Shall We (Sun)Dance?

Just to note... Amy picked the title of this particular blog. I wanted "S-A-F-E-T-Y (Sun)Dance". I'm back from my blogging hiatus. Amy and I just got back from the wonderful Sundance Film Festival. We both accomplished personal records for most movies watched in one day in a theater (3)! Sundance was a nice diversion to wedding planning. Amy and I made a pact to reinvigorate our wedding planning once we got back. I hope we keep our promise (or our wedding will be really really lame)!

We were very impressed by the quality of all the films selected for the festival. You really do leave with the feeling that you could see them all. We saw quite a few documentaries, Burma VJ in particular was very moving. Burma VJ chronicles a network of rogue videographers who captured the September 2007 Burmese government crack down on protests. This crackdown was of particular significance as the military brutally disbanded Buddhist monks protesting a government issued hike on gasoline prices.

Later that day... we took our puffy eyes to see the world premier of The Greatest, a Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan tearjerker (see Susan, speaking at the podium, and Pierce, standing right behind her, in picture below). While the rest of the audience wept I held strong. This film will likely reach wide distribution. Truly a great film.. slow and methodical in its disection of grief. Well I think I've bored you enough.. passing over to Amy now!
I have always wanted to go to the Sundance. Mark and I both love movies - for the stories told, voices heard, and the truths revealed. It was great that we got to go together and I really walked away from the Festival feeling that I have fallen in love with movies again, especially with Sundance, for its ability to gather an incredible selection of films and giving the audience fresh perspectives on the new AND the old topics around.

One of my personal favorites was Cold Souls. Besides being a big fan of Paul Giamatti, who is just hilarious, I loved the question the film asks - should we unburden ourselves with the weight of our soul... and lock them up in storage so we can get a respite from it? I've always said that no matter how one is, it is important to have a soul. Watching the movie made me question myself - what exactly is one's soul? According to Wikipedia, the answer to 99.9% of all questions out there, "the soul is the immaterial part of a person. It is usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and personality, and can be synonymous with the spirit, mind or self." I think of soul as the life that lives underneath our physical being - it's what makes us who we are. It's not perfect and it weighs us down, but that's just part of the package. It's the type of thing that artificial intelligence scientists cannot create with programming. I find myself drawn to people whom I feel have souls and are conscious of their souls. When I first met Mark, that's exactly how I felt. This guy has inner depth, I had told myself. Hopefully he hasn't stored his soul away anywhere. And hopefully our marriage will help make his soul bigger (esp. if his is the size of a chickpea like Paul Giamatti's in the movie!).

PS. Other films from the Festival we recommend include: Afghan Star (Afghan's version of American Idol, except that women contestants get death threats for dancing on stage) and Mary and Max (an Australian claymation that will make you cry, laugh, and scratch your head multiple times).

PPS. Yes, Sundance is filled with celebrities. We saw: Robert Redford, Tom Arnold, Christie Brinkley, Paul Giamatti, Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, Amy Puller, Rachel Dratch, Andie McDowell, and those you recognize but don't know the name of. Apparently Paris Hilton was spotted at an Axe Party we had passed up on. The thing is, celebrities are people too. And then you realize that some people just need a little too much attention and think of themselves as a little too important. Wonder what they have done with their souls...