The Sundance Missives - Season 3, Episode 7

Hi everyone!

Feeling nice and rested today. It's amazing how much a couple extra hours of sleep can help. This morning's first show (at 11:30am) was called "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North." A friend of mine (Hey Katherine!) mentioned that a friend of hers was involved in this documentary, so I decided to check it out. The director, Katrina Browne, had found out that her ancestors had been one of the largest slave traders in the 1800s. She contacted a bunch of her close and distant relatives (including Katherine's friend, Dain) to take a trip re-tracing the trade route that was followed, from Rhode Island to Ghana to Cuba and back to Rhode Island. They had different interactions with locals and had many discussions amongst themselves about how they were feeling about what their ancestors had done. It feels like it is not a complete film, but rather something that will promote future discussions about what can be done for descendants of slaves. 4 stars (out of five).

After that, I went to see "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," based on a novel by Michael Chabon (which I had read years ago). I remember loving the book and I really liked the movie as well. It's about a recent college graduate (Jon Foster, who I had never seen before, but I was very impressed with his acting. He's Ben Foster's younger brother.) who is the son of a gangster (Nick Nolte). He is being pushed into training as a stockbroker, a career that he doesn't want. For the summer, he decides to work at a bargain book store, where he starts out sleeping with his manager (Mena Suvari, who was hysterical). He ends up meeting a couple (Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard) and gets entangled in their relationship. There are lots of complications with interactions between different people in his life. It was really well done and with many beautiful shots of parts of Pittsburgh. 4 ½ stars (out of five).

At tonight's volunteer shift, I was able to catch "Assassination of a High School President" which involved a sophomore (Reece Daniel Thompson) working on a story for a high school newspaper when he uncovers scandals and conspiracies about SATs and illegal prescription drug sales. It's a fun detective movie, just set in a high school (much like the movie, "Brick" but with more comedy). Bruce Willis plays the militaristic principal in what looks like a fun role for him to play. Mischa Barton plays the femme fatale character. 3 ½ stars.

Until the next report…

Your Sundance correspondent,

Ted