For the past 35 years, the annual SXSW film, music, and technology festival has been a hotbed for the latest must-see films. Cinema Scholars’ recently attended the 2022 gathering, annually held in Austin, Texas. We are pleased to report on some of this year’s fantastic entries.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent
There’s seems to be a trend in meta storytelling as of late. Stories on film have transcended the mere self-referential to now incorporating an entire narrative. One that hinges on pop culture significance.
A case in point is the new Nicolas Cage meta-epic The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. With an incredibly clever script written with co-scribe Kevin Ettan, writer/director Tom Gormican brings to life an implausibly terrific take on the cult of Academy Award-winner Nicolas Cage.
Revolving around a fictionalized version of the actor’s personal life, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent follows the prolific actor as he chases meaningful roles, all while still trying to make a living.
As part of the latter, Cage finds himself the paid guest of an earnest bazillionaire and super fan (Pedro Pascal). At the host’s opulent retreat in Spain, however, the celebrated actor soon finds himself as an operative in a plot by the CIA to intervene in the scandalous dealings of his new benefactor. Complicating things further, Cage manages to strike a profound friendship with the supposed bad guy.
This synopsis may sound fascinating enough. However, nothing will prepare you for the incredible chemistry between the two unwitting leading men. As they forge their unlikely friendship, revelations are revealed about Cage’s self-doubts. Additionally, there is a hilarious commentary on Cage’s former self. All of it shines brighter than anyone could imagine.
There’s something uniquely satisfying about an icon who can acknowledge and lampoon his contributions to the pop culture milieu. Throw in a little family drama, and plenty of existential self-doubts, and voila. Gormican’s final result is a surprisingly poignant and hilarious meditation on superstardom.
Lionsgate is releasing The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent in theaters across the U.S. on April 22, 2022.
Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off
Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk has been the subject of more than one documentary. Thankfully, we live in a fertile film landscape where several projects on a single subject can exist to give unique perspectives. For such an impresario of the sport, its no surprise that Tony Hawk’s story makes for irresistible cinematic fodder. Especially considering that a majority of his career from a very tender age was well-documented.
For director Sam Jones, tapping into his personal experience in the skate world is what eventually inspired him to finally tell Hawk’s story himself in his new documentary Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off. It’s fitting since Jones grew up in and around the very parks where Hawk honed his skills. Jones has an innate understanding of the legend’s beginnings and meteoric rise. As a result, the director presents a touching and sometimes brutal portrait of the revolutionary athlete.
Visually the film is peppered with an astonishing array of home movies and early competition footage. Jumpy 8mm and grainy VHS and Hi8 help illustrate the story. Endless photography of Hawk from gangly boy to gold medal-winning superstar also adds to the narrative.
Captivating interviews with everyone from family to cronies to archenemies fill in the rest of the blanks in Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off. A fist-pumping skate-punk soundtrack compiled by Music Supervisor Allison Wood furthers the film’s provenance with an array of anthems.
Perhaps the most telling thread throughout the doc is Hawk’s own recollection of days gone by. Hawk lays bare both the support and disappointment he experienced as the surprise late addition to his parents’ brood. Perhaps this is the chip that propelled him to greatness. Regardless, the indelible mark his family made on his life proved a powerful force even as he exceeded their wildest dreams.
Whether you’re a casual fan of the newly-minted Olympic sport or a die-hard OG skater yourself, Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off is a fascinating view into the life of skateboarding’s GOAT.
Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off debuts on HBO on April 5, 2022.
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
Amid the swell of recent 80s nostalgia, a few directors have kept the flame burning for another pivotal era, the late 60s. In Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019), the director concocts an alternate-reality love letter to the time period.
An unlikely bookend to Tarantino’s cinematic scrapbook is Richard Linklater’s latest effort Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood. In the semi-autobiographical film, Linklater evokes growing up in Houston’s suburban bliss during NASA’s late-60s heyday.
Linklater revisits the frenetic animation of Waking Life (2001) and AScanner Darkly (2006) to depict “Stan” and his tribulations as the youngest of six kids in a NASA family. Stan’s father isn’t exactly designing the lunar module in his paper-pushing job at NASA. However, his position helps illustrate the pervasiveness of the space program in 1960s suburban Houston where NASA’s scientists, engineers, and other support teams lived and raised their families.
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is loosely centered on Stan’s fantasy clandestine training in a top-secret mission. That mission is to land the lunar module ahead of the famous Apollo 11 mission. However, the film ends up being Linklater’s love letter to a free-range childhood during the late 60s.
Canned ham and jellos molds, packed drive-in theaters, Vietnam footage on the nightly news, and all manner of late mid-century ephemera are lovingly rendered. The combination of digital and rotoscoped animation is a great fit for the whimsical narrative/pseudo-documentary.
Though Stan’s daydream through-line doesn’t completely click, the detail and care in which the story is told make it charming nonetheless. Plus, Jack Black’s earnest hindsight narration keeps everything enjoyably on track.
Is Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood a borderline self-indulgent passion project? Perhaps. Yet, does it really matter when the result is such a comprehensive time hop back to a bygone era? Not one bit.
Look for Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood on Netflix starting April 1, 2022.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
A hurricane is careening toward you. Do you a) evacuate away from the storm to a safer area. Or, b) gather your best friends at your parent’s deserted mansion and party like it’s the world’s end. If you the latter option (and also enjoy twisted stories), then you will love the Gen Z murder mystery, and aptly titled Bodies Bodies Bodies.
After being MIA for months, Sophie shows up at her friends’ hurricane soiree with her new girlfriend in tow. Her bewildered friends cautiously welcome them, and the partying begins. The group of entitled trust fund kids sip, shoot, and snort their way into oblivion. At least until Sophie suggests a game of “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” From there the tight-knit squad begins to unravel as suspicion, drama, and number of, well, bodies bodies bodies start to escalate.
Director Halina Reijn delivers a witty and fresh contemporary take on the traditional whodunit. Like any good murder mystery, Reijn utilizes every shadowy corner of the sprawling estate to great effect. A majority of which was captured using not much more than the ambient light of the characters’ flashlights and phones. A perfect balance of clever dark humor with legit scares and splatter mark Bodies Bodies Bodies as one of the most inspired horror films in recent years.
The ensemble cast includes Pete Davidson, Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, and the always-amazing Lee Pace as a rando middle-aged hunk at the party. Special mention goes to the dazzling Rachel Sennott for her perfectly frantic brand of comic relief.
Other than “summer”, A24 hasn’t announced when they’ll be releasing Bodies Bodies Bodies in theaters, but be on the lookout for this savvy little stunner.
Slash/Back
There’s always that one film at every festival that is a totally delightful surprise. The ones that just happen to fit your schedule and then end up being a festival favorite. That film at this year’s SXSW festival is Nyla Innuksuk’s Slash/Back, an incredible adventure that deserves all the hype.
The story follows a group of girls from a tiny Inuit hamlet during the summer solstice. In the never-ending sunlight, the girls begin to observe some otherworldly activity in their community. While all the grown-ups attend the yearly solstice blow-out, the kids are left to defend their town against their bloodthirsty invaders.
Incredible performances by a cast of young indigenous actresses are the glue of the sci-fi horror/comedy of Slash/Back. Witty dialogue by Innuksuk and her co-scribe, Ryan Cavan, finds an array of clever deliveries by each performer. With fully realized characters established early on, the actresses take turns in the spotlight.
Energizing original music thumps the story right along. Anthem-like beats offer the perfect accompaniment to the “don’t mess with girls from Pang” ethos. Tonal shifts in the film’s music during frantic confrontations or later softer cues in poignant moments help accentuate the children-in-peril narrative.
An array of terrifically gory practical effects mixed with CGI seal the deal for Slash/Back as a solid entry in the sci-fi/horror genre. Though the narrative doesn’t exactly break the mold, the context of the isolated Inuit community makes for a fascinating and inspiring premise.
Mongrel Media is releasing Slash/Back in theaters on Friday, June 24, 2022.
