The Zone of Interest

The Academy Award nominations were announced last week and the only nominee for Best Picture that I hadn't seen yet was The Zone of Interest (click on the titles for my commentaries about American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, and Poor Things) so I decided to see it as part of my double feature at the Broadway last night.  It is one of the most unsettling movies I have ever seen because it is a brilliant depiction of the mundanity of evil.  Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel), the commandant of Auschwitz, lives an idyllic existence with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller) and their five children in a large house next to the camp.  Hedwig is able to ignore the sound of trains, screaming prisoners, gunshots, and furnaces (the sound design in this movie gave me so much anxiety) because she is living in her dream house and enjoys having prisoners as servants in the house, being given her choice of all of the prisoners' belongings, and working in her extensive gardens and greenhouse.  Her mother (Imogen Kogge) is initially impressed by her daughter's status when she comes to visit but is horrified by the flames from the crematorium and soon leaves.  Rudolf is able to speak dispassionately about the death happening all around him because he sees his efficiency in disposing of the prisoners as a means of gaining advancement.  He is so numbed by death that he casually calculates how much gas it would take to kill the officers attending a party.  The scenes of the family going about their daily life with picnics by the river, birthday celebrations, and parties by the pool are disturbing because there is always a hint of the horrors taking place in the camp just out of sight.  However, I was most disconcerted by the scenes of janitors blithely cleaning the gas chambers, ovens, and museum displays at Auschwitz in the present because this serves to emphasize how easy it is to become accustomed to evil in plain view.  Both Friedel and Huller give chilling performances that convey so much without a lot of dialogue and the haunting score emphasizes the unease.  I was very unnerved by this movie (people in my audience sat in silence long after the credits finished rolling) and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time to come.  It is very difficult to watch but I recommend it because it is so powerful.

All of Us Strangers

A few movies on my list came out in wide release while Sundance was going on so I decided on a double feature at the Broadway last night to get caught up.  I started with All of Us Strangers and I loved this moving portrait of a man who must reconcile with his past in order to move forward in the present.  Adam (Andrew Scott) is a lonely screenwriter living in an almost uninhabited new apartment tower in London.  He meets Harry (Paul Mescal), the only other inhabitant of the building, who drunkenly flirts with him one night but, even though he is desperate for a connection, he is too uncomfortable to let him in.  When he finds some photos of his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy), who died in a car accident when he was twelve, he is prompted to visit his childhood home where he finds them alive at the ages they were when they died.  He is able to interact with them so he comes out as gay to them and tearfully recounts his struggle to find a sense of belonging as a child.  He begins a tentative relationship with Harry (who is charismatic and outgoing but also feels a crushing loneliness) and, as his parents express their pride in him and love for him, it grows stronger and he is able to see a future with him.  However, there is a heartbreaking twist (while "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood plays) that left me absolutely devastated.  I also cried in a beautiful scene where Adam remembers a happy moment from his childhood and his parents sing along to "You Were Always on My Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys and during a scene where his parents tell him to let go of his grief and be happy (this is probably not the best movie to see if you have recently lost both of your parents).  There are some incredibly powerful themes, including identity and the search for acceptance, unresolved grief, and the need for connection, as well as some intriguing metaphors throughout (I want to see it again if I can bear it).  The needle drops are highly effective at conveying both a feeling of nostalgia for the 1980s and a feeling of longing in the present.  Finally, all four performances are absolutely brilliant but Scott is simply amazing, especially in a highly nuanced scene with Bell.  I highly recommend this but it will probably make you cry.

Sundance Film Festival 2024

I was so happy to be back at the Sundance Film Festival again this year!  Just like last year I got a Salt Lake City pass and I recognized quite a few pass holders from last year!  I'm usually really wary of talking to people I don't know but, for some reason, I love talking to people at Sundance about independent film and I had so much fun!  I was able to see 21 films (which beats the record of 18 set last year) and I liked almost all of what I saw (I only disliked one).  My first film was How to Have Sex which was one of my most anticipated films because I had heard so much about it.  It begins as a fun and lighthearted look at three young girls on holiday in Greece after taking their exams but then it suddenly becomes more sinister as it explores themes of peer pressure and consent.  I was very impressed with Mia McKenna-Bruce's performance because it is so raw and powerful.  My second film was Eno, an innovative documentary (it uses an algorithm to change the sequence of scenes and the footage used so every screening is different) about the innovative record producer Brian Eno.  I loved the deep dive into his creative process and, as a huge fan of U2, I especially enjoyed his discussion about producing the song "Moment of Surrender" (Bono also wrote about recording this song in his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story).  My third film was Frida.  This documentary about the painter Frida Kahlo is incredibly compelling because her own words from letters, interviews, and diaries are used to tell her story and I loved the beautiful animations created from her paintings.  My fourth film was Out of My Mind which, as a former teacher, I absolutely loved!  Melody Brooks (Phoebe-Rae Taylor) is a non-verbal sixth-grader with cerebral palsy who fights to be placed in a mainstreamed classroom because, even though she cannot speak, she has a lot to say.  This is such a powerful film that, in my opinion, should be seen by every educator because more often than not the education system fails students who are different.  Taylor, who has cerebral palsy, gives an authentic and affecting performance that moved me to tears at times.  The audience gave her a standing ovation when she appeared on stage for the Q & A after the film!  My fifth film was The Greatest Night in Pop which is a behind the scenes documentary about how some of the greatest pop stars of the day came together to record "We Are the World" to aid those suffering from famine in Africa during the 80s.  I remember when this song was released so this was very nostalgic for me.  I especially enjoyed the contemporary interviews with some participants, such as Lionel Ritchie, Huey Lewis, Bruce Springsteen, and Cyndi Lauper, because they all mention feeling intimidated by all of the talent in the studio!  My sixth film was Thelma and it is both delightful and heartwarming!  When 93-year-old Thelma Post (June Squibb) is scammed out of $10,000 by someone impersonating her grandson, she is inspired by the Mission: Impossible movies to go on a quest to get her money back!  Squibb (who is 94) is so charming as an unlikely action hero and the packed crowd at my screening howled with laughter at her antics!  My seventh film was Love Me, which was another one of my most anticipated films (I’m a big fan of Kristen Stewart).  After humanity has been annihilated, a smart buoy and a satellite make contact and interact as Me (Stewart) and I Am (Steven Yuen).  As they get to know each other, they access the internet to learn what it means to be human and adopt the personas of Deja and Liam, a popular influencer couple, but in order to love each other they both must eventually learn to be their authentic selves.  It features live action, motion capture performances, as well as animation and I think it is incredibly clever.  It meanders a bit but I really dug it!  My eighth film was The American Society of Magical Negroes and this satire is hilarious but also very thought-provoking!  A mild-mannered Black artist named Aren (Justice Smith) is recruited by Roger (David Alan Grier) to be a member of a secret society dedicated to making white people comfortable around Black people (referencing the "Magical Negro" movie trope involving a Black character who only exists to advance the arc of a white character).  However, it is only when he realizes that he has been doing this his whole life that he begins to assert himself.  I was a bit uncomfortable because I recognize the reality being satirized but there were lots of moments when I laughed out loud!  My ninth film was Sasquatch Sunset which I found strangely compelling.  It chronicles a year in the life of a Sasquatch family (portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, David Zeller, and Christophe Zajac-Denek who are very expressive even though they are covered in makeup and fur) as they eat, vomit, defecate, urinate, copulate, give birth, and die (very realistically).  They periodically encounter civilization as man encroaches on their environment and the film ends with a powerful visual.  It was weird (is it even Sundance if you don't see something really out there?) but I couldn't look away.  My tenth film was Presence which is another film I was eagerly anticipating because it is directed by Steven Soderbergh.  A family in turmoil, including Chris (Chris Sullivan), Rebecca (Lucy Liu), Chloe (Callina Liang), and Tyler (Eddy Maday), moves into a suburban house hoping for a new start.  However, their chaotic relationships with each other are not improved when Chloe begins feeling a presence in the house.  This is more of an atmospheric psychological thriller than the horror movie I was expecting (a good thing) and I loved all of the camera work because it shows the POV of the ghost for the entire film.  My eleventh film was Winner which tells the true story of how Reality Winner (Emilia Jones) leaked information about Russia's involvement in the 2016 election to an online publication.  I've seen several versions of this story before but I really liked the use of dark humor in this one.  My twelfth film was Love Lies Bleeding which was the one I was most hyped for because, as a fan of director Rose Glass and of Kristen Stewart, I was excited to see a collaboration between them.  Jackie (Katy O'Brian) is an ambitious bodybuilder who stops in a small town in New Mexico on her way to a competition in Las Vegas and becomes involved with Lou (Stewart), the manager of a gym.  Her life becomes increasingly chaotic when Lou introduces her to steroids and to her dysfunctional family, including her gunrunning father (Ed Harris) as well as her sister (Jena Malone) and her sister's abusive husband (Dave Franco).  This is sexy, violent, and absolutely bonkers and I loved it but not as much as I thought I would because the ending didn't quite work for me.  My thirteenth film was Between the Temples and it was my only big miss at the festival.  Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman) is a grief-stricken cantor who is brought back to life when his former grade school teacher (Carol Kane) comes to him for instruction before her bat mitzvah.  I liked the story and the performances but I hated how it was shot and edited because all of the extreme closeups are incredibly jarring.  My fourteenth film was A Real Pain and I really loved it!  Two cousins, outgoing and charismatic Benji (Kieran Culkin) and uptight and reserved David (Jesse Eisenberg), take a guided tour through Poland to see where their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who has recently died, came from.  They come face to face with the tragedy of the Holocaust (scenes where they visit a concentration camp are incredibly poignant) but they also feel the pain of realizing that, even though they were once close, they have drifted apart.  Kulkin gives a brilliant performance that made me laugh out loud but a monologue by Eisenberg had me in tears.  This was definitely my favorite of the festival.  My fifteenth film was DEVO and, while it is pretty straightforward documentary, I did learn a lot about a band I loved in my youth.  They formed during the aftermath of the Kent State massacre in an attempt to combine music, performance art, and their philosophy about the de-evolution of mankind and unexpectedly rose to prominence with the song "Whip It" which they say was misunderstood.  My sixteenth film was Your Monster and this screening was the most fun I had at Sundance!  Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) is an actress in the middle of a cancer diagnosis when her boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) breaks up with her and gives the part in a Broadway musical that he wrote for her to another actress.  As she wallows in self-pity, the monster (Tommy Dewey) she banished to the closet in childhood appears again to help her find love, and revenge, again.  I laughed and laughed at this musical theatre, romantic comedy, and horror mash-up and so did the entire audience (much to the delight of the producers who were there for the Q & A).  My seventeenth film was Girls State which is a documentary about a program run by the American Legion Auxiliary for high school girls to participate in a week long immersive simulation to learn about the workings of government.  It follows several girls from Missouri and I found all of their stories to be compelling but my favorite was about a girl who investigates the disparity between Boys State and Girls State (Fun fact: I applied to participate in Girls State when I was in high school but I wasn't selected and I am still bitter!).  My eighteenth film was Super/ Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.  I didn't necessarily learn anything new about the actor but I liked the structure because it emphasizes that Reeve became Superman when he was cast in a movie but he became a real superhero after his paralysis.  It includes lots of footage from his personal home movies and it is incredibly moving (lots of people near me were wiping tears from their eyes throughout).  My nineteenth movie, Hit Man, was another one I was really hyped to see!  Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a mild mannered psychology professor and amateur bird watcher who sometimes provides technical support for the police.  He is roped into going undercover as a hit man during a sting operation and, because he uses psychology to appeal to the would-be criminal (and some hilarious disguises), he is very successful.  Complications ensue when he falls for a woman who hires him (Adria Arjona).  This is wildly entertaining and I predict it will be a big hit when it streams on Netflix.  My twentieth film was The Outrun which was another one I was excited to see because I am a huge fan of Saoirse Ronan.  Rona (Ronan) is an alcoholic who attempts to get sober by returning home to the Orkney Islands where she is inspired by the beautiful but wild landscape.  The non-linear narrative didn’t always work for me but Ronan gives a brilliant performance.  My twenty-first (and final) film was My Old Ass which I decided to see because I am a fan of Aubrey Plaza.  Eighteen year old Elliott Labrant (Maisy Stella) is restless and eager to leave her small rural town for the big city but, when she is visited by an older version of herself (Plaza), she learns to appreciate the life she has now.  This is a fun YA romantic comedy and I really loved the message about labels.  Whew!  I loved every minute of Sundance this year and I am already looking forward to next year!

Native Gardens at PTC

I attempted to see Native Gardens at PTC the week before the Sundance Film Festival started but after about fifteen minutes the performance was canceled. I was really sad because I wanted to see it but I didn't think I would have time to reschedule. I decided to squeeze in the matinee before my Sundance films yesterday and, even though it made for a really long day, I'm glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it! Frank and Virginia Butley (Michael Kostroff and Kelly Coffield Park, respectively) are an older white couple who have lived in a historic D.C. neighborhood for decades and Tania and Pablo Del Valle (Katya Collazo and Tito Livas, respectively) are a young Latinx couple who have recently moved in next door. Frank spends most of his time on his ornamental garden with the hope of winning an award from the Potomac Horticultural Society. Tania has big plans for a garden made up of native plants indigenous to the environment which are accelerated by Pablo's spontaneous decision to invite his entire law firm over for a party in order to impress them. The Del Valles receive permission from the Butleys to replace an unsightly chain link fence between the two properties but they discover that the fence is in the wrong place and that they are entitled to two more feet. However, moving the fence will ruin Frank's garden just days before the important competition. The ensuing fight over the location of the fence becomes about who is "entitled" to the land with themes that are, unfortunately, incredibly salient today and it is as ugly as what we see on the news. What I loved most about this play is that it ends on a very optimistic note which gives me hope for the future! I also found the dialogue to be really funny and I loved all of the passive aggressive bits of business that happen between scenes, such as when Pablo throws acorns from their tree into the Butley's yard. The set, featuring the houses and back gardens of each couple, is outstanding because it really highlights the differences between them (the Butley's house has been extensively renovated and modernized while the Del Valle's house has been neglected for years). The attention to detail is a lot of fun, especially when the roots of the flowers can be seen when they are pulled and when stakes denoting the new fence location are placed in the ground. Finally, I really enjoyed the use of music during the transitions between scenes ("Shout" by Tears For Fears after a particularly heated argument between the couples made me laugh). I would definitely recommend this timely and thought-provoking play about the issues that build fences between people but the run has now concluded. PTC is presenting Bonnie & Clyde next beginning February 23 (go here for tickets).

Utah Opera's The Little Prince

Last night I took a short break from Sundance to see Utah Opera's production of The Little Prince.  I loved this opera when I saw it in 2019 so I was really excited to see it again and it was as enchanting as I remember!  The story begins with a Pilot (Shea Owens) telling a group of school children (Choristers of the Madeleine Choir School) about his drawing of a snake eating an elephant.  Every adult thinks it is a hat which proves that adults can't see anything!  Then he describes crash landing his plane in the desert and meeting the Little Prince (Miles Keeton) who asks him for a drawing of a sheep to eat all of the bushes, especially the baobab trees, threatening to overtake his planet.  The Prince then recounts his life story on his planet which contains three volcanoes, one active and two dormant, and his beautiful but vain and petulant Rose (Jasmine Rodriguez).  When the Rose treats him badly, the Prince decides to visit other planets.  On the first planet he meets The King (Kevin Thompson) who has no subjects and only issues orders that can be followed, such as commanding the sun to set.  On the second planet he meets the Vain Man (Christian Sanders) who wants to be the most admired man on an otherwise uninhabited planet.  On the third planet he meets the Drunkard (Jeremiah Thompson) who drinks to forget his shame over drinking too much.  On the fourth planet he meets The Businessman (Tshilidzi Ndou) who fails to see the beauty of the stars because of his need to count and catalog them to prove ownership.  On the fifth planet he meets The Lamplighter (Jeremiah Tyson) who blindly follows orders to light and extinguish a lamppost every 30 minutes to correspond with day and night on the planet.  The Prince finds all of these adults to be ridiculous so he decides to visit Earth and lands in the desert.  He meets a Snake (Christian Sanders) who tells him he can send him home any time he wishes, a rosebush (Sarah Scofield, Julia Gershkoff, and Jasmine Rodriguez) which makes him think his Rose is just ordinary, and a Fox (Sarah Scofield) who tells him that you can only see with your heart not your eyes and that spending time with his Rose has made it special.  He decides that he misses his Rose and wants to go back home so he takes the Pilot to a well to find Water (Julia Gershkoff) which saves him and makes arrangements with the Snake to return home.  The Pilot is upset but the Prince tells him not to worry that he has died because his body is just a shell that is too heavy to return to his planet.  The Snake strikes, the Prince disappears, and the Pilot fixes his plane.  The story ends with the Pilot telling the children that he can always see the Prince by looking at the stars.  There are so many wonderful themes that can be extrapolated from this opera (I love the importance of seeing beyond the surface to appreciate the true essence of things) and the music is incredibly beautiful.  My favorite part of this particular production is the amazing vocal performance from Keeton as the Prince.  I was actually stunned when I heard him sing for the first time because his voice is so clear and I especially loved his poignant rendition of an aria describing his love for the Rose.  I also enjoyed Owens as the Pilot because his performance is warm and comforting.  The rest of the adults all shine in brief roles but the standout for me is Sanders because his characterization and physicality as both the Vain Man and the Snake are so much fun to watch!  The children who make up the chorus are outstanding and they are used very effectively in the staging of each number, particularly when they pass the lamppost around in a circle to represent a day and when they hold candles to represent stars.  I loved the bright and colorful costumes, especially the King's long train and the Rose's petal-like tutu, as well as the set, which consists of a book-lined study that transforms into hundreds of pages to represent the desert.  This is a magical production that would be a perfect introduction to opera for children and I cannot recommend it enough!  There are two more performances (go here for tickets) at Capitol Theatre on Friday and Sunday.