IndieMemphis 2023 Reviews: "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt," "Anatomy of a Fall," "Dream Scenario"

IndieMemphis was this past week and I wanted to share some thoughts on the movies I saw during the festival. (I'll do my best to keep them brief)

The first movie I saw, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt," is a coming-of-age drama about a Black girl in rural Mississippi, that relies almost entirely on its scenic visuals. I'm always amazed when I see modest little movies like this make such bold and moving statements with minimal material. That said, this is not a casual viewing experience and requires discipline and patience. The narrative, while very vague and fragmented, is rewarding once fully assembled. And while it's a somber tale of loss and longing, it's also an uplifting one about emotional strength and the discovery of womanhood.

The second film I watched was "Anatomy of a Fall," a juicy and riveting legal thriller that works on so many levels. It is also now playing in select Malcos around town. In it, a writer living in France is put on trial for the suspected murder of her husband after he is found fallen from their cabin, and the only witness to the possible crime is their blind son. It's at once a courtroom drama looking at how a suspect's character flaws can affect our perceptions of them and a meditation on how and when the value of trust outweighs the reality of truth. Sandra Hüller is just phenomenal as the under suspicion writer with numerous flaws but none that automatically count her out as guilty, as is Milo Machado Graner as the boy whose opinion of his mother is the only one that truly matters in the end.

And the last movie I saw was an oddity staring Nicholas Cage called "Dream Scenario." Cage plays a college professor who becomes a cultural phenomenon when people begin seeing him in their dreams, a status he revels in. That is, until those people's dreams begin turning into nightmares. This was a really inspired and very funny movie that reminded me a lot of movies like "Being John Malkovich" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." But it was by far my least favorite of the movies I went to see. As delightful as it is, "Dream Scenario" goes from being a neat idea with almost no point at all, to suddenly over-explaining to make one. The point being a portrait of modern fame and its relationship to dreaded cancel culture. How public opinion can grant us a pedestal and just as easily take it away. It is a clever film, but not quite clever enough to avoid an obvious and mechanical second half. There is also a subplot involving a marketing company that just never really connects with what the main character has going on. Regardless, "Dream Scenario" is still an enjoyable madcap social commentary that's lots of fun while it lasts. I laughed a lot throughout.

It was a great week of movie watching to say the least.