Kicking It

PARK CITY

I'm sitting here at Library Center waiting for the screening of Made In America to begin, so I figured I'd take a moment to fill you all in on the last screening we caught down in Salt Lake a few hours ago.

Kicking It. It's a doc about the Homeless Soccer World Cup. Without even reading the description I was already hooked. Homeless people playing soccer at the level of the World Cup? My interest was piqued. And this film delivers in a big way. It's got heart, soul, a sense of humor and a really good message about those living on the edge of society with sometimes massive drug and anger problems teaming together and finding a reason to dream again. Sappy, maybe. But it's really a very honest look at one way to help get people off the street.

So what is the Homeless Soccer World Cup? Teams from 48 countries meet one a year to compete against each other for three cup titles. Some countries have officially sponsored teams while some, like Russia where being homeless is a social taboo, simply form under their own steam.

This film follows several teams through a six month period leading up to and following the 2006 competition, that year held in Cape Town, South Africa. The teams highlighted include those from Ireland, USA, Kenya, Afghanistan, Spain and Russia. Each team experiences various trials and tribulations, some winning only a single game while others take it all the way to the final game for the World Cup.

Not only is the material absolutely fascinating, but you leave feeling like you've really had the opportunity to connect with several of the players, learning their stories and watching them pull themselves up and try to live again. There's a really good arc throughout the film, making you feel like more than just a passive observer.

You also get some really great interactions between the different countries. One of the team members from Afghanistan discovers he's being pursued by a girl from the Paraguay team. The Irish and Kenyan teams find some camaraderie. And nearly everyone gets exposure to an outside world they had no idea existed.

So... Great story, great characters and really good production value (good sound design and the whole thing was shot HD).

Now... My one gripe. And it's a big one. The film is narrated by Colin Farrell, who has no connection to homelessness or soccer other than having really liked playing the latter when he was young. Okay... Fine. March of the Penguins has Morgan Freeman (in the American version) who, far as I know, has nothing to do with penguins. But, the film is bookended by an introduction and postlogue featuring the actor. It's a really poor choice on the part of the filmmakers because not only does it completely pull you out of the world of the film (Colin is shot with a full light rig in a very clean bridge overpass), but it turns the whole thing into a PSA (Colin asks the audience to "help out" at the end of the film). You could probably have the alternate title of the film be "Colin Farrell Presents: Kicking It." Cut the first and last two minutes off the film and you're in a much stronger place. Oh well.

ESPN picked up the rights to the film last night at the fest, so hopefully it'll at least get a run on TV and DVD if not theatrically.

Perro Come Perro (Dog Eat Dog)

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So many films are about the journey. In Perro Come Perro (Dog Eat Dog) the journey feels incredibly long, though the last 20-30 minutes generally make up for the arduous first half.

The first Colombian film to ever screen at Sundance, Perro Come Perro is fundamentally about how money brings corruption and death. Against the backdrop of the Cali area in Columbia, we dive deep into the world of underground crime where gangsters are as vicious as street dogs and voodoo reigns as the ultimate form of revenge. Sent out to collect money from a pair of twins, small-town criminal Victor Peñaranda makes the disastrous decision to keep the cash for himself - a decision the ultimately wreaks havoc through several cities and cuts deep into the world of organized crime.

It's a story that's been done before, so there's really nothing new here other than having things set in the unfamiliar world of Columbia.

Production value on this film is incredibly high, with stellar cinematography and good cutting. The performances are also quite strong.

Just wish the first half moved a bit better.

A moment

The members of U2 provide an introduction at the U2 3D premier


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Oh yeah... And the members of U2 themselves (sans Larry Mullen who was "under the weather") introduced the film to us.

U2 3D

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My ears are still ringing.

Just got out of U2 3D.

Wow.

This is a film I've had on my to-see list since a shorter cut screened at Cannes back in May to rave reviews. Tonight marked the world premier of the final theatrical cut, clocking in at 85 minutes and featuring 14 songs from the South American leg of U2's Vertigo tour.

In many ways I find myself surprised by the experience of this film. Having considered myself a U2 fan since the early 90s (yeah... there are a ton of people who were fans long before I was, but I can still count at least 16 years of fandom), I was hugely disappointed by a shoot from a Chicago show of the Vertigo tour I caught on HDNet awhile back. Energy was flat, Bono's notes were flat and the whole thing really made it feel like the group has lost its luster. The whole thing was hugely disappointing. Considering U2 3D covers that very same tour, I expected more of the same.

But I was completely wrong.

At its core it's a concert film. But this is a concert film like you've never seen before. Totally immersive, both in sound and vision, the filmmakers really use the idea of 3D to the extreme. Over the past few years, the new wave 3D technology has really been coming into its own for filmmaking, and this film is really a poster child for all the format can be. You experience U2 like you never have before, even if you were lucky enough to get front row tickets to see them live. Blending 3D concert footage with occasional animation, the film seamlessly blends arena and stadium gigs together into one set list that reminds you why U2 is... well... U2. My faith has been restored.

While you might expect the 3D to be a bit of a gimmick... it's anything but. Sure you have a few obligatory shots of Adam Clayton and Bono throwing hands and guitar parts into the lens, but overall the 3D is really used more as a compliment to the live show rather than an excuse. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. Pair that with some pretty incredible sound design and mixing and you quickly forget you're sitting in a movie theater (albeit a movie theater absolutely shaking with sound). In fact, it felt extremely strange to be sitting down, passively watching. I found it hard to restrain the urge to jump out of my seat, scream and join the thousands of fans on screen. Numerous times I saw others in the audience (the audience of the film, that is) jump up, wave their hands and even throw their lighted cell phones high in the air during the few ballads in the set. The boundary between the screen and the seat utterly vanished.

Needless to say I'm pretty pumped right now. But... It's almost 3am and I have a 9am screening tomorrow. Time to get some shuteye.

Be Like Others

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Homosexuality is illegal in the Islamic Republic of Iran - a crime punishable by death. But... Sex changes are completely legal. In fact, the state will pay for half the cost of the procedure. However, you have to first go through six to twelve months of psychiatric evaluation to determine if you really are trapped in a body of the gender opposite to that which you feel you are. It turns out, perhaps not surprisingly, that semantics are very important here. If the psychiatrist determines that you are a transsexual, you're cleared for gender reassignment surgery. However, if the psychiatrist determines that you simply are attracted to members of the same sex, you're a homosexual and thus pretty much sentenced to death. Still, many men and women are eager to go through the process because if successful, it will mean you're legally allowed to be "involved" with members of your former sex, wear clothes appropriate to your new gender and are generally you're much more accepted by society.

Problem is... There are many people who are trying to change their gender simply to avoid being labeled a homosexual. This creates all kinds of problems as their formerly same-sex relationships fall apart after gender reassignment and things aren't as rosy as they expected.

Be Like Others ultimately follows several men as they go through the reassignment process with high hopes, only to find that things aren't what they expected. It's a hugely fascinating process that you never expected from a country like Iran.

Unfortunately, once you take away the subject matter, the film falls flat and never manages to express any passion of the subject. Narration is dry and the story is without much of an arc. Ultimately you leave the film with so many questions that should have been answered, you feel as if you really just scraped the surface. This theme was continued through the Q&A following the screening as a gauntlet of raised hands with burning questions mostly netted "I don't know" responses from the director, who appeared to have approached the whole project without much research, passion or even interest. While documentary filmmakers must remain open to all sides of a story and let the subject speak for itself, a strong film absolutely requires a point of view. Be Like Others came close a few times to expressing a view, but the Q&A made it pretty clear that there wasn't much of one if any. Too bad, since a hugely political subject like this could really have made for a powerfully moving piece. I'd recommend the film for it's subject matter in the same way I'd recommend a run-of-the-mill PBS special on the African Serengeti for those merely interested in watching a day in the life of lions.

I'm currently waiting in line for the premier of U2 3D, one of my more anticipated screenings of the fest. At least this year Sundance sprung for a heated tent to wait in outside of Eccles so we're not stuck out in the 10 degree cold for an hour like we were last year.

Yay for heated tents

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Thank God for heated tents. Been waiting in line outside Eccles for over an hour due to the last show getting out late. Good thing I was here early enough to score a spot inside the tent. Otherwise I'd be outside freezing my ass off.