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Newport Beach FF

Vas-y Coupe! (Wine Crush) – The People Behind Wine

October 5, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

What goes into a bottle of Champagne? Easy answer: grapes. But how do they get there? Laura Naylor’s documentary Vas-y Coupe! (English title: Wine Crush) is a very pleasant atmospheric look at the harvest at one of Champagne’s premier vineyards. The film really isn’t so much about wine or agriculture. It is about people.

Much of the film is spent with the harvesters, a group of men who travel to the vineyard each year for the harvest. These are working class men, who have left their families for this bit of work. Two of them have been coming for over 30 years. The workers stay in a sparse dormitory, four in a room. But we may be surprised at the quality of the dinners they are provided each evening. A good part of the film involves the kitchen where women are preparing the daily meals. There is surely a comradery among the harvesters, but that also extends to their relationship with the bosses. There are differences in class, age, and gender, but they all share a common humanity as they each do their labor, whether picking, cooking, or winemaking.

There is very little of an instructive nature in the film. We only hear in passing what kind of grapes these are. We see them being fed into a crusher, and later into barrels. But we are told next to nothing about what goes on in all these steps. Rather, we are immersed in the time and place. Wonderful cinematography shows us great vistas of vineyards, as well as the closeup work being done.

The culmination of all this labor turns out to be one of the worst harvests in recent memory. Many of the grapes rotted on the vines. Yet at the closing dinner, the winemaker celebrates the work that they have all done together. No one person, he tells them, can do everything themselves. We all need each other in various ways.

I find in interesting that the French title (which translates as “Go Cut!”) uses the French familiar you. That, I think, reflects this recognition that each person has a place in this endeavor. The harvesters, of lower economic class, are seen as just as valuable to what is happening as the winemaker and his family. All are in this together, even though some are working for short-term wages and others are invested in a long-term project. They are all related by a common task and a common humanity.

Vas-y Coupe! is currently playing at the virtual Newport Beach Film Festival and will be available on VOD October 8.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Champagne, documentary, French, labor, Wine

Newport Beach Film Fest underway

October 2, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Each spring, I usually attend and cover the Newport Beach Film Festival. As with just about everything this year, the pandemic has affected many film festivals, including NBFF. The festival is now underway virtually. This year geography isn’t an issue for people who’d like to see the films that have been chosen for NBFF.

Like most film festivals, NBFF has sections for short films and feature films. Besides the obvious categories of narrative and documentary, NBFF also has a group of films about Art, Design and Architecture, Environmental films, Orange County local interest, Culinary cinema, and family films. You can check out the selections and buy tickets ($10 for individual films) at https://nbff2020.eventive.org/films.

During the next several days (the films are available between now and Oc. 10) I’ll be taking in a few of these films. Like all businesses during the pandemic, NBFF needs support. You can support them by picking a film or two that look interesting and watch something different than al the stuff on Netflix, Prime, Disney+, and the other streaming services.

Filed Under: Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF Tagged With: NBFF

For Sama – Oscar-Nominated Love Letter

January 23, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature, For Sama brings a personal perspective to the Syrian conflict. The conflict in Syria has been fertile ground for documentary films. Two years ago The Last Men in Aleppo was among the doc nominees. This year The Cave is also nominated in this category. The war going on in that nation is a story of human suffering that needs to be brought to our comfortable lives. For Sama was shown on PBS Frontline, and is now available to stream on PBS.org, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.

Filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab (who shares directing credit with Edward Watts) chronicles five years in her life from the beginning of the revolution against the Assad regime. Hopes were high in those early days, but the regime (with Russian support) soon cracked down. In time the city of Aleppo was under siege, being bombed daily. As the siege gets worse, Al-Kateab films the life people were forced to live, as well as the injury and death that was all around. Much of what she filmed takes place within a hospital trying to do the best it could in such dire circumstances.

But it is not just the story of what was going on in Aleppo, it is also Al-Kateab’s story—including falling in love, getting married, and becoming a mother in the midst of this war. That personal story is highlighted by the fact that she designs the film as a love letter to her baby daughter, Sama. In many ways it is an apologia for the choices she and others have made and for the life that they have subjected Sama to.

As we overhear Al-Kateab explain this war to Sama, it gives us insight into those who have chosen to stay in their home rather that become refugees. The hardships and danger that fill the city are all that Sama has known in her few years. Was it right to have brought a child into this kind of life? That is part of what Al-Kateab ponders as she shares the story with her daughter—and with the world.

But a key part of what she shows us is not only the hardships they deal with, but the human need to which they have dedicated themselves to deal with. This is a film with lots of pain, anguish, death, and destruction. But it is also a film that shows triumphs in the midst of all this. But more than anything else, this is a film about caring—caring for family, caring for neighbors, caring for humanity. The love letter that Al-Kateab creates for her daughter teaches us all about the deep meaning love can have in the midst of suffering.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Newport Beach FF, Oscar Spotlight, Reviews Tagged With: documentary, Oscar nominated, Syria, Waad Al-Kateab, war

Katie Says Goodbye – More than a Victim

June 6, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Thank you for this day, Daddy. I hope I lived right and if I see you one day that I make you proud.”

I first saw Katie Says Goodbye at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival, where I ranked it among my favorites. The film won jury awards for Best Actress (Olivia Cooke) and Best Screenplay (Wayne Roberts, who also directed). Now it has found its way to select theaters and to VOD.

Katie (Cooke) is a waitress in a small Arizona town that is little more than a trailer park and diner. She is constantly happy even though her circumstances are less than ideal. Her mother Tracey (Mireille Enos) is unemployed, and does nothing but watch TV all day. Her mother squanders the rent money, constantly leaving Katie to deal with it. Katie’s dream is to go to San Francisco and become a beautician. She is saving money that she makes by prostituting herself with some regulars, including Bear (Jim Belushi), a truck driver who stops on his way through. Bear is kind and fairly paternal towards Katie. Katie is also mentored in life by the owner of the diner, Maybelle (Mary Steenburgen), who is far more of a mother to Katie than Tracey is.

When Bruno (Christopher Abbott), a new mechanic with a shady past comes to town, Katie is smitten. Bruno never smiles, but Katie is willing to smile enough for both of them. As they spend time together, Katie blossoms. But when Bruno discovers her prostitution, he is upset and demands she stop, which she does. However, there are others who demand more from her.

For all Katie’s rose-colored view of the world, things soon become darker as Tracey continues to take advantage of her, Bruno’s coworkers treat her badly, and another waitress at the diner frames Katie for theft. As her world begins to crash around her, Katie faces losing everything. Her smile disappears.

One criticism that some (but not me) might raise is that Katie is too much a victim. Her innocent (some might say naïve) approach to the world sets her up to be used and abused by those around her. And she never fights for herself. And when others do wrong, she is willing to silently assume the guilt. In a “Me Too” world, Katie could seem to be the poster-child for women accepting exploitation.

The reason I do not bring such a charge is that I see in Katie a similarity to the Servant of Isaiah 42-53. I think the film invites us to open ourselves to see more than just Katie’s victimhood. Each night as Katie goes to bed, she speaks to the father she has never met, with the quote I opened this review with. It is only a small leap to think of this as a prayer. How then does this filter our understanding of Katie?

Consider some of these descriptions of the Servant (all scriptures quoted from NRSV): “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench (Isaiah 42:3); “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.” (50:6), and “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account…. But he was wounded for our transgression, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed…. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that before the shearer is dumb, so he did not open his mouth.” (53:3-7 passim).

Of course, this picture is familiar to Christians because the early church quickly came to see Jesus’ sacrifice in its light. But there is more to the Servant than just the suffering he underwent. It is important to note that the Servant Song found in Isaiah 50, even as the Servant recounts the suffering he has undergone, is not a song of lament, but rather a psalm of confidence. He says, “The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near” (50:7). Such is the realization that Katie finally comes to at her darkest moments. That allows her to move on to a new life with hope that others might find Pollyannaish, but that certainly resonates with the Servant of Isaiah, and by extension, with Christ.

Photos courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Filed Under: Film, Newport Beach FF, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Christ Figure, Christopher Abbott, Isaiah, Jim Belushi, Mary Steenburgen, Mireille Enos, Olivia Cooke, prostitution, Wayne Roberts

The Tomorrow Man – Earthly Treasures

May 24, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Blythe Danner and John Lithgow appear in The Tomorrow Man by Noble Jones.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says,  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19ff, NRSV). In The Tomorrow Man we see two people who in different ways are storing up eccentric treasures that overwhelm their lives. But when they manage to come together, they get the opportunity for a more fulfilling treasure.

Ed Hemsler (John Lithgow) is a survivalist who expects an apocalyptic societal meltdown to come any day. He has stocked up on everything he’ll need to get through the coming chaos. He sees Ronnie Meisner (Blythe Danner) paying with cash at the store and assumes she is a kindred spirit. He is also attracted to her romantically. After a few misfires, they begin a relationship. But they both have secret obsessions. We know Ed’s, but Ronnie’s remains hidden from us and Ed for most of the film. For both Ed and Ronnie, the “treasures” they are accumulating serve to fill a void in their lives that grow from loss and insecurity. When they come together, perhaps if offers them the chance to fill those voids with the love of another person.

There is also a subplot involving Ed’s son Brian (Derek Cecil) who is semi-estranged from Ed because of Ed’s strident pessimism and survivalist outlook. Ed spends a good deal of time on the internet pushing his apocalyptic worldview. Brian would just like a relationship with his father that wasn’t seen through Ed’s lens of paranoia.

This is a senior romcom, but the comedy doesn’t quite click. Lithgow and Danner do a nice job of portraying the awkwardness of new romance (they act very much like teenagers in the early stages), but it’s also kind of hard to buy into their growing relationship. Those who read my reports from the Newport Beach Film Festival, might recall that I only rated this film “fair” on my audience ballot.

The issue of trust in material goods becomes the issue that begins to come between Ed and Ronnie. But at one point the question of finding what will bring you joy is raised.  There is a certain Marie Kondo vibe at this point, but even at that, it doesn’t necessarily solve the problems between Ed and Ronnie. But the realization that the joys they have from the things they have accumulated may not be totally fulfilling is what gives them a chance to move into a new relationship. That offers us an opportunity to consider the various possessions and ideas that clutter our lives. Some may bring us joy, but they may also interfere with finding deeper happiness. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Filed Under: Film, Newport Beach FF, Reviews Tagged With: Blythe Danner, John Lithgow, The Tomorrow Man

Monday at #NBFF20

May 1, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

I mentioned in one of my earlier reports that I’m stingy with my ratings of Excellent on the Audience Award ballots we are given for each film. The choices are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. My default is Good. To get an Excellent, a film needs to rise above the other films in some way. On Monday I managed to see two films that earned the Excellent tag.

First time directors Daniel Weingarten and Michael Blaustein brought their film U.P. There to the festival for its World Premiere. Jack (Weingarten), a struggling journalist, is on assignment in a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He meets a young woman Emma (Zoe Kanters, who also co-wrote along with the directors) who is annoyingly ebullient and maybe a bit crazy. She also wants to be a writer and seeks Jack’s help. But soon Jack learns that Emma may have a story that could reinvigorate his career. As he delves into her past, a friendship develops that he realizes he is exploiting. Her brother Champ (Blaustein) is suspicious of Jack. Along the way all three must grow and face issues in their past if they are to move on to find happiness. The film has elements of romantic comedy, but it makes a shift into more dramatic themes. It gets an Excellent because it effectively changes tones so that the story gives us insight into how long festering wounds can find healing. It doesn’t go for easy solutions or cheap rewards.

From Northern Ireland comes The Dig, directed by Ryan and Andy Tohill. After 15 years in prison for murder, Ronan Callahan (Moe Dunford) returns to his dilapidated house. The next day he sees Sean McKenna (Lorcan Cranitch) digging in Callahan’s peat bog, and it’s obvious he’s been doing it for a long time. McKenna is searching for his daughter’s, the victim of the murder, remains. He will not be dissuaded. Callahan has no memory of the crime because he was so drunk at the time. He knows the only way he’ll get rid of McKenna is to dig with him. It is a very uneasy situation for them both. But day by day they slowly grow to at least respect the other. Complications include McKenna’s daughter Roberta (Emily Taaffe), who had a romantic link to Callahan as well, and the local constable (Francis Magee) who would love a reason to get rid of Callahan. Both McKenna and Callahan are seeing closure to something that changed both of their lives. For Callahan it is also the search for the truth, and perhaps redemption. This is a film of struggle—physical and emotional. It deals with issues of grief, betrayal, forgiveness, the search for truth. I’m not alone in considering this Excellent. The festival jury recognized The Dig with awards for Best Screenplay (Stuart Drennan) and Best Actor (Dunford).

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF Tagged With: michigan, Northern Ireland

Sunday at #NBFF20

May 1, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

The Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales continues to bring interesting films that may never make it to a wide distribution, but that doesn’t mean the films aren’t worthy of being seen. That is one of the values of film festivals. I would encourage everyone to look for film festivals near you. (Note that I am including my votes for audience awards. The options for voting are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor.)

Bushwick Beats is an anthology film with segments directed by A. Sayeeda Moreno, Chloe Sarbib, Brian Shoaf, Sonejuhi Sinha, James Sweeney, and Anu Valia. The common threads for the segments are the theme of unconditional love and the setting of the Bushwick community in Brooklyn. Each segment is its own short story. They include a story of vampire discrimination, a romance of two people who are living 3 years apart, a mother with ALS and her son’s desire to stay with her, and other interesting stories. The segment I found most interesting was “Wolves” directed by Anu Valia. It is not so much a plotted story as it is slice of life of a day in high school, which includes a couple nice spoken word presentations. (My vote: Good.)

In 2017 a series of fires devastated Napa and Sonoma Counties, the heart of the California wine country. Uncrushable is a documentary dealing with the fires and their aftermath. It is directed by San Francisco chef Tyler Florence, who organized a $500 a plate gourmet meal in a vineyard for 500 people a few weeks after the fires. As we see the planning for the Grateful Table event, we meet some of the residents who lost homes and businesses and some of the first responders who worked in the fires (those are often overlapping categories) and hear their stories of the catastrophic events. But we also see the community response of support and the hope that is going into rebuilding. Prior to the screening we heard from Bill Bracken, a chef with impressive credentials, who left the corporate world to found Bracken’s Kitchen, a homeless/hunger non-profit in Orange County. (Bracken’s Kitchen is a Community Sponsor for the festival.) He noted that the same kind of community spirit that came after the fires is a model for dealing with hunger and homelessness locally. (My vote: Good.) Bushwick Beats plays again on Tuesday.

The Wall of Mexico, from directors Zachary Cotler and Magdaleria Zyzak, is not about the proposed border wall, but it serves as a metaphor (at times bordering on allegory) about the American Dream and desire others have to share in it. The Arista family, wealthy Mexican-Americans, are resented by their poor white townspeople. The Arista daughters Ximena (Carmela Zumbado) and Tanya (Marisol Sacramento) are decadent, bored-with-life bourgeoisie beauties who spend their days and night drinking and snorting. The family has a well that that supposedly has some special qualities. The sell the water at exorbitant prices. But when the water level drops, they fear it is being stolen. A new hired hand, Don (Jackson Rathbone), is assigned to watch the well at night, and later build a wall around it. Don is obsessed with Ximena and Tanya, who alternately toy with him and abuse him. Don serves as something of a stand in for those who want to share in the Dream, but only get a small taste of it. He also represents the way those with wealth tempt workers with the promise of the good life, but never really offer it. I was a bit torn in watching the film. It at times had some very interesting artful shots, but they were more a distraction than addition to the story. Also, the portrayal of the decadence of the daughters was a bit over the top., so it wasn’t as effective a portrayal of American bourgeoisie as it could have been.  And the metaphor really paints an unflattering portrait of the American Dream. Is it really just a myth that we use to exploit the poor while we do all we can to keep it for ourselves? I very much liked the ambition of such a metaphor, but in the end found it a bit heavy-handed. (My vote: Fair, but it’s an excellent fair.) The Wall of Mexico plays again on Tuesday.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF Tagged With: American Dream, California, community spirit, hope, unconditional love, wildfires

Saturday at #NBFF20

April 29, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Welcome back to the Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales. It was a full day for me, as you’ll see when you see the nine films I have to talk about. Okay, I’ll admit that six of them were shorts, but that still seems like a full day to me. Note that I’m including my votes for audience awards (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor)

I started the day with a shorts program, “Irish Lads and Lassies Shorts”. NBFF always has a good representation of Irish films. (Screen Ireland and Culture Ireland are two of the Cultural Arts Sponsors of the festival.) Saturday is also a day with programs aimed at young people. These shorts all featured young actors and themes. The films in the program were:

  • All in Good Time, directed by Bonnie Dempsey. A story of two ten year-olds who magically communicate through notes in a bottle. The trick is they lived 100 years apart. Yet they manage to solve each other’s problems. (My vote: Excellent)
  • First Disco, directed by Helen M. O’Reilly. This is the story of a teenager who is due to go to her first school dance, but just got braces. How will she ever get the attention of the boy she has a crush on when she feels her looks are ruined? The film has a very pleasant soundtrack of 80s music. As I watched I though this would be a nice companion to the film Happy Face I saw at the festival on Friday. (My vote: Good)
  • Low Tide, directed by Ian Hunt Duffy. This one has a bit of a horror vibe. A father and son go out fishing, but on the way back the father demands his son jumps in the water to confront the sea monster below. It’s a life changing encounter. (My vote: Good)
  • Honest, directed by Matthew Roche. This one takes place in church. A young boy fears the Jesus at the front of the church, knowing that he is always watching him. It brings up questions of belief and what it means to us. (My vote: Good)
  • Cry Rosa, directed by Imogen Murphy. A mixed-race girl must deal with bullying in school because of her color. It is a story of finding the strength to prevail in embracing her identity and self-worth. (My vote: Excellent)
  • The Wiremen, an animated film directed by Jessica Patterson. In the 1930s as electrification is coming to rural Ireland, an imaginative girl thinks she sees a fairy circling a light bulb. Her grandmother warns her of the dangers of the electrical box, and tells a story of Wiremen, evil beings that come with electricity. But the girl is just too curious and may be in danger as she pursues the fairy. (My vote: Good)

The joys and trials of having a child are the focus of Babysplitters from director Sam Friedlander. Two couples both have a dilemma, they don’t agree on having a baby. Sarah (Emily Chang) is anxious to start a family, but her husband Jeff (Danny Pudi) is dragging his feet. When they meet with friends Don and Taylor, it turns out that Don (Eddie Alfano) is ready, but not Taylor (Maiara Walsh). They talk about if they could share a child, it would give them the joys of parenting, but still give them time to enjoy life. The plan becomes more and more complicated, and each complication brings new laughs. The sex scene removes romance and eroticism from the act with very funny results. Eventually the film makes it all work out with an affirmation of family and parenthood. (My vote: Excellent)

Go Back to China was another comedy about family. When spoiled party girl Sasha (Anna Akana) is forced to go to China to work in the family business, it is with great resentment. Her father (Richard Ng) is demanding and mercurial, but he also seeks to give Sasha and her various half-siblings the benefit of his lifetime of working. The father believes his financial support of his children is fulfilling his responsibility. But what of his absence and emotional abandonment all those years? It is a time of self-discovery for Sasha, as well as for her father. In the Q&A following the film, director Emily Ting, noted the autobiographical aspects of the film. She returned to China at age 24 to work in the family business. (The factory in the film is the actual factory the family owns. My vote: Good)

The Canadian Spotlight of the festival fell on A Colony (Une Colonie), a Quebec film from director Geneviève Dulude-De Clelles. This is a coming-of age, fish-out -of-water tale of Mylia (Emilie Bierre), who must go into town for high school. She has always been in a rural setting, and the large school setting is chaotic for her. She never quite fits in with the other girls, even with her cousin who is also at the school. She develops a friendship with another outside Jimmy (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), a First Nations boy who lives nearby. Together they discover that “coloring outside the lines” may be the secret to finding happiness. There are some family issues and backstory that could have been fleshed out a bit, but overall, this was a nicely done film. (My vote: Good)

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF Tagged With: Canada, Ireland, shorts

Friday at #NBFF20

April 29, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

The 20th edition of the Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales is now up and running. Films are shown at several venues, including Starlight Cinemas, Edward’s Big Newport Cinemas, the historic Lido Theater, and The Lot in Fashion Island. If you’re in the area, schedule and tickets can be found at the festival website.

I started my festival viewing with a Canadian film, Happy Face, by director Alexandre Franchi. A 19 year old young man named Stan (Robin L’Houmeau) whose mother is dealing with cancer disguises himself to join a support group for people with severe deformities. He thinks he’s trying to understand her better, but he’s subconsciously trying to avoid the reality of her disease. The group leader wants to focus on dealing with feelings, but Stan brings an “in your face” approach to the group. With a strange (but effective) mixture of Don Quixote and Dungeons and Dragons, Stan empowers the group members to confront the world that finds them hideous. He also finds in them the strength to face his mother’s death. On my ballot for audience awards (ratings: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor) I gave it a Good (I’m fairly stingy with Excellent).

One of the Spotlight films for Friday night was The Tomorrow Man, from director Noble Jones. It is a senior RomCom (although it’s a bit light on the Com) focusing on survivalist Ed Hemsler (John Lithgow) and Ronnie Meisner (Blythe Danner). As they get to know each other we watch as they go through some teenage-like awkwardness, and slowly develop their relationship, Ed thinks the world as we know it will soon end. He’s stockpiled everything he’ll need at home. Ronnie has a secret she wants to keep hidden from Ed. Both of their hidden lifestyles are ways they are trying to cope with loss and insecurities. Maybe coming together will fill the holes each has in their lives. The relationship never quite worked for me, so I only gave this a Fair on my ballot. The Tomorrow Man is due out in theaters later in May.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF Tagged With: Alexandre Franchi, Blythe Danner, Canada, John Lithgow, noble Jones, Robin L'Houmeau

In a New York Minute: Lost Together

April 28, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Premiering today at the Newport Beach Film Festival, In a New York Minutegives a glimpse into the lives of three strangers who inadvertently discover that their problems may be solved by a single pregnancy test. Amy is haunted by a past breakup that has manifested into an eating disorder. Angel is torn between an unhappy marriage to an American businessman and a passionate affair with a Chinese writer. Meanwhile, Nina works as an escort in order to support herself.

Premiering today at the Newport Beach Film Festival, In a New York Minutegives a glimpse into the lives of three strangers who inadvertently discover that their problems may be solved by a single pregnancy test. Amy is haunted by a past breakup that has manifested into an eating disorder. Angel is torn between an unhappy marriage to an American businessman and a passionate affair with a Chinese writer. Meanwhile, Nina works as an escort in order to support herself.

Developed by Ximan Li, Minutewould be a challenging piece to successfully complete for a first-time writer/director given its fractured narrative. Thankfully, however, Li interweaves its story that interweaves its characters in compelling ways without sacrificing the complexity of their own situations. Despite the film’s connective tissue regarding the mysterious pregnancy test, Li wisely allows his characters to breathe and grow until its necessary to reveal the truth at the proper moment. Leads Celia Au, Amy Chang, and Yi Liu each create fascinating characters that succeed individually on their own while, at the same time, recognizing that their stories are pieces of a larger collective.

In fact, it’s this very notion of the collective whole that Minuteis based upon. While each woman exists in their own narrative world, they all impact one another’s stories, be it intentionally or not. (Without spoiling anything, none of the women even meet until the final 15 minutes.) In doing so, Li demonstrates the connective nature of our lives, even with those we don’t know. Through the use of a single pregnancy test, Li reminds us that the decisions we make are not isolated and can have a ripple effect that changes and directs the lives of others unwittingly.

Similarly, Li also points to the truth that, despite the fact that our stories differ, one of the key aspects of our common experience is our need for love and intimacy. In each story, Amy, Angel and Nina are driven or changed by their desire to love and be loved. Though none of these women define themselves based on the men in their lives, they are all experiencing varying levels of brokenness and looking for newness. However, while all of their stories differ wildly in their professions, family situations and needs, all are on a journey to find transformative, unconditional love that sees them for who they are and recognizes their value. 

In a New York Minutemay not compete in a wide release with superheroes and magic filling the multiplexes, but that is not to take away its quality. Each woman brings a spark to their characters that breathes life into their stories and relationships. Most importantly though, Xi has crafted a well-told narrative that points to the connectedness of our stories as well as our common need for love. 

In A New York Minutepremieres on April 28th, 2019 at Newport Beach Film Festival

To hear full audio of our interview with Celia Au, click here.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Newport Beach FF, Premieres, Reviews Tagged With: Amy Chang, Celia Au, In a New York Minute, Newport Beach Film Festival, Ximan Li, Yi Liu

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