The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, February 4, 2013 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, February 4, 2013 - 7A Festival film'The East' tack les political conflict Keeping pace with technology Sundance selection examines eco-terrorism By CARLY KEYES Daily Arts Writer Over athousand people funnel into the entrance. Press passes hang from the necks of reporters as cameras weigh down photog- raphers' shoulders. Even in the dead of winter, the popcorn line flies out the door. It was not a typical night at the movies. On Thursday, Jan. 31, the Michigan Theatre presented a special screening of the official Sundance Film Festival selec- tion, "The East." After a dragging presentation celebrating the work of Russell B. Collins, the theater's execu- tive director and CEO, the main event began and all was forgiven - it was worth the wait. The film follows a group of eco-terrorists that refers to itself as "The East," led by Benji (Alex- ander Skarsgard, "What Maisie Knew") and Izzy (Ellen Page, "Touchy Feely"), who target cor- rupt, big-name pharmaceutical powerhouses. Whether a company pollutes people with its dangerous drugs, or the environment with toxic waste from its industrial plants, it better watch out for a "jam": a carefully planned attack by The East that gives the corporate top dogs a taste of their own medi- cine - sometimes literally. Brit Marling ("The Company You Keep") is Sarah, an under- cover agent who joins the con- niving clan to uncover its group members' true identities and to thwart their attempts to bring down businesses. She leads a relatively unknown cast despite a few big-name stars, but, here, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; the actors who compose "The East" ooze chemistry and function like a family - one cohesive unit of passionate activists. Despite the "terrorist" label, their personali- ties and "do-gooder" intentions garner viewers' sympathies as these eccentric environmental advocates encounter serious risk while seeking vengeance. Marling and director Zal Bat- mangli ("Sound of My Voice") offer a bold and courageous screenplay of clever quips. The Michigan Theatre audience came alive as the dialogue took shots at the corporate world - remarks that scorched and mocked with force. But the larg- est shock of the night came off- screen when the two filmmakers revealed that the imaginative and captivating story had been derived from a real-life experi- ence. They held a Q&A session after the screening, led by Sundance Film Festival Program direc- tor Trevor Groth, during which they mentioned that-"The East" was inspired bya summer spent traveling across the country together, trying to spend as little money as possible. They called it a "buy nothing" summer. "We learned to train hop and dumpster dive, we slept on roof- tops and we met a lot of anar- chist collectives and alternative communities," Marling said. Batmangli described the pro- cess of picking through garbage to find his next meal. "At first, the thought of eating food from a dumpster nauseated me. I wanted to observe people doing it but I, myself, didn't want to do it," he said. Can vampires even have heart-to-hearts? FOX SEARCHLUGHT Then, after making a joke about the "nicer" Whole Foods and Trader Joe's dumpsters, Batmangli got serious about the issue. "We feel so certain that when we're in our normal lives ... eat- ing out of a dumpster is wrong," he said. "Then when you realize how much waste there is in the world, you ask, 'What do we do about that? What is our respon- sibility for that?' As filmmakers we wanted to ask those ques- tions and start a dialogue." "The East" is a wake-up call. The film splatters "green" paint all over the audience hoping that it won't wash off. Viewers may now think twice before they throw away a half-eaten apple or, on a larger and more destruc- tive scale, release a harmful drug to the market or dump chemicals into a lake. Marling and Zal have created an authentic film that showcases one of the most pressing con- temporary global issues: the bat- tle to protect and preserve the environment. It educates and inspires while it entertains; it's art - great art - with a political purpose. As the audience exited the Michigan Theatre that night in Ann Arbor, a city famous for its balance of quality amusement and academics (not to mention its sustainability efforts), it's safe to say they got their money's worth. A over, h Snapch "What we dol weeke: left ha: in the: sphere It'sa sic Nic respon anythi isn't sp actionj ies, coi shows4 I wa level. I spend: eatingI my BF why sh tion wi spent a in orde playing the fin: the you In p becaus arts." I simply appeal what c term'si made t pose; r from tc driven TV fi But transla comple Intern: animat have be rate to cally in now, fi require is creat relaxat is TV,a Intern This decide arts ha place o Manet sculptt nate th we've: filled t let witl t the mention of the accessible arts. Detroit Institute of Arts, And it doesn't help that the my brother's eyes glaze culture surrounding trips to is attention turns back to museums, concert halls and iat and my answer to his ballet premieres is "stuffy" and are "uptight." Young adults are used ng this to chewing popcorn and texting nd?" is their boyfriends while watch- nging ingthe new James Bond movie. atmo- They're used to pre-gaming concerts and dancing alongto a clas- the music. With the ability to be k three places at once, giving that se to A up to spend the day insa hushed ng that room, walking from one artist's orts, work to another is a less-than- mov- optimal option. medy It's a sad development: There's or cereal. a reason something is classic. s 15 once. I can get on that It stands the test of time. Van understand wantingto Gogh's Starry Night will never the day in front of the TV, go out of style, as compared Cocoa Puffs and texting to the majority of TV shows, F "I'm soooo bored." But albums, films and Internet ould art vie for atten- games people get attached to. th "Girls"? Why is time And, if not for this reason alone, t galleries being shelved it's important to be familiar with r to increase time spent and appreciate the fine arts - to g basketball? What about take time for them. But with the e arts is unattractive for speed at which things come into inger generations? fashion now, we've become used art, the disconnect occurs to new, better, faster. Things that e of the definition of "fine stay the same hold less interest Because the fine arts are than the latest app. arts created for aesthetic "I just feel like every time I go, ,there's no limit as to it's like ... I'm just standingthere, an be included under the and it's cool and I get that it's umbrella. They are not beautiful, but I breeze through o have a practical pur- and I'm ready to go," my brother ather, they are a break cracks, after I steal his iPod he everyday, purpose- away. "And then when I'm done, societies we inhabit. and no one else is, I feel like I don't get it. Like I missed some- thing. And then I'm bored." and film are It's a new age of aesthetically pleasing entertainment. It's not ne arts too that the fine arts are misunder- stood, it's just that they require a different temperament - a different pace. The speed of the something gets lost in new world has turned art-goers :tion. With the advent of into snobs and the new genera- ex technology, high-speed tion into indifferent participants. et, musical innovation and of course, I believe it's invalu- :ion advances, the fine arts able and important to frequent ecome outdated - second classical music concerts and art these newfound, aestheti- exhibits. And I firmly believe anovative outlets. Because, there's a lot to learn from the lm is a form of fine art: It slower-paced arts. But it's get- es little practical use, and ting harder to convince others of ted for the enjoyment and this, to shove them into the DIA ion of the viewer. And so long enough for them to under- and music, and surfingthe stand why this form of arthas et for pictures of cats. been around for centuries. So brave new world of maybe it's up to our parents and dly not fine arts-related grandparents to force us, to push ve come and taken the us into the galleries and remind f days spent in front of us to turn our phones off. To paintings and Rodin enjoy something without rush- ures. Rather than elimi- ing onto the next thing. F IL M N OT EBOOK Sundance shorts offer emotional, lasting impressions By NATALIE GADBOIS Daily Arts Writer Short films can confuse as often as they transcend. They have the difficult task of taking snapshots of the human expe- rience and turning them into artistic pieces, while still making something that is enjoyable and relatable. In the best of Sundance Shorts, 10 short films explored aspects of family life, love and sacrifice - all within very differ- ent settings and contexts. In a world increasingly at odds with itself, three films, "Robots of Brixton," "Fishing Without Nets" and "Kthimi" ("The Eeturn"), addressed themes of violence and survival to gutting effects. In "Robots," animated robots wander the streets of a decrepit, heavily industrialized city. They join a revolt in the streets - as the robot police force attacks them, the film flashes to real-time images of other violent protests. in Syria and England. Though the visuals, at times, overpower the message, the film illustrates the senselessness of violence in a world where we don't necessar- ily control our own actions. "Kthimi," set in war-torn Kosovo, looks at violence in a different way, delicately and poi- gnantly following a husband and wife the night of his return from a four-year sentence in a Serbian prison. They have a tender and relatable relationship, which makes the jarring brutalities all the more heartbreaking. In 21 short minutes, director Blerta Zeqiri deftly portrays a family changed, but not ruined, from pain and cruelty. It's possibly the shortest film to ever make an audience both laugh and cry with shared anguish. In a one-two punch, the Somalian short "Fishing With- out Nets" followed "Kthimi" with its own tale of sacrifice and dignity on the pirate-con- trolled coast of Somalia. Abdi, a young father, barely makes a living fishing with nets, and the film follows his identity crisis as he decides between joining the frighteningly inexperienced and violent pirates, or living without money or medicine for his baby daughter. Filmed in an actual Somalian village with a shaky, handheld camera, "Fish- ing," though simple, human- izes a business seen only before through the lens of CNN. R While both "Kthimi" and "Fishing" received a prolonged ovation from the audience, other shorts didn't pan out so well. "Svamp" ("Fungus"), chronicles a Swedish woman as she sits in her dumpy apartment, listening to public radio and complaining about the venereal disease she suspects her ex-boyfriend gave her - it's bizarre and lifeless. . Similarly, "Meaning of Robots" focuses on a disheveled Santa fig- ure wh robots baseme ter's gr various robots crowd, ing tho Both "Don't animat( ingthe "Don'tl a segm: tionalN into a a what er ly does. DE rur se. "Son ously i of musi human in com tion. The looks a Perhap these f is "The ated lo( o makes fully anatomical es have changed how we view in his "Hoarder's"-like relationships. Chance is a shy nt. Though the charac- boy whose life is changed when raphic description of the he dates a girl through texting. sexual positions of his The film elicits many laughs, but draws laughs from the its message is eerily on point. the film leaves no linger- "Bear" is a seemingly mun- ught or theme. dane film until the last few "Song of the Spindle" and seconds knock you breathless. Hug Me I'm Scared" are It opens on a young couple as ed music videos, discuss- they're getting out of bed in the origin of human creativity. morning; him lazy and lethargic, Hug Me" begins almost as her angry and frenetic. She leaves ent from a Nick Jr. promo- for a bike ride, and he jumps into video, and slowly morphs action, racing on back roads to creepy, overblown view of set up a surprise birthday picnic ncouraging creativity real- along her bike route. What hap- pens next is so jarring that both screams and nervous laughter rang through the audience. spite short "Dol"("FirstBirthday"),onthe espitesh~rt other hand, is quiet and touching. times these It follows Nick (Joshua Kwak, "The Next Big Thing"), a gay lected films Koreanman living in Los Ange- les with his caring boyfriend and move. - close family, as he attends the first birthday party of his neph- ew. The film subtly shows the tender sadness of a man content g," on the other hand, joy- with his life, but also irrevoca- llustrates the importance bly separate from the world. Far c by comparing whales to from a political statement, this s: The only thing we have film provides a bittersweet snap- mon is musical apprecia- shot of a man lost. The lasting impressions of all three final films offer these films vary, but this collec- it ordinary, modern life. tion clearly identifies real prob- s the most prescienf of all lems within our world today, ilms for college students with most going further, finding Arm," a funny, exagger- striking humanity in the small ok at the way text messag- moments. e fine arts from ourlives, advanced as a society and he need for a creative out- h the new, exciting, easily Sadovskaya is hanging out at the DIA. To join, e-mail asadoumich.edu. ENJOY THE #BEYONCEBOWL LAST NIGHT? TELL US ABOUT IT ON TWITTER. Follow @michigandailyarts!