Day 2 - 21 January

Robert Redford shows up for World Premiere

Robert Redford finally made an appearance at the festival he created, putting a halt to the street gossip concerning his lack of profile on Opening Night of Sundance. Taking the stage at the World Premiere of Stanley Tucci's Joe Gould's Secret, Redford said he was "standing in for (festival co-director) Geoff Gilmore to welcome everyone to Park City" because, although they may have had an opening night of some kind in Salt Lake City, "Park City is where the festival is and that makes it more meaningful to have this film our Opening Night Premiere."

Using the podium to remind the audience why the festival existed in the first place, Redford appeared to be once again dealing with issues surrounding the commercialization of his film festival. His commentary was forceful and almost scolding: "This festival is for the filmmakers," he insisted, "for filmmakers to share work; share each other. From that synergy comes something we can be proud of. I say this because sometimes it gets lost." His message came on the heels of a NPR interview with a senior festival programmer who said the festival has become a convention for the film industry to buy product, not to discover visionary filmmakers.

Redford went on to say, "An independent film is not the same as a Hollywood film. It may be fashionable to think it's gone Hollywood, but it hasn't...it's just gotten better."

Redford was also standing in for Tucci, whose wife had just given birth to twins-thus keeping Tucci from the premiere. Actor Ian Holm, resplendently poised, read a welcome letter to the audience from the director-inserting witty asides that kept the crowd charmed including the final admonishment, "If you don't like the film, it would be best if you kept it to yourself".

The film, starring Tucci, Holm, Susan Sarandon, Hope Davis, Patricia Clarkson and Steve Martin was a tour de force for Holm in the lead role. Thoughtful, deliberate pacing and extraordinary production design set the tone for this meditation on art, truth and the inevitable human nature that sets off in pursuit of both. The story is of an unlikely relationship between writer Joe Mitchell (The New Yorker) and an eccentric, intellectual social misfit named Joseph Gould. Tucci's subtly directing and clear artistic vision (he's credited as producer and served as screenwriter as well) manages an elegant, respectful collaboration on screen.

In stark contrast, the other big event of the evening was the World Premiere of Mary Harron's American Psycho. Gilmore did the introductions this time, and afforded the film to be "the most highly anticipated film ever at this festival." He continued, "Yet the creative process on this film has not been easy-to say the least. It's the classic kind of struggle American Indies face."

It was also a struggle for the audience who were subjected to an over-the-top soulless farce that left most everyone unmoved and untouched. Currently rated at NC-17 for one particularly rough three-way sex scene, the film's titillation factor was not enough to sustain the hype and the audience left the theater decidedly less animated than when they arrived.

A clear gem of a film emerged early in the day at the screening of Jim McKay's Our Song, his second feature film following Girl's Town which also premiered at Sundance. McKay's exquisite writing and his exceptional work with actors combined with a keen sense of inner-city kids to present the story of three young girls over the course of one summer.

Destined to be the first "buzzed" film from the festival, even this early on, Our Song shows McKay at his finest-a truly gifted filmmaker whose respect for the project is clearly felt in every frame. In one of the more unique opening credit sequences, his "a film by-" title card had every crewmembers name written on it. Not until the end credits did McKay take the title of director. The appreciative and thunderous applause during both credit sequences was offset by the hushed, rapt attention throughout the film as audiences wanted to get every line of dialogue. Shot on grainy 16mm, the film soars with a song of hope and promises to fill every heart.

Also shot on grainy 16mm and in atmosphere-drenched black and white, Mundo Grua (Crane World) from Argentina was another striking addition to the line up of character-driven films showcased at the festival. Despite Gilmore's introduction of the film as an "Argentinean American Indie that shows the American Indie spirit infecting filmmakers around the world", the film turned out to be a surprisingly affecting work and bodes well for both it's director, Pablo Trapero and for a new national cinema in Argentina.

The crowds are now fully arrived, and without any skiing to do, every shop and cafe on Main Street is brimming with people in black between screenings. The AtomFilms Bus winds its way in a continuous loop up Main, and other industry players are making their presence felt-including the industry-pro ifilm.com who will be hosting a hot-ticket insiders party on Saturday night. The Screenplay Coffeehouse at Prospector Square is still the best place to actually get work done, the trades are delivered daily as are numerous journals, and a script library of the films in the festival is on hand for easy reading. Of all places, Albertson's grocery store has once again become the place to "do" business-at any hour of the day (or night), festival attendees can be seen pushing grocery carts and conducting cell phone meetings as they shop for their crowds back at the condos.

Saturday's line up includes Spanish Director Jose Luis Cuerda's Butterfly's Tongue which should stand as penultimate cinema from this master director (he also produced Thesis, which won seven Goya Awards, and Open Your Eyes).

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Kathleen McInnis

Sundance