Sundance Film Festival 2009

Glad you're on board with the idea that the movie isn't anything special. Sure, there's some chemistry between those two, but I was talking about that scene where he breaks down over the horse and then that dance with the old lady—just totally off. And seriously, what is even up with the title *Fish Tank*?? All those subtle allegories and metaphors? They just don't sit right with me. It feels like if a movie tackles a socially conscious topic (even if it's poorly executed), people just assume it has to be good...

I found myself wondering about the title *Fish Tank*. It feels like she views her work—or filmmaking in general—as nothing more than a raw observation of reality, almost as if we’re just peering at fish in an aquarium, haha. But can a movie actually function that way? I don't think so, unless she had been following that girl's life in one continuous, unbroken shot. The moment you start cutting between scenes, you've already made editorial choices about what to show and what to hide. There's an inherent statement being made there, yet she seems to be trying so hard to avoid making any kind of statement at all. To me, it just feels a bit silly. 😁

The scene where she cries over the horse didn't bother me all that much. As soon as the guy mentioned they had to shoot the horse, I knew she was going to break. Honestly, I actually found the way she wept so quietly quite poignant; since someone was right there with her, she couldn't exactly have a full-blown breakdown. However, that dance scene—good grief. It felt incredibly forced.

As for the film itself, it isn't any more socially engaged than *Revenge* or *The Little Soldier* (sorry, I haven't seen the others yet). But when I think back to last year's winner... well, what can I say? Not to mention that, in my opinion, a huge number of these independent films could be trimmed by at least 20% without losing a single meaningful thing. 😁

Just to reiterate, I thought Arnold's *Red Road* was a genuinely good film, even if it was slow-paced. But this? I don't think I'll ever truly get it. 🙂

brightsurfer4 said:Glad you're on board with the idea that the movie isn't anything special. Sure, there's some chemistry between those two, but I was talking about that scene where he breaks down over the horse and then that dance with the old lady—just totally off. And seriously, what is even up with the title *Fish Tank*?? All those subtle allegories and metaphors? They just don't sit right with me. It feels like if a movie tackles a socially conscious topic (even if it's poorly executed), people just assume it has to be good...

Well, eto, it's like the three of them are living inside their own tiny little bubble, totally isolated and alone, just circling around endlessly... Sometimes someone drifts in from the outside and drops a little crumb of hope, or maybe some affection, passion, or support, just enough to give them the strength to keep swimming, but they vanish just as quickly, leaving them right back where they started—alone again, circling, waiting for the next person to show up.
But this time (with this guy showing up), instead of help, he drops a little morsel of poison, a fake sense of hope, much like how he brutally killed that fish he caught in that actual pond he lured our main character into under the guise of trust. He slashed her leg there, and then just kept making things worse. Still, I guess it's a good thing he showed up, because for the first time, she actually decides she’s done waiting for someone else to toss her a scrap of hope... she finally swims out of the aquarium and heads out into the real world.

It’s basically a coming-of-age story about initiation. A bad movie that honestly didn't deserve the top prize or the FIPRESCI award, but here we are.

My issue is that the metaphors aren't subtle at all; if anything, they’re just way too in-your-face...

@Edward Rivera98: That is such a wonderful interpretation.

So, I finally sat down yesterday and watched Giant. It truly was such a charming, lovely film. 🙂

Dennis Cooper3 said:@Edward Rivera98: That is such a wonderful interpretation.

So, I finally sat down yesterday and watched Giant. It truly was such a charming, lovely film. 🙂

I actually thought Big Boy was pretty cute too. When he finally shows up at the beach and stands right there next to her, I was just sitting there thinking, if he doesn't sit down right now... 😠

Alright, let's get this show on the road... 😍

I dig that happy ending... mostly because it doesn't feel forced or over-the-top, just one of those possible ways things could have played out...
And it would be pretty damn nice if things finally worked out his way...

Who else is planning to head out to the Motovun Film Festival to catch some movies? 🤣

Well, I wouldn't say it was exactly in Motovun... 😁

Chris Barrett5 said:Who else is planning to head out to the Motovun Film Festival to catch some movies? 🤣

I have a feeling it'll be packed with nothing but total chaos. ☕

Chris Barrett5 said:Who else is planning to head out to the Motovun Film Festival to catch some movies? 🤣

Yeah. 🙂

And if I told you the rest of it... man, you wouldn't even believe me...
Nah, I'm not trying to make anyone jealous...

You can get everything done eventually. You just have to figure out the how, the who, the what, the when, and the where...
I mean, that's basically a lifetime of experience at the Motovun Film Festival... 😉

brightsurfer4 said:Grabbed my tickets during the presale and spent the whole week living in the camp. I honestly thought I was signing up for a legitimate film festival, but let’s be real: it’s basically just a massive drinking session with occasional breaks for movies. You've got jury members who are nowhere to be found, program events you can't even get into unless you have accreditation (like those Satie and Glass concerts), and screenings that run late while people wander in and out like they're browsing a damn flea market. We were packed into that tiny theater like penguins because the screen was set way too low—you literally had to tilt your head left and right just to catch the subtitles. As for the campsite organization? Beyond words. The whole town reeks of urine, and the chairs in the square are practically falling apart.
The films were actually pretty solid considering the local standards, but if you're being honest and strip away the indie darlings and the classics (which I did enjoy), there’s really not much meat on the bone here.
Fish Tank—the big winner—just wasn't my thing. It felt overstuffed and lifeless, just a bunch of disconnected vignettes that failed to form a cohesive whole. There’s this one scene where the protagonist breaks down—which is supposed to be the emotional core of the movie—but the acting was subpar, and the motivation behind it felt completely hollow.
Planting Kisses—the short film winner—is the exact same story. Compared to the rest of the lineup, it’s weak; it lacks a narrative and relies on a simple concept that never gets properly fleshed out.
My personal picks were O'Horten from the main lineup, White Ribbon (make sure you watch that in High Definition!!), Miami Shorts, and Worthless—that Kaurismäki film from '82. That one is absolutely wild, almost like a Finnish version of Pulp Fiction. It actually reminded me of Rundek in that Shane music video—you know, the one where he's driving that wood chipper.🙂
Last Screening—about Rundek's Cargo Orchestra—was an absolute train wreck. It’s a film about the collapse of America told through the eyes of the band members. But instead of showing us how the music actually comes together or how these people met, it focuses on scenes of passing the torch to Marshall or lighting torches in Ottawa in '84. It was the only screening I actually walked out of before the credits rolled.

I'm totally on board with most of what's being said here. Honestly, this was my first time ever hitting up the Motovun Film Festival this year, and I only went because I kept hearing nothing but glowing reviews from absolutely everyone—I just kept hearing people rave about how incredible the whole thing was.

I’m not even going to complain about the camp, because honestly, I think it did exactly what it was supposed to do. The little concerts were actually pretty cute, though I didn't end up catching that Pister thing... what was it, 22 or something like that?

I can't even begin to process this level of nonsense right now! It’s just absolutely ridiculous how things are going, and honestly, I'm about five seconds away from losing my mind over it!
The whole recession theme is getting seriously irritating, honestly. They’ve been shoving it down our throats in every single newsletter lately, and it’s driving me nuts. It’s like they don't even have the budget for a basic spellcheck anymore, because they're out here typing TENESICA—which, by the way, isn't funny at all. Then they have the nerve to shout about some "recession edition" of the festival, while in that very same newsletter, they're lecturing people not to wash their cash in their jeans! Like, seriously, what are we supposed to do with our money then? 🙄 Honestly, we should just stop wasting money on luxury stuff and start tossing those extra bucks into the donation bins for the dance marathon. Seriously, this call for donations was plastered in *every single* newsletter they put out. We actually went to check out the dance marathon, and man, it was something else—just people pairing up and doing these choreographed moves like they were stuck in some beginner ballroom class, while the hostess is hovering over them shouting, "Pair 13, pick up the pace!" or "Pair 22, now that’s what I call a performance!" It was honestly ridiculous.🙄

And on top of that, this whole festival edition feels like a total recession-era disaster, and you’re telling me I can't even catch Glass or Satie for free just because I don't have accreditation? Are you kidding me?! Honestly, when I heard that, I felt like grabbing someone by the collar and just decking them. 😁

When it comes to movies, aside from those incredibly irritating and mind-numbingly boring war epics—honestly, I need to check what year it was when recession themes and partisan war films decided to team up, because seriously, can it get any worse?—it feels like I've watched an endless loop of basically identical films; you've got Stella and then that one movie, Sunce moje, which is more or less the same thing, and then all others that I honestly can't even bother to remember. 😁
Basically, just pure comedy. I’m seriously glad I finally got to catch Stella, Big Boy, that little vampire flick, Giant, and White Ribbon—even though the viewing quality was a total disaster and dropped by like 50% because they had white subtitles on a white background! Seriously, my friends who didn't speak German were totally screwed...

Man, when it comes to the movies, the crowds at the AMC theater were absolutely insane. You’ve got people swarming the entrance, and then there's this ridiculous penguin-style shoving going on just so someone can catch a glimpse of the subtitles—and they were watching Finnish films, for crying out loud! Honestly, it wasn't much better over at the Regal either; everyone was jostling for position and the screen angle was totally messed up because the floor slopes down by two degrees, making it a total pain to actually see anything.

Honestly, the subtitling was just straight-up terrible. I mean, when I was watching Stella, there was a solid four-minute stretch where there were absolutely no subtitles at all. It felt like the same thing happened with White Ribbon too, if my memory serves me right, and honestly, it’s been a recurring issue with a few other films lately. Let's be real here—we're paying twenty bucks a pop for these tickets!$10 Look, they aren't *male*, and I fully expect to see a damn perfect movie when I'm paying those pretentious prices just to sit around on some wooden bench or collapse onto a cheap plastic chair, not to mention how in the smaller theaters you practically have to crane your neck just to read anything! Because of that, there is absolutely *no excuse* for them to mess up by having missing subtitles or using the wrong ones—that kind of stupidity is totally unacceptable.

Honestly, I’m not exactly blowing bubbles over this year's lineup; I felt like I was watching a bunch of stuff I'd already seen a dozen times before. It feels like they just picked a bunch of mediocre flicks—I mean, sure, there are exceptions, but still... 😁

Aside from the ticket prices being a total steal, it’s just hilarious how they ban alcohol from the city center but don't provide a single water fountain in the heart of town for when someone inevitably chugs a smuggled bottle. So, by all means, let people suffer through dehydration.
The popcorn portions are tiny, and the lines are ridiculously long. They could have easily set up one central spot to handle everything.

When it comes to the crowd, there are really only two reasons why anyone would show up to the Motovun Film Festival if they aren't actually there for the movies.

1. Maybe people aren't even coming because nothing spectacular caught my eye. Maybe they just missed the mark this year, or maybe they miss the mark every single year? 😁

2. And seriously, folks, it’s honestly pathetic watching you all try to force-feed yourselves booze for seven days straight while bragging about how you haven't even sat through a single movie. There's a massive difference between having a good time and hitting that point where daily heavy drinking becomes a mandatory ritual—that's when any sense of freedom or spontaneity totally dies.

Not to even get started on the incredibly annoying "party animal" cult that hangs around the Motovun Film Festival, but that's a whole other conversation.

Eeeeeeeeeee, you wouldn't believe the hard liquor I was slamming last night...
And they sell booze in those ridiculous bottles...

All in all, I’ll definitely prefer other festivals over this one, and frankly, the Motovun Film Festival doesn't live up to the hype everyone keeps pushing.

Maybe it used to be great, but it's just not there anymore. 😉

Does anyone happen to know if it’s even possible to track down those Poletov t-shirts that were being sold back at the Motovun Film Festival?

ruggedmarlin15 said:

Thanks so much!

I’m totally with you on that—I just didn't have the patience to type out a whole manifesto.
Regarding the lineup—honestly, I don't even know where I'd catch these movies anywhere else in the States (unless I'm heading over to some indie theater in Brooklyn), so this is actually a decent opportunity. The reality is, if you strip away the classics and the Finnish films, there isn't much substance left to chew on...
Look, I’m no film scholar, but isn't it a bit weird that the main competition includes a documentary (Letters to the President) alongside stuff from '07 and '08?
But hey, since we don't have anything better going on in our neck of the woods, we guess we’ll just take what we can get. It would be great if someone actually running the festival read this, though, because things could be run a hell of a lot better.
And as for the drinking? Unfortunately, that’s where the money is. If it weren't for the booze and the free camping, nobody would show up to Motovun in the first place. And if nobody shows up, there's no TV coverage and no sponsors...

brightsurfer4 said:I’m totally with you on that—I just didn't have the patience to type out a whole manifesto.
Regarding the lineup—honestly, I don't even know where I'd catch these movies anywhere else in the States (unless I'm heading over to some indie theater in Brooklyn), so this is actually a decent opportunity. The reality is, if you strip away the classics and the Finnish films, there isn't much substance left to chew on...
Look, I’m no film scholar, but isn't it a bit weird that the main competition includes a documentary (Letters to the President) alongside stuff from '07 and '08?
But hey, since we don't have anything better going on in our neck of the woods, we guess we’ll just take what we can get. It would be great if someone actually running the festival read this, though, because things could be run a hell of a lot better.
And as for the drinking? Unfortunately, that’s where the money is. If it weren't for the booze and the free camping, nobody would show up to Motovun in the first place. And if nobody shows up, there's no TV coverage and no sponsors...

Why's that?

Regarding the title—honestly, I was hoping there was some deeper, smarter explanation I just missed. It feels like people are taking Fish Tank way too seriously. I’m actually a big fan of Haneke’s whole philosophy that film and art should be about asking difficult questions, but this? Fish Tank is just trying to shock the audience, and frankly, it fails. They wrote Lolita ages ago.
As for the documentaries in the main lineup—I don't think there's even a basis for comparison here.
Look, the real question is what you're even using as a benchmark when you're comparing feature films, given how massive the variety is, but I think this is a bit of an apples-to-oranges situation...

I caught a screening of World of Books at Kaptol yesterday, and I honestly can't wrap my head around why they chose this specific documentary to feature in the lineup here in the States. If this is really the standard for the rest of the selection, then goodness gracious.
I mean, don't get me wrong—it’s fine if you just want to see something unfamiliar, like the general situation over in Turkmenistan—but I’ve sat through amateur documentaries that were easily a hundred times better. Instead of leaning into the absurdly funny reality of massive corporations translating total garbage just to wedge themselves into a new market, the filmmaker mostly just highlights his own inability to get any real answers from these companies. What was he even thinking? These corporations pull stunts like this everywhere, usually involving much larger bribes; in this case, they actually got off incredibly cheap. 😁
Then there’s the way he tries to weave in bits of political repression, but it feels so half-hearted and detached. It felt like he was trying to cram too many different ideas into one film instead of just sticking to one strong, central theme.

"My Mother" is such an incredible movie!!! I'm absolutely floored.

brightsurfer4 said:Regarding the title—honestly, I was hoping there was some deeper, smarter explanation I just missed. It feels like people are taking Fish Tank way too seriously. I’m actually a big fan of Haneke’s whole philosophy that film and art should be about asking difficult questions, but this? Fish Tank is just trying to shock the audience, and frankly, it fails. They wrote Lolita ages ago.
As for the documentaries in the main lineup—I don't think there's even a basis for comparison here.
Look, the real question is what you're even using as a benchmark when you're comparing feature films, given how massive the variety is, but I think this is a bit of an apples-to-oranges situation...

Well, you definitely missed it. You asked why it’s called Fish Tank and mentioned how those "subtle allegories and metaphors don't really click with your anatomy."
But there's zero subtlety here. And that’s the issue. The movie isn't even trying to shock you; it’s just being incredibly blunt about everything. But it's nothing like "Lolita"—that's a totally different beast where the "little girl" is worlds apart from this one. This girl acts tough on the outside but she’s actually naive and fragile at her core. Lolita looks innocent and sweet on the surface, but she knows exactly what she's doing. We're talking about two completely different things here...

It’s a movie where things play out realistically, yet somehow land on a positive note. She could have killed that kid and destroyed herself in the process. He could have killed her. She could have settled for being a dancer in some bottom-tier go-go bar. She could have quit dancing entirely and realized she'd make more money from older guys looking to escape their boring family routines.
But instead, a hit to the head snaps her awake, and she chooses the "road less traveled"... walking away from her apathetic mother, the old man, the stagnant surroundings, and leaving with someone her own age to try and actually build a life for herself.
If you realize that the United States has massive issues with teen pregnancy, especially when you consider how certain social safety nets can unintentionally encourage dependency, or if you see how cities like New York are filled with teenagers navigating cycles of poverty passed down from parents who chose the path of least resistance... if you understand all that context, then you have to admit this film is asking real questions. In that sense, everything lands exactly where it should.

What really bugs me, though, is how painfully obvious the metaphors and parallels are... they're just glaringly obvious.

Alex Vaughn3 said:"My Mother" is such an incredible movie!!! I'm absolutely floored.

😕
Would that be playing at the Motovun Film Festival right now?

Edward Rivera98, are you that girl with the blue bob? 😍

Anyway, regarding Fish Tank—that win was totally deserved. + I get what you're going for with that title metaphor, but honestly, everyone else's take on it feels a little... 🤷

Andrea Arnold has basically been playing with this Dogme 95 style for a while now (if you look up her Advance Party trilogy, which was shot using those same principles), and she carried most of those technical vibes over to Fish Tank. Personally, I think there’s just something about that shaky, handheld camera work that has a certain charm you can't really shake. 😍
Everything else was handled so beautifully that I almost convinced myself Fish Tank was better than Red Road. IT ISN'T! ☕ But hey, it's still better than most of the stuff we saw at the Motovun Film Festival.

Giants. Jara 😍
Let the Right One In 😍 Oskar 😍
Lemon Tree 🙏😍

To the souls 🙂