As this year's Sundance Film Festival draws nearer, the mostly virtual event has a slew of films. And that seems enough to get the film enthusiasts to look forward to the forthcoming festival. The festival's avid audiences were looking forward to an in-person Sundance. However, the threat of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 still looming large. And that means the audiences will have to enjoy the event virtually.
Instead of a crowd of film critics coming to a small town like Utah, attendees can watch the films online. The premieres stream on their televisions while also taking part in Q&As with directors and actors. And this means the film festival will be more like Zoom meetings. Let's find out about the top films which might be part of the Sundance Film Festival.
Speak No Evil
Horror movies are among the most sought-after films in Sundance 2022, making them on the top festival lineup. Speak No Evil is one of the best horror movies that you can watch. It puts the real-life anxieties of life on a pedestal presented via a Danish couple who are spending a nightmarish time with their friends over a weekend. The film has satirical overtones as it gives the nod to the other run-of-the-mill thrillers who refuse to read the signs of danger lying ahead; in this film, the situations are common and relatable. It seems eerily close to reality.
After Yang
Video-essayist and a Sundance regular, Kogonada (Columbus), offers a science fiction drama. And it is about a futuristic family taking stock of their lives after a robotic companion/caregiver becomes unresponsive. The film markers also featured the film at Cannes last summer. And the movie’s response from virtual Sundance has been great. The direction uses the trope of the adoption allegory. And it uses the layered emotional history of an artificially intelligent and putting forward the age-old clash of nature versus nurture.
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cha Cha Real Smooth stands out in a festival where most films are actually harsh or distressingly close to real life. Cooper Raiff's heartfelt comedy is about a college graduate who finds himself making way bar mitzvah business and trading into a romantic relationship with a married woman (Dakota Johnson).
Much of the film's charm is all thanks to the youthful writer-director-star, who adds the color of the adolescence and gives it funny rather than annoying overtones. In the end, it is all about the decent kid with a good heart and, more often than not, a simplicity that touches the people the most.
Happening
The film, Happening, was a big winner in Venice. It is single-mindedly focused on a heroine, a teenager in 1960s France. She spent the early weeks of her pregnancy trying to get herself an abortion. Everyone around tries to coerce her to accept motherhood at the expense of her education and her visualized future. The movie brings a clear picture of the culture that puts a woman across several hurdles when she is trying to make a choice. The movie also reinstates how the predicaments of a person are universal and common for all ages.
Cathedral
Ricky D’Ambrose’s semiautobiographical memory tells the story of a young boy who grows up in the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts. She also brings forth the usual coming-of-age drama tropes. The camera hovers over and watches from a deliberate remove. A narrator calmly tries to fill in the details. He brings about a subtly prismatic view of life and death, taking into account things such as marriage and divorce, celebration, and estrangement. The film portrays the truths of life with a heart-touching candid point of view.
Emily the Criminal
Aubrey Plaza is a Sundance regular, and what makes her a clear favorite is her unpredictability. She has expressed her forte in films as different as chalk and cheese, such as Ingrid Goes West to Black Bear. In Emily the Criminal, she has found a new direction.
It is a gripping thriller and stars Plaza as a young woman who feels a pent-up feeling welling up inside her because of crushing student debt and reducing prospects that push her into a road of darkness and crime. Sundance always manages to showcase films that are eclectic, magical, sometimes bizarre, but definitely with a charm of its own.