Sundance Film Festival 2009

Justin Sanchez6 said: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 🙂

Not the blue bob. Is a bob a hairstyle or some kind of winter sports equipment?

"Lemon Tree" worked for me too. And that Swedish horror... I don't think it's an Oscar contender, but I liked it.

As for "Fish Tank" — nah. It's a decent enough flick, but it's nowhere near being award-worthy in my book.

@Justin Sanchez6, Edward Rivera98

...just one question for you two, since I see you both actually liked it—what was it about Lemon Tree that worked for you? 🙂 personally, this movie was easily the biggest letdown of the whole festival for me. It’s got a great premise, one of those themes that stays relevant forever, but the execution was just... messy. We're talking illogical pacing, clumsy directing, a total lack of sensitivity, and acting that felt incredibly flat—which, let's be honest, is mostly because the script itself was so thin. To top it off, the cinematography was so bleak and dreary that I felt like I was watching some low-budget American indie from the mid-nineties trying way too hard to "sell" its vision of an ideological tragedy. I really wanted to find at least one redeeming quality, something worthwhile... but apparently, some viewers caught a spark that I missed entirely, and I honestly can't figure out why...

Larry Martin11 said:@Justin Sanchez6, Edward Rivera98

...just one question for you two, since I see you both actually liked it—what was it about Lemon Tree that worked for you? 🙂 personally, this movie was easily the biggest letdown of the whole festival for me. It’s got a great premise, one of those themes that stays relevant forever, but the execution was just... messy. We're talking illogical pacing, clumsy directing, a total lack of sensitivity, and acting that felt incredibly flat—which, let's be honest, is mostly because the script itself was so thin. To top it off, the cinematography was so bleak and dreary that I felt like I was watching some low-budget American indie from the mid-nineties trying way too hard to "sell" its vision of an ideological tragedy. I really wanted to find at least one redeeming quality, something worthwhile... but apparently, some viewers caught a spark that I missed entirely, and I honestly can't figure out why...

Sorry for going off on a tangent here, but 😍 😍 being polite and genuinely curious about a film you didn't personally care for? That's a top-tier approach.

Edward Rivera98 said:Not the blue bob. Is a bob a hairstyle or some kind of winter sports equipment?

"Lemon Tree" worked for me too. And that Swedish horror... I don't think it's an Oscar contender, but I liked it.

As for "Fish Tank" — nah. It's a decent enough flick, but it's nowhere near being award-worthy in my book.

The bob is definitely a hairstyle. 😍 There was this gorgeous girl from Mexico with that exact look once, and I remember telling her how cool it was. Honestly, if I could just grab a photo of her and take it to my stylist to get cut exactly like that, I totally would. 🙏😍

Anyway, back to Lemon Tree. Hiam Abbass. 😍 I don't know if I have some weird thing going on with older women, but man, the way she acts... that's why I liked Lemon Tree. I figure, even if the director didn't have much else going for him, at least he knew how to capture why that damn lemon tree—or whatever, 300 trees or however many 🙏 👍

is filled with that universal American misery. Though, I guess it’s actually handled with more quality than you'd find here in the States, if that's even possible. 😁

Dennis Cooper3 said: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.

Look, Arto Halonen clearly knows how to pick out solid films from other directors, but when it comes to making something herself... 😁

You seriously should have seen Pavlov's Dogs, I was just standing there in the theater watching that *beep* shot entirely on a handheld camera. It's a great concept, but the execution was just ABSOLUTELY terrible. X_x

Arto is just a simp, and Mika’s got a little one that feels like she's straight out of Halle. 😍

We were actually saying the same thing—he picked some absolutely killer movies, but his whole vibe is like some European Michael Moore documentary. Just a ton of handheld phone footage, jittery movement, and staged scenes. Whatever, it's all soul and Turkmenistan vibes. Our own local Turkmenistan was just late with the book. 😢😁

The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was what Juliette Jourdan said (that doc about Romani people in the Czech Republic)—she mentioned going there to film because it was just easier. That really hit a nerve for me: I mean, WHY? France is an amazing country where you could film a super controversial documentary about minorities, taking risks with both your reputation and your safety. :S

...thanks, Justin Sanchez6 🙂

@ruggedjackal46
...😘 I guess there’s just a lingering sense of old-school forum politeness left in me—and honestly, I’m genuinely curious. The movie left me feeling pretty frustrated, but I spent the whole time questioning myself: was the film actually the problem, or was it just me? 🙂 I feel a bit more settled now (though, unfortunately, I still think it was definitely the film) 🙂

Hey everyone
The crew and I have decided we're definitely heading to the festival this year. Since we don't really have the budget or the chance to book a hotel, we're planning on just camping out. I've heard some mixed things about the camping situation, though... so I was wondering if anyone else could share their experience? Like, how crowded does it get, what are the prices looking like, and where do you usually grab food or handle hygiene stuff?

nimbleangler22 said:Hey everyone
The crew and I have decided we're definitely heading to the festival this year. Since we don't really have the budget or the chance to book a hotel, we're planning on just camping out. I've heard some mixed things about the camping situation, though... so I was wondering if anyone else could share their experience? Like, how crowded does it get, what are the prices looking like, and where do you usually grab food or handle hygiene stuff?

Honestly, the camping is pretty clean and fine. It’s not five-star luxury, but... I mean, what else do you expect? As long as there's hot water, showers, toilets, and some shade... that’s basically overkill for hygiene, haha
there are plenty of people at the campsite, mostly young folks, kids around your age (guessing you're maybe 15?) and a few of us who still feel like kids ourselves😁😁
as for food, there's stands and shops everywhere. I guess Motovun practically lives for this festival just to make some cash. Don't sweat it, I've been going for years and I always have a blast

Oh, thanks so much! I assume all of that is included as part of the camp setup, right?
I was also wondering if there have been any issues with theft? I'm mainly asking because I'm thinking about leaving some of my gear inside the tent,

nimbleangler22 said:Oh, thanks so much! I assume all of that is included as part of the camp setup, right?
I was also wondering if there have been any issues with theft? I'm mainly asking because I'm thinking about leaving some of my gear inside the tent,

Oh, absolutely. Last year, the award for best regional film went to "Buick Riviera."

No hot water here :/ It’s just cold showers, but honestly, you get used to it. Food prices are pretty standard—you can just hit up two local grocery stores, there's one right by the campground and another one up on the hill. Wine is everywhere, tucked away in people's houses, and it is incredibly cheap, probably around $6.75 $8 for a big 1.5 L bottle. As for theft, I always make sure to carry my cash, phone, and camera on me at all times, but don't worry about your clothes, nobody's going to touch those 🙂

Yeah, everything's pretty much inside the camp anyway. xD I haven't had anything stolen, and neither has anyone I know. I mean, sure, you leave some clothes and snacks in the tent, but you wouldn't leave anything valuable out in the open regardless, not even at the Motovun Festival.
It's a pretty small spot, easy enough to get around. You won't be going hungry or thirsty either.😉

northerncrane4 said:Oh, absolutely. Last year, the award for best regional film went to "Buick Riviera."

😂😂😂😂

I know it’s silly to waste a whole post just on emojis, but I really had to. That isn't true—it totally crushed me. 🤣🤣🤣