We are once again at the first major film festival of the year, Sundance. Last year’s festival brought out Didi, A Real Pain, Daughters, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, and A Different Man among other critically acclaimed films that are on many Top 10 lists of the past year. Some are even being named in Oscar contention. After a very strong 2024, the festival is back and hopefully will provide more future award contenders to be talked about one year from now. There’s the Barry Jenkins-produced Sorry, Baby, the Luca Guadagnino-produced Atropia, and a documentary on the life and career of Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin. Here are other films to keep track of.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman
The long awaited film based on the Broadway musical, itself based on the 1985 film starring William Hurt (in turn, adapted from the novel by Manuel Puig), is directed by Bill Condon who has a strong record with musical adaptations. Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna star in this new version about two prisoners, a gay hairdresser and a Marxist, in Latin America imprisoned for different reasons who form a relationship while dreaming about the spider woman to keep out the horrors of prison brutality. Right after Wicked, we have another musical to geek over this year.
Last Days
Moving opposite of his action films including the Fast & Furious franchise, director Justin Lin goes to the dark side with the true story of an Asian-American missionary who attempted to make contact with an isolated tribe. Off the coast of India, the missionary tries to convert the tribe into Christians, but discovers that the warnings about conversing with them are not just true, but threaten his life. The film comes two years after The Mission, a documentary about the same story, but the danger of religious obsession is certainly going to be on showcase.
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Following his Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson goes back to soul well and profiles the funk band Sly And The Family Stone. From the late ‘60s through the 1970s, the band became famous for its unorthodox mix of R&B, rock, soul, and psychedelic music that captured the attention of many music lovers. George Clinton, Nile Rodgers, Clive Davis, Andre 3000, and Chaka Khan also star in this documentary giving tribute to a groundbreaking band. Luckily, we won’t need to wait that long to see it as it will be on Hulu this February.
The Wedding Banquet
Ang Lee’s romantic comedy from 1993 has received a remake from director Andrew Ahn (Fire Island) with original co-writer James Schamus also on board. The story, which will have its own version, follows a gay man who marries their best friend, a woman, to help with her IVF treatment. However, the family’s involvement causes more trouble than they wanted. Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Bowen Yang, and Joan Chen star in this new twist to arrange love and the conflicts of being LGBTQ in a conservative family.
Follow me on BluSky: @briansusbielles.bsky.social
