Films ranked from least favorite to most favorite
The Sundance Film Festival stands as a beacon for independent cinema, illuminating the art with groundbreaking storytelling, artistic risk-taking, and fresh voices that might otherwise go unheard. Sundance is a launchpad for visionary filmmakers, many of whom go on to shape the industry’s broader landscape. Beyond premiering future Oscar contenders and cult classics, the festival fosters an environment where unconventional narratives thrive, giving niche film lovers unparalleled access to bold, thought-provoking works that challenge mainstream conventions. Through its rich lineup of indie dramas, experimental documentaries, and genre-defying features, Sundance not only fuels the careers of emerging directors but also cultivates a passionate global community of cinephiles eager to discover the next hidden gem. This year, as the annual festival continued to expand its reach by offering online streaming, film reviewer Santiago Brion took note of a dozen works that stood out to him.
Since last year, I’ve set a goal to attend or at least watch festival screenings. I wish this could be an insightful article about my first in-person Sundance experience, but this year is not that time. Maybe next year. Here are all 12 movies I streamed from the Salt Lake City festival.
12. Bubble & Squeak
I’m starting this list with my least favorite from the lineup and the selections I picked from my online pass. Evan Twohy’s debut feature follows a newly married couple on their honeymoon in the Russian countryside. While on their honeymoon, they are pursued by border police who suspect them of smuggling cabbages.
The title refers to an English dish made from potatoes and cabbage. What I found strange—and ultimately why this didn’t work for me—was its relentless use of cabbages as a running gag, making it a tiresome experience to sit through.
Both Himesh Patel and Sarah Goldberg do their best with the screenplay and deliver solid performances for the most part. Audiences are also treated to an extended cameo of Dave Franco in a bear suit and Matt Berry doing an excellent Werner Herzog impression. However, Twohy’s first effort fails to be genuinely funny or offer any meaningful social commentary on Russian societal relations.
Pretty disappointing.
Rating: 2/5
11. Didn’t Die
Shot in black and white, “Didn’t Die” is Meera Menon’s third full-length work, and the second piece to debut at Sundance after “Equity,” which Sony Pictures Classics later acquired and distributed shortly afterward back in 2016.
“Didn’t Die” is a post-apocalyptic comedy-drama about a podcast host who clings to her audience during a zombie apocalypse. As someone who has a podcast, I was interested in this premise. Unfortunately, the pace is bogged down by an underwhelming story involving the main character’s ex-boyfriend and a baby he found.
Overall, it’s funny, but its 95-minute length felt more like two hours went by. The editing is also headache-inducing, but I do see a bright future for actress Kiran Doel however.
Rating: 2/5
10. Bunnylovr
Written, directed, and starring Katarina Zhu in her first debut feature ever, co-starring Zhu’s best friend and NYU roommate, Rachel Sennott.
The plot centers around a Chinese American cam girl living in Brooklyn who has a toxic client relationship while rekindling her relationship with her dying father.
Zhu’s performance carries the film, but the story suffers by not diving into the online cam girl/chat room space, nor does it delve into the dangers of online dating. I do see a promising future for Zhu, and I believe “Bunnylovr” will be talked about later this year.
Rating: 2.5/5
9. Love, Brooklyn
Rachael Abigail Holder’s debut, “Love, Brooklyn,” had an interesting premise about navigating love, loss, and friendship in a rapidly changing industrial city.
Holder fails to develop her characters. Audiences are robbed of the opportunity to like who they see on screen.
The three leads—Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie, and DeWand Wise—do make this watchable. If it had a better script (and a compelling depiction of Brooklyn’s beauty) this would’ve been a festival highlight.
Rating: 2.5/5
8. Atropia
This marks Hailey Gates’ feature-length debut, who was last seen playing Patrick Zweig’s Tinder date in Luca Guadagnino’s critically acclaimed, internet-breaking film from last year, “Challengers.”
“Atropia” is an interesting blend of genres. It’s a romantic comedy [slash] war satire set in a fictional military role-playing facility used by the American military to train soldiers before combat. An actress who works in the facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, but their real-life romance threatens to derail the performance.
It’s an interesting premise that regrettably fails to dive into what it’s like for soldiers preparing to fight. It only glances upon the post-9/11 commentary Gates tries to portray. It is funny, at times. There is a hilarious cameo from Channing Tatum. Eric Yue’s cinematography, however, is gorgeous.
Rating: 3/5
7. Coexistence, My Ass!
This is a documentary/one-woman comedy special centered on a political activist/comedian named Noam Shuster Eliassi.
Throughout the viewing, Eliassi documents her upbringing living in Israel, before she pursues a comedy career, where she juggles her work for the United Nations while speaking out against a tyrannical Benjamin Netanyahu and his genocide of Palestinians.
Through this work, Eliassi takes a stance on Israel’s outside perspective of the unbelievable atrocity and how sharing our voices could make a difference. The final line, “It’s not complicated. It’s not complex. It is painfully simple,” speaks volumes.
Rating: 4/5
6. The Virgin of Quarry Lake
This Argentinian horror film from Laura Casabé was an immediate like.
Set against the backdrop of the Argentinian depression between 1998 and 2002, a group of teenage girls spend their summer hanging out with a boy named Diego, who, in turn, spends time with a 30-year-old woman he met in a chat room. When Natalia learns that Diego doesn’t have feelings for her, she gains a dark power.
This is a terrifying coming-of-age tale with slow-burning tension, but the buildup pays off in an ending that will stay with me for a very long time. Dolores Oliviero is a standout. There are apparent influences from 1996’s “The Craft” and elements reminiscent of another great work out of Argentina, “When Evil Lurks.”
I hope this movie gets picked up by Shudder because it is worth watching.
Rating: 4/5
5. Plainclothes
Carmen Emmi’s feature debut, “Plainclothes,” follows an undercover cop assigned to arrest gay men. When he falls in love with his target, he begins to question his sexuality. It’s as if Luca Guadagnino directed “Cruising.”
What makes this a phenomenal watch is its cinematography, with intentional camera angles from Lucas’ perspective, emphasizing the scrutiny he feels and how these closeted gay men interact with each other. The use of red lighting highlights Lucas’ guilt and sexual anxiety.
The performances also elevate the film, particularly Tom Blyth (“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”), Russell Tovey, and Maria Dizzia. By the time the final scene unfolds, the movie fully resonated with me.
Rating: 4.5/5
4. Omaha
The first piece I loved from this year’s Sundance, “Omaha,” is the feature-length debut from Cole Webley.
The storyline follows a single father taking his kids on a road trip to Nebraska during the 2008 financial crisis. Over time, you watch these kids see the world in a way they never have before, while their father grows increasingly beaten down by the system.
John Magaro and child actress Molly Belle Wright stand out. As the story unfolds, you experience heartbreak through Ella and Charlie’s eyes, and by the end, it only gets worse.
The devastating conclusion shifts the way you see everything that came before, reinforcing its central theme of national lower-class poverty.
Rating: 4.5/5
3. Sorry, Baby
I can guarantee that “Starring” will become the next indie A24 hit of the year.
It is written, directed, and starred by Eva Victor. The plot follows Agnes, a young college professor struggling to recover from a sexual assault. While everyone around her moves on with their lives, she remains at the lake house, by the university where she was attacked.
Victor drives a theme of perseverance; how we must move forward even when terrible things happen. Told in a non-linear structure, it explores Agnes’s milestones during grad school and the aftermath of her assault.
Victor stands out—performance, direction, and writing. Many have attempted to cover this sensitive subject, like “Promising Young Woman,” but none with this much respect and authenticity.
I will watch anything Victor is involved in, whether she’s starring in, writing, or directing.
Rating: 4.5/5
2. East of Wall
I’m a sucker for family dramas that feel almost too real. Kate Beecroft’s feature directorial debut takes a docudrama approach, telling a compelling story about grief from the perspective of the Zimiga family.
Tabatha Zimiga, a young horse trainer, has recently lost her husband. As she struggles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief, she also searches for her teenage daughter and six other children—kids who either have no parents or whose parents don’t care enough about them.
Zimiga delivers a heartbreaking performance, before the stunning backdrop of Texas’ desert landscape. I could honestly watch her family for hours on end.
Rating: 5/5
1. The Things You Kill
The best movie I watched at Sundance comes from Iranian director Alireza Khatami. “The Things You Kill” follows a professor who returns from the United States to care for his ailing mother. When he learns that she has died, he takes his anger out on his estranged father. Seeking vengeance, he hires his gardener to commit a cold-blooded act.
As long-buried secrets resurface and his doubts erode his conscience, Ali [portrayed by Ekin Koç] has no choice but to confront the abyss of his soul. I was in awe of both the cinematography and the Koç’s performance. Khatami takes its exploration of grief and twists it into a psychological thriller reminiscent of the late, great David Lynch.
While this work may throw off some viewers by the halfway point, it ultimately drives home the idea that the two central figures symbolize different aspects of a person’s soul—two conflicting consciences that also reflect the director himself. And with an all-timer mirror shot, “The Things You Kill” is bound to be dissected when it eventually releases.
Rating: 5/5
