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Sundance Film Festival · 2016

Sundance Film Festival 2016

Premieres

Programme

18 films · 12 reviews

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Ali And Nino

Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino have grown up in the Russian province of Azerbaijan. Their tragic love story sees the outbreak of the First World War and the world’s struggle for Baku’s oil. Ultimately they must choose to fight for their country's independence or for each other.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Asif Kapadia; Writer: Christopher Hampton, Kurban Said; Stars: Adam Bakri, María Valverde, Mandy Patinkin, Connie Nielsen, Homayoun Ershadi, Halit Ergenç, Fakhraddin Manafov, Nigar Gulahmadova, Parviz Gurbanov, Numan Acar, Daniz Tacaddin, Khumar Salimova, Mekhriban Zeki, Parviz Mammadrzayev, Jovdat Shukurov)

World premiere

Captain Fantastic

Review preview for Captain Fantastic

Taken as a whole, however, the director is trying too hard, pushing this family so far into caricature that we lose sight of the story of grief that is underpinning the shenanigans.

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
A dad who has raised his kids in the forest is forced to take them on a road trip.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Matt Ross; Writer: Matt Ross; Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Erin Moriarty, Missi Pyle, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn, Ann Dowd, Annalise Basso, Frank Langella, George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Shree Crooks, Nicholas Hamilton, Richard Beal, Alan Humphrey, Ralph Smith) , Trailer

Full review

World premiere

Certain Women

Review preview for Certain Women

Certain Women is a film suffused in uncertainties.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Triptych of stories about women in small-town America.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kelly Reichardt; Writer: Kelly Reichardt, based on stories by Maile Meloy; Stars: Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, Rosanna Arquette, Laura Dern, Jared Harris, James Le Gros, Rene Auberjonois, John Getz, Ashlie Atkinson, James Jordan, Matt McTighe, Sara Rodier, Edelen McWilliams, Lily Gladstone, Gabriel Clark)

Full review See: Interview with Kristen Stewart and Kelly Reichardt about Certain Women

World premiere

Complete Unknown

Review preview for Complete Unknown

The film itself has a fluid identity, part will they/won't they romance, part mystery and part unsettling thriller.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
An enigmatic woman walks back into the life of a man she knew before.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Joshua Marston; Writer: Joshua Marston, Julian Sheppard; Stars: Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates, Omar Metwally, Danny Glover, Chris Lowell, Michael Chernus, Erin Darke, Azita Ghanizada, Condola Rashad, Zach Appelman, Frank De Julio, Nancy Cejari, Tessa Albertson, Kelly AuCoin)

Full review

World premiere

Frank & Lola

Review preview for Frank & Lola

Some of the plot twists strain believability but Ross has a tight hold of the film's emotional drivers, mixing moods like a heady and dangerous cocktail so that a disturbing tension builds.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A chef finds himself becoming obsessed by jealousy after a tearful admission from his latest love.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Matthew M Ross; Writer: Matthew M Ross; Stars: Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Nyqvist, Emmanuelle Devos, Stella Schnabel, Christine Vienna, Alex Lombard, Elliott Lester, Vladimir Consigny, Nicholas George, Joey Bell, Lenna Karacostas, David Atrakchi)

Full review See: Saunder Jurriaans and Danny Bensi talk about Christine, The Fits, Frank & Lola

World premiere

The Fundamentals Of Caring

A care-giver finds his perspective on life begin to shift.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Rob Burnett; Writer: Rob Burnett, Jonathan Evison; Stars: Paul Rudd, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, Craig Roberts, Megan Ferguson, Patti Schellhaas, Blake Sewell, Walter Hendrix III, Ashley White, Kristi Von, Robert Walker Branchaud, Julia Denton, Alan Boell, James Donadio, Samantha Huskey)

World premiere. Closing night film.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Review preview for Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Taika Waititi knows growing up isn't child's play but he also respects childhood as a place of adventure, where spontaneity rules and the possibilities are only limited by imagination.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A kid and his foster uncle run off into the New Zealand bush.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2016; Director: Taika Waititi; Writer: Taika Waititi, based on the novel by Barry Crump; Stars: Julian Dennison, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Rhys Darby, Cohen Holloway, Mike Minogue, Stan Walker, Sam Neill)

Full review

World premiere

The Hollars

Aspiring New York City artist John Hollar returns to his Middle America hometown on the eve of his mother's brain surgery. Joined by his girlfriend, eight months' pregnant with their first child, John is forced to navigate the crazy world he left behind.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: John Krasinski; Writer: James C Strouse; Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick, John Krasinski, Sharlto Copley, Charlie Day, Randall Park, Richard Jenkins, Josh Groban, Margo Martindale, Mary Kay Place, Ashley Dyke, Tonea Stewart, Yvonne Angulo, Nancy Nave, Didi Costine)

World premiere

The Innocents (Les Innocentes, Agnus Dei)

Review preview for The Innocents

The Innocents may well be a historical film but it still has plenty of relevance today.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young doctor becomes the soul hope for traumatised nuns.

(Country: France, Poland; Year: 2016; Director: Anne Fontaine; Writer: Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine, Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial; Stars: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza, Vincent Macaigne, Joanna Kulig, Anna Próchniak, Dorota Kuduk, Eliza Rycembel, Katarzyna Dabrowska, Klara Bielawka, Helena Sujecka)

Full review

World premiere

Indignation

It’s 1951, and among the new arrivals at Winesburg College in Ohio are the son of a kosher butcher from New Jersey and the beautiful, brilliant daughter of a prominent alum. For a brief moment, their lives converge in this emotionally soaring film based on the novel by Philip Roth.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: James Schamus; Writer: Philip Roth, James Schamus, based on the novel by Philip Roth; Stars: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Ben Rosenfield, Linda Emond, Tracy Letts, Noah Robbins, Melanie Blake Roth, Betsy Hogg, Doris McCarthy, Joanne Baron, Danny Burstein, Pico Alexander, Philip Ettinger, Andrew S. Thompson, Susan Varon)

World premiere

Little Men

Review preview for Little Men

The film could be called "old fashioned" but that is rarely a bad thing.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Caught up in a family feud over rent, two boys respond with a vow of silence.

(Country: US, Greece; Year: 2016; Director: Ira Sachs; Writer: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias; Stars: Greg Kinnear, Paulina García, Jennifer Ehle, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barbieri, Talia Balsam, David Krumholtz, Alfred Molina, Clare Foley, Andy Karl, Yolonda Ross, Stella Schnabel, Arthur J. Nascarella, Elia Monte-Brown, Johnny Serret)

Full review

World premiere

Love & Friendship (Lady Susan, Love And Friendship)

Review preview for Love & Friendship

Whitman respects and relishes in Austen's creation but is no slave to it, inventing additional characters to help the story flow.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
A widowed woman tries to manipulate her daughter into marriage.

(Country: US, Ireland; Year: 2016; Director: Whit Stillman; Writer: Whit Stillman, from the novella by Jane Austen; Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Stephen Fry, Emma Greenwell, James Fleet, Jemma Redgrave, Jenn Murray, Lochlann O'Mearáin, Morfydd Clark, Tom Bennett, Justin Edwards, Kelly Campbell, Conor MacNeill, Ross Mac Mahon)

Full review

World premiere

Manchester By The Sea

Review preview for Manchester By The Sea

Manchester By The Sea is a masterful study of clumsiness.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A man returns to his hometown following the death of his brother.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kenneth Lonergan; Writer: Kenneth Lonergan; Stars: Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Casey Affleck, Gretchen Mol, Kara Hayward, Tate Donovan, Heather Burns, Erica McDermott, Lucas Hedges, Susan Pourfar, Chaunty Spillane, Stephanie Ann Saunders, Missy Yager, Ruibo Qian, Danae Nason)

Full review See: Interview with Casey Affleck about A Ghost Story , Interview with Kenneth Lonergan on Manchester By The Sea

World premiere

Mr. Pig

Review preview for Mr. Pig

Luna wallows in emotional gloom like a pig in mud, coating the script in a layer after layer of regret to little purpose.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
An ageing farmer and his estranged daughter are brought together by a road trip.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2016; Director: Diego Luna; Writer: Diego Luna, Augusto Mendoza; Stars: Maya Rudolph, Danny Glover, Joel Murray, Naian González Norvind)

Full review

World premiere

The Revised Fundamentals Of Caregiving

Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralysed emotionally, one paralysed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road, finding hope, friendship, and Dot in this funny and touching inspirational tale.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Rob Burnett; Writer: Rob Burnett, Jonathan Evison; Stars: Paul Rudd, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, Craig Roberts, Megan Ferguson, Patti Schellhaas, Blake Sewell, Walter Hendrix III, Ashley White, Kristi Von, Julia Denton, Robert Walker Branchaud, Alan Boell, James Donadio, Tarik Chernet)

World premiere. Closing Night film

Sing Street

Review preview for Sing Street

Carney simply loves the music of the era and adores these kids, and his affection is infectious.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A boy in mid-80s Ireland tries to win the heart of the girl of his dreams by starting a band.

(Country: Ireland, US, UK; Year: 2015; Director: John Carney; Writer: John Carney; Stars: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jack Reynor, Ben Carolan, Mark McKenna, Don Wycherley, Percy Chamburuka) , Trailer

Full review

World premiere

Sophie And The Rising Sun

In a small Southern town in the autumn of 1941, Sophie's lonely life is transformed when an Asian man arrives under mysterious circumstances. Their love affair becomes the lightning rod for long-buried conflicts that erupt in bigotry and violence with the outbreak of the Second World War.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Maggie Greenwald; Writer: Maggie Greenwald, Augusta Trobaugh; Stars: Julianne Nicholson, Takashi Yamaguchi, Margo Martindale, Diane Ladd, Lorraine Toussaint, Karen Wheeling Reynolds, Mickey Dodge, Don Henderson Baker, Joel Murray, David Dickson Reynolds, Kenneth Charles Graham, Sabrina Mayfield, Jan Hartsell, Cali Ward, Meredith Jackson)

World premiere. Salt Lake City gala

Wiener-Dog

Review preview for Wiener-Dog

Wiener-Dog is a Solondz film through and through – there's still no-one daring to be quite so acerbic and inhumane towards his characters while keeping them grounded in a sense of relatable experience.

David Graham · 3.5 out of 5
Portmanteau film about the owners of a dachshund.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Todd Solondz; Writer: Todd Solondz; Stars: Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Burstyn, Zosia Mamet, Julie Delpy, Tracy Letts, Michael James Shaw, Kett Turton, Devin Druid, Samrat Chakrabarti, Jen Ponton, Trey Gerrald, Bridget Brown, Scott Martin)

Full review

World premiere