A round-up of short takes from our Sundance team.
CODA
Sian Heder’s US remake of La Famille Bélier, in which a family’s tight dynamics are thrown out by the hearing daughter’s desire to sing. Great start gives way to a predictable yet satisfying coming-of-age journey, elevated by Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur’s chemistry and X-rated ASL. —Gemma
Nattawut Poonpiriya’s feature meshes past and present on a bucket list path to last-ditch redemption. Stylish, meticulous direction and a borrowed soundtrack keep the story trucking, though the script is bogged down by flashes of toxic masculinity. —Jack
Censor
Prano Bailey Bond’s melange of ’80s British grime and video-nasty fervour offers awesomely elevated exploitation terror. Artfully traumatic cinema. (Nice to see the expertise of noted horror critic Kim Newman put to use as an EP!) —Dominic
Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (AKA Questlove) curates an archive of the long-forgotten Harlem Cultural Festival, equally weighting ’69 racial politics and the joy of climbing trees for a better concert view. Let’s pray for more music documentaries in his future. —Selome
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