Newsgroup: it.arti.cinema
Titolo: Small films, big buzz

Small films, big buzz
Will any of these Sundance debuts be the "Garden State" or
"Super Size Me" of '05?
By Heather Havrilesky
Jan. 21, 2005, 
salon.com
http://salon.com/ent/feature/2005/01/21/sundance/index.html
 >
Sundance, Sundance, Sundance. So much is published about the
festival each year, from reviews of buzz- friendly movies to
shots of celebrities in fluffy mittens to filmmaker fables
starring unknowns and underdogs armed only with credit cards
and digital cameras. For those making the trek to Park City,
the Disneyland of independent film, this is the white-hot
center of the universe. But why should anyone else care?
You've heard it all before: the snowy hamlet, suddenly filled
to the brim with agents and tall blondes in fur coats and
aspiring filmmakers and publicists, all scurrying from packed
screenings to packed cafes to packed parties to packed
condos, hoping against hope that they won't catch the
Sundance flu or fall and break an arm on some black ice or
miss the bus to this or that premiere.
By now you also know about the commercialization of the
festival, and the paralyzing crowds at most events, and the
fact that so many films, after they get into Sundance, still
don't get picked up by distributors, so only festival-goers
end up seeing the work some young dreamer sold a kidney to
make.
But for all of the skepticism and the redundant dispatches
and gripes that Paris Hilton will be in Park City this year,
the fact remains that Sundance is the premier film festival
in the country, and one of the best chances an independent
filmmaker has of getting his or her film in front of
audiences. Dashed hopes and disappointments aside, a slew of
great films come out of Sundance every year. Just scan
through some of last year's notables: "The Motorcycle
Diaries," "Garden State," "Maria Full of Grace," "Napoleon
Dynamite" and "Open Water," plus critically acclaimed
documentaries "Control Room," "Super Size Me," "Born Into
Brothels," "Tarnation" and "DiG!"
By all accounts, this year's offerings are as strong, if not
stronger. But while there are whispers that this might just
be the best Sundance ever, with buzz building around so many
films, it's impossible to keep track of them all, let alone
see them. Still, there are a handful of early standouts
generating a lot of talk, either due to the talented
directors or actors involved, a good response at pre-Sundance
industry screenings, healthy pre-festival studio interest, or
distribution deals already signed. A sneak preview:
"The Ballad of Jack and Rose": When the intriguingly
eccentric Daniel Day-Lewis emerges from his travels and shoe-
cobbling, you have to take note. Throw in the ever- charming
Catherine Keener and director Rebecca Miller, who won high
praise for her film "Personal Velocity," and this one goes on
the must-see list. Day-Lewis plays a man whose attempts to
create a utopian community clashes with the realities of the
outside world.
"Pretty Persuasion": Marcos Siega's film about some high
school girls who claim that their teacher sexually harassed
them is already gathering buzz. And why wouldn't it? A dark,
funny look at the emptiness of status and celebrity and the
manipulations of teenage girls? Sounds like a meaner
"Clueless" -- or a less clueless "Mean Girls."
"The Jacket": John Mayberry directs Adrien Brody and Keira
Knightley in a psychological thriller about a Gulf War
veteran with amnesia who's accused of murder and ends up in
an institution. Out come the straightjackets, the
experimental drugs, a little time travel... This might just
be an updated, even more eerie version of "Jacob's Ladder."
"Wolf Creek": This horror flick looks to be the "Open Water"
of the Australian outback. Based on a true story, it's not
surprising that director Greg McLean's Dogma- style genre
flick has already been picked up by Dimension Films, given
"Blair Witch's" Sundance legacy.
"Hustle & Flow": Director Craig Brewer takes us into the
world of Dijay (Terrence Howard), a pimp who's pursuing his
dream of becoming a well-known rapper. Buzz is building
around this one, partially because Howard's performance is
said to be phenomenal.
"Kung Fu Hustle": A deliciously absurd, delightfully funny
romp from Stephen Chow, the off-kilter genius behind "Shaolin
Soccer." If you can imagine the combat of "Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon," mixed with the demented goofiness of "Monty
Python and the Holy Grail," and the sweetness of "Rushmore,"
then you're in Chow's neighborhood. For all its silliness and
CGI-aided combat thrills, though, "Kung Fu Hustle" has a
pretty little heart -- an affection for ordinary people and
the innocent enthusiasm of children lies at the center of
this slap-happy kitsch fantasy.
Documentaries "Grizzly Man": Werner Herzog examines the life
and death of Timothy Treadwell, an amateur grizzly bear
enthusiast and author of "Among Grizzlies," who, with his
girlfriend, was killed by a grizzly. The film includes
footage shot by Treadwell, and is said to be just as
disarming and strange as you'd expect from the legendary
director of "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" and "Mein Liebster
Fiend."
"Inside Deep Throat": A documentary about the zeitgeist
surrounding the 1972 film "Deep Throat" by accomplished
documentarians Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Commentaries
by Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer and John Waters should be worth
the price of admission alone.
"The Devil and Daniel Johnston": Jeff Feuerzeig's portrait of
musician Daniel Johnston's battles with manic depression
sounds like the sort of unpredictable, inspiring treat that
gathers momentum quickly. Cobbled together from home movies,
footage of live shows, and audiotapes, the film wanders into
the irresistible terrain where genius and insanity collide.
"Twist of Faith": Director Kirby Dick examines the
experiences of grown men who were abused by a Catholic priest
as boys. The film focuses on Tony Comes, a firefighter whose
loyalty to the Catholic Church and his marriage are
threatened when he moves into a new house with his family,
only to discover that his alleged abuser lives five houses
down the street. Comes' honesty about his experiences and
their brutal psychological impact on his daily life make this
a very intimate and devastating portrait of the long-term
scars of sexual abuse.
Of course, it's impossible to see every film that sounds
interesting, or to make any predictions about which films
will emerge as the hits of the festival. While it's safe
enough to guess that "Wolf Creek" or "Grizzly Man" will
capture festival-goers' interest, it's the films by unproven
directors like Jared Hess ("Napoleon Dynamite") that provide
the most unexpected and dramatic stories to emerge from Park
City each year.
Veteran festival-goers recognize the futility of such early
guesses, and scoff at talk of buzz, remembering how little
early chatter surrounded last year's "The Machinist" or
"Tarnation." But if anything fuels the warmly bundled crowds
outside the theater opening night, it's the sense that
Sundance is anyone's game. And while there may be a vast
array of disappointments, there are always a few exciting new
talents that make the whole crazy, overpopulated,
commercialized circus worthwhile.
-- 
I films non dovrebbero fingersi meglio della gente che li guarda!

 "Super Size Me" of '05?
Per adesso tutti parlano molto bene di Brick, una specie di noir con tutti 
gli stilemi del genere, ma ambientato tra liceali del 2005. E abbastanza 
bene di Pretty persuasion.
Reazioni non eccelse a Ellie Parker, film girato in digitale con 
protagonista Naomi Watts nella parte di un'aspirante attrice a LA.


Sempre a proposito di Sundance, hanno presentato un film che si chiama The 
Aristocrats (se arrivate a leggere fino alla fine c'è la sorpresa):
Normally when you have a classic joke, the punchline is the funniest part 
(hence the word punch line). But there's one joke - one classic joke - that 
relies more on the improvisation of the middle of the joke that makes it so 
damn funny. Comedians Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette (the latter of Penn & 
Teller fame) actually made a documentary about this joke titled THE 
ARISTOCRATS and it's now playing at Sundance. The joke always starts off the 
same way - Family enters a talent office and says they have a great act. 
Agent says, after some pleading by the family, OK, show me your stuff... 
That's when things get dirty. And offensive. And downright vile. Oh and 
pretty damn funny too. As you can imagine, the family (mother, daughter, 
father, son, baby, dog, grandfather, grandmother, etc. at the will of the 
joke-teller) begins to participate in acts that would make Larry Flynt 
blush. Basically this documentary is just 89 minutes of famous comedians - 
Drew Carey, Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Idle, 
George Carlin, Chris Rock and many more - putting their spin on the joke. 
You can also visit the IMDB page for the movie to see a list of all 100 
comedians who participated.
Heck even the "South Park" kids got in on the act. And lo-and-behond, you 
can watch that very clip of Cartman sharing his perverse take on the joke 
right here:
http://www.spschat.com/RareMedia/videos/southparkjoke-thearistocrats.wmv
 

 right here:
<blush>!
-- 
Talking pictures, that means I'm out of a job. At last I can start
suffering and write that symphony.