Snow, Movies, and One Really Good Book

Park City, Utah

The magical setting for the Sundance Film Festival

This past weekend my dream of visiting a winter wonderland (read here) came true.  We spent a long weekend staying with friends in Deer Valley, Utah and were able to see five of the films that were shown at the Sundance Film Festival. Snow, movies, a magical setting, and one great book.  It was the perfect winter weekend.  

The Movies --

Ashton Kutcher in "Jobs," a biopic about Steve Jobs

The stars Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad and the director Joshua Michael Stern (center)

"Before Midnight" with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

The third movie in Richard Linklater's trilogy

All of the films we saw were enjoyable; these were my favorites:

"Jobs" -- Ashton Kutcher gives an excellent performance as Steve Jobs.  The film take us back to the beginning of Jobs' career when he was a student at Reed College.  The time period of the seventies and eighties is vividly brought to life through sets, costumes, and some really great music.  We watch Steve Jobs as he goes from a young man who dropped out of college and created Apple computers in his parents' garage to the moment in his career when he is about to release the IPhone.  It is a fascinating story and a terrific film. 

"Before Midnight" --  This is the third film in the trilogy directed by Richard Linklater.  It continues the love story between two characters, an American man Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and a French woman Celine (Julie Delpy).  The characters initially met on a train bound for Vienna in the 1995 film "Before Sunrise." They are reunited nine years later in the 2004 film "Before Sunset."  In "Before Midnight"  the characters are married, have children and are vacationing in Greece. They are in their forties, still in love, but dealing with the complications of their lives.  The witty and smart banter is one of the joys of the movie.  If you like great writing and dialogue, you will love this film.

We also saw and enjoyed "Don Jon's Addiction," "Afternoon Delight," and "The Way, Way Back."

The Setting -- 

 Beautiful Deer Valley
I loved having dinner one night at the Stein Erikson Lodge

The Snow --

There was plenty!
Here are skiers enjoying the snow as seen from our window in the morning

The snow continued to fall all weekend

The Book --

With all that snow, there were delays getting out of Salt Lake City.  Fortunately, I had a really good book to help me get through the long hours of waiting.  The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman fit the bill perfectly.  It follows the private lives of the reporters and editors who work for an English-language newspaper in Rome.  From the moment I began reading it, I was enchanted.  This novel is funny and poignant and includes a cast of characters that you will never forget.  Each chapter is about a particular journalist at the paper, from the editor in chief to the copy editor.  Although each chapter could stand on its own as a great short story, they are all connected and add up to a vivid portrait of this eccentric and nostalgic world, that of the newsroom.   This book is so good that it has me wondering, will someone turn it into a film?

I hope you have a chance to see these films -- they were all purchased and should be released in 2013  -- and to read this enchanting book by Tom Rachman.

Photo one via here, photo two via here, photo three via here, photo four via here, photo five via here