Skip to main content

Davis Journal

Sundance roundup: ‘The Accidental Getaway Driver,’ ‘Going Varsity in Mariachi,’ and more

Jan 30, 2023 11:27AM ● By Jenniffer Wardell

The Accidental Getaway Driver

Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute

The Accidental Getaway Driver

The winner of this year’s Directing Award – U.S. Dramatic, “The Accidental Getaway Driver” isn’t the movie you think it will be. Rather than an exciting heist film, it’s the story of the heartbreaking, beautifully profound relationship that grows between an escaped convict and the elderly Vietnamese cab driver the group of convicts take hostage. Director Sing J. Lee weaves the cab driver’s past in through his present experiences, building the portrait of a man isolated by his past traumas. The younger convict becomes his mirror, a Vietnamese man completely cut off from his past and anything resembling a home. The relationship between them is delicately built through every tense moment, resulting in a heartbreaking, beautifully tender finale. 

Going Varsity in Mariachi

Winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award, “Going Varsity in Mariachi” is the wholesome, heartwarming story of a group of mariachi band students trying to succeed in state competitions. It has several nice moments, including a wayward student recommitting to the band and a young mariachi student saying goodbye to her teacher after graduation. The problem is that it never seems to go quite deep enough, never letting us really feel like we’ve gotten to really know these kids or understand the effect mariachi music has had on their lives. 

Shortcomings

You could call this one an anti-romance, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The story of a deeply unpleasant man finally coming to understand just how much of a jerk he is, it’s the absolutely fantastic cast that keeps you going through the awkward bits. Justin H. Min is particularly good as the jerk in question, always watchable even when you want to punch him in the face. 

Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls

This deeply unusual comedy starts out as the cringiest of cringe comedies, endearing only to a very limited audience. If you're patient with the movie, however, this story of the ultimate outcast finding his people manages to find its own strange sweetness. You might even find yourself a little emotionally invested in these weirdos, who go up against evil with the mightiest weapon of all – the power of friendship.

Chanshi 

This Indie Episodic entry has a very specific sense of humor, deeply influenced by Israeli culture and all the corresponding stereotypes. The story of a young Jewish woman who goes to Israel to avoid an arranged marriage is based on real experiences, but it’s also a broad comedy with a lot of sex and several moments that verge on parody. I don’t know enough about the culture to know if it’s playing with the stereotypes or simply giving into them, but the moments of seriousness that appeared at the end of the Sundance selection of episodes was welcome. 

Short Film Programs 1 and 5

Though festival favorite “The Evacuation of Mama Emola” wasn’t available for online viewing, there were still some gems available in both short film programs. Program 1 had “Help Me Understand,” an unexpectedly moving riff on “12 Angry Men” featuring a group of women trapped in a product test, and “Parker,” a beautiful little documentary short about a family changing their name. Short Film Program 5 kicks off with the incredibly tense, timely immigration story “I Have No Tears and I Must Cry.” It also has “Headdress,” a fun, surprisingly relatable look at the difficulties that come from juggling all the different parts of our identity. 

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Utah Film Critics Association. Find her on Twitter at @wardellwriter or drop her a line at [email protected].