Day One | Sundance 2021
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Concise opinions about the films I watched during Day One of Sundance 2021, including links to the respective reviews.
Movies present in this article:
CODA
Human Factors
Cryptozoo
How It Ends
CODA
Full Review
CODA may very well end up as my favorite film of the 2021’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival, and it will undoubtedly become a must-watch movie when it’s available worldwide. Siân Heder offers her impeccable direction and beautifully written screenplay, which is packed with emotionally powerful moments that left me tearing up for the last forty-five minutes. Boasting an educative, meaningful message regarding the deaf community and what our society perceives as a tremendous handicap/disability, the characteristic visual storytelling and the captivating interactions within the deaf family prove to be incredibly investing, deeply elevating the overall piece. With the help of heartfelt, genuine performances from the supporting cast (mainly Troy Kotsur and Eugenio Derbez), Emilia Jones takes off and lands one of my favorite female performances in a long, long time. A tear-inducing, thoughtful film that I hope will conquer audiences all around the world.
Human Factors
Full Review
Human Factors carries an interesting premise and a storytelling structure that allows for meaningful underlying themes to be explored through isolated storylines. However, despite the remarkable cinematography from Klemens Hufnagl and Ronny Trocker’s commitment to his screenplay, the philosophical, ambiguous atmosphere present during the entire runtime only hurts the already heavy pacing and bland interactions, ultimately transforming each character’s arc into something hard to be emotionally invested in. The final act is as close as the viewers get to intriguing development, but the several narrative twists don’t impact the overall story in a captivating nor surprising manner. Good performances from Sabine Timoteo and Mark Waschke save the film from a more significant disappointment.
Cryptozoo
Full Review
Cryptozoo is undoubtedly one of the most shockingly violent 2D animated movies I’ve ever seen… and I write this both as a compliment and a disclaimer to sensitive viewers. Dash Shaw delivers what might be one of Sundance’s most divisive films both due to its visual content and its narrative/character choices. The voice work from the entire cast deserves praise, namely Lake Bell, but the characters everyone portrays are extremely hard to root for or even agree with their motivations. Despite the ending fixing this major problem, the entire movie revolves around a mission and a purpose that not only I believe it’s wrong, but the main character should have also realized her dream was not going to work as soon as she explains it out loud. The hand-drawn animation is slightly confusing at times, but it elevates an overall tricky film to analyze. I’ll take the essential messages concerning nature, animals, and even discrimination with me, and I hope everyone else does too.
How It Ends
Full Review
How It Ends is an inoffensive, light, entertaining character-study that ultimately accomplishes its goal of being a fun introspection on the protagonist’s life. With the use of a generic plot device, Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones create a simple yet repetitive narrative featuring dozens of famous cameos in a non-stop sequence of walking in the middle of an empty street until a new character shows up to offer yet another funny moment. Nevertheless, it contains more heart and soul than what’s at the surface. Lister-Jones and Cailee Spaeny carry and elevate the entire movie on their shoulders, delivering two impressive performances that I just couldn’t take my eyes off. Despite the obvious tendency to be just an amusing, innocent film, the main character is someone everyone can relate to, which definitely makes the movie much more compelling. Doing something that people regret later is an inevitability of life, but making amends with it shouldn’t be left to an extreme chance or to the very last moment when everything is about to end… and this is a message I can get behind.
