Sundance: Day 2

Film #1:Teddy Bear

This is easily among my top 5 favorite films of the weekend. The story centers on Dennis, a 38 year old Danish body builder who still lives with his mother. Dennis yearns to find a girlfriend, but because of his overwhelming shy and awkward personality (not to mention his massive size), he fails in all regards. After some convincing from his cousin, Dennis travels to Thailand in search of love. However, upon arriving he is introduced to relations not of the romantic persuasion. Dennis finds himself amongst the ever present sex tourism that smothers the streets.Burrying himself back into his comfort zone, Dennis goes to the local gym where he not only befriends other body builders, but meets a girl who looks beyond his muscles. Because of its extreme delicacy and sweetness, the film allows for your heart to ache, heal, and pound feverishly once again. With its gentle power, it is no wonder why director Mads Matthiesen won the World Cinema Directing Award- and the hearts of all the viewers, for that matter. 

Film #2: Save The Date 

This was one of my least favorite films. It follows the story of a woman (played by Lizzy Caplan- aka Janice from Mean Girls) who has just broken up with her boyfriend (who is also the best-friend of her sister's fiance) . She then begins to date an admirer of hers, wrapping herself in a world-wind romance. Following her sister's wedding preparations, tensions rise as she intermingles her past and present relationships- leaving her sister to feel as an afterthought. Although not a horrible film, it was just a basic "girl breaks up with boy- girl meets new boy- girl screws up- girl ends up happy" story. Thats basically all I can chalk it up to be. It did nothing new, and certainly was not akin to the level of romantic pursuit as Teddy Bear. 

Film #3: Mosquita y Mari 

This based on a true story gently surveys the relationship of two high school Chicano girls in Huntington Park, Los Angeles. One girl is a hardworking straight - A/straight laced student, while the other has lost her way in helping to provide for her family. This emotionally rich story breaks new ground by unearthing a strong closer- than- friends relationship between them. Being young, Hispanic, and confused, the girls do no speak verbally their growing feelings for one another. In place of words, there are beautiful moments of silence. These moments are filled with a quiet intensity that can only exist with true love. At the Q&A afterward, the audience found out this story was based on the director/writer, Aurora Guerrero's life. As she confessed how freeing the filmmaking experience was for her, the audience cooed and clapped- immersed in the joy of her great and influential accomplishment.

Film #4: 28 Hotel Rooms 

This is another huge favorite of mine. Divided into 28 segments, the film delves into the emotional, psychological, physical, natural- yet unnatural, bond between a man and a women. Over the course of an 11 year span, the film looks deeply into their relationship though the clever lens of hotel rooms. Some scenes are a mere 30 seconds, while others last nearly 20 minutes. Some scenes are filled with silence, sadness, loneliness, longing, while others are filled with violence, passion, fear, and intense happiness. As their own relationship status (as well as their relations with other people) fluctuates, the audience oscillates with them- flowing with the natural performance of the actors. I truly loved this film's realness, as well as its creative narrative voice. It is a triumphantly difficult  look at humanity's faults, at which no one is exempt. 

Film #5: Young & Wild

Following the secret, sexually explicit  blog of Daniela, this film holds incredibly true to its name. Being from a strict evangelical family in Santiago, Chile, Dainela finds it difficult to find outlets for her growing desires. She thus begins to steadily experiment her fantasies, while documenting them for the public eyes of like-minded teenagers. Daniela places equal strength in hiding the blog from her mom and boyfriend. As the past has proven, nothing online is safe and the story unfolds into a uniquely fresh perspective on  a young women's liberation. This film was extremely powerful to me; it was both a new way of story telling as well as a new kind of story. The audience had the pleasure to meet the director, the main actress, and the real girl whose blog the story is meticulously based on. The mixture of the intense visual, strong narrative, and the fact that I saw it at midnight, combined to make this an extremely rare, and potent viewing experience that extended well beyond the confines of the theatre walls.