Jason and I attended the Sundance Film Festival again this year. This annual indie binge has been a tradition of ours for well over a decade. The Sundance Film Festival’s unpredictability is gripping. You never know who is going to show up, and you never know if you’re going to see the next Napoleon Dynamite or something that just blows like dynamite. We saw four films this time, none exploded on us.

The Price of Everything

Joined by our friends Dan and Monica, we began our Sundance experience via calculating The Price of Everything. This documentary took a complex topic, how the perceived value of paintings and sculptures is warped through auctions, and explored it from multiple perspectives. Many of the issues addressed were relevant to society as a whole. I’m no art buff, but that didn’t taper my enjoyment of The Price of Everything. There was a Q&A afterward with the director and various other members of the crew. Q&As are my favorite thing about Sundance; they are deliciously-detailed heroin for the cinematically curious.

Dark Money

This was probably my favorite film we saw this year at Sundance, though there were some other close contenders. Dark Money, which won the Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award, examined the consequences of the Citizens United decision- the bribe money now funding our politicians under the sacred umbrella of “free speech.” This documentary was disturbing but eye opening. The fascinating Q&A after the film was followed by a lengthy discussion at Impact Hub. Dark Money will be distributed by PBS later this year; I’d recommend checking it out even though it will make you despise politicians even more than you already do.

Puzzle

I loved that this film didn’t portray saints, just people. The characters were all flawed and complex, like real human beings. Afterward, the director showed up for an interesting Q&A.

Damsel

This quirky movie was an irreverent tribute to and satire of Westerns. While it had its difficult-to-watch moments, I enjoyed it as a whole. Jason and I always go to Sundance with indie expectancies- slow and absurd are all part of the experience. So, we weren’t surprised to find both traits in this film. We saw this flick with my brother and his wife; I don’t think they had their expectations calibrated correctly for indie viewing because they weren’t overly impressed.

Jason and I went through an array of reactions at the Sundance Film Festival this year, from dismay to delight. We learned some, laughed some, hung with friends some… and became completely disenchanted with America’s so-called democracy. Okay, maybe that’s being a little dramatic, but isn’t drama a key element of film?

A few years ago, Jason and I decided that providing an opportunity for our nieces and nephews to do a fun activity together was a better Christmas present for them than adding more toys or knickknacks to their seasonal stashes. This year, in lieu of Christmas gifts, we took them to Provo Beach Resort.

Jason constructed a crossword puzzle that, when solved, gave the kids a list of all the outing options they could choose from. Creating a crossword puzzle is a simple task when you are a genius… or know how to find websites that do clever stuff. As already indicated, out of the many puzzle possibilities, the kiddos picked Provo Beach Resort.

We met up at Provo Beach Resort at 4 PM and stayed until it closed at 11 PM, with a little break to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant down the block. Those seven hours passed fast as we competed at mini croquet, bowled strikingly, dangled from the ropes course, fired at each other in the laser tag arena, twirled on the carousel, and played in the arcade.

Isabelle loved the ropes course and had no fears about being aloft, which is more than I can say for myself. I’m not a fan of heights, but I always force myself out on the ropes to lessen that trepidation.

Everyone loved our laser battles. What’s not to love about taking out your family members in the name of team glory? We shuffled players each round, but every winning team had Jason on it. He’s kind of the king of infrared combat among my kin.

Our day at the beach was not sandy but was well received by both the kids and adults in our party. It was also well received by Jason and me, so merry Christmas to us!