January 19th at Sundance Film Festival
A quick glimpse into some of the most anticipated films playing on the second day (January 19th) at the Sundance Film Festival.
Love Me
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
Long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy and a satellite meet online and fall in love.
As filmmakers Sam & Andy demonstrate in their wildly imaginative debut feature, telling the love story of a smart buoy and an orbiting satellite that spans a billion years and probes the mysteries of being and consciousness requires legit storytelling dexterity. Love Me’s whimsically philosophical, shape-shifting structure ingeniously weaves together the real, the virtual, and the surreal. Its star-crossed, web-paired metallic protagonists — inhabited in different forms by Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun — awkwardly navigate romance and companionship, equipped only with untold petabytes of archived web data, social media, and online videos. Awash in these mediated experiences and fabricated expressions of love and identity, they yearn to understand who they are, whether their feelings are real, and for that matter, whether they are real.
Meet Sam and Andy
Director(s): Sam and Andy Zuchero
Key Cast:
Kristen Stewart, Steven Yeun
On the Film:
Kirsten Stewart is the undisputed Queen of Sundance this year, with both Love Me and Love Lies Bleeding leading the charge as two of the festival’s most anticipated films. Pair her with Steven Yeun, who is fresh off a win at the Golden Globes (and will likely be walking away with an Emmy tomorrow), and you have a seemingly unstoppable duo. Yes, this is the feature film debut for Sam and Andy Zuchero, but they’ve already been awarded the 2024 Alfred P. Sloan Film Prize from Sundance for the project. Previous winners of this award include After Yang, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Marjorie Prime, and Grizzly Man (to name a few), so they are off to a pretty good start. The premise is absolutely fascinating, with the story taking place after human extinction and starring Stewart and Yeun as a buoy and a satellite who… fall in love? This one will surely be a thoughtful reflection on love, life, humanity, and everything in between, and is just the start for the Zuchero duo.
Between the Temples
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher reenters his life as his new adult bat mitzvah student.
Between the Temples is a rare, offbeat comedy buoyed by its cast’s lively yet heartfelt performances. Indie stalwart Nathan Silver reteams with co-writer C. Mason Wells for a script that delivers both jokes and emotional depths with a confident hand. Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane are a natural fit as our loving leads, while the rest of the film is peppered with a way-too-funny cast, including Triangle of Sadness standout Dolly de Leon and comedy writing legend Robert Smigel. They create a film that delights in frenzied misadventure while being carefully driven by a warm heart and loving embrace of human connection
Director(s): Nathan Silver
Key Cast:
Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly de Leon
On the Film:
Here, we have another unique concept for a film – this time inspired by Writer/Director Nathan Silver‘s mother’s story. When his mother was in her mid-60s, she made the unconventional choice to have a bat mitzvah ceremony. With Between the Temples, Silver takes an idea that might seem ridiculous or silly on the surface and uses that inherent comedy to shine a light on the never-ending journey of “coming-of-age” and “self-discovery”. I’m reminded of a conversation with fellow filmmaker Gabriel Kahane as he shared the idea that “coming-of-age is a process reserved not just for the young”, which he explored in Benji’s Hour. Indeed, we likely need more films willing to delve into the intrinsic questioning still very much present in humans in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. That being said, given Silver’s propensity for comedy (as evidenced in his 2018 film The Great Pretender), paired with a hilarious cast of Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, and Triangle of Sadness’ Dolly de Leon, one shouldn’t just expect a heartwarming story, but also one that will leave us laughing uncontrollably.
The American Society of Magical Negroes
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
A young man, Aren, is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.
If The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith is proclaimed “the greatest picture ever made,” then the “Magical Negro” — a Black supporting character who exists solely to serve a white protagonist’s storyline — has been a stock character trope since the inception of American cinema.
Debut director Kobi Libii engages this trope in this clever satire and delightful fairytale-like romantic comedy about the coming of age of a young Black man who is propositioned to become a real-life Magical Negro upon narrowly escaping death after a string of racial microaggressions get out of hand.
The American Society of Magical Negroes is a must-see satire about what it means for Black people to protect and care for ourselves and each other. Libii’s auspicious debut is destined to find its place in the cinematic canon of essential films about American culture.
Trailer:
Director(s): Kobi Libii
Key Cast:
Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver
On the Film:
Wow.
The premise for this film is absolutely genius, and it has the potential to extend its social impact far beyond what is expected from your standard indie picture. Kobi Libii might not be a household name, but he is someone who has dedicated his life to the theatre, then television, and now film – having graduated from the Yale theatre program, studying with the Second City improv group in Chicago, and more recently being the standout on “The Opposition with Jordan Klepper”. What Libii is attempting to do here is to take a world that appears to be so far off in “fantasy” and the “unreal” but yet use this apparent distance from reality and subvert these ideas, ultimately grounding it in the lived experience of black folks in the United States. Out of any film in the festival, The American Society of Magical Negroes appears to have the strongest “pre-festival buzz,” having already announced a theatrical release date of March 15th. Here’s hoping Libii can pull off this ambitious project.
The American Society of Magical Negroes is being distributed by Focus Features.
Sasquatch Sunset
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
A year in the life of a singular family.
Sasquatch Sunset is, indeed, an utterly singular filmmaking feat. Deploying a daring approach with ferocious commitment, David and Nathan Zellner’s imaginative work captures quotidian sasquatch life with detail and rigor that is simply unforgettable. The Zellner brothers continue their long-standing contributions to the Sundance catalog with this zany gem, after collaborating on memorable Festival standouts like Damsel (2018), Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), KID-THING (2012), and even the felicitously titled short Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 (2011).
In a time where likenesses are of the utmost preciousness to actors, the dynamic duo Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough eschew traditional appearances and ego in a fantastic display of raw performance chops, dazzling dedication, and rare boldness. Eisenberg returns to Sundance after many performances (first in 2009 with Adventureland) and most recently his 2022 directorial debut, When You Finish Saving The World, as does Keough (starting in 2016’s The Girlfriend Experience and most recently with Zola in 2020), but this time in stunning, definitively never-seen-before fashion.
Director(s): David and Nathan Zellner
Key Cast:
Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Nathan Zellner
On the Film:
David and Nathan Zellner are riding a high after the almost unanimous critical praise for their television series “The Curse” starring Emma Stone and Benny Safdie. Sasquatch Sunset represents yet another one of their projects willing to take risks and go the unconventional route. It is so unconventional, in fact, that its lead, Jesse Eisenberg, “play[s] a Sasquatch: [with] full makeup, full body hair, no lines.” The Zellners have been very tight-lipped about the project, but given that Eisenberg has no spoken lines in the film, it suggests that it will be, at the very least, a creative and unique experience. It has been hinted that co-star Riley Keough will also undergo a physical transformation of sorts (another Sasquatch, perhaps), but her exact character remains shrouded in mystery. I wish I had more to give here, but you’ve got to hand it to the team – they have made us incredibly curious to see how it all unfolds.
Sasquatch Sunset is being distributed by Bleecker Street.
Little Death
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
A middle-aged filmmaker on the verge of a breakthrough. Two kids in search of a lost backpack. A small dog a long way from home.
Acclaimed music video director Jack Begert’s idiosyncratic debut feature, co-written with Dani Goffstein, takes a cockeyed but sensitive look at Hollywood dreams and disappointments. Little Death is a dark comedy about a screenwriter’s (David Schwimmer) midlife identity crisis and a crime drama about a pair of taco truck entrepreneurs (Talia Ryder and Dominic Fike) in search of their next opioid fix. In true Los Angeles fashion, these characters collide at a tragicomic intersection, and the film shifts gears from barbed showbiz satire to an introspective hangout vibe. Throughout, Little Death stays deeply attuned to the inner lives of its restless dreamers, examining their efforts to find meaning and connection while struggling against the fickleness of fate and the illusion of free will. Begert deploys disorienting bursts of surreal montage and oddball AI animation to convey Schwimmer’s fractured psyche and draws on a terrific ensemble including Jena Malone, Gaby Hoffman, and Karl Glusman.
Director(s): Jack Begert
Key Cast:
David Schwimmer, Gaby Hoffman, Dominic Fike, Talia Ryder, Jena Malone
On the Film:
Our third first-time feature director on our list, Jack Berget, has the world wondering if this is the project that finally allows David Schwimmer to break out of his overbearing “Friends” shadow. While Berget is new to the feature film world, he is well known for his direction of music videos for some of the world’s most prominent artists, including Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar, and Sir. Paul McCartney. Little Death aims to bridge the gap between comedy and tragedy and provide a glimpse into the lives of folks living in Los Angeles. From opioid abuse (which brings an even heavier weight to Schwimmer given the recent passing of “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry) to taco-trucks and back to the failed Hollywood dream, there should be something in here that resonates with everyone. Adding onto this intriguing plotline and stellar cast, we also have elements of surrealism and animation that will surely make us question our relationship with “reality” and the seemingly innocuous decisions that drive our lives. Plus, it’s produced by Darren Aronofsky, so you can bet on it being at least a little bit weird…
Presence
(January 19th at Sundance Film Festival)
From Sundance:
A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.
In every project of his legendary career as a director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor, Steven Soderbergh has brought a vital energy, curiosity, and unique vision to storytelling that has few parallels in filmmaking history. Following groundbreaking work like sex, lies, and videotape (1989 Sundance Film Festival, Audience Award: Dramatic) and The Girlfriend Experience (2009 Sundance Film Festival), he returns to Park City with a film shot entirely in one location that will haunt audiences with its otherworldly story and constantly awe-inspiring visuals. Working from a taut, mysterious script by David Koepp and featuring an exciting cast of known actors and newcomers, Presence is a thrilling cinematic ride that reifies Soderbergh’s status as an icon of American independent film.
Director(s): Steven Soderbergh
Key Cast:
Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Julia Fox
On the Film:
Moving from first-time feature directors to Sundance legends, we have the latest work from Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh is no stranger to the festival, having his first film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, play at Sundance (then called the U.S. Film Festival) all the way back in 1989. Heck, he was once even called the “poster boy of the Sundance generation” by late film critic Roger Ebert. Without hyperbole, the boom of indie cinema in the 1990s owes at least some credit to the success of Soderbergh’s initial project. Thirty-five years later, he is still bringing his films to Sundance – this time with the psychological thriller Presence. The film was shot in one location, and the story unfolds through what the “presence” or “ghost” is seeing. In this way, he is taking what presents as a simplistic haunted house thriller and provides a new lens through which to view it. As we watch a family (led by Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan) deal with the “presence,” I anticipate the narrative shifting in a way that ultimately highlights their own inner demons and challenges some of our more common horror expectations.
