Sundance, reviewed

Watching next year's Oscar noms now

I spent the weekend doing my favorite thing- attending a film festival. Unfortunately, since I left all of my money in Turkey, I had to attend this particular film fest from my friend’s couch. We didn’t get a lot of good things from COVID but the best is undoubtedly SUNDANCE ONLINE. If you can’t be in Park City (which is sad, because it’s a blast) then the next best thing is hanging out with a friend for two days and filling yourself with as many films as possible. For me, that was six. Below, I tell you about them, so that when they are available in 6-12 months you can pull up this newsletter and see that you agree with me.

AUM- It will come as no surprise to you that I am an Aum Shinrikyo expert. It’s easily the most infamous cult to come out of Japan, certainly one of the most brutal and violent cults in history, and if you are reading this and you don’t remember the 1995 Tokyo Sarin gas attacks then you are too young to be reading this newsletter. AUM is a documentary about those attacks and about the cult and I really wanted it to be good but they glossed over A LOT. They really did not want to get into the dirty details about this cult but without that the 1995 attacks don’t make as much sense. If you understand how Aum was built, what life was like in the cult, and how brutally the members were brainwashed it is much easier to understand the attacks. The doc also didn’t get into a lot of the details of the attacks as much as they could have. Honestly, this felt more like a therapeutic exercise for the families of the cult members than ever. If you don’t know about Aum, don’t skip this, but just know that there is so much more to the story.

Cult X is an excellent novel about a modern Japanese cult that delves into a lot of the psychology and history that led to Aum. I read it in a glorious little hotel in Kyoto that I am happy to talk about at length to anyone who asks.

THE PERSIAN VERSION- The first of two films about strong Iranian women making a way out of no way, three guesses as to why that’s a popular topic right now. TPV is about an Iranian family living in Brooklyn in the 90s so, first of all, the fashion and hair are incredible. So much volume! The movie manages to be fun and inspirational and devastating all at once. You will stand up and cheer for the mom more than once.

SHAYDA- The second strong Iranian mom film, this one set in Australia at about the same time. So, again, so much volume, so many polka dots. Easily one of the strongest child performances that I have seen in a long time. The mother makes baffling choices that my friend and I were often completely perplexed by. Both of us were raised by single mothers, she currently is one, and there were several moments when we were yelling at the scream NO MOTHER WOULD DO THIS! But, as I thought about it later, as a portrayal of what fear and trauma can do to even the strongest woman, and where and how we try to find calm and maybe even happiness in those moments, it kind of made sense. It’s also a really gentle view of domestic violence survivors supporting each other and the ending is a chef’s kiss.

GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI- Did you know that mariachi is a varsity sport in Texas?? Me either. This documentary follows a high school mariachi team and it is a tearjerker. It’s incredible to watch kids get school funding to learn about and participate in an activity that is so important to their culture. Who gets to do that?? You’ll love these kids, you’ll love the music, you’ll love all of it.

MAMACRUZ- If you haven’t seen Good Luck To You, Leo Grande yet, stop what you’re doing, watch it now, and then email the Academy and tell them that you want justice for Emma Thompson.

Done? Great. Now we can talk about Mamacruz, which is the Spanish version of Leo Grande and is a delight. One day people will stop being afraid of stories about the sexual liberation of older women and when that day comes Leo Grande and Mamacruz will get the accolades that they deserve. Until then, we’ll just have to love them enough for the whole world.

BEYOND UTOPIA- Oh god this is dark and depressing. A documentary about North Koreans trying to defect, this is a brutal watch. The filmmakers gave cameras to the participants so you are literally watching them through every step of this journey and it is a tough thing to witness. I spent a lot of this documentary just thinking “this can’t be real” but it is, and it’s recent. I can’t say much more but even though this is hard, it’s important. It is so crucial to remember that right now, at this moment, there are people willing to give absolutely everything they have for just a small chance at living with the freedom we take for granted.

Also, they talked about this in the documentary and I couldn’t believe it but it’s true. So… yeah… this is what’s happening in North Korea right now.

That’s my Sundance wrap up! There were about 10,000 movies that I didn’t see I think we’re in for another great year of film. There will never be another EEAO but I have a lot of hope for the 2023 season.

This was long so you’re on your own for entertainment this week. Try reading a book.

SPEAKING OF BOOKS! Don’t forget to preorder my book, American Identity Crisis.