16/49
Exploring the challenges of modern family structures, the film follows a single father, a feminist librarian, and a child searching for a place to belong as they navigate love, desire, and redefining what it means to be a family. This film was an absolute gem. I was lucky enough to see it at the Venice Film Festival and it blew me away. Life, death, time, aging, desire, shame, guilt are all present in the best, most acceptable, and most forgiving way possible. The way each emotional connection and state is presented in a layered, sensitive, and incredibly empathetic way is unparalleled. The acting is so immediate that when slight eye movements and almost imperceptible facial expressions are put into service of the story, it’s overwhelming. The direction is masterful yet always accessible. Every scene is a blossoming emotional storm.