Independent Film Making: Higher Ground, Homework, Another World, The Woods

Sorry for this long overdue post about the films I saw when my family and I visited Sundance. I know I left you hanging. We saw a total of four films. Each one touched just about every genre. The first film was called "Higher Ground". It was a film directed and starring Vera Farmiga, click here to hear a brief description about the film from Vera Farmiga herself.You might remember Farmiga from "Up in the Air" with George Clooney. It was a film set in the 60s at an isolated hippy/evangelical Christian group in Kansas. While the commentary on evangelical church groups was very timely, the movie stayed on a theme of a women empowerment. By watching the character grow and evolve the story's critical portrayal of right wing Christian groups did not get political. After the movie Ms. Farmiga said this was intentional so people along the whole spectrum could relate to the story. And, I'm sure they wanted it to fly commercially. This was Mr. Farmiga's directorial debut.
The second film we saw was what I would call a coming of age, "chick flick" for teenage girls.I was definitely the target market for this film. The name was "Homework" starring Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore. Click here to view a quick clip of the film. Freddie plays the high school "misfit" who is misunderstood until Emma Roberts takes a chance on him. The movie is set in New York City in the circles that the "Gossip Girls" keep. The protagonists become friends and through a plot that requires Highmore finishes a semester of homework in two weeks their relationship develops into love. It is a heart warming story where the misunderstood guy gets the hot girl. It apparently has been picked up by Fox Searchlight from what we heard from the director/screenwriter. So, we may be able to see in in our local theaters soon. I would recommend seeing it!
The next morning we saw was a sci-fi called "Another Earth". Starring Brit Marling, the story is about young girl on her way to MIT--- she loves everything to do with the outer space. The movie opens with her coming home having had too much to drink at a house party and she gets into a horrific accident killing a mother and child and leaving the husband as the sole survivor. She goes to jail and when she returns there is an earth that is exactly like our own in the sky. The movie focuses on the mystery of this Earth and her struggle with reliving the guilt that has consumed her over time. Click here to view a brief clip. There were a couple places in the film that seemed to be a stretch too long and too slowly, and a couple characters I thought were undeveloped. However, the concept was very complex and intriguing. The idea that there were parallel worlds where you could change decision points and alter your life and the lives of others for the better given hindsight. Overall, I enjoyed the movie although at times it was a bit too unrealistic, but then it is sci-fi.
The final movie I saw was called "the Woods". This movies was about people who just decide to start a modern commune in the woods of Oregon. I don't even know if this movie is worth mentioning because to be real honest it did not seem very well written or acted. It was supposed to be a take off on a sixties style, Woodstock revival genre (minus the good music). There was really no plot or storyline. Halfway through the movie I was waiting for it to be over! Which has never happened to me and is not a good sign. It really demonstrated to me the importance of an intelligent story and really good writing.
Even though we ended the worst movie, the trip was amazing and the film festival was a blast to be a part of. I really loved the directors q & a after each film. Sometimes the actors joined the discussion and you learned so much about how much its costs to make a movie, where ideas and actors come from and how long it takes to complete a feature-length film. I will never forget the experience of being around so many film lovers and highly suggest it to anyone who has the opportunity to go to any film festival in any city. You will be inspired and come away with a new enthusiasm for the art form!