Asia is a very nice little film out of Israel, focusing on a mother-daughter relationship. Victoria, Vika to her friends and family, is a 16- or 17-year-old girl with a wild streak. She is being raised by her single mother Asia, who also likes to party. Asia had Vika when she was very young and is still in her mid-30s herself. She’s a loving mom, and works hard as a nurse, but is maybe a bit too loose in her parenting, oftentimes taking the path of “friend” instead of “parent.” Vika likes to skateboard but has been having a hard time with her balance lately. When Asia takes her to the doctor, they receive the heard-rending diagnosis of ALS. The doc says Vika could still life years, but unfortunately the disease hits quickly, and it isn’t long before she is confined to a wheelchair. Wonderful acting from both women, and a great story about love, care, and growing up, and not just from the teenager. ★★★
The Lost Daughter (actress Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut) stars Olivia Colman as Leda, a middle-aged woman on vacation in Greece. She’s there alone and looking to have a relaxing working vacation (she’s a college professor and well respected in her field for her research), but those plans go awry when the beach resort she frequents is bombarded by a large and rambunctious local family. The curious and nosy Leda focuses most on Nina (Dakota Johnson), a young mother who seems to have little patience for her daughter. The little girl’s doll goes missing, throwing the whole family in a tizzy, but it was Leda who took the doll, because it reminded her of her own little girls. We start to see flashbacks of a younger Leda raising two girls, and Leda too was often very distracted and uncaring towards the girls, only playing with them with it was convenient for herself. The full picture of Leda’s life plays out over the course of the film, leading to feelings of guilt but also acceptance of who she is as an adult. Strong acting from Colman, Johnson, and Jesse Buckley as the younger Leda, and smaller roles for Ed Harris and Peter Sarsgaard. The acting is the best part of the film, as the story itself is on the weaker side. Leda is a complicated woman, and a self-proclaimed selfish person, and it’s hard to root for selfish people. Much of her anguish is self inflicted. ★★½
Blue Bayou is the latest in a string of films I’ve seen in the last few months to shine a light on the current immigration problems facing our nation. Down near New Orleans, Antonio LeBlanc talks like a country boy, dresses like a country boy, but a look at his face tells you he was born somewhere else. Adopted by American parents and legally brought here from Korea at the age of three, Antonio is married and has a child on the way when he is targeted for deportation. He checks a lot of the boxes that ICE is looking for: he is no longer here legally since he turned 18 and never got a green card, and he is a convicted felon for stealing a motorcycle when he was young and stupid. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t even speak Korean and only knows America as home, nor that his adoption was legal and that he is married now with a family, the government wants him gone. As he gets a lawyer and tries to fight the system, Antonio once again turns to crime to try to come up with the funds to support his case. At the same time, his wife is dealing with an ex-husband who did something wrong in the past but who is trying to make amends so he can see his daughter more, a daughter who only knows Antonio as dad. Lots to unpack there, and it is a solid film with great performances from Justin Chon (who also wrote and directed, this being his followup to 2017’s standout Gook) and Alicia Vikander. A couple knocks against the film are it sometimes tries too hard to tug at the heartstrings, when the story itself does a good enough job on its own, and from a production standpoint, there are way too many hairs in the gate on different scenes. Pretty tough to forgive this in this day and age; I’ve seen less hairs in films from the 30s. Ever heard of check the gate? Minor quibble, but it was distracting. Still, its an eye-opening piece about a problem facing a lot of young adults who didn’t even know they weren’t here legally after being adopted as children. ★★★½
Disney does it again with Encanto, a charming family film taking place in South America. The Madrigal family was saved by a miracle 2 generations ago, when a young wife with three newborn babes fled death and destruction in their previous village. While the husband sacrificed himself so his family could escape, the rest of the family made it out safely and started a new village in the mountains. A magic house named the Encanto sprang from the earth, and since then, every new child born into the family has had some magical gift. One has enormous strength, one can control the weather, one can shape change, and so on. That is, until Mirabel. At her coming-of-age party, she did not receive a gift, and now, 10 years later, she’s the only young woman in the family without a magical gift. But that doesn’t mean that everyone else is happy instead of her. The family is cracking at its seams, and so if the magical house that has blessed them all these years. Mirabel takes it upon herself to find out why, and hopefully make things right before the magic in the village disappears. It’s from Disney, so you can expect plenty of bright, beautiful colors, and the movie delivers. It is also extremely funny for all ages. The only knock maybe is the soundtrack, which does have a couple standouts, but seemed a bit weak as a whole, with less catchy, memorable tunes than what they typically deliver. Still, very fun film with a high rewatchability factor. ★★★★
The Dry is an Australian film starring Eric Bana (who gets to use his native accent; usually we see him mask it in Hollywood films). He plays a federal agent named Aaron who leaves the big city to return to the tiny town of his birth after his childhood best friend, Luke, murdered his wife and son before killing himself. After the funeral, Luke’s parents approach Aaron about investing the murder-suicide, as they simply cannot believe Luke would have done this terrible deed. Aaron goes around town asking questions, meets up with an old flame, and starts unearthing secrets long kept buried. In flashbacks, we see Aaron’s teenage years in the town, and the mysterious circumstances that led to the death of a girl back then too. In that death, it seems Aaron gave Luke an alibi, but the town didn’t really believe it, and there are people still who don’t want to see Aaron poking around in the present. This film has the feel of a classic mystery drama, light on thrills but heavy on riddles. The clear picture of both the present and past crimes doesn’t open up until the very end, and it is a fun ride to get there. ★★★½
- TV series currently watching: Wakefield (miniseries)
- Book currently reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Jons Movie Takes 