Where’s the love? Sundance.

This post comes about a month too late, but better than never I guess. I had to say something about Sundance as it will frame my festival reports for the rest of the year and because it was my virgin pilgrimage to the American mecca of indie film. It was warmer in Park City than usual this year. I had heard the horror stories of standing in line in sub zero temps and skin slicing winds, but the sun was usually out on my walk from 13th and Park up to Main and by the time I reached the Egyptian, it wasn’t uncommon for me to have broken a sweat. By now you might have heard that, as expected, things were a bit subdued this year. Smaller crowds, shorter lines, less extravagant gifting.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The prevailing opinion (to which my own belongs) is that this was a good year. There wasn't that one breakout phenomenon, but I suspect as the year goes on, more and more films that pop up on audiences radars will be traced back to Sundance as there was plenty of what people have come to expect out of the festival: originality and innovation. Or, as the tag line for 2009 read: "What's next".

I didn't get to see as many films as I would've liked, about two per day. This is actually the third time I’m writing this post as my previous attempts have been thwarted by insufficient technology (okay, and user error) so I’m actually going to run through these quicker than I had planned.

Lymelife, directed by Derek Martini, Executive Produced by Scorsese, and starring Alec Baldwin and Rory and Keiran Culkin is a coming of age story with good performances. Praise is deserved for an ambitious script that makes bold observations about family, marriage, infidelity, and love.

Everything Strange and New is a subdued portrait of a lower middle class couple struggling to cope with the less romantic trappings of married life like kids, mortgages, and faltering incomes. The film's muted tone adroitly captures the drone of suburban ennui and director Frazer Shaw's skills as a cinematographer are put to good use in his traditional and non-traditional treatments of the visuals.

Paper Heart, starring Michael Cera and his rumored romantic interest Charlene Yi is a narrative film about Charlene, playing herself, making a documentary about love. It isn't long before she meets Michael and the film focuses on their developing romance. The film is irresistibly charming and very funny at parts. With all the quirkiness of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, as well as genuinely affecting sweetness, it should do very well with proper theatrical treatment.

In an event cleverly called "An Evening with Steven Soderbergh" we were treated to a hush-hush sneak preview of his not yet finished new film called The Girlfriend Experience. Shot entirely with the Red camera, Soderbergh's non-linear account of an elite New York escort, played by porn phenom Sasha Grey, was inspired by a columnists report on the same subject and follows her relationship with her boyfriend and her attempts to further her career. Soderbergh deserves credit for addressing such a touchy subject in an artful manner.

The September Issue is a documentary about Vogue magazine and Editor in Chief Anna Wintour as they race to put together, well, the September Issue of the magazine. I must admit that this wasn’t on my radar going in but I got a free ticket and I’m glad I went. As director R.J. Cutler put it, you can succeed in film without Spielberg’s blessing and in computers without Gates, but it’s virtually impossible to do so in the multi-billion dollar fashion world without Wintour’s approval which leads some to see her as the most powerful woman in the world. One of the things I appreciated most was how Cutler included perspective on the concept of fashion and its role in society in his film (there is a part where Wintour admits that her brothers and sisters think what she does is silly) allowing viewers like myself to get past the initial “Who cares?” moment and enjoy the rich characters that populate this peculiar world.

Black Dynamite, a farce on black films of the seventies directed by Scott Sanders, got a lot of attention from audiences. The premise is pretty hilarious and I expect many a frat house recitals of some of the more memorable lines from this one when it is released by Sony whose acquisition of the film represented one of the more notable purchases of the festival considering the company’s recent restructuring.

Along with artistic originality, much of what’s next on the business end was to be seen in activity by new distributors, such as Senator’s acquisition of Brooklyn’s Finest starring Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere as well as film festival online community Bside’s announcement that it will acquire and distribute 10 films in 2009. Traditional buyers such as Focus and Miramax were slow to move on any films, further reflecting a shift in the model of independent film distribution.

Peter and Vandy, starring Jason Ritter and Jess Weixler, about a relationship between two young New York professionals, follows the couple in non-linear format from when they meet, through their breakup. By juxtaposing early and late scenes from their relationship, the film starkly contrasts the innocence of a blossoming romance and the selfishness and insecurities that eventually tear people apart. A great soundtrack with plenty of well placed Kings of Leon makes for a meaningful experience with plenty of energy.

Non-linear treatment of young love is again employed in 500 Days of Summer, starring the lovely Zooey Deschanel and Jason Gordon-Levitt, which Fox Searchlight is set to distribute. I didn’t see 500 Days but it’s worth noting because of the now not so unconventional non linear approach and Searchlight’s repeated interest in romance, including the impressive Adam.

One of my favorites so far, Max Mayer’s second feature tells the story of 29 year Adam directly after the death of his father as he meets and proceeds to court Beth after she moves into his building. Adam is afflicted with Asperger Syndrome making for some very awkward initial moments between him and Beth (“were you sexually excited…?”) and Beth’s ultimate acceptance that she has to be completely frank with Adam at all times. The film is beautifully shot and very well paced. A juxtaposition between Adam and Beth’s relationship and that of her parents sneaks up on the viewer and by the end of the film, my friend Greg and I couldn’t help but think that every guy, when it comes to intimacy, suffers from some measure of Asperger’s.

Noting the two big winners of the festival, An Education and Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire one journalist (I could have sworn it was the New York Times, but I can’t seem to find it) claimed that if there was a theme at this year’s Sundance, it mirrored that of the current sentiment in our country, particularly regarding Obama’s ascension to Commander in Chief. These two films, about young girls taking chances to improve their respective situation’s reflects our country’s decision to take bold action to improve our own situation, regardless if this decision might have been the riskier of two alternatives.

Although I agree with this analysis, I have to argue that this theme is by product of another, more basic thread that ran through the films at Sundance this year: Love and relationships. Indeed, when the lineup was announced in December, organizers admitted that there was an unusual tilt towards the emotional, even the melodramatic. So I would agree that we are a country that has chosen to venture into unfamiliar territory in an attempt to drastically improve our lives, but I would emphasize that we did so by electing a man who possesses a superior ability to bring people of all walks together towards a common cause. It’s only fitting then that this year’s most important American film festival would be characterized by films that explore the complication and necessity of intimacy.