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Rays of light at Sundance: Some final
screenings that shined (Excerpt)
Newsweek - January 29, 2000
By David Ansen, NEWSWEEK
PARK CITY, Utah
The intriguingly titled "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her" boasts an extraordinary cast of
women: Holly Hunter, Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Amy Brenneman, Calista Flockhart, Kathy Baker and Valeria Golino.
This delicate and stylish film — directed by Rodrigo Garcia, the son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez — tells five
separate but slightly overlapping stories, all of which are set (like "Magnolia") in the San Fernando
Valley. The theme is longing, loneliness, love; women cut off from their feelings, never quite connecting with their
men. Alternating between gentle humor and a kind of poetic melancholy, "Things You Can Tell" was one of
the most impressive offerings in the non-competitive Premiere category, which tends to include films with bigger
budgets and names than those in the dramatic competition.
Garcia is a cinematographer-turned-director, but there’s a maturity in his work rare in a first timer. He has the
sense to let his camera gaze patiently at these wonderful actors: the nuances of the story are told on their
eloquent faces. This is one Sundance film the public will get to view soon: MGM releases it in April. You probably
won’t see the best of the others until at least the fall. But they will be worth the wait.
Copyright © 2000 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved.
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