Reflections on Sundance 2009

Sundance 2009. What a great experience. All I can say is that I can't wait for Sundance 2010! I saw great films and Kevin Spacey (!!!) and met some wonderful people that I hope to keep in touch with or at least see at next year's fest. Now, on to the reviews...

Keep your eye out for a film called Shrink. Excellent, excellent. Kevin Spacey stars as a psychiatrist who has become jaded about his profession due to a personal tragedy in his life. Spacey is back in his cynical and quite hilarious American Beauty-form, smoking cigarettes (the unfiltered kind) and drinking his way through most of the film as he comes to terms with his wife's suicide. Spacey plays Henry Carter, a well-known psychiatrist to Hollywood's A-list whose clientel includes actors, such as Robin Williams, and an incredibly neurotic and paranoid agent who, next to Spacey, provides some of the most entertaining dialogue in the film.

Speaking of dialogue, it doesn't get much better than this, honestly. Shrink is one of the best films I have seen in a long time and the writing is what truly makes this a must-see (although combined with the guidance of director Jonas Pate and the extremely talented cast makes Shrink one of the best films of Sundance--and maybe of 2009). Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) is noteworthy as a young girl named Jemma who becomes a patient of Spacey's in order to deal with her mother's recent suicide. With the help of eachother, as well as the intriguing and amusing cast of unique characters winding in and out of their lives, Henry and Jemma are finally able to come to terms with the loss, guilt and confusion that invades one's life as a result of a loved-one's suicide. (P.S. Spacey was there for the Q and A following the film when I saw it on Thursday--was I excited?? That's an understatement!)

Also worthy of note: two films that I saw Thursday night, Amreeka and Prom Night in Mississippi. Amreeka is a fictional film about a mother and son who immigrate to the U.S. from Palestine soon after the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the declaration of war in Iraq. It is a drama sprinkled with comic relief that truly opens one's eyes to the prejudice that many were subjected to following the attacks due to the color of their skin. A well-written debut film by director and screenwriter Cherien Dabis whose experiences as a Palestinian child adjusting to life in the United States led to the production of this film.

The second film, Prom Night in Mississippi, was a documentary about the first integrated prom in the small, low-income Mississippi town of Charleston. Morgan Freeman approached the high school in 1997 and offered to fund the prom on the condition that it be integrated...but was turned down. Ten years later, he made the offer as a result of the encouragement of director Paul Saltzman and it was accepted. In 2008, Charleston High School had its first integrated prom and this documentary chronicles the organization and planning of the event. Revealing on-camera interviews uncover the essentially inherited racism in this town that some inhabitants refuse to let go of--however, the optimism and open-mindedness of those that are willing to look past skin and see the person is uplifting and a joy to watch.

Sundance was a worthwhile and fun experience and I highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to attend in subsequent years do so; wonderful films, nice people and a clean, quaint city--how can you go wrong?