Thursday, January 18, 2007

Redford Goes Political (Or, The Spirit of Protest)



(image via ecorazzi)

Perhaps emboldened by the electoral victories of the Democratic Party last November, Robert Redford, Il Duce of Sundance (with allegedly, a tightly-reconnoitered ballsac), set the tone of this year's Sundance as political. Eco-conscious lifestyle suites prevailLast year's Opening Speech was positively introspective as far as his Papal Independent Film pronouncements go. He was concerned then with how Sundance will be seen in the future (And he did some of that this year too). But last year's Opener "Friends with Money" was all about the Indie Spirit (Nicole Holofcener is the Indie Goddess director) while this year's opener Chicago 10 is about the Spirit of Protest. Now he almost sounds as if he were considering running for Senator from the Styate of Utah. From USAToday:

"Robert Redford, the founder of the Sundance Festival, set the tone for this year with a politically charged kickoff speech before the premiere of the first movie: the fiery and funny protest documentary Chicago 10.

"The actor says that after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, he felt Americans were unified and willing to restrain criticism or protest of United States leaders because they wanted to have faith in the power structure.

"After the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, he said: 'I think we're owed a big, massive apology. 'The line got massive applause from the packed, 1,300-seat theater – a mix of journalists, studio bigwigs and local folks, many of them volunteers for the festival.

"The remarks from Redford, who named the festival after his character in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, were unusual. Often he uses his pulpit to cheer on experimental filmmakers. This year he said he wanted to do something more."

More than The Dakota Fanning Rape Movie?BloggingSundance reviews Chicago 10

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