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The bass beats pound outside in the snow, but the bouncer will only let groups in as other exhausted partiers make their way out. The place is packed to capacity, and every time the door opens to eject another sweaty dancer, big clouds of steam waft out to envelope the freezing crowd with a damp mist.

I'm in line with my entourage of 15 friends. Or rather I'm part of the entourage of my friend, Josh Lowman, who helped edit "Groove" and thought it would be a grand idea to turn the movie's premiere at Sundance into a weekend party event, complete with hot tubs and champagne toasts.

Before we left San Francisco, the film was a just-finished local production that had been in the works for four years. But now, with the buzz machine in Park City, director Greg Harrison's "Groove" is officially a hot movie. The day after the premiere, the producers announced that Sony Classics bought the distribution rights for a rumored $1.5 million. More importantly, it was the first film to get picked up, which means that for that moment, every person at Sundance, and anyone paying attention to the mountain of media about the festival, knows all about "Groove," without knowing much at all.

This minute, however, outside the doors of the packed premiere party, everyone is still waiting. We're all pumped, and life would be just swell if only we could get out of the cold.

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I'm a Sundance neophyte, and I was a bit unprepared for this Park City madness. I have exactly one movie ticket in my pocket -- for "Groove," of course -- which I was able to buy during the one day in early January when advance tickets were available over the phone. In order to get tickets, five of my friends had to hit redial for four hours. One person actually got through to an operator and bought them for all of us. When I attempted to request a press pass the woman at the Sundance office broke into gales of laughter: They'd maxed out back in November. The only other advance ticket option was to buy a package, which would have cost a cool $650. Those, I heard, were also sold out.

Of course, if I'm willing to stand in line for three hours or more, I just might be lucky enough to snag one of the few rush tickets released before each movie. The best option is to have a personal assistant who will stand in line for you. I met one pathetic member of this species who stood in line for at least 30 hours over the weekend so that his executive boss could get good seats. My friends and I endured the line for one film, the "Short Films on the Frontier" screening, a rather eclectic and occasionally excruciatingly bad number of experimental shorts. We vowed never to do it again.

That means that I am here to see "Groove," and "Groove" alone. There could be worse fates.

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"Groove" takes place one night at an underground warehouse rave in San Francisco. The story follows the characters at the party: the obsessive-compulsive health-nut drug dealer; the wannabe DJ thrilled about his first gig; the enthusiastic promoter who knows just how to manipulate the police; the gay couple who get lost. The psychology of raves and ecstasy is explored by the film's two main characters, a buttoned-up writer named David, who takes ecstasy for the first time, and a jaded club girl named Leyla, who has spent her life at parties. The two meet at the party and spend the evening cuddling in the corner.

The film lacks narrative, and is sweet rather than deep, but the ever-building music and character development carry the plot. And it looks great. The director of photography turned the black-and-neon world of a rave into a mysterious and beautiful labyrinth.

In a twist that's becoming increasingly rare at Sundance, "Groove" has no star power, instead featuring unknown actors and kids culled from the rave scene. The biggest stars are Lola Glaudini, who plays a small role on "NYPD Blue," and Rachel True, who appeared in "The Craft." Hamish Linklater, the theater actor who plays David, is exceptionally touching.

Unlike other rave movies of the past -- such as "Go" or "Trainspotting" or "Kids" -- "Groove" smacks of authenticity. It's so true to the scene that it almost feels like a documentary. There is no simplistic moralistic tale warning kids of the danger of drugs: no evil drug dealers or manipulative promoters, no troublemakers showing up with guns or kids dying of drug overdoses. Instead, "Groove" details the nuances of raves, the intense connections and ecstatic transformations they spark, as well as the way the rave scene can suck partiers into endless loops of self-destruction.

Next page | Living every filmmaker's fantasy