This undated publicity photo released by the Sundance Institute shows a scene from the film, "Who is Dayani Cristal," included in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (AP Photo/Sundance Institute, Marc Silver)
Sundance Day One: Fest jumps right in with 4 films
This undated publicity photo released by the Sundance Institute shows a scene from the film, "Who is Dayani Cristal," included in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (AP Photo/Sundance Institute, Marc Silver)
By DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer /
January 17, 2013
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‘‘Calling it a crowd-pleasing druggie road trip would be a very, very superficial take on it,’’ Silva said. ‘‘'Crystal Fairy’ is a great film for opening night, because it sort of lifts up your spirits. It’s a really fresh experience, and I think it’s a non-pretentious movie. But it’s not necessarily a happy ending, things are not necessarily happy and joyful. But it feels very real, and you sort of learn to be compassionate yourself as you go through the movie.’’
— ‘‘WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?’’, world documentary competition: First-time director Marc Silver and producer Gael Garcia Bernal dig into the mystery of a body found rotting in the Arizona desert, bearing a tattoo that reads ‘‘Dayani Cristal.’’
Weaving between documentary segments and sequences featuring Bernal retracing the dangerous route many Mexicans take to reach the United States, they try to put a human face on a man who otherwise would have been another anonymous victim of the immigration battle.
So who is Dayani Cristal?
Something of an Everyman for millions who dream of a better life.
‘‘What that body in the desert told me is why leave people leave home, how dangerous the journey is,’’ Silver said. ‘‘To rehumanize somebody who was dead and didn’t have an identity, and by the end of the film, you know him and his family, that really is the heart of the film. It’s a metaphor for many immigrants all over the planet.’’
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Online:
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