Park City. Rearview, 2/4.

Well, the old "Park City. Roundup" is so chunky it seems to be getting chewed up with each new site rebuild. I'll restore it periodically, but we're moving into a new phase of coverage anyway, the annual whither-indies phase, the thanks-for-the-memories phase.

One newsy item, though: "Ryan Fleck's Half Nelson - and its stars - topped indieWIRE's first poll of critics and journalists who covered the Sundance Film Festival," reports Eugene Hernandez. And on his blog, Eugene comments: "It's fairly clear to me that Newsweek's David Ansen and Variety's Todd McCarthy, Sundance festival old-timers, got together in Park City and planned their tandem tirades against the festival." More on the one-two punch from Anne Thompson: "[I]t's clear that Variety's lead critic is experiencing one of those Who Moved the Cheese? moments."

"Despite seeing several very good movies, I don't think I ever found the grail at this year's Sundance," writes Marjorie Baumgarten in the Austin Chronicle, a publication which deserves an extra and enthusiastic holler for devoting another piece exclusively to Slamdance. Spencer Parsons: "Founder Dan Mirvish likes to characterize Slamdance as 'more than a festival and less than a movement,' noting proudly that not much has really changed during its 12-year run. 'The stories are still the same... You might lose half your friends making the film, and then make a bunch of new ones when you come here. And, from there, it's like a year-round network of filmmakers helping each other out.'"

"Sundance 06 seemed about average," decides Dennis Lim, "fewer discoveries, but also less dreck." He offers three "case studies": Old Joy, Man Push Cart (Cinematical's Kim Voynar interviews that film's makers) and In Between Days.

Also in the Voice:

• Anthony Kaufman: "Sundance 06 was the year of gross percentage points and the record-breaking deal; fewer pictures generated commercial heat, but the ones that did proved the festival's industry profile has never been higher." And at his blog, an additional note on a shift in the shape of these deals.

• Rob Nelson looks back over several docs and favors Iraq in Fragments, "a one-man production of startling audacity and aesthetic provocation... if [James] Longley's astonishing feat of poetic agitation has a precedent in the entire history of documentary, I'm not aware of it."

• Nelson notes a few films that fly in the face of the fest's sponsors.

• Also: Lim on Art School Confidential, The Science of Sleep and Little Miss Sunshine; and on A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Quinceañera, Half Nelson and Right at Your Door; and Nelson on Alpha Dog.

Rob Nelson was busy, also writing for the City Pages, "Speaking as a longtime and often merciless critic of this festival's contradictions, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to find myself not only tapping my foot throughout [Jonathan] Demme's film, but nodding my head at his point: that Sundance, though it acts like a hooker, has a heart of gold." He also had a chat with Factotum producer Christine Kunewa Walker.

"The annual trek up the mountain to Park City felt different this year, with the powerful spirit of Brokeback Mountain haunting the new crop of queer films on offer," writes B Ruby Rich in the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "After all, Sundance is the festival where the early glimmerings of a 'new queer cinema' were first nurtured, starting with the jury award to Poison 15 years ago."

The Stranger's Andy Spletzer: "The hope was to unearth an undiscovered gem or two, or to spotlight the birth of a new filmmaking talent. Unfortunately, I was able to find nothing of the sort." Still, "Once again, the documentaries outshone the narrative features."

"[F]or those of us who see Sundance primarily as an annual opportunity to hold a mirror up to the nose of American independent cinema to see if it's still breathing, this year's edition was not without its vital signs. Provided, that is, one knew where to look," writes Scott Foundas. Also in the LA Weekly, Ella Taylor highlights the best of the docs and Holly Willis talks with festival director Geoff Gilmore.

Nathan Rabin presents the AV Club's take on about a dozen films at the fest.

Lisa Rosman wraps up Flavorpill's coverage: "By far, the documentary categories proved strongest, whereas the American dramatics largely buckled under the weight of their own, ill-advised quirkiness and dime-store psychoanalytical revelations."

Jim Ridley reports in the Nashville Scene on how Nashvillians fared in Park City.

Ray Pride posts a series of terrific photos at Sharkforum.

New York's Logan Hill learned a few lessons.

Posted by dwhudson at February 4, 2006 4:07 PM