This was the first year since the pandemic when the Sundance film festival was in-person again, although it also retained the virtual option for the majority of the films playing at the festival. Here’s a list of the Sundance films I saw, ranked.
5. Jamojaya
Directed by Justin Chon; starring Rich Brian and Yayu A.W. Unru
Justin Chon has long broken out from his goofy acting roles in the Twighlight series and teen raunchcom 21 & Over to become an established independent director, starting with his Sundance hit Gook in 2017, followed up by Ms. Purple (2109) and Blue Bayou (2021). In his latest film Chon returns to Sundance with a tale of a rising young Indonesian rapper (Rich Brian) who has decided to move to the U.S. to make it big and to fire his father as his business manager. Like many of Chon’s films, it’s intensely personal with a tendency at points to take some huge, melodramatic swings. The father, played by Yaya A.W. Unru, cuts a remarkably harrowing figure, and the performances are solid, but the story doesn’t quite come together. Jamojaya is Chon’s weakest film in years but still contains some memorable scenes and enough assurance that a bright future still lies ahead for this filmmaker.
4. Sometimes I Think About Dying
Directed by Rachel Lambert; starring Daisy Ridley and Dave Merheje
Daisy Ridley has been taking some time off since her breakthough in the Star Wars franchise, but she is back with a number of films slated to come out, and if Sometimes I Think About Dying is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to. Ridley shows us that she has real acting chops, playing a mousy, anxious office worker who tries to avoid as much social interaction at work as possible, with her few joys being eating cottage cheese alone in her apartment for dinner every night and indulging in her frequent fantastical daydreams of gloriously detailed scenes of her own mortality. When a new co-worker (Dave Merheje) joins the company, she begins to warm up, and so does the movie. The film is stripped down, awkward, and oddly morbid, though it’s sprinkled in with some good humour and endearing moments. Those all seem to be intentional and fitting choices when dealing with subject matter like depression and anxiety, and helps the message hit home.
3. Theater Camp
Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman; starring Gordon, Lieberman, Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison
The comedy mockumentary is a once-great but now-tired genre, with most such films having their reach exceed their grasp. Theater Camp is an exception to this: it’s a shot in the arm for the genre and an increasingly rare specimen: a genuinely funny comedy. Gordon and Lieberman write, direct, and star in this mocukmentary musical about a summer camp for theater kids (“Adiron Acts”) that feels like an unguarded and silly 80s style throwback that takes a “yes, and” approach to everything. It’s kinetic and frantic and entertaining. Plus, if you love a good movie montage, it doesn’t get much better than Theater Camp‘s extended audition montage.
2. Shortcomings
Directed by Randall Park; starring Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola, Ally Maki, and Debby Ryan
There are a lot of modern rom coms these days, but Randall Park’s directorial debut is an anti-rom com, it’s not overly funny and not as romantic as we’re used to, and it manages to be warmheated and cynical at the same time. The characters are intentionally flawed and real, much more than we’re used to, making for an enjoyable and a surprisingly thoughtful viewing – the closest comparison that comes to mind is its Woody Allen style and vibes. Based on a graphic novel of the same name by Adrian Tomine (who also wrote the screenplay for this film), the story follows Ben (Justin Min), a young wannabe filmmaker daylighting as the manager of a local arthouse cinema. Filled with local Berkeley references and cinephile easter eggs, Park takes us through a Frances Ha-esque journey of self-doubt and self-discovery. Min, who starred in my favorite Sundance film of last year, brings a lot of gravitas and naturalism to the role. He’s charming and handsome but also a total loser at other times, as the viewer sways back and forth throughout the film on whether to root for him or not. The talented Min should be a bona fide star soon enough if he gets the opportunity. The film definitely has its own, well, shortcomings, but it’s still a worthy watch.
1. Other People’s Children
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski; starring Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni, and Callie-Ferreira-Goncalves
Loosely inspired by director’s Rebecca Zlotowski’s real life experiences, Other People’s Children is a vivacious French film about a 40 year-old schoolteacher, Rachel (Virginie Efira), who starts dating someone and quickly becomes close to his daughter. Zlotowski shows us, in a nonjudgmental way, the ups and downs and complexities and jealousies and joys of being a mother-figure who can never be the biological mother. It’s a delightful film that is romantic, playful, compassionate in substance and jazzy and avant garde in style and score. As the child becomes attahed to her (and vice versa), Rachel has to sort through her feelings of guilt and turmoil and responsibility. Zlotowski acknowledges the different forms that motherhood can take, as well as the pain that one can feel from being excluded from that category of biological mothers. The ending is brilliant, and anti-Hollywood in every way, as you laugh and cry your way through the movie and start to become attached to the characters and their relationships, you won’t want to let go once the film concludes.
