Tag: sundance
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The Farewell
Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, based on her real-life grandmother, brilliantly cares much more about creating a relatable, three-dimensional world than spinning an emotionally manipulative web. The Farewell opens with a witty title card that reads: “Based on an actual lie.” Yet, the reminder of its factuality may not have been necessary; the film clearly illustrates…
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Native Son
Native Son might not earn its running time, but proves rewarding in the end. Noah looks at the film that HBO picked up at Sundance. Remember last year’s Sorry to Bother You? Its depiction of a young, black man’s disorienting and absurd experience with capitalism was handled in the zaniest, most satirical way possible. However,…
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Dope
While we’re admitting we’re not really in a smart position to speak to the state of African American film, Dope seemed to suffer from overhype. While I stand behind this movie in terms of pushing more original content than what you’ll get on an average weekend at the multiplex, I have to say that director…
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Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
“Art is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer with which to shape it,” comes a quote from dramatist and poet, Bertolt Brecht, to begin the documentary about the infamous Russian protest group, Pussy Riot. You’ll remember them from such Olympics as Sochi 2014 — they were filmed being horse whipped for…
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Down and Dirty Pictures
I first read Peter Biskind’s Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film, a look at the 80s and 90s Indie movie revolution, when it came out in 2004, ten years after I saw Pulp Fiction. I decided to read it again recently, now that some more time has passed, and…