Highlights from Sundance 2025

by Jason Godbey

For this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I managed to see a handful of films, and I have to say they were all very impressive. The iconic festival, now in its 46th year, has been getting back to its roots in recent years by championing independent films made by first time directors and performers. Here’s a look at four of this year’s selections…

East of Wall

Set in the badlands of South Dakota, East of Wall is the story of Tabitha Zimiga (pictured above), a horse rancher who struggles to provide for her family and hold on to her relationships. When a Texas rancher (Scoot McNairy) decides he wants to buy the ranch, Tabitha must decide if she wants to work for him or keep her independence.

With very few exceptions (McNairy being one of them) all the actors are playing themselves in a dramatized version of their lives. Director Kate Beecroft spent three years living with the Zimiga family shooting documentary footage of their lives while conceiving and writing the story.

It’s a beautiful and authentic film that portrays a part of America rarely seen on film. At times we feel like we’re watching a documentary about the family as we ride with them in their pickup truck and watch them compete for buckles in the rodeo, but there are also times when the camera is still, and we see theses glorious shots of sunsets and lightning storms that would make John Ford smile.

The performances are nothing short of remarkable with the standouts being Tabatha and her real-life daughter Porshia. McNairy delivers another fine performance as the rancher whom he portrays as an antagonist but not a villain, a fine line lesser actors often fail to walk. Jennifer Ehle is astounding as Tabitha’s mother, a woman who’s been through it all and made tons of mistakes, and isn’t afraid to own up to them.

East of Wall took home the Audience Award in Sundance’s NEXT program, and it’s easy to see why. Beecroft is a rising talent, and we can only hope she and her film get the recognition they deserve.

Two Women

In this French language feature from director Chloé Robichaud, Violette (Laurence Leboeuf) and Florence (Karine Gonthier-Hyndman) are neighbors who find themselves at a cross-roads in life. They are dissatisfied, depressed, and lonely even though they each have a child and a partner. They meet and bond over their circumstances and little by little decide to rebel and explore their sexuality by seducing various repairmen working in their apartments. Through their various escapades, they learn more about themselves, their relationships, and what sex, love, and motherhood mean to them.

It’s an intriguing, funny, and insightful film about love and relationships from a female perspective. I was just a few minutes in when I realized I was not the target audience for this movie, but if you’re a woman at a certain place in life, this may be the perfect movie for you.

Atropia

“War is God’s way of teaching American’s geography.” -Ambrose Bierce. That’s the quote that begins Atropia, this year’s Grand Jury prize winner in the Dramatic Competition, and it could not be more appropriate.

Atropia is set during the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq war in a military role-play facility called “The Box” and referred to as Atropia, the name of a fictional country that stands in for whichever country America happens to be invading at the time. In The Box soldiers who have been through bootcamp and are about to deployed to Iraq interact with actors and military personnel who play various roles. One of whom is an aspiring actor played by Alia Shawkat who is desperately trying to be discovered. Her life is upended when she meets a veteran soldier (Callum Turner) who has been assigned to The Box to play an insurgent.

Atropia is a love story wrapped in a biting satire about the ridiculousness and horrors of war and all of its trappings. It’s brilliantly acted with a ensemble that includes Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, and fun cameo from Channing Tatum. It’s as funny as it is poignant, and there’s no wonder as to why it won what will likely be the first of many awards.

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Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on February 3, 2025.