The Sundance Film Festival dedicates plenty of time to selecting features for the various sections they have on deck. The one that most people tend to seek out, outside of the Premieres and Spotlight (which has all of the “bigger” films with stars in them), is the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The festival describes that part of the program as “a first look at the world premieres of groundbreaking new voices in American independent film”. And if you have seen all the films screened there, you will understand why it is classified like that. In this capsule reviews piece, I will be talking about three Sundance films from this year’s section of the slate, all of which have a similar narrative vibe to them, and, rather unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy them as much as I would have anticipated: “Dìdi,” “In the Summers,” and “Suncoast.”
‘Dìdi’ (Directed by Sean Wang)
The first U.S. Dramatic Competition selection I will be talking about in this capsule reviews piece has conquered plenty of hearts already at the festival, Sean Wang’s feature-length debut, “Dìdi” (弟弟). One of the many parent-child stories that are premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Wang’s film slightly distances itself from the others. He makes sure that the period setting has all of the necessary details. But he also seems too focused on delivering warm, crowd-pleasing dramatic antics that make each beat feel calculated rather than natural. It is something that often happens with movies that want to capture the essence of a specific point in time. In this case, Wang excellently portrays the late 2000s. This is where the first batch of kids who basked on social media were born.
The story centers on a kid named Chris Wang (Izaac Wang), known as Wang-Wang by his close friends. He finds himself in a period of significant change. Plenty of things are happening simultaneously, and he doesn’t understand how to handle all of those things emotionally. Vivian (Shirley Chen), his sister, is leaving for college in a couple of days. He is going to high school this coming semester. His friends are distancing themselves from Chris because they have other “more mature” interests, such as hanging out with girls and going to parties. It is too overwhelming for him to comprehend every single concurrent change. So, Christ tries to find solace in different groups of people. And see if he can fit into one of those groups.
With “Dìdi”, now Oscar-nominated filmmaker, who received a nomination for his documentary short “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó”, has created a film that works both as a time capsule for a period that passed not so long ago and nostalgia bait for better or worse. Whether it is the music on the soundtrack or the use of Mypace, Facebook, and AIM as means of communication, Sean Wang uses these elements to take us into his childhood, or at least a version similar to his own. In many ways, it is very immersive and compelling, especially if you grew up during these times. He doesn’t want the film to feel like a product of that time, ripped entirely from the 2000s. However, the film’s aesthetics are built to make it easy for the viewer to place themselves in that world.
As I mentioned earlier, those exact period details feel too calculated. He forcefully wants to live and breathe the decade rather than construct a piece reminiscent of the time. Nevertheless, it still contains a charming factor that will pull viewers into one or all of its sections. The parts related to skateboarding culture feel similar to Jonah Hill’s “mid90s. If you haven’t seen that one before, it is also a film about a lost kid amidst great changes who uses the sport as a form of escape. Wang covers more ground than Hill due to “Dìdi” not focusing only on skateboarding. By doing so, Wang has to broaden his scope. He creates different scenarios with various characters for Chris to explore and slowly find his true self. But an issue arrives during this expansion.
The director leaves all of the characters, except for the lead, as incomplete pictures. In some ways, Chris’ inability to connect makes the relationships in his life seem that way. But, narratively speaking, more time was needed to develop these circumstances and characters for each dynamic to feel palpable instead of patchy. It is a shame that in terms of screenplay, this doesn’t work out entirely because, acting-wise, the cast fires on all cylinders – the leading trio in particular: Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, and Joan Chen. There are some enjoyable aspects contained within “Dìdi”. But, looking at it as a complete portrait of a kid and the decade he grew up in, it leaves much to be desired regarding character work.
Grade: C
‘In the Summers’ (Directed by Alessandra Lacorazza)
The second film in this capsule reviews piece is Alesandra Lacorazza’s “In the Summers”—the winner of both the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Directing Prize and U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic awards. Garnering two top prizes from Sundance’s jury motivated me to catch up with this film before the festival ended. After watching it, I can see the reason why it was chosen to win both awards. Lacorazza’s direction is as swift as it is polished. In addition, the story being told is palpable enough to garner some emotion from the viewer. This fractured father-daughter tale told in four parts/summers is lifted by the work of its excellent cast. But the screenplay doesn’t put wind beneath their sails.
“In the Summers” takes place in Las Cruces, Mexico, which Violeta and Eva hold dearly because of their memories with their father, Vincente (René Pérez Joglar, aka. Residente). In a way, the film wants to cover some similar ground as the poignant “Aftersun” by Charolette Wells. Lacorazza wants to show us the highs and lows of this parental bonding. The future selves of their daughters will reflect on the summers they had together, reevaluating what happened through new, more knowledgeable eyes. When time passes, the two will think back on what occurred. Violeta and Eva will think about those emotions they couldn’t comprehend or understand from their father, examining them with their own experiences (both shared and individual).
At first, the summer they spend together feels like escapist bliss—everything is going well. All of them are incredibly happy and enjoying their time together. But, later on in their story, things begin to sour down. Their dream summer days filled with splendor are becoming harsher and more gloomy as time passes. Vincente goes through a series of unfortunate events. He has mental bouts with himself in addition to a couple of disappointing affairs. This paves the way to a state he can’t snap out of. The wounding effect these events have on his daughters doesn’t translate during the dialogue scenes. The weak script relies on cliched moments, with characters reacting to Vincente’s actions instead of living through them.
Because of this side-glance perspective, without much interaction with the implied problems, it distances the viewer from these experiences. The moments where “In the Summers” shines are mainly the scenes where Eva and Violeta confront themselves and their father. It is here where the film begins to garner some vivacity outside of the stellar performances by Residente, Lio Mehiel, and Sasha Calle. Side note: all three deserve bigger dramatic roles like this in the future. And it is a shame because the narrative has seeds of a touching, profound father-daughter story. But it never grows into a fruitful portrait altogether.
Grade: C-
‘Suncoast’ (Directed by Laura Chinn)
The third (and final) film in this piece is Laura Chinn’s semi-autobiographical debut, yet ultimately showered in the coming-of-age tropes, “Suncoast.” It is one of the many films about a teenager whose world is going to change after the events of the film transpire that is part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival—a common theme present in these three aforementioned films. But, out of the many I have had the chance to watch, this one unfortunately stood out the least. It contains a dedicated cast and an array of honest moments.
The emotional panderings developed by Chinn might be true-to-life, as this film takes an autobiographical turn. However, the lack of depth sinks the film to the point where you can’t resonate. We follow Doris (Nico Parker) as she deals with the up-and-down condition her brother Max (Cree Kawa) has and her mother’s (Laura Linney) emotional instability. For all of the touching moments Laura Chinn wants to curate “Suncoast” with, she never manages to do so adequately because of its artificial emotional underpinnings. This is the type of film that forcefully wants the viewer to feel every story beat. Yet, since there isn’t much development on every one of them, the narrative loses itself on all accounts. The subplot stack doesn’t leave any space for any inch of the narrative to breathe.
Each part of the narrative can be ripped from this one and made into a separate project focused on that alone—allowing “Suncoast” to find its footing and focus on developing one story at a time. The one particular storyline that sticks out in this regard is Doris’ bond with Paul (Woody Harrelson), which leaves much to be desired. Woody Harrelson’s character pops in and out of the story as Chinn pleases, which doesn’t make much sense when you think about it. It feels like he is a ghostly figure who appears when called upon instead of an actual human character. It makes it hard for one to connect or even feel something for the characters enduring saddening hardships.
Like in the two previous films mentioned in this capsule review piece, the performances in “Suncoast” are pretty solid. The one who stands out the most is Nico Parker in the lead role. I truly understand where Laura Chinn is coming from; in the grand scheme of things, you definitely sense the passion and honesty through her construction of Doris. Yet, there’s a big void between all narrative beats – culminating in a lacking and deficient feature.
Grade: D
“Dìdi”, “In the Summers”, and “Suncoast” screened in the NEXT section as part of the Sundance Film Festival 2024.
