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Sundance Film Festival · 2020

Sundance Film Festival 2020

Spotlight

Programme

7 films · 7 reviews

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And Then We Danced

Review preview for And Then We Danced

A passionate energy courses beneath the surface of Levan Akin's tale of love and repression

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A dancer falls in love with his fiercest rival.

(Country: Sweden, Georgia; Year: 2019; Director: Levan Akin; Writer: Levan Akin; Stars: Ana Javakishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli, Tamar Bukhnikashvili, Marika Gogichaishvili, Kakha Gogidze, Levan Gabrava, Ana Makharadze, Nino Gabisonia, Mate Khidasheli, Aleko Begalishvili, Nia Gvatua, Lucas Hesling, Ketie Danelia, Giorgi Aladashvili, Soso Abramishvili)

Full review

The Assistant

Review preview for The Assistant

Green shows the trickle-down effect of toxic masculinity, as Jane's male colleagues - scarcely higher in the pecking order than her - nevertheless chip away at her.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A day in the life of Jane, an assistant to a high-powered film executive.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Kitty Green; Writer: Kitty Green; Stars: Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Kristine Froseth, Dagmara Dominczyk, Makenzie Leigh, Noah Robbins, Alexander Chaplin, Clara Wong, Juliana Canfield, Lou Martini Jr., Purva Bedi, Jon Orsini, Daoud Heidami, Bregje Heinen, Nemuna Ceesay)

Full review

The Climb

Review preview for The Climb

The acutely caught observational humour is what gives The Climb its motor.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A look at the friendship between two guys that spans many years.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Michael Angelo Covino; Writer: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin; Stars: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Zina Wilde, Talia Balsam, Gayle Rankin, George Wendt, Judith Godrèche)

Full review

Collective (Colectiv)

Review preview for Collective

Although he is dealing specifically with one instance in Romania, it's easy to see evidence of greater global malaise reflected here.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary considering the aftermath of a nightclub fire that exposed deep corruption in the Romanian healthcare system.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2019; Director: Alexander Nanau; Writer: Alexander Nanau, Antoaneta Opris)

Full review

US premiere

Ema

Review preview for Ema

Di Girolamo has a compelling intensity in the role but it's still hard to believe that everyone would fall quite so hard and fast for Ema's devil may care charms and unpredictability, especially with so much on the line.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A dancer and her choreographer husband find themselves trying to stop their lives falling apart after an adoption goes awry.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2019; Director: Pablo Larraín; Writer: Guillermo Calderón, Alejandro Moreno; Stars: Santiago Cabrera, Gael García Bernal, Giannina Fruttero, Mariana Di Girolamo, Mariana Loyola, Antonia Giesen, Eduardo Paxeco, Catalina Saavedra, Paola Giannini, Josefina Fiebelkorn, Paula Hofmann, Susana Hidalgo, Paula Luchsinger, Santiago Cabrera, Gael García Bernal)

Full review

La Llorona

Review preview for La Llorona

Bustamente, in both of his films last year, prefers subtle suggestion to overt statements.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Enrique, a retired general who oversaw the Maya genocide, is haunted by his devastating crimes. A tale of horror and fantasy, reimagining the Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemalan recent history and its unhealed political wounds.

(Country: Guatemala, France; Year: 2019; Director: Jayro Bustamante; Writer: Jayro Bustamante, Lisandro Sanchez; Stars: María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kenéfic, Julio Diaz, María Telón, Ayla-Elea Hurtado)

Full review

The Perfect Candidate

Review preview for The Perfect Candidate

The film generates a feel-good vibe even if beneath the pleasant froth lies a rather predictable polemic against the patriarchy.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young female Saudi doctor decides to run for election.

(Country: Saudi Arabia, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour; Writer: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Brad Niemann; Stars: Mila Al Zahrani, Nora Al Awadh, Dae Al Hilali, Mila Al Zahrani, Nora Al Awadh, Dae Al Hilali)

Full review

Day One film