So when I last spoke to you, "the boys" were sitting in Ogden's Perry's Egyptian Theater" about to screen a double bill of Sundance's "Best of Fest". Tonight's bill included a 6:30 screening of Lone Sherfig's "An Education", winner of this year's World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic, and a 9:30 screening of Cary Joji Fukenaga's "Sin Nombre", winner of this year's U.S. Directing Award: Dramatic. And in case you hadn't read my earlier blogs (shame on you, start reading!), tonight's screenings are part of Sundance's Annual "Best of Fest", a series of post-fest FREE screenings of this year's award winners.

Lone Sherfig's "An Education" is a British Drama, set in the 80's in the U.K.. The storyline follows a prep school student, Jenny, as she prepares for life at "The University", Oxford if she's lucky. Jenny is a brilliant student and a talented musician. She's a young lady on the brink of womanhood. Along the way, she meets an older gentleman, David. David wines and dines her and her family and puts on a smooth amount of British "charm", but something's not quite right. jenny's parents can't see through the flattery and charm, but Jenny slowly finds the faults and deceptive nature of David. Will she escape before she is crushed by David's mature charm? Will Jenny's parents put an end to this charade? Or will Jenny give up her education, her talents, and her youthful innocence to this unknown entity? I won't ruin the story for you. Though the production values were high, the story was at best predictable. Yes, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Jenny and her predicament, but how manytimes have you seen this story? The acting was above-par, but also quite predictable. This was a "chick-flick" and not really a film for a "boys' night out". We left the theater empty and unsatisfied.

We grabbed some salads at a downtown pub/restaurant, shared a pitcher of chocolate stout and then headed back into the Egyptian for round two, Sundance style. The second feature, Cary Joji Fukenaga's "Sin Nombre", offered promise. Set in gritty Mexico amongst the slums and the gang-ruled youth culture, it was a story of down-and-out Mexico. "Sin Nombre" tells the story of hope and promise of freedom, a  story about border jumping and gang rule; gritty, real, and at times gruesome. The storytelling was superb and the cast was amazing. Not a bad performance that I could find. This is Ms Fukenaga's feature debut, but it was directed and told with the maturity of a veteran of cinema. We learn about the Mara Salvatrucha, a heartless gang of youthful thugs, a culture for which there is no escape. As Jim Morrison once said "no one gets out of here alive", and that rings true in this film. You can't hope but cheer for the leads, young Smiley and his mentor Casper, who in the end are onopposite sides of the fence.

We experienced the exploits of gang warfare and the stark realities of this culture. One by one, people are brutalized as initiation and continually forced into acts of violence and brutality. One can't get "in" the gang until you've made your first kill, but it never ends, unless you choose to run. But can you ever run away from your life? Your responsibilities, your allegiance? Hardly, especially when you play with gangs. The gang members' bodies are emblazoned with tattoos and tribal markings, their ways are down and dirty, and their loyalties are only to themselves in the end. At some point one must choose between family, gang loyalty or freedom and fear, each with its own price. They say only the good die young, but this proves that all youth who die are not necessarily good.

The boys loved this film and the performances found within the film. Men are a funny breed, as most tend to enjoy the blood and guts of violence, retaliation, and good old shoot 'em up street fights. Ms. Fukenaga's "Sin Nombre" was a fine example of gutsy cinema, and for a sophomoric effort, showed promise for her continued growth and success. Considering the brutal reality of the film, one can only wonder how close to home this story rang for the director and her crew, and if the casting was from REAL gang members or at least cast with people who knew the culture and its costs and effects?

Tonight's efforts were redeemed and we ended on a high note. It was time to head home and get some sleep, as tomorrow I would head home, once again ending my annual Sundance adventure.

More to follow. In the meantime... Butter up that popcorn, turn down the lights, and crank up that projector baby, I want to see some more films!

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