Here are the 10 reviews from my remote coverage of the recent Slamdance and Sundance film festivals, written for Hammer to Nail. I couldn’t attend, but I was able to watch some great movies, nonetheless. From Slamdance, we have three documentaries – The Modern Jungle (which analyzes the relationship between filmmaker and subject among dirt-poor peasants in Chiapas), Strad Style (about an unlikely violin maker and his quest to recreate a renowned 18th-century instrument) and Supergirl (a tale of the strongest 12-year-old girl in the world) – and three narratives – Dave Made a Maze (a demented fantasy about an out-of-control labyrinth), Future ’38 (a clever sci-fi look forward from 1938 to the year 2018) and Weather House (a hypnotic meditation on the end of the world). From Sundance, we have two documentaries – Plastic China (an exploration of China’s position as the number one importer of recyclable plastic) and Tell Them We Are Rising (a chronicle of our nation’s historically black colleges and universities) – and two narratives – Bad Day for the Cut (an intense revenge thriller from Norther Ireland) and Free and Easy (an engagingly offbeat dramedy about misfit criminals in China). Below are the links to the reviews:
- Bad Day for the Cut
- Dave Made a Maze
- Free and Easy
- Future ’38
- The Modern Jungle
- Plastic China
- Strad Style
- Supergirl
- Tell Them We Are Rising
- Weather House
Enjoy!
