Thirty-nine critics weigh in on the best films of Sundance 2021 in this critics survey.
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For this critics survey, we asked thirty-nine of our critic friends to weigh in on the best films of Sundance 2021. Below are their individual top five ballots (ranked or unranked). There were a wide spread of results: fifty-one individual feature films were mentioned, and twenty of those were only mentioned once.
Judas and the Black Messiah came out on top, with nineteen votes. Next were Flee and Mass, which tied with seventeen votes. Grand Jury Prize winner CODA came in third, with fourteen votes, and Questlove’s documentary Summer of Soul got ten. Passing and On the Count of Three got nine votes, Prisoners of the Ghostland got seven, and The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet got six.
Latoya Austin (@Franglais27), Founder of Franglais27 Tales
The Pink Cloud (Iuli Gerbase)
Together Together (Nikole Bekwith)
On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
Nicola Austin (@nicola_aus), Editor-in-Chief of We Have a Hulk
1. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King): This is an incredibly powerful and equally devastating sophomore outing from Shaka King. Stanfield, Fishback and Plemons are all phenomenal, with Kaluuya’s passionate performance undoubtedly the standout.
2. CODA (Siân Heder): With a witty yet heartfelt script brilliantly brought to life by a fantastic cast, this years’ festival opener is a real triumphant, bursting with emotion and charm.
3. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael): Jerrod Carmichael’s debut left me floored. A hugely emotional & yet oddly funny drama shining a light on mental health struggles. Carmichael & Christopher Abbott are both superb.
4. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen): This documentary honestly deserves all of the awards. A devastating but tender tale of a refugee’s harrowing journey creatively brought to life with animation. So, so emotional and inspiring.
5. One for the Road (Baz Poonpiriya): A beautiful and hugely stylish road trip drama with a lot of heart (and cocktails!).
Sundance 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah Review – We Have A Hulk
Lou Baharom, Executive Editor of CINEPHILIA. PH
1. All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony): My introduction to Theo Anthony’s cinema is quite the experience; a time/perception-altering meditation on the meaning embedded in cinema and in every machination our eye sees. A resonant excavation into the philosophy behind man’s creations that have forged the illusion of progress.
2. Passing (Rebecca Hall): Not quite for everyone, but targeted at the dualities we’re forged out of, Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut discovers a new cinematic language. One that creates exhilaration albeit subdued out of seeming passivity as a test on our perception of fascinating, relevant matters we all are likely to discuss.
3. Mass (Fran Kranz): A directorial debut reminiscent of some of the best. Fran Kranz’ confrontation with grief and the forces gripping us after tragedy is superb and galvanizing, bolstered with a foursome whose names you’ll remember in the later months, and in the years to come.
4. One for the Road (Baz Poonpiriya): Guided by master auteur Wong Kar-Wai, Baz Poonpiriya’s follow-up feature to ‘Bad Genius’ sees him getting in touch with his own sublimity. A story of life, love, death, as well as a celebration of it, this crowd-pleaser more intellectually crafted than it seems is a five-course meal on everything we love in cinema.
5. Faya Dayi (Jessica Bashir): Cinema as prayer, Jessica Bashir’s directorial debut is a glum yet entrancing window to a nation’s fractured soul wherein scenes interweaved pronounce the scars of its body. Perhaps one of the best foreign language films of the 2020s yet.
Sundance 2021 Movie Review: ‘All Light, Everywhere’ (2021) – CINEPHILIA. PH (wordpress.com)
Manuel São Bento (@msbreviews), Film critics for MSB Reviews and Echo Boomer
CODA (Siân Heder)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Land (Robin Wright)
Mass (Fran Kranz)
On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
Judas and the Black Messiah – SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021 (msbreviews.com)
Cheyenne Bunsie (@_Cheysays), Freelance writer
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King): A thrill ride from start to finish, Shaka King utilises a wildly talented cast and elevates yet further with a brilliant score and impactful dialogue. Career-best performances from both Danial Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield make this film one to watch for awards season glory.
Mass (Fran Kranz): This is a raw and unflinching look at the all-consuming nature of grief and the potential for forgiveness amongst the fragments. One of the best ensemble casts you’ll see this year, a tough, draining watch, but worth the emotional journey.
On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael): An impressive directorial debut from Jerrod Carmichael. A darkly comic tale of friendship through the prism of despair that feels thoughtfully crafted. Christopher Abbott is simply magnetising from start to finish.
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson): Much more than a superbly crafted concert documentary. It’s a spectacular piece of unearthed Black history, gifted to those who live to remember the Harlem Cultural Festival and the generations beyond.
Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg): A raw, most certainly unflinching snapshot of one girl’s emergence in the porn industry. To say this film takes risks is an understatement, but it showcases much more than shock value. Engrossing from start to end, step out of your comfort zone for this one.
Judas and the Black Messiah ★★★★★ – Movie Marker
Gabriela Burgos (@gaby_burgos27), Co-host of the Film Posers Podcast
CODA (Siân Heder)
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Passing (Rebecca Hall)
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It (Mariem Pérez Riera)
Film Posers: S3: E4 – The 2021 Sundance Recap on Apple Podcasts
Matt Cipolla (@CipollaMatt), Film Editor for The Spool and contributor to The Film Stage
1. All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony)
2. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun)
3. Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg)
4. El Planeta (Amalia Ulman)
5. Cusp (Isabel Bethencourt, Parker Hill)
Sundance 2021: “All Light, Everywhere” knows no bounds | The Spool
David Cuevas (@ticktockanimate), Writer and Festivals Editor at FilmHounds Magazine
1. Cryptozoo (Dash Shaw): A bombastically imaginative film that captures the surrealist energy of René Laloux and the adventurous spirit of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. Frequently hilarious and bound to reach cult status within the independent animation scene in the coming years.
2. One for the Road (Baz Poonpiriya): A tender examination on male entitlement. Frequently creative with rapidfire editing and storytelling, Poonpiriya latest would also make for a perfect alcohol themed double bill with Vintenburg’s Another Round.
3. Superior (Erin Vassilopoulos): A bold feature debut that experly toys with Giallo elements to deliver a visceral commentary on the tangibility and legacy of the nuclear family dynamic.
4. Human Factors (Ronny Trocker): A Haneke-inspired family tragedy, reminiscent of the satirical work of Östlund. A thought provoking and occasionally heartbreaking drama.
5. Try Harder! (Debbie Lum): An insightful documentary that handles commentary on racial bias within the education system with great urgency. Bold, essential, and perfectly paced.
Harris Dang (@FilmMomatic), Film Critic at The AU Review
Mayday (Karen Cinorre): Powerfully thought-provoking, amazingly singular and beautifully fascinating, Mayday is an outstanding directorial debut from writer/director Cinorre that shows potential that she will be a wonderful filmmaker in the future.
The Pink Cloud (Iuli Gerbase): A terrifying look into loneliness and how it can drive people into moulding their own realities as an escape; it was a scary, beautiful and thought-provoking piece of work that is so astounding in its timeliness, it is a cinematic equivalent of a prophecy.
In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang): A harrowing and beautifully empathetic documentary from director Nanfu Wang about the treatment/cover-up of COVID-19 in China and the USA. It is familiar in parts but the unravelling in the astounding similarities between the two continents is downright angering and astounding.
Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono): A boisterously entertaining dystopian East-meets-West culture clash from maverick director Sion Sono that had me howling in its oddball feel; complete with numerous idiosyncratic touches that awash the well-worn plot. Nicolas Cage delivers his own Mad Max/Bruce Campbell impression.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun): A deep and disturbing experience that illuminates the dark side of teenage alienation and humanity’s dependence on the Internet as a window to the world. It is a film that transcends storytelling form and had me on edge throughout and will linger with me for a long time; especially with its final scenes.
Joshua Encinias (@joshencinias), Writer at The Film Stage and Brooklyn Magazine
1. In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang): Nanfu Wang’s documentary is a condemning snapshot of Xi Jinping’s mendacity, how it fueled Trump’s lies, and how COVID-19 pushed the world closer toward authoritarianism. And it shows Anthony Fauci might not be one of our better angels.
2. Jockey (Clint Bentley): This is great American cinema.
3. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
4. John and the Hole (Pascual Sisto)
5. In the Earth (Ben Wheatley)
Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg), Freelance writer
All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony): Theo Anthony follows up Rat Film with another quietly impassioned, restlessly thought-provoking interrogation of previously unexamined connections between the systems that govern our lives. Exploring the political (and often racialized) violence that lurks within automated surveillance’s pretense of impartial image-making, Anthony’s findings illuminate the doublespeak of “oversight,” alternately used to refer to the action of observation and what we fail to notice in doing so. Heady and unsettling, Anthony’s filmmaking is also by every definition eye-opening.
Mass (Fran Kranz): “It was wrong. It was.” Six years after a school shooting, two sets of bereaved parents gather in a conference room at a small-town church in hopes of finding a way forward from the tragedy that’s ripped their lives asunder. Emotionally pulverizing Mass is an atypically powerful actors’ showcase, allowing the grief and rage of its stars, including a reliably riveting Jason Isaacs and a never-better Ann Dowd, to register with a jagged realism. Actor-turned-director Fran Kranz, who also wrote the script, takes the national temperature with an empathy and intelligence that’s astonishing to find in a feature debut.
Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond): “Did it get to you?” A British film censor finds herself on the trail of a video nasty that might hold the clue to her sister’s disappearance in this heady, playful, intimidatingly confident collision of Argento, De Palma, and Cronenberg. Debut filmmaker Prano Bailey-Bond finds a strange frequency all her own in using her twisty premise to explore censorship as repression, art as personal exorcism, and guilt as a lived-in horror more dangerous than any on-screen atrocity.
Wild Indian (Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.): A standing ovation from afar is in order for Michael Greyeyes, who remains in forceful command of this intense, wounded saga of Native identities inherited and assumed. As his Makwa struggles to keep buried a dark secret from his childhood, a visit from an guilt-ridden old friend (a remarkable Chaske Spencer) threatens to bring his tightly controlled life crashing down. Lyle Mitchell Corbinne’s debut incisively traces cycles of violence, guilt, and despair as the longest shadow cast by settler colonialism.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun): If the Internet’s a prison we built ourselves, Jane Schoenbrun’s first narrative feature rattles the bars. Ghastly and touching, it charts a teenager’s descent into an online role-playing game with a gentle curiosity and modern kind of melancholia that marks her as a filmmaker to watch. Observant, empathetic, and wholly original, World’s Fair recognizes virtual space as a haunted playground where reality and role-play can swirl in a wisp of pixels, pain and projected need.
Ricardo Gallegos (@wallyrgr), Editor in chief of La Estatuilla and contributor at Shuffle Online
Sundance 2021 was a fun, hectic and enriching experience that delivered more home runs than disappointments for me. The documentary slate was particularly strong. I guess my Top five is a reflection of that, and my love for football and coming-of-age films. Shout out to Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure which might be the best Sundance 2021 film, but one I just can’t squeeze into a ‘favorites’ list.
1. In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang)
2. Marvelous and the Black Hole (Kate Tsang)
3. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
4. Captains of Za’atari (Ali El-Arabi)
5. Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond)
Read Ricardo’s piece about the best of Sundance 2021.
Grace Han (@gracehahahan), Festival correspondent at Asian Movie Pulse
1. Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono): An insane revenge satire on American media presence in Japan, feat. Nicolas Cage. Can it get any better?
2. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King): As a Black Panthers re-telling, we all know how it ends — but Daniel Kaluuya keeps us on the edge of our seats with his heightening moral crisis. “Judas and the Black Messiah” is as compelling as it is timely, and only adds to the true humanity of radical thought.
3. Cryptozoo (Dash Shaw): This isn’t for everyone, but I loved it. The cutouts and lower frame rate complement the rollercoaster, DIY sense of a hallucinogenic trip, and the ominous presence of US military scheming — perfectly periodized. After all the gloss of Pixar, this is refreshing entry in the American animation scene.
4. Sabaya (Hogir Hirori): Hirori melts into the background and stunningly allows the footage to speak for itself. A documentary in the purest form.
5. CODA (Siân Heder): Each character is so well-fleshed out in what could have been a typical coming-of-age film. Emilia Jones does it all — sign and sing and even fish — and Troy Kotsur delivers an unforgettable performance.
Film Review: One for the Road (2021) by Nattawut Poonpiriya (asianmoviepulse.com)
Alex Heeney (@bwestcineaste), Editor-in-Chief of Seventh Row
1. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet (Ana Katz)
2. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
3. Luzzu (Alex Camilleri)
4. Passing (Rebecca Hall)
5. Searchers (Pacho Velez)
Luzzu director Alex Camilleri on why ‘Malta needed to play itself’ (seventh-row.com)
Andrew Kendall (@DepartedAviator), Film critic at Stabroek News
1. Passing (Rebecca Hall): Beneath the intentionally muted photography, the occasional hints of melodrama, the curated production design — the superficial artifice of Passing obfuscates and then illuminates the complicated, lonely lives of the women at the centre.
2. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen): Flee is in constant negotiation with itself about what it is and the ways that it should develop. That restlessness becomes its boon as it reveals layers upon layers of thoughtful engagement with questions of identity, humanity and fate.
3. Luzzu (Alex Camilleri): Luzzu is an aching, tender and moving depiction of a man trying to make his mark in a hostile world, but it is also a melancholy tale about the way the things we love do not always love us in return.
4. Mass (Fran Kranz): It is incredibly straightforward, but the more it goes on the more Mass reveals its deftness in unusual ways turning this acting showcase into something incisive, startling and heart-rending.
5. The World to Come (Mona Fastvold): It’s as much a love-story, as it is a film about a woman’s desperate attempt to write, and then right, the past, present and future. So, the narrative’s mimicking of Abigail’s point-of-view becomes an affecting rumination on self.
Sundance Film Festival 2021: “Judas and the Black Messiah” takes on history – Stabroek News
Emily Maskell (@EmMaskell), Freelance Writer
This was my first Sundance; it was a wild, virtual, sleep-deprived experience that was made completely worth it by the calibre of films made accessible. I do not currently have enough awake brain cells to even attempt a rating, but these are five titles that were standouts for me:
Jockey (Clint Bentley): An absolutely stunning film from Bentley. The meditative and poignant character study features a career-best performance from Clifton Collins Jr. An outstanding film that focuses on the fringes of horse racing is beautifully shot and brilliantly composed.
Taming the Garden (Salomé Jashi): Jashi’s documentary is unbelievable, the subject she has discovered is otherworldly but dangerously real. The image of a huge tree on a constructed ferry making its way across the Black Sea is both mesmerising and disturbing, a look at taking natural beauties that do not belong to you.
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King): Everything about this film is delivered with perfection; performances and direction are executed with utter brilliance. Simmering tension is skillfully paced in this entrancing and tremendous film.
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen): Both devastating and uplifting, Rasmussen’s Flee builds a sensitive narrative of refugee status and belonging from a mix of animation and archive footage. Expertly assembled, the film deeply resonates with its beautifully empathetic narrative.
Rebel Hearts (Pedro Kos): A bright and colourful historicisation of pioneering nuns who embraced the modernisation of religion. An impressive documentation that pulls from decades of archival material alongside talking-head interviews and fun animation.
Allison McCulloch (@allicinema), Film critic at Filmotomy
1. My Name is Pauli Murray (Julie Cohen, Betsy West)
2. In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang)
3. Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
4. Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (James Redford)
5. Playing with Sharks (Sally Aitken)
Sundance 2021 Review: In the Same Breath | Filmotomy
Charlie McGivern (@McGivernC_), Staff writer for Screen EntertainmentCharlie McGivern (@McGivernC_)
1. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
2. CODA (Siân Heder)
3. Mayday (Karen Cinorre)
4. Mass (Fran Kranz)
5. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
Sundance Film Festival Movie Review: Judas and the Black Messiah (screenentertainments.com)
Josie Meléndez (@thejosiemarie), Founder of the Film Posers podcast
CODA (Siân Heder)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (Mariem Pérez Riera)
On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
Sundance 2021: ‘CODA’ Movie Review – Full Circle Cinema
Keith Noakes (@keithlovemovies), Editor-in-Chief of keithlovesmovies.com
1. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
2. One For The Road (Baz Poonpiriya)
3. Mass (Fran Kranz)
4. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (Marilyn Agrelo)
5. Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono)
Sundance Archives – (keithlovesmovies.com)
Fred Onyango (@fredIZtweets), Freelancer
This was the second virtual festival I attended, with all things considered. It was quite a memorable experience with such a wide spectrum of subjects tackled in the various films. I can’t even imagine how hard it was to finish off making a film and getting it into Sundance, so I applaud all the filmmakers who showcased their work at the festival but these were my favourites
1. Night of the Kings (Philippe Lacôte)
A new convict at an unruly prison in the middle of an Ivory Coast jungle has to keep telling a story the entire night or else he’ll be killed. It evokes City Of God and the pacing and writing are second to none.
2. Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson): In the summer of 1969, Harlem, NYC had one of the greatest concerts that have ever been hosted in modern history. 300K guests in total and the footage shot there was archived and never shown again. Questlove took the footage and repurposed it to a must-see triumph.
3. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King): Generations down the line will look at this as one of the most memorable male duos in cinema. There have been many before them but Daniel Kaaluya’s monstrous performance and the minutiae of Lakeith Stanfield’s choices will surely make this an emotive viewing. Not to mention its subject matter is timely.
4. Land (Robin Wright): The road to healing past trauma can be isolating and treacherously lengthy. This perfectly captures that journey brilliantly and I stayed engaged throughout. I simply could not look away.
5. On The Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael): The intrusive violent swings from drama to comedy felt like Jerrod Carmichael was directing the best kind of a theme park ride; thrilling, scary, funny, and yet somehow prudent.
Julia Pogatetz (@WWizardess), Staff writer for uncut.at
1. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
2. Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
3. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
4. Mass (Fran Kranz)
5. Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono)
Mass (Filmkritik) | UNCUT-Movies
Andrew Pope (@WhitlockAndPope), Writer and co-founder of Whitlock and Pope
For me, Sundance 2021 was a fest of strong work by female and non-binary directors (my entire top five), and excellent documentaries (just outside this list are Flee, In The Same Breath, Summer of Soul, and Misha and the Wolves, all highly recommended).
1. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun): Future star Anna Cobb is phenomenal throughout this coming-of-age riff on creepypasta, depersonalisation, and internet predation, appearing in almost every shot and improvising her standout scene.
2. Cusp (Isabel Bethencourt, Parker Hill): I loved this long, hot, dark summer of rolling thunder and back-seat confessions. Some people wanted this to be something it wasn’t – to show its subjects in 360 degrees and spoon-feed us more “context.” But the filmmakers worked with these Texas teens to capture particular aspects of their lives, and burn them into the screen with magic hour lightning. Sad and beautiful.
3. Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg): Sisterhood, greed, betrayal and manipulation behind the scenes in LA’s hardcore porn scene. Uncompromising, with perhaps the bravest performance of the festival from new discovery Sofia Kappel.
4. Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond): I loved this fugue-state love-letter to early-80s VHS horror, the debut feature from British director Prano Bailey-Bond. Niamh Lagar (Calm With Horses) gives a wonderfully hard-faced, flinty performance as she sinks into derealisation (or does she?).
5. Passing (Rebecca Hall): Beautifully shot, wonderfully edited directorial debut from Rebecca Hall, about “passing” in 1920s Harlem – white passing as Black, but also poor as rich, gay as straight, and guilty as innocent. I saw more than one person fire off a quick Letterboxd review saying it was good but that “Hall is the wrong person to tell this story,” only to go back and edit that out when she started talking about her African-American ancestry in the Q&A. The irony!
Read Andrew’s Twitter thread on the best films of Sundance.
Alessandra Rangel (@alessandra_kr), Editor-in-Chief of Palomita de maíz and Staff writer for InSession Film
1. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
2. Hive (Blerta Basholli)
3. Jockey (Clint Bentley)
4. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
5. Sabaya (Hogir Hirori)
Jordan Raup (@jpraup), Editor-in-Chief of The Film Stage
1. All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony)
2. Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
3. Mass (Fran Kranz)
4. CODA (Siân Heder)
5. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri)
Rafaela Sales Ross (@rafiews), Staff writer for One Room With a View
1. Mass (Fran Kranz)
2. The Pink Cloud (Iuli Gerbase)
3. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet (Ana Katz)
4. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri)
5. Cusp (Isabel Bethencourt, Parker Hill)
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet – Sundance Film Festival 2021 – One Room With A View
Christopher Schobert (@FilmSwoon), Critic at The Film Stage
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet (Ana Katz)
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri)
Passing (Rebecca Hall)
The Sparks Brothers (Edgar Wright)
Jourdain Searles (@jourdayen), Freelance critic
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
The Pink Cloud (Iuli Gerbase)
Strawberry Mansion (Kentucker Audley, Albert Birney)
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (Jane Schoenbrun)
The Pink Cloud Is a Dark Sci-Fi Take on Quarantine, Made Before the Pandemic (hyperallergic.com)
Stephen Silver (@StephenSilver), Film critic
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
CODA (Siân Heder)
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
Philly D.A. (Yoni Brook, Ted Passon)
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (goombastomp.com)
Amy Smith (@filmswithamy), Film critic at Film for Thought
1. Mass (Fran Kranz)
2. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
3. The Pink Cloud (Iuli Gerbase)
4. Misha and the Wolves (Sam Hobkinson)
5. Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg)
Sundance 2021: Short Film Showcase – Shorts 4 – Film For Thought
Orla Smith (@orlamango), Executive Editor of Seventh Row
1. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet (Ana Katz)
2. Searchers (Pacho Velez)
3. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
4. CODA (Siân Heder)
5. Pleasure (Ninja Thyberg)
Pacho Velez on Searchers and dating in the pandemic (seventh-row.com)
Tessa Smith (@MamasGeeky), Critic at mamasgeeky.com and Mama’s Geeky YouTube channel
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Mass (Fran Kranz)
Passing (Rebecca Hall)
Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono)
Strawberry Mansion (Kentucker Audley, Albert Birney)
Sundance 2021 Reviews: CODA, John And The Hole, Cryptozoo & More – YouTube
Katie Smith-Wong (@guitargalchina), Reviews Editor of Flickfeast
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (James Redford)
CODA (Siân Heder)
In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang)
R#J (Carey Williams)
Together Together (Nikole Bekwith)
Sundance 2021: R#J (2021) – flickfeast
LV Taylor (@LVTaylor_esq), Editor-in-Chief of Musings of a Streaming Junkie
CODA (Siân Heder)
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
Mass (Fran Kranz)
Passing (Rebecca Hall)
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson)
Jacob Throneberry (@Tberry57), Co-founder of the Music City Drive-in
1. Mass (Fran Kranz)
2. CODA (Siân Heder)
3. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael)
4. Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono)
5. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
2021 Sundance: Best of the Fest (musiccitydrivein.com)
Juan Carlos Ugarelli (@JCUgarelli), Editor of Las Horas Rojas
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
Passing (Rebecca Hall)
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet (Ana Katz)
Mass (Fran Kranz)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
Sundance 2021: El perro que no calla, The Pink Cloud y Passing (lashorasrojas.blogspot.com)
Fiona Underhill (@FionaUnderhill), Editor-in-Chief of JumpCut Online
1. The World to Come (Mona Fastvold)
2. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri)
3. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
4. In the Earth (Ben Wheatley)
5. The Dog who Wouldn’t be Quiet (Ana Katz)
Jed Wagman, Contributor to Coastal House Media
1. Mass (Fran Kranz)
2. CODA (Siân Heder)
3. Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King)
4. Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond)
5. Prisoners of the Ghostland (Sion Sono)
CODA Review | Sundance Film Festival – Coastal House Media
Nabeel Zaman (@nabeelonfilm), Staff Writer for Cinema Solace and Film Updates
1. One for the Road (Baz Poonpiriya): A wholly original and enjoyable road-trip movie that deals smartly with its themes of friendship, the value of chasing your dreams and being one of life’s ‘winners’ versus valuing what you already have. On the technical front, the cinematography/editing is brilliant but it is the characters and their relationship that make this film a treat.
2. Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen): An incredibly specific story , brilliantly captured and conveyed with mesmerising visuals. It’s an experience that must have been shared by so many people in the past and that is what makes it so heart-wrenching. Rather than a typical documentary style, it goes for an animated approach in the form of a mockumentary. The animation is simplistic yet looks so dynamic and powerful.
3. Mass (Fran Kranz): A devastating, uncomfortable and authentic look at grief. It’s a very theatrical piece in the sense that it mainly relies on dialogues and body language. The writing is sublime and the four central performances are impeccable.
4. On the Count of Three (Jerrod Carmichael): An absolutely fantastic directorial debut that deals with many sensitive topics in a way that is so fitting and appropriate for the theme of the film. The solemnity of death combined with the comedic friendship trope works perfectly here and the on-screen chemistry between Christopher Abbot & Jerrod Carmichael is a delight to watch.
5. CODA (Siân Heder): A film that portrays the fraught ties between deaf and hearing communities in a really insightful way. With fine performances from all cast members and some beautiful cinematography/music choices, this movie has a lot of good reasons to be watched and an overall inspiring message.
Sundance Review: ‘One for the Road’ – Film Updates
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