Aftersun

⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I have heard nothing but amazing things about this movie, but unfortunately it didn't really land for me. It is an incredibly patient movie, following a father and daughter on vacation, exploring their relationship, with a touch of coming-of-age for the daughter and midlife crisis for the dad. I feel like it is hurtful to say I was bored by this. The level of artistry is undeniable, and there are frames that stick in my mind as I write this review, I just didn't feel any emotional connection to either character.

There is a part somewhat early on where the daughter says something profound, and that always turns me off, the precocious kid. The father is a bit distant, but has his good moments too, so when he starts behaving a bit strangely I was kind of confused, felt like I didn't see it coming. The signs were there, I just missed them I think.

The movie ends with an interesting framing device I don't want to give away, but its another thing that I think if I had realized it earlier it would have made the movie better for me. Themes of nostalgia and memory, combined with the use of a camcorder in the movie could have been powerful if I had realized this earlier on I think. And realizing that a lot of what we see is through reflections or other artsy positions that almost imply what we are seeing is memory was a meaningful connection, but I also lacked any sense of connection to the characters.

As I said, the beauty of this movie is undeniable, so anything less than a 7 would be criminal (the scene of him going into the ocean in the middle of the night feels ingrained in my mind), but this movie wasn't for me.