Category Archives: 2023

Theater Camp

Theater Camp   4 stars

Somewhere in upstate New York at a place called AdirondACTS children who are theater fans and budding actors and singers gather for a summer filled with putting together classic and original plays with the help of the teachers and staff of this magical place.  This year at the opening however,  its founder,  Joan (Amy Sedaris) collapsed and fell into a coma.  This leaves the operation of the camp including its finances in the hands of her moronic son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro) who sees himself as a business genius,  but is clueless about what it takes to put on a play or musical.  Such is the premise of Theater Camp,  the very campy and probably cult film by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman.  The fast paced comedy is put together as a faux documentary much like the Christopher Guest films of the past.  The film really goes overboard with the stereotypes of the theater crowd in an amusing way that is aided by some very talented kids.  Mostly,  the movie creates a preposterous situation using it to produce some very funny moments in what is sure to be a cult classic for years to come. 

The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory   4 stars

From the country of Chile and entered in World Cinema Documentary comes The Eternal Memory,  which documents the life of Augusto, a prominent journalist in Chile who covered events during the Pinochet dictatorship.  Augusto has had Alzheimers disease for several years and is cared for by his wife Pauli. The filmmaker,  Maite Alberdi takes us into their home showing us the struggle for Augusto as he tries to hang on to his identity with his wife’s help.  There is much archival footage from the eighties and later to give us a sense of his work and of the unrest during the Pinochet regime.  We see just how much has been robbed from Augusto by this terrible disease.  He can go for hours unable to recognize his own wife and imagines there are people that will steal his books which he treasures.  But Pauli, who is an actress and still working is there to reassure him and bring him back to reality. The best moments are when she is talking to him about his life and he calmly accepts what she says.  The Eternal Memory won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary. 

The Persian Version

The Persian Version  4 1/2 stars

The Persian Version has to be one of the funniest comedy-dramas at the festival.  It is the story of an Iranian-American family in New York City as told by daughter Leila who has seven brothers.  The story begins with the family gathering when the father has to have a heart transplant.  The movie is about the difference in cultures between the US and Iran and how the characters have to adapt to it. It spans a time from the sixties up to near the present.  As far as the story itself,  it is an amusing way of showing the conflict between mother and daughter,  done brilliantly by actors Layla Mohammadi and Niousha Noor. There are many funny moments including times when the main characters directly address the camera.  Despite their differences we see how mother and daughter are both determined to do things their way and to survive in a foreign culture.  The Persian Version won the Audience Award for US Dramatic and is one of the favorites among fans.

Animalia

Animalia 3 1/2 stars

Animalia is an unusual science fiction story set in Morocco about some strange happenings that lead to an alien presence that affects the natural world and humans.  Itto is very pregnant and is to be left alone in the family’s opulent mansion while husband,  Amine is away on business.  A state of emergency is declared because of odd weather happenings and Itto is forced to evacuate with some help from the local peasants, but the locals resent her expensive trappings and she is stranded in a village far from her husband. There she sees animals that behave strangely. We never actually see the aliens.  We only see the effect they have on people as those affected become blissful and content giving us the feeling that the world is about to change.  The movie is hopeful,  but exposes the distinction in people based on class differences.  The filmmaker,  Sofia Alaoui is French-Moroccan and previously made the sci-fi short,  So What If The Goats Die which I saw at a previous Sundance. The French title is Parmi Nous which means Among Us. Animalia won the Special Jury Award: Creative Vision. 

Fairyland

Fairyland 4 1/2 stars

Based on the memoir of writer Alysia Abbot, Fairyland follows the life of young Alysia and her father Steve after the sudden loss of Alysia’s mother.  It’s the seventies and the pair move to San Francisco, move into a cheap apartment where Steve develops his writing skills and starts to date men.  The story is told mainly from the child’s perspective and shows how she has to learn to cope with a father who is absent more than he should be. Eventually,  the eighties come and with it the AIDS epidemic which impacts the small family in painful ways.  The success of the movie is helped greatly by the acting skills of Scoot McNairy as Steve and Emilia Jones as the teenage Alysia. It’s a meaningful drama that shows the joy and pain of a father daughter relationship. 

Fancy Dance

Fancy Dance  4 stars

In the US Dramatic category is Fancy Dance,  a fictional account of a missing native American woman and her family’s search for answers that mirrors all too well the reality of Native Americans on reservations.  Jax (Lily Gladstone) is caring for her 13 year old niece Roki since Roki’s mother disappeared weeks earlier.  The police seem to be making little progress in solving the case so Jax takes it upon herself to start asking questions,  taking Roki with her and risking losing her to her father’s custody (Shea Whigham). The movie is a mystery drama that brings focus to the real problem of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic in this country. 

20 Days in Mariupol

20 Days in Mariupol,  5 stars

20 Days in Mariupol has to be one of the most compelling and important movies to show here at the festival. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukranian war correspondent and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov took a team of journalists into the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Then the war started with the city receiving incessant shelling and bombing against the military and civilians alike.  Chernov’s team recorded as much as they could spending much of the time in the hospitals where they show us the many casualties of the conflict that included women, children and the elderly. They show how the Russians targeted infrastructure to remove electricity and heat from the population.  The journalists sometimes have to travel around to find an internet signal so they could get their material to the Associated Press and the world. We are not spared seeing many atrocities caused by the shelling including children dying on the operating table.  An estimated 25,000 people were killed in the city and suburbs.  Many of the images are familiar as they were seen worldwide in the early days of the war. The film gives a wider perspective too by showing the propaganda war waged by the Russians that seeks to discredit the truth.  In the footage we even see civilians who are convinced that they are being attacked by the Ukranian military. The entire movie is narrated by Chernov who was also present at the Q&A where he expressed how important it is show the truth about the war. 

Victim/Suspect

Victim/Suspect   4 stars

In the documentary Victim/Suspect we are introduced to Rae de Leon, an investigative reporter working for The Center for Investigative Reporting.  She was looking into some cases involving young women who have reported being sexually assaulted only to find that the police then charge them with filing a false police report,  a crime which carries a long jail term.  She starts with a case of a student at the University of Alabama which leads her to many others in all parts of the country.  The documentary shows how through interviews and hundreds of hours of legwork she and her team learn how the police fail to investigate the allegations of rape and then use interrogation tactics including lying about evidence to convince the victim to recant their story.  The recanting is then used to file charges against the women who are often then convinced to accept a plea. The victims are often women in their twenties who have no idea what is coming for them.  This is all done just to make life easier on the police without regard for the lives damaged.  The film by director Nancy Schwartzman tells a compelling story that will outrage the audience.  The film does have a positive outcome with the subject women of the film being exonerated of their charges. de Leon, the director and two of the victims and a lawyer helping them were present for the Q&A. They are planning to spread their message of these police practices with the result being to educate police departments and the public on this important issue. 

Mami Wata

Mami  Wata.   4 stars

From the country of Nigeria comes the movie Mami Wata by C. J. “Fiery” Obasi. This is a story taking place in a fictional African village called Iyi where the old traditional ways are still observed,  but the influence of Western culture is pressuring the people with its promises of development and technology.  Mami Wata is an all powerful water diety that protects the people,  but can only be reached through the Intermediary,  Mama Efe. Mama has two daughters,  one of which,  Zinwe is to be Mama’s successor as Intermediary.  Then a mysterious visitor arrives who is a rebel deserter from a nearby wartorn country and will change everything in this small village.  The movie depicts the struggle between a traditional matriarchal culture and modern militants common in African societies.  The production is relatively simple and is done in black and white.  The language is some combination of an African dialect mixed with English.  Subtitles are provided. The story is full of deceit, treachery, intrigue and murder, all the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy making it fascinating and emotional as the conclusion is reached.  I am hoping to see it chosen as one of the award winners this weekend. 

A Thousand and One

A Thousand and One   4 stars 

A. V. Rockwell tells a story of a young Black mother raising a son against the backdrop of a gentrifying New York City that tends to deny opportunity from the poorer minorities.  Inez (Teyana Taylor) is living in shelters in the 1990’s and as an act of redemption decides to kidnap 6 year old Terry, from foster care where he has been placed.  But there is a secret kept hidden that can shatter their lives if discovered.  We follow this small family for the next twelve years as they struggle to build something together with her friend and eventual husband,  Lucky (William Catlett). Both Inez and Lucky have criminal backgrounds making things a challenge,  but are committed to keeping Terry in school on a path to success.  It is a moving,  well acted and well written story that keeps you rooting for this loving and unlikely family. The cast was present for Q&A including the little boy who played the young Terry and was really charming. The movie was very well received by the packed in audience. It was an excellent movie that I almost missed.