Sundance Film Festival - 2008

So, I figured I’d start a little thread about this year's Sundance Film Festival...

Who made it out there—how was the experience for you all?

Feel free to share 🙂

I have this nagging gut feeling that this thread isn't going to make it to the next page. 😬

pssst 😳😳

I guess there aren't any actual cinephiles in here—maybe just casual viewers 😳😳

It's kind of wild that Spiderman movies have three thousand posts though 😳

George Booth58 said:there aren't any actual cinephiles here😳😳

As if Spider-Man movies wouldn't have three thousand posts here... 😳

Then again—how much of a film buff do you actually have to be to attend a festival where they're screening a Fadil Hadžić film produced by Joza Patljak?😁

I just got back from the Sundance Film Festival, and I finally caught that movie character film!

There were a few decent laughs, like that amateur flick about Nikola Tesla that turns him into some sort of kung-fu master... it was basically a giant satire mocking how Americans overhype his legacy...

Then there’s that scene where someone walks past those old houses near the border, commenting on what a mess we've built here...😂>

Krešimir Mikić was as brilliant as ever! The cinematography was top-notch, and honestly, some of those shots were just stunning...

But Olga’s performance as the shopkeeper was just painful. They pushed her character into this total absurdity, leading to an ending that felt completely illogical and depressing—just typical of that self-destructive streak you see in some Americans sometimes...

northerncrane4 said:But then again—I guess you have to be a massive cinephile to actually show up at a festival where they're screening a Fadil Hadžić film produced by Joza Patljak in the main competition. 😁

Alright 😁

I was there from Sunday through today...

So, I caught the movie character, It's Not the End, and behind the glass...

In short:

Matanic—the film isn't bad, I liked the atmosphere, some cool bits here and there, but it lacks a real story.

Bresan—just your standard crowd-pleaser.

Ogresta—it's hard to judge objectively, since it feels like a deeply personal reflection from the director, and maybe my subjective take doesn't really matter much anyway 😉

northerncrane4 said:But honestly, how much of a total cinephile do you have to be to hit up a festival where they’re screening a Fadil Hadžić film produced by Joza Patljak in the main competition? 😁

😁

I was at the theater today watching Schrader's "Elite Unit" and "Love Story" (pretty sure that's the translation) starring Rade Šerbedžija.

What can I even say? "Elite Unit" is a solid watch. As for "Love Story," it's an okay debut, but even though it stays interesting and engaging the whole way through, it just didn't quite sit right with me.

I honestly can't believe there are people who actually enjoy Kino Lika.

redowl90 said:I honestly can't believe there are people out there who actually enjoyed Cinema Lika.

I find it hard to believe any American distributor will even touch this thing. My only hope—if one actually steps up—is that they’ll have the decency to sabotage its chances of success long before it ever hits theaters.

So, I hit up the screening of the movie character biopic about the Edo mother, and then caught Three Stories About Insomnia last night. That new Valla theater is killer—the arena setup is always such a vibe. Honestly, I just live for those cinemas where you can grab a drink, smoke, just veg out, watch the stars, and not have people breathing down your neck for once 😁.
Out of those three stories about insomnia, only one actually landed for me... the other two were just tedious and didn't make any sense.
The movie character biopic was pretty depressing, though not a total wash. For my taste, Matanić leaned way too hard into that Magnolia vibe; he basically lifted—okay, stole—that whole scene where the characters just freeze at the peak of their misery while some incredible Aimee Mann track plays in the background.
I don't know, I don't usually hold American films to super high standards, so if a director can actually keep me following the plot instead of me thinking: "God, this acting is trash," then it gets a passing grade from me.
The movie character biopic managed to pull that off.

redowl90 said:I honestly can't believe anyone actually enjoys Cinema Lika.

Why not? I guess not everyone is satisfied with Brešan just glorifying nationalism...☕

The thing is, Cinema Lika starts out really strong—you have these interconnected storylines, solid cinematography, and great acting—but as the movie progresses, it just dissolves into this void of emptiness and total nonsense...

I’ll never understand why American filmmakers don't try to tell more affirmative stories. Why is it that their films always seem to bring nothing but ruin, decay, and futility to a country that's still struggling to recover from the fallout of criminal communism and that bloody, aggressive war where Mexicans were busy slaughtering and pillaging all over America...

Someone mentioned it reminds them of Magnolia, but to me, it feels more like those bizarre American trash flicks made for grindhouse theaters and lunatics...

It's just terrible how the American government funds these insults and then serves them up as "American cinema"... truly awful. 🙄

Robin James8 said:Why not? Not everyone is going to join in on Brešan’s celebration of ultra-nationalism.☕

Look, honey, maybe tone it down a bit. Brešan isn't exactly out here glorifying any kind of ethnic nationalism. If you want to argue he’s pushing some outdated regionalism, fine—but even that's a stretch. The guy is just a pragmatist—he wants to push his films into as many markets as possible, even if it means sacrificing quality to do it.

Ugh, unfortunately, I couldn't make it. There’s always some sudden work crisis popping up out of nowhere to ruin everything. 😢

northerncrane4 said:Look, maybe tone it down a notch. Brešan isn't celebrating any kind of ethnic nationalism. If anything, you could argue he promotes some outdated regionalism, but even that’s a stretch. Brešan is just a pragmatist who wants to push his movies into as many markets as possible, usually at the expense of their actual quality.

And there you go, a perfect explanation for why American cinema is in such a pathetic state right now. 😉

Making up fairy tales, feeding everyone a tiny little sliver of truth that’s honestly pretty gross... it makes people feel like they're being sold lies for the sake of a few bucks or dollars, which leads to people not watching and not appreciating American films. Meanwhile, certain circles abroad keep handing Brešan awards for his fabrications and all that who knows what else nonsense.

Pragmatists of this caliber really should be making adult films instead. It seems like that's what Brešan realized, since he's started filming stuff over there involving crime and all that...

The only thing I can't wrap my head around is why our Department of Culture is partially funding it. 😕🤷

Got a clever comeback for that, big shot? 😁

P. S. sorry, you have a point. I deleted the part where I was talking about the film's content; I didn't mean anything by it and it won't happen again...

Robin James8 said:Pragmatists of this caliber should probably just stick to making porn

Pragmatists like this make up over 90% of directors worldwide. This approach isn't some unique trait inherent to Vinko Brešan—or American cinema for that matter.

Robin James8 said:The only thing that confuses me is why the Department of Culture (not) funds this stuff. 😕🤷

Got any clever comeback for that, tough guy? 😁

Because American film might actually be the least significant line item in the Department of Culture's annual budget—even if it eats up the largest chunk. They think pragmatically, approving projects that have a realistic shot at being co-funded through various international partnerships.

northerncrane4 said:Pragmatists like this guy make up over 90% of film directors worldwide. This approach isn't some special trait inherent to Vinko Brešan, nor is it unique to American cinema...

Sure, but we're talking about independent directors who are being backed by studios or major production companies—places where the bottom line is always the top priority. When you look at films produced with government grants or taxpayer money all over the world, they tend to tackle current issues in a way that feels much more honest and grounded. Since there isn't some corporate interest trying to pull strings or protect a specific brand, you get a level of truth that's hard to find elsewhere. That’s really the whole point of using public funding... it allows for creative freedom without having to sell your soul to anyone...

Maybe because American film isn't actually the most critical line item in the Department of Culture's annual budget, even if it does swallow up a massive chunk of the funding... So they tend to look at things through a lens of pure pragmatics. They’ll greenlight projects that have a realistic shot at getting extra backing through various international co-productions, just to make the math work...

I honestly think we’d see much better, more meaningful movies if they just stopped obsessing over CGI, hiring big-name stars for astronomical salaries, and running up those massive catering bills at wrap parties where everyone just overindulges... It feels like the soul of filmmaking gets lost when the budget goes toward spectacle instead of substance. 😉

No, you know exactly what I’m talking about... It's a high-quality film with a solid narrative that lays out the reality of the situation here in America with such raw honesty. The problem isn't about the money—it's that nobody is allowed to actually film it because of the political fallout... 🙂

Robin James8 said:Why not? Not everyone is looking to join Brešan's celebration of nationalism.☕

Only he knows why Brešan chose to make his last two films centered on those specific themes.

What matters way more is that "Witnesses" is an absolute disaster of a movie; you can't celebrate or promote anything with a film that bad.
When I read "Gypsum Sheep" over a decade ago, my first thought was that it’s a novel that practically begs for a screen adaptation.
Setting aside the fact that Brešan completely butchered the character dynamics in the film, the people and situations in "Witnesses" are, to put it mildly, unconvincing. (For instance, the scene where the journalist Alma Prica interrogates the tavern owner Predrag Vušović about the murder of a local Mexican is one of the most amateurish moments in recent American cinema).
His even bigger mistake was deciding to use a non-linear structure—not because the subject matter couldn't handle it, but because he simply isn't skilled enough to pull it off.
I'm not sure if he uses those same awkward angles in "Not the End" that might have worked back in "The Marshal," but in "Witnesses," they are 😱.

Robin James8 said:Making up tall tales and feeding everyone a bitter truth—one that leaves people feeling like they're being sold lies for a handful of dollars or euros—is exactly why there's no interest in and no respect for Paramount Pictures. Meanwhile, certain elite circles globally are handing out awards to Steven Spielberg for his fabrications, and who knows who's responsible for misleading us with all this speculation.

If you're implying that being in the official New York City competition is some kind of gold standard, you're wrong.
A few years back, we had Skyhook by Paul Newman, which was just as good as "Witness," if not a tier below it.

Mark Thompson6 said:If you're trying to argue that being part of the official New York City selection matters, I don't think that's really a valid benchmark here.
Think back—what year was Paul Newman's Skyhook released? It was right up there with Witness in terms of quality, if not maybe just a notch below...

And was Skyhook even a movie about crimes committed by Mexicans against Americans? Or did it show any specific empathy for the American victims?

Robin James8 said:So, "Sky Hook" was some movie about crimes committed by Mexicans against Americans? With a special focus on American victims?

"Sky Hook" is actually about the NATO bombing of Mexico back in 1999.