Sundance 2023: ‘The Pod Generation’ and ‘Kim’s Video’

The Sundance International Film Festival is a noteworthy event that marks the beginning of a new year filled with remarkable films. The festival showcases independent films worldwide and features some of the most imaginative and creative ideas. Whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker or a movie enthusiast, the festival presents a diverse collection of talent that will leave a lasting impression. We’ll be dropping brief reviews of our day-to-day at Sundance. To start, let’s look at the first day’s lineup.

The Pod Generation

Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor are Rachel and Alvy, a New York couple living in the not-so-distant future where technology is even more advanced. Rachel is a rising tech executive who lands a spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples a convenient (and shareable) maternity via detachable artificial wombs, known as pods. Alvy, a botanist, favors natural pregnancy, sparking a discussion on what constitutes “natural” in a tech-dominated society.

The initial ideas presented in this film surrounding are great and are happening now. Some of the conversations resemble what couples discussed when considering in vitro fertilization (IVF). So this idea of not even needing a surrogate to carry the child, and instead using these pods doesn’t seem too far off from a possibility. Still, Rachel and Alvy go through a tug-of-war between technology and nature. They’re thankful for the ability to conceive a child through this artificial womb yet find themselves yearning for old fashion tradition along the way. 

Clarke and Ejiofor made a super cute and genuine couple and fully embodied their characters’ various changes during this pregnancy. There were moments when the film seemed to introduce certain scientific advancements that appeared but didn’t have an actual stake in the story, like their AI therapist. 

The film’s production design is visually stunning, and the cast excels in their performances. There were some beautiful moments in the dialogue between Rachel and Alvy and some heartfelt moments. However, the film deviates from being a dynamic sci-fi drama and shifts towards a comedic tone, which hinders its potential.

Kim’s Video

Next up was Kim’s Video, a documentary thriller that sets out on a course to do one thing — find movies. These aren’t just any movies; the video store of the same name was known for possessing some of the most eclectic and unique collections of films worldwide. 

The video store owner was a Korean immigrant named Yongman Kim, who went from owning a dry cleaning business to opening a small chain of video stores. The movies in stock weren’t just your diamond in the rough limited edition film; some were bootleg films that you literally could not find anywhere. 

In 2008, Mr. Kim offered his collection, provided they stay intact and available to Kim’s Video members, to Salemi, Sicily, a small Italian village that the Italian community hoped would revitalize tourism. 

Director David Redmon inserts himself in the story as he searches for this long-lost video collection and uncovers a pretty intriguing story. 

This documentary hits home for those who miss the old days. There’s nothing like picking out a few rentals on a Friday after school. Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos were to film lovers as Barnes and Noble are to book readers. Those stores shutting down were the start of the death of physical media and an era that we will probably never get back. 

Unfortunately, this doc’s direction slowly pulled focus away from this gemmed collection and turned into a heist movie. After the documentary, I still felt like I knew very little about Kim’s Video, about Kim’s story, and that’s the one task that the film had. Still, it’ll make you cherish your DVD and VHS collection and consider them even more of a treasure than you did before.