Here’s a small selection of quick fire reviews of a selection of the Sundance Film Festival Shorts we caught at the 2021 virtual edition of Sundance.
Lizard (Nigeria)
An 8 year old girl with an ability to sense danger gets kicked out of Sunday School service. In her boredom, she wanders around the church complex and unwittingly uncovers the underbelly of a Mega Church in Lagos.
There are a lot of films that capture a kid’s perspective, but rarely do they make you feel like your inside the kid’s head. Lizard does just that, immersing the viewer in the curious mind of an 8 year old girl wandering a church complex in Lagos. We’re distracted by the visions in her imagination which lead us into places we shouldn’t be. However, our older minds, more than hers, can see the underbelly of the church that she doesn’t. The grainy footage helps draw the viewer in by creating the same look as home videos from the 80’s and 90’s, making it instantly feel more personal. If you’re after an immersive, magical realism infused glimpse of the hidden side of Lagos, seek out Lizard.
In the Air Tonight (U.S.A)
A ghost story, a simulation, a message unspooling from a fax machine: In the Air Tonight recreates the apocryphal narrative of the origins of Phil Collins’ anthemic ‘80s mega-hit, via the voiceover of an “artist friend” nicknamed Slipperman.
The film’s description above does a pretty good job of describing exactly what In the Air Tonight is, but only really makes sense once you’ve seen the film. It helps to have know Phil Collins’ hit, In The Air Tonight before watching this, as the director knows you’ll be waiting for the song’s crescendo. When it comes, it’s accompanied by one of the most obnoxiously over-the-top sequences I’ve ever seen. In this context, after telling a strangely curious fake story about the former pop superstar, it comes as a humongous bang of a punchline, which depending on your humor, is incredibly hilarious or incredibly stupid.
The Longest Dream I Remember (Mexico)
As Tania leaves her hometown, she must confront what her absence will mean in the search for her disappeared father.
In The Longest Dream I Remember, the feeling of the film is much more memorable than what’s going on. It captures the haunting melancholy of the search for a lost relative. Without any more clues to get closer to finding her father, the film instead tries to piece together memories to reconstruct her lost father. This way of processing comes across as more eerie than sad, as the ambiguity of his disappearance keeps them from achieving closure.
You Wouldn’t Understand (U.S.A)
An idyllic picnic for one is upended after the suspicious arrival of a stranger.
Time loop stories are fun to watch when they make sense, and luckily You Wouldn’t Understand doesn’t run for long enough to get confusing. In fact, if anything, it could run a little longer. It also contains just enough of a ‘something’s not quite right’ feeling to keep you watching.
Misery Loves Company (South Korea)
As Seolgi is lying on a grass field with friends, a shooting star falls, and dark, intrusive thoughts hit her. Her melancholy blooms into bright and colorful ‘flower people,’ dancing and wishing for a meteorite to end the world.
In just 3 minutes, Misery Loves Company animates the thoughts of a depressed high school girl wishing for an easy way to end the monotony of life. However, as depressing as it sounds, the animation is surprisingly uplifting with flower headed people celebrating the imagined end of the world to Seolgi’s singing. It reminded me a bit of the Blockhead’s ‘The Music Box’ – another colorfully animated music video with depressing undertones.
Ghost Dogs (U.S.A)
A family’s new rescue pup is terrorized by deceased pets in this odd-ball horror.
If you’re a fan of dogs and horror movies, and can appreciate a good animation, you should like Ghost Dogs. Firstly, the animation is brilliantly eerie. It looks a bit like a The Simpsons Halloween special gone awry with the dogs looking a bit too human and the house a bit too off balance and vibrantly colored. However, the tension built off the uncanniness is offset by a few moments which play off the horror genre nicely – what seems scary to us isn’t necessarily scary for our rescue pup.
Five Tiger (South Africa)
Set in present day South Africa, Five Tiger tells the story of Fiona, a god-fearing woman, who finds herself in a transactional relationship with the leader of her church as she tries to support her daughter and her sick husband.
Like Lizard, Five Tiger depicts the questionable side to Christianity in Africa. Fiona is stuck in a loop of exploitation she’s unwilling to escape, symbolized in a 50 Rand bill – which equates to roughly $3 – as it transfers hands between her and the church. Five Tiger’s story is shot well, and told concisely, with just enough subtlety in it’s portrayal of Fiona’s situation to keep the viewer feeling clever for understanding what’s going on.
Excuse Me Miss, Miss, Miss (Philippines)
Vangie, a miserable contractual sales lady, is about to lose her job. But in her desperate attempt to persuade her boss not to sack her, Vangie uncovers the ultimate secret to keeping it.
Excuse Me Miss, Miss, Miss carries a light humor that felt very similar to last year’s Filipino festival hit, Death of Nintendo. There’s bright colors, characters you can laugh at, and creepy supernatural events. However, instead of teenage boys, this short follows a young woman working at an empty mall. If you can handle a bit of silly humor, and are intrigued by the supernatural twist, give this one a shot.
The Fourfold (Canada)
Based on the ancient animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, The Fourfold is an exploration of the indigenous worldview and wisdom. Against the backdrop of the modern existential crisis and the human-induced rapid environmental change, there is a necessity to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities.
The animation of The Fourfold reminded me of the arts and crafts classes from primary school; it feels very home-made. In this sense, animating leaves, textiles, and other materials feels like a perfect fit for the narrative of animistic spirituality. However, the visuals don’t compensate for the lack of a tangible narrative to follow in the voice-over, leaving the film feeling a bit too ethereal.
For more from films outside of the Sundance Film Festival shorts head to our Sundance 2021 page.
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