Sundance Film Festival 2012: Last Day

by Andy Motz

Wuthering Heights

Hands down the best film I saw at Sundance this year. U.K. director Andrea Arnold shatters every filmmaking rule when it comes to making British period pieces. She brings Emily Bronte’s classic novel to life in a way that would probably make the Bronte sisters very proud. Gone are the perfectly lit and sunny mores. In their place is a gritty realistic version of what is was truly like to live in the countryside during eighteenth century Britain. Arnold also decides to move away from dialogue heavy storytelling towards a narrative that is guided by images. Wuthering Heights embraces the senses of sight, touch, and sound to tell the story of two lovers. Incidentally by making the film in this particular style Andrea Arnold creates a tale that is not constricted to a specific time period. The teenage angst, unfulfilled love, human brokenness, and haunting memories in this adaptation become universal. The relationship between the angry misunderstood Heathcliff and the quiet adventurous Kathryn is one of little speech, but one of true connection. They spend the majority of their time together in nature as equals as their attraction for each other grows stronger. However those who have read Wuthering Heights know that Heathcliff and Kathryn’s period of bliss is short and soon misery will follow not only them, but also all who are in some way connected to either character. It is a brutally heartbreaking film because the pain, loss, and desperation are brought to life in such a visceral way. With breath-taking visuals, brilliant editing, natural cinematography, and camera work that places the audience right in the world of the characters Wuthering Heights is a groundbreaking cinematic achievement.

Simon Killer

A man by the name of Simon travels to Paris in hope of recovering from the recent break-up with a long-time girlfriend. He enjoys his time alone, but it is obvious that the isolation is becoming an agitation. One night while walking the streets of Paris and only moments after rejecting an offer to visit a strip club he enters a ritzy brothel. One incident leads to another and soon Simon has slyly forced himself into the life, and apartment, of the prostitute he meets that night. At this point in Anthony Campos dark second feature one realizes that Simon is not your typical post-graduate young man, but instead a sick, professional, and deeply untrustworthy sociopath; a symbol of men’s terrible vices such as greed, selfishness, and chauvinism. Simon Killer is a cold film that is easy to appreciate, but hard to love due to such a disturbed and ambiguous protagonist (or is it antagonist?).  While much is left ambiguous in the film, one thing is for certain: Anthony Campos is one talented director. His use of long uncut takes allows the audience to be voyeurs into the twisted world of Simon and his uncanny ability to seduce, befriend, and manipulate. He also presents a vision of Paris that is rarely seen in the movies. Instead of a romantic beautiful city Paris is a cold seedy place that is claustrophobic and dangerous. Complex, thought-provoking, and meticulously detailed, Simon Killer is an uncompromising film that is unafraid to look at the darker side of human existence that is very much a reality.

Image Sources:

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