a Q&A at the end of the movie, which was pretty interesting to hear the back story of the movie from the writer/director's point of view. I was able to talk to her after the Q&A, which was pretty cool.
After that, I called it a night.
Friday was a very big day of movies:
1. HERE
This movie was not good. It was so hard to watch the whole time; it was really slow and the story was not that great to me. I kind of wish I had left the movie early, but I felt bad leaving early. Looking back, I should have. It was miserable. I left right when it ended and didn't stay for the Q&A. It was about a guy who makes maps around the world. He runs into a girl who's traveling, and they end up going around together. The story could've gone somewhere, but it was just really slow.
2. Higher Ground
This was a great movie. It was written and directed by Vera Farmiga. She did a great job with this film; it was about a woman's life and how religion affected it. It was a great piece, and she was the lead role in the film. I also got to talk to her for awhile after the Q&A, as we walked out of the theater together.
3. Terri
Here's where my bucket list item gets crossed off. So, this was the movie I tried to waitlist on Thursday but didn't get in. Before the movie, I was getting some lunch at the Marriott near the theater. As I was having my soup, the producer and director for Terri were sitting at the table next to me. I got to talk to the producer, Alex Orlovsky. He also was the producer for Blue Valentine, which was at Sundance in 2010. While I didn't get into the movie on Thursday, I saw it on Friday. This was about a high school boy, who was teased/didn't have friends - instead, the Vice Principal befriends Terri, as well as eventually one of the popular girls. It was a pretty good movie. The director is on the left. Second from the left is the guy who plays Terri and the girl next to him is the popular girl. The fourth from the left is a guy who also is in the movie as another outcast. The last four are all of the producers; Alex Orlovsky is the fourth from the right.
4. Flypaper
Now, this was actually my favorite movie of the whole festival! Well, at least in the top three. This was awesome. It stars Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd. It's about a bank robbery, but it's definitely a comedy, as well as an action movie. The whole movie is kind of a "whodunnit" type of movie. But it kept my attention throughout the entire movie, as well as it was hilarious! I'm not sure if it got picked up yet, but I really hope it does. One of the best things.......Patrick Dempsey came to present the movie!! The lighting's not the best, but oh well. That was pretty awesome...
5. Happy, Happy
At the end of Flypaper, they stated that Patrick Dempsey wouldn't be around for the Q&A, so I headed out to make it for the last movie of the day. This was a Norwegian movie, so the entire movie was in subtitles. It was about this one couple - couple #1. Another couple - couple #2 - moved into the house next door, so couple #1 went to befriend them. Then the girl from couple #1 has an affair with the guy from couple #2, and the movie goes on to discuss their love story. It was rather interesting, and actually it ended very well for what it was.
Happy, Happy was the midnight showing, so afterwards, I took the bus back toward the condo and went to bed.
Saturday was another long day of movie watching. Again, I went to another five movies. Well, four movies and a shorts program.
1. Like Crazy
This was also in my top three movies (along with Sound of My Voice, noted below). Like Crazy was fabulous - it describes the story of a first love. The two met in college. The girl is from England, and her visa runs out. Instead of heading back, she stays in California longer with her boyfriend. When she goes home for a week and tries to come back, she gets rejected and sent back to England, since she had overstayed her visa. The story then goes on to talk about how the couple work through a long distance relationship. Oh, it's so good. Their love story is well developed, and you just love them. This was one of my favorite Q&A's. The guy on the far right is the writer/director, Drake Doremus - and he was hilarious! My favorite part of the Q&A - Question from the audience: What did you film on? Doremus: Uh, VHS. This movie was one of the big winners for the festival, and I know it was purchased early in the festival. I'm excited to see it hit theaters. Also, I just have to say - the guy second from the right had a Vikings jacket on! I went up to him at the end of the Q&A, and he said he's always been a Vikings' fan, but he's not from Minnesota. There were a couple other Minnesotans there, because they went up to ask him the same thing.
2. Sound of My Voice
Also in the top three, this movie was completely different than what I was thinking. This movie was about a cult. There was a couple who were trying to film a movie about cults, so they went to join one to get more information. The leader of the cult was Maggie. I think the ending of the movie is what made the movie great. Right before the end, there was this really awkward situation that made me so uncomfortable, but it changed and became fabulous. When it ends, it really leaves you hanging - during the Q&A, the writers and director stated that the movie was actually written as a trilogy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the future movies! The girl in the middle is Maggie, as well as she was one of the writers. The guy on the left is in the movie as one of the main characters and the guy on the right is the director/writer.
3. Shorts Program II
This was a compilation of about 5-6 short films. The best one was Brick Novax's Diary!! Oh my goodness, this was absolutely hilarious! It's about a ken-like doll named Brick Novax, who has two weeks to live, and he goes through different things in his life. It's all with dolls/figurines with voice overs - the guy who was the voice of Brick Novax was there for the Q&A. The guy said that Brick Novax is going to play on HBO. Some people from Sundance were telling the writer that he should figure out some cure for Brick so that he lives longer than 14 days. Check out this little article and video about Brick Novax. Man, that film was absolutely hilarious - I wished it was longer than what it was...
4. Jess + Moss
This movie wasn't as good as I thought it was, as well as what I had heard about. Jess is this girl about 18 years old. Moss is this boy about 12. They're friends, and the movie focuses around these two and their relationship/friendship. It seems like Jess' parents abandoned her, and she notes that Moss' parents seem to have been in a car accident and died. I thought the movie was pretty slow. I wasn't a huge fan of it, I guess. There was an odd relationship between the two, but I just felt bad for both of the kids, since they seem so alone, but they are each other's friends.
5. Silent House
This was a scary movie. And on my goodness....it was incredibly scary! I definitely screamed at one point during the movie, as well as I spent most of the movie with my hand over my face, watching the movie in between my fingers. It was definitely a horror movie, and the twist to the movie was really good. Oh, it was scary. It was a shot basically in front or behind the main character, as she was exploring the house, trying to find the weird noises she kept hearing. Man, it was scary. Granted, I think I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to scary movies.
In between Jess + Moss and Silent House, I went to the Awards Party. They had a DJ there with a big dance floor, and a ton of drink stations. I basically went there for my free drink tickets and to just see what it was all about. Had I had some other friends there at the party with me, I would've stayed all night. The DJ had a really good song mix, so it was easy to listen to.
Sunday was the last day there. I went and saw the movie Another Earth. It actually also stars the same lady who wrote Sound of my Voice. Actually, she (Brit) also wrote Another Earth. It was about how another planet was discovered, very similar to Earth - and how the lives of a man and a woman intersect with one another. It was pretty good, and a good one to end the festival.
All in all, this has been such an amazing experience. I just loved this festival. My favorite part was the Q&As - I liked having the directors and actors/actresses available to discuss the movie we had just seen. Having that immediate feedback / information was interesting and made the movies more meaningful. I'm really looking forward to going next year!
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