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Sundance: Prime Time

Set in Poland on New Year’s Eve 1999, Prime Time stars Bartosz Bielenia as Sebastian, a troubled young man who breaks into a major Polish television studio. He takes a security guard and on air hostess hostage and demands that he be broadcast live to the nation. With gun in hand and a note in his pocket, he  battles with the television producers and the hostage negotiators who will do anything to prevent him from reading his message. The situation gets more volatile as the night progresses, leaving Sebastian in a bind.

Directed by Jakub Piątek, Prime Time seems to have an important message to offer but ultimately fails to deliver. It eschews the conventional approach to a hostage thriller. Tension is palpable yet muted and the film moves along at a steady rather than frenzied pace. Bartosz Bielenia, who starred in the excellent Polish drama Corpus Christi, is magnificent as the disturbed Sebastian who is anything but a villain. However, the viewer never really gets to know his character. We’re left wondering about his motivation. Ultimately he is a relatable character whom we empathize with but the impetus for his actions are unclear. It leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.

Prime Time had its world premiere at the virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Sundance: CODA

What a way to kick off my very first Sundance Film Festival! The first feature film I had the pleasure to see, CODA, is a new favorite and one I’ll be recommending for months to come.

Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, CODA (an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults) stars Emilia Jones as Ruby, the only hearing member of a deaf family. Her father Frank (Troy Kotsur) manages a struggling fishing business which is bolstered by the help of his wife Jackie (Marlee Matlin), his deaf son Leo (Daniel Durant) and his hearing daughter. The family depends on Ruby to interpret on their behalf, causing her to bear more burden on the high school teenager. But Ruby is on her own journey.  Ruby joins the high school choir where she must overcome her shyness, accept the tough-love tutoring of her singing coach Bernardo (Eugenio Derbez) and expose her vulnerability to her crush and duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Can Ruby find her voice or will she have to sacrifice it to help her family survive their current hardship?

Director Siân Heder absolutely delivers with this feel-good drama that offers moments of joy, sadness and hope. CODA is funny and charming and sends its viewers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It’s effective not only as a coming-of-age story but an exploration of a unique family dynamic. Heder cast deaf actors Matlin, Kotsur, and Durant in the roles of the deaf family members. Potential caricature is avoided with authentic and multi-dimensional characters performed by  talented actors. Representation matters and Heder clearly demonstrates that with this thoughtfully crafted film. Another way CODA is effective is in evoking empathy for the plight of the characters and not for their disability. These are fiercely independent individuals who face a battle to thrive in a society of people who do not or chose not to understand. It’s beautiful to see the way they support each other especially as their youngest, who they’ve depended on for so long, is ready to spread her wings and fly.

CODA premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Posted Female Filmmakers

AFI Fest: Wander Darkly

Adrienne (Sienna Miller) and Mateo (Diego Luna) are at an impasse in their relationship. The couple have settled down and had a baby but have ultimately grown to resent each other. After a tense interaction at a party,  Adrienne and Mateo are involved in a horrific car accident that inevitably changes their relationship forever.

It’s difficult to talk about Wander Darkly without giving away key elements of the plot that make the film so mesmerizing. Directed by Tara Miele, who was inspired by her own trauma to tell the story of Adrienne and Mateo, Wander Darkly is a gripping drama about trauma, love, gratitude and Miele calls “everyday magic.” The way film pivots back and forth from reality to memory, often combining the two, is astonishingly good. Miller and Luna breathe life into their characters in such a profound way. Wander Darkly is riveting and has easily become one of my favorite films of the year.

Wander Darkly was screened as part of the 2020 virtual AFI Fest. It is distributed by Lionsgate.

Posted Documentaries

Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival: MLK/FBI

In February 2027, the Martin Luther King Jr. surveillance tapes recorded by the FBI will be unsealed and made available to the public. These tapes are the result of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI’s extensive harassment of MLK. Hoover sought out sordid details of MLK’s extramarital affairs hoping that the information would ruin his public image and in turn weaken MLK’s leadership. What Hoover didn’t anticipate is that ultimately no one cared. The movement was full speed ahead and even one of the most powerful men in America couldn’t stop it.

Directed by Sam Pollard, MLK/FBI is both a compelling look into one of the darkest times in the history of the FBI and a brilliant portrait of a charismatic leader who was able to mobilize a community into peaceful action despite all the challenges that faced him. The documentary is comprised of photographs and archival footage as well as clips from newsreels and relevant classic movies. It was based on recently released documents made available by way of the Freedom of Information Act.

The talking heads narrate but are not seen until the end of the film. The narrators include Civil Rights leaders, historians and former FBI employees including former director James Comey. The greatest value of this documentary is the amount of quality archival footage of MLK himself. I have seen several documentaries about the Civil Rights movement but none  have included this much actual footage of MLK. The film is based on recently released documents made available by way of the Freedom of Information Act.

MLK/FBI is a priceless documentary that sheds light on the past and serves as a warning for the future.

MLK/FBI recently screened at the 2020 virtual Double Exposure Film Festival. It will be released by IFC in January 2021.

Posted Documentaries

AFI Fest: The Lost Astronaut

Representation matters. When a young Edward Dwight Jr. saw a photo of an  African-American jet pilot in the newspaper, everything he dreamed about suddenly became a possibility. That one photo sparked something inside him and Dwight set out to achieve his dreams. He proved to be an excellent pilot and served as a captain in the Air Force. Dwight was selected as a NASA astronaut trainee by the Kennedy administration, the first African-American to be chosen. And while he was an exceptionally trained pilot, he never made it passed phase two of the training. It’s clear that the world wasn’t ready for a black astronaut. Dwight could have let this disappointment drag him down but instead he reinvented himself.

Directed by Ben Proudfoot, The Lost Astronaut is an intimate short documentary that profiles an extraordinary man. This 14 minute film is part of The New York Times series Almost Famous while profiles subjects in similar circumstances. The extreme close up on Dwight’s face as he recounts the story of his life makes the viewer feel like Dwight is an old friend that we care deeply about. What’s so exceptional about Captain Edward Dwight Jr.’s story is that his career happened during what the director refers to as “collision of the space race and the civil rights movement.” Had he been born a few decades earlier he may never have become a pilot. Had he been born a few decades later he might have become a NASA astronaut.

The Lost Astronaut was screened as part of the Meet the Press program for the 2020 virtual AFI Fest.

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