SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: DAY 2

Divergence of Views on Mean Streets

After a rare sleep in, the first order of business on this cloudy Park City morning was to interview the three talented young women from xx/xy (which I saw on Day 1).

This strong competition entry may have a fine script and excellent direction, but the work of Kathleen Robertson, talented Australian Maya Stange and remarkable newcomer Petra Wright were the heart and soul of this film, and they recounted, often with humour and intelligence, how they felt about shooting sex scenes, the film’s unflinching honesty, and where they go from here. Robertson also spoke about her time on 90210.

In all, an interesting and illuminating way to start the day.

It seems that the best of independent films, especially those that screen at Sundance, are mostly defined by their intensity. The next few films are all that, with some working better than others.

Blue Car, written and directed by talent first-timer Karen Moncrieff, is a disturbing, melancholy but exquisite tale of a troubled teenager and her often dangerous bond with her English teacher. Remarkable newcomer Agnes Bruckner delivers a deeply moving performance as 16-year old Meg, who is encouraged to write poetry and enter a poetry contest by her English teacher. When tragedy strikes at home, Meg, turns to her teacher as a source of friendship.

Blue Car, which so perfectly captures the isolation of adolescence, is a powerful and emotionally haunting film. For the most part. While it does stumble a bit as the relationship between teacher and student ventures into dangerous territory, then film’s emotional richness and the compelling work of Bruckner, makes Blue Car ultimately satisfying.

The same cannot be said for Narc, the first major disappointment I’ve seen at the Festival. A police thriller revolving around the hunt for an undercover-cop’s killers it does not fulfil the promise of its opening scenes. Pretentiously crafted, with annoying MTV visuals, it is relentlessly violent and narcissistic and can be written off as a simplistic genre flick. While Ray Liotta [who also produced] gives an arresting performance, Narc is all style and no substance.

On the other hand, Ernest Dickerson’s Our America offers an insightful and powerful look at life in the projects of south Chicago through the eyes of two impoverished African-American teenagers. They land a job putting together a radio documentary on their daily life, and through that experience survive against impossible odds. Based on a true story, beautifully directed by Dickerson, Our America is powerful, yet also is touching, funny, poignant and very real.

Avoiding the clichés normally associated with tales of Black urban youth, this is a film that tells it as it is, and does so with remarkable skill and texture. A fine film to end another busy day here at Sundance.