ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

romance

Cyrano – Who is worthy of love?

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“I’d give anything for someone to say….”

We long—to be heard, to be seen, to be loved. Such loving is the driving force in Joe Wright’s film Cyrano, a reimagining of Edmund Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, by way of a musical stage play written and directed by Erica Schmidt, who wrote the screen play. It is the story of people who long to be loved—even though they don’t feel worthy of being loved as they would like to be.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Peter Dinklage as Cyrano in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The classic version of Cyrano de Bergerac centers on the title character, a guardsman who is known for his skill as a swordsman and for his wit, but is even more renown for the size of his nose. In this version, Cyrano’s nose is not the issue. Instead, he is played by the diminutive Peter Dinklage. It is his size that makes others scorn and ridicule him (but they do so at their peril). This is more than just a gimmick. Dinklage bring a certain reality to the role that actors in fake noses don’t have. We sense that he truly understands Cyrano’s feelings about being different.

Cyrano is in love with Roxanne (Haley Bennett), his friend from their childhood. But he feels that he can only love her from afar, because no one would accept him because he is so different. When Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) arrives in town, he and Roxanne lock eyes and are immediately smitten. Roxanne asks Cyrano to take care of Christian, a task he accepts out of love, but it breaks his heart. When Cyrano encourages Christian to write to Roxanne, Christian balks because he does not have the words or poetry that Roxanne desires. So Cyrano writes the letters for him, and together they win her heart, but it is obviously complicated (and comic).

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There is another rival for Roxanne, Duke De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn), a foppish, but rich and powerful nobleman. It would not be accurate to say he is courting her. Rather he has decided to possess her. He is the personification of entitlement. De Guiche’s main song is “What I Deserve”.

Those familiar with the original play will know that for all the comic aspects that play out in the romantic triangle of Cyrano, Roxanne, and Christian, the play evolves into a great tragedy of unfulfilled love.

The songs that are a part of this production fit in naturally, some more so than others. (Although the production numbers with large numbers of dancing guards seem less organic to the story.) Some of the songs are more spoken than sung, which works especially well in an early scene set in a theater, in which Cyrano’s lines have an almost rap quality.

Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano, Haley Bennett as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Christian in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are various themes entwined in all of this. One of those focuses on love and our desire to be loved. Often, however, at the same time, we feel unworthy of love. Each of the three main characters are deeply in love, but they each feel that for whatever reason, they don’t deserve to be loved: Cyrano because of his abnormal body, Christian because he can’t live up to the words that Cyrano has put in the letters, Roxanne because she wants more from love than she thinks anyone can give. It raises the question of what it means to be worthy of love—or more precisely if it’s possible to be unworthy. Love is not something we earn, but something bestowed upon us as a gift. That is a key point of the Christian faith: that God loves us not because we are worthy, but because God deems us worthy.

Honesty is another issue that this story deals with. Obviously, Cyrano and Christian are not being honest with the woman they both love. But we also know that Cyrano writes honestly. Everything he writes is from his own heart. The only dishonest thing about it is having Christian sign the letters. In time, Christian realizes this truth, and demands that they come clean with Roxanne—that she deserves the truth and to know of the love they both hold for her. De Guiche’s dishonesty is evident from when we first see him. His ostentatiousness, his highly powdered face and ghastly wig, serve to hide anything that might be considered common. His more shameful nature is hidden from view by his wealth and power.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Ben Mendelsohn as De Guiche in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

We also see the way pride interplays with a sense of inferiority.  De Guiche may try to hide himself with makeup and clothing, but Cyrano has no way to hide the part that makes him different. But both of these men have a great measure of pride. De Guiche’s pride is much more in the nature of hubris. His pride comes not from accomplishment, but from his position. For him, pride is just another bit of makeup to cover his lack of love. Cyrano’s pride comes from overcoming his adversity. However, he allows that pride to stand in the way of achieving the one thing he desires in life.

Cyrano is the story of all who long to love and be loved. It calls us to allow ourselves those blessings.

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne in Joe Wright’s CYRANO A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Peter Mountain © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Cyrano is playing in wide theatrical release.

I’ll Find You – Music, Love, and War

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It is hard enough for star-crossed lovers to find a path to happiness, but when you stick the Holocaust in the middle of it all, it seems impossible. I’ll Find You, directed by Martha Coolidge, takes us into a world where young lovers have their lives torn apart and must find a way back together. The film is inspired by stories of Polish musicians, although it is done in English.

Robert Pulaski (Leo Suter as an adult, Sebastian Croft as a youth) is new at the Music Academy in Lodz, where he first encounters Rachel Rubin (Adelaide Clemens as an adult, Ursula Parker as a youth), another student there. Their early meetings are like oil and water, but there is also a tenderness between them.  They have very different backgrounds: Robert is Catholic, Rachel is Jewish.

After a two year absence to study voice in Germany, Robert returns to find Rachel engaged. He’s devastated but begins a campaign to win her back. The love between the two blooms again, but her family will be leaving for Switzerland, trying to avoid the German invasion of Poland. But the day they were supposed to leave is when the Germans attack, and the family is trapped. Robert joins the Resistance, but when Rachel’s family is captured and sent to Auschwitz, he sets out to find a way to rescue her.

Robert goes to Berlin to enlist the help of his voice mentor Benno Moser (Stellan Skarsgård), who has many contacts among the Nazi elite. Soon Robert is even singing before Hitler himself. Moser’s contacts confirm that Rachel is in Auschwitz where she is part of the orchestra. They arrange to perform in the camp, where Robert at least sees his love. But can they arrange to get her out? Robert will stop at nothing to be reunited with Rachel, even after the war ends, he keeps following clues from one place to another, never giving up.

The romantic part of the film is a bit more complete than the clandestine search for Rachel. The first half of the film blends well the love story, the music, and wonderful production design that reflects pre-war Poland.

There are some gaps in the storytelling that could have profitably been filled in. For example, we really don’t see the ethical anguish that Robert had to go through to switch so quickly from the Resistance to singing for Hitler—even if it is for the cause of finding Rachel. Also, Rachel tells her family that music is part of who she is, yet the experience in the camps pushes her away from music. We only see a touch of that turmoil before it is resolved.

In the end, the film is a story of love. It is about love that will not let go, even when all seems hopeless. It is also the story of love that brings healing to the deep wounds that have been suffered.

I’ll Find You is in select theaters and available on VOD.

Photos courtesy of Gravitas Ventures.

Cabin Connection: Real Love Amongst the Pines

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“We want real stories. Romance sells.” – Carmen, Cabin Connection

Holding up the phrases ‘real stories’ and ‘romance sells’ together in the same sentence has a certain ring of irony to it. After all, even the best romance films lean into the most fantastic (and fictional) of coincidences and circumstances. Even so, Cabin Connection manages to find a balance between fantasy and reality and uses its tropes to mine something more real.

Cabin Connection tells the story of Hannah Monroe (Katherine Barrell), a lifestyle writer and committed bachelorette who’s working on an article about the nature of love. However, when her grandmother leaves her a cabin in the woods in her will, she leaves so that she can take a look at the property. When she arrives, she discovers that the home needs some serious repair and she hires local handyman Cole (Cody Ray Thompson) to help prep the cabin for sale. But as Hannah and Cole spend more time together, the two strike up their own romantic connection that helps Hannah restore her faith in love and make her reconsider her own future.

Light-hearted and fun, Cabin Connection is a charming getaway for two hours in the cold nights of January. Though this style of film usually rises to prominence over the holiday season, Cabin Connection manages to create the same hopeful vibe without the necessity of Christmas decorations. (Still, is it weird that I missed the traditionally over-developed display of Christmas lights a little bit?) Even without the holiday cheer, Connection successfully leans into many of the same tropes that make this genre so much fun. A smart, young executive who needs to take a trip to the remote countryside? Check. A meet-cute with a handsome local? Yep. 

And, most importantly, the spark of romance between them that changes their lives.

While the tropes may sound cliché, that doesn’t mean that the films aren’t enjoyable. There’s a sweetness embedded within the familiarity of this genre that keeps viewers coming back for more. Admittedly, some of these films are better than others. Thankfully, Cabin Connection works well due largely to the strength of its leads. As is always the case, the romance between Hannah and Cole remains the centerpiece of the film. In fact, he chemistry between stars Barrell and Thompson sparks as they playfully get to know one another amongst the country pines. With an innocent charm, the couple work well together onscreen and have the type of affection that feels welcoming to the viewer. 

Although the characters within these films are always on the search for love, Connection does so a little differently than other entries. Instead of just ‘finding love’, Connection wants to find out what love is. With every interview, Hannah seems to discover a new aspect of what makes love lasts. From a couple married 40 years to a widower moving forward from a deep loss, every person that Hannah speaks to has their own ‘definition’ of love. Some believe in ‘love at first sight’ while others saw their affection develop over time. Some have never questioned their love for one another while other have to choose to do so every morning. There’s a wide variety of experiences that shape the lives of each couple that give

While the fairytale romance still remains the goal of the film, Hannah also begins to see that real love requires hard work. Yes, it may be easier for some than others. However, in every case, the relationships within the film require the commitment to work together in order to create something beautiful that truly lasts. While romance films make love look easy, Connection tries to remind us that it really isn’t.

(I mean, admittedly Connection also makes it look pretty easy too… but that’s beside the point.)

For fans of this style of romance, Cabin Connection offers everything that they’re looking for from the genre. However, the best part about the film isn’t the warm fireplace or the fascination with baking. Instead, what makes Connection unique is that it really seems interested in finding out what makes love work.

In this film, that’s the connection that really matters.

To hear our interview with stars Katherine Barrell and Cody Ray Thompson, click here (YouTube) or here (podcast).

Cabin Connection is available to stream on Super Channel, beginning Saturday, January 15th, 2022.

23 Walks – A little different love story

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We may think that a love story is a love story. They meet. They clash. They become friends. They fall out. They reconcile. Life is beautiful. Those are the typical beats in such a story. They are all there in 23 Walks, written and directed by Paul Morrison, but it all seems a bit different because the characters are a bit older. That brings some new dimensions to the film.

Dave (Dave Johns) and Fern (Alison Steadman) first meet while walking their dogs in a park in North London. Fern is a bit grumpy that Dave’s dog, while perfectly behaved, is not on a leash. They begin to run into each other on their daily walks, and are soon planning to meet on the walks. Little by little a friendship develops. But they are both in their sixties. This is not a story about raging passion. It is a much mellower journey into the possibility of some kind of new future.

The age of the characters slows down the story just a bit—and that’s fitting. (I move slower now than I used to, too.) Because they are older, they have learned that things can happen over time. But their ages mean that they each have histories. Those pasts have brought joys and pains. They may make them wary about this relationship. It does lead them to keep some important things secret—which leads to serious problems.

It is those histories that bring the new perspective to this romance. In a more traditional love story, we are looking toward a future and the possibilities that holds. While we do hope for a wonderful future for Dave and Fern, we know that for them, this relationship is going to have to deal with the past as well, because those pasts linger in our lives.

Their futures are complicated. Both are about to lose their homes. (No, the answer to their problems isn’t to move in together.) Both have family issues they must deal with—not because of a lack of love, but because of so much love. But perhaps in that tension between their difficult pasts and their uncertain futures, they can find a present in one another that will bring some happiness.

The story is told with sweetness, but it is not cloying. These are characters that are firmly based in reality and common people. They are aging, but still have a good deal of life in them that they are seeking to maximize. The love that grows between them has that same sense of reality. It is grounded in a relationship that feeds them both. Any physical manifestations of love grow from that, which puts it all on a firm foundation. The love we see is a warm-hearted enjoyment of each other. It is the kind of love that those characters in traditional love stories with younger people hope they can grow into over time.

23 Walks is in select theaters and available on VOD.

@Sundance: First Date

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Sundance offers the chance for many first-time filmmakers to share their films. First Date is the premier feature film from directors Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp. It is a film that doesn’t fit nicely into any single genre, rather it mixes several together. The results sometimes work, but not always.

Mike, a somewhat shy high schooler, finally works up the courage (with some help from his friend) to ask out his heartthrob neighbor, Kelsey. She is also the target of a local jock with a great car. Mike, sadly, has no car, so for the date he gets conned into buying a junker ’66 Chrysler. It turns out, there are a lot of people interested in that car, including a pair of sheriff deputies, a crazy cat lady, and a band of bickering criminals/book club members. The problems prevent him from picking up Kelsey, who ends up going for a drive with the jock. When Mike and Kelsey finally do get together, their mutual attraction begins to come through, but then more problems with all of the bad guys cranks up the story again.

Tyson Brown and Shelby Duclos appear in First Date by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

In press notes, the directors liken the film to “Kinda like mixing all the different sodas at the soda fountain. You’re not supposed to do it but damn, it’s a sugar rush.” I found that a very apt analogy. We can easily see some of the influences they want to add to the mix. The group of crooks have the same kind of incompetence we remember from Fargo. There is a body count that would fit into a Tarantino film. There’s the romance developing between Mike and Kelsey. There are some car chases.

I think it should be noted that there is a difference between mixing all the sodas, and the blending that happens to make a fine wine. The results of soda mixing may be enjoyable to a point, but it will ultimately never be quite as enjoyable as something crafted with a clear goal in mind.

There are parts of this story that work very well—especially the scenes where Mike and Kelsey got to talk to each other. The writing in those scenes show a good feel for the early stage of a relationship—of two people who like each other, but aren’t sure where it’s going. Scenes where the bad guys bicker aren’t quite at the same level, but still the dialogue and relationships are entertaining.

The crime/action part of the film doesn’t show the same level of craft, perhaps in part because this part seems so outlandish. Toning down some of the violence would have benefitted the overall film. When the action part of the film takes over, the interesting relationships that have been developed get pushed into the background.

One of the good things about festivals giving opportunities to new filmmakers is that it gives them a chance to try things out. They get to try mixing the sodas. Maybe they’ll discover the flavors that do or don’t work together, and build from there.

The Keeper -Finding Forgiveness

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Based on a true story, The Keeper, from director Marcus H Rosenmüller, is the story of a German POW who in the post-war years becomes one of the most famous football (soccer to Americans) players in England. Along the way the story looks the difficulty of forgiving both our enemies and ourselves. And there’s a love story.

Bert Trautmann (David Kross) is a German paratrooper who fought most of the war in Poland, earning an Iron Cross. Late in the war, he’s captured by the British and placed in a POW camp in Lancashire. Because he volunteered for the German army and was well decorated, he gets some pretty nasty jobs in the camp. After the war, the POWs were kept there for some time until repatriation could happen.

One day when Jack Friar (John Henshaw) and his daughter Margaret (Freya Mavor) deliver goods to the camp, Friar sees Trautmann tending goal as the prisoners play football. He is exceptional. Friar is the manager of a local football club that is in dire need of improvement. He arranges to have Trautmann work for him so he can use him as a goalie in upcoming matches. The team prospers, and just about the time Trautmann is due to return to Germany, the manager of the Manchester City club offers him a tryout. Around this same time, Trautmann and Margaret marry. (The love story takes up most of the first half of the film.)

It is not easy for a former Nazi to be accepted either by teammates or fans. The issue was multiplied when he began playing in Manchester, which had a sizable Jewish population. In time, a rabbi who had fled Germany wrote an open letter saying that we shouldn’t judge on what we presume, but judge each by their merit. That let Trautmann find some acceptance, and his exceptional play led the team to more victories—eventually winning the FA Cup—a match in which Trautmann played the last 15 minutes with a broken neck.

The film, as is often the case with sports stories, deals with adversity, perseverance, and heroics. But it is also a love story, and that adds another dimension. In fact, this is more love story than sports story. But the issues of adversity, perseverance, and heroics are just as important in that part of the story.

Through the first half of the film, the adversity has to do with Trautmann’s past as a German soldier, and the perception others had of him. As one character tells him, “To me and everyone around me, you’re still the enemy.” Margaret was just as set against Trautmann as everyone else. But as she got to know him, and saw within him someone who had dreams and fears like everyone else, she softened to him.

Later in the film, other problems arise that test Trautmann individually, and him and Margaret as a couple. We learn in bits and pieces through the film some of the ghosts and guilt that haunt Trautmann. Just as Margaret, then fans had to come to term with how they viewed Trautmann’s past, so must he. Often it is much more difficult to forgive oneself that to find forgiveness in others.

There is an interesting side note in this film for people familiar with Christian hymnody (at least for non-British people). In the scene leading up to the famous championship game, we hear the crowd singing “Abide with Me”. It turns out that that is a tradition for the FA Cup Finals dating back to 1927. (I’ve yet to find an explanation.) It seems a strange song to sing prior to a sports match, given that it is a song asking for God’s presence at the time of death. The song is sung again at the end of the film. While the song is included mostly for its association to football, it also fits well at the end of the film because death crops up at various times in the film, as it does throughout our lives. It is a nice reminder of our need for God’s presence, not only when “fast falls the eventide”, but always.

The Keeper is opening in theaters (where open) and on virtual cinema through local arthouses.

Photos courtesy of Beta Cinema.

Comfort Films #6 – A Walk in the [STEEL MAGNOLIAS]

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When times are tough, what stories do you turn to? Our new series, Comfort Films, is designed to look at the stories that are important to us and why they help bring us up with everything feels down. This week, Amanda Jane Smith and Miriam Ibrahim return to chat about the catharsis and nostalgia in Steel Magnolias, the simple romance of A Walk in the Clouds and undeniable charm of My Date with Drew.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Soundcloud! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts or Google Play!

Called by the Water: 1on1 with Jordan and Aaron Kandell (ADRIFT)

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Written by twin brothers, Jordan and Aaron Kandell (Moana), Adrift tells the amazing true story of Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claifin), two young lovers who set out on a journey across the ocean in 1983 and sailed directly into a Category 4 hurricane. In the aftermath of the storm, Tami awakens to find Richard badly injured and their boat in ruins. Stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no communication or navigation tools, Tami must find a way to save them both. According to Jordan, as soon as they discovered Tami’s story, they knew that it was one that needed to be told onscreen.

“We were doing journalistic research for an original survival sea story that we were prepping to write,” begins Jordan. “We have journalistic background and so we always try to [bring a]… sense of reality and authenticity, even if it’s a fictional story. So, I think in the first hour we came upon Tami’s book because it’s incredibly well known as one of the all-time great survival stories. But when you look at these vast geographic and other magazines had lists of 10 best new incredible survival stories, Tami’s was the only one that featured a woman! To us, we just couldn’t believe that. It said everything we wanted to say in our meetup story, which was going to be about twin brothers and loss. I don’t know why we had that idea (laughs). But it was a true story, it was a woman [who] survived incredible odds and it had an incredible love story on top of it. So, it just has everything and we just knew we had to tell it as soon as we read it.”

Having spent a good deal of time with Tami as they were preparing the story, Aaron believes the most inspiring aspect about her was her incredible humility.

“The thing that’s most amazing to us about Tami is that she thinks anybody would have survived the same situation,” Aaron reflects. “She’s the kind of hero who doesn’t think she’s a hero and that’s what makes her more heroic. She just has this strength and this indomitable ability and this humility about her that makes her deeply inspiring [to us]. [It’s the kind of inspiration] where you go, ‘That’s the kind of person that, if I had to be stuck on a boat, I would hope I could be stuck with them’ because that’s the person that’s going to make it no matter what. I don’t think we could have survived that.”

While it’s always a challenge to bring reality to the big screen, it can be even more daunting to have those who lived through the story over-seeing the process. However, with Tami, the Kandells were amazed at her candidness and willingness to explore her past.

According to Jordan, “The most exciting part of the process was that, not only is Tami everything strong and fearless and humble that Aaron said, but she’s also incredibly warm, open, collaborative and willing to trust in us to tell her story. Then, she was willing to open up her polaroids and her ship’s blog and relive this harrowing journey in incredible, powerful detail in interviews with us over the five-year journey it took to make it. That’s just a blessing to have someone do that and, of course, it infuses us with even deeper desire to tell her story.”

Although Tami and Richard had only known each other a few months before their journey out to sea, there is little question of the impact and intensity of their romance. As she spoke to Jordan and Aaron about her experience, they too became convinced that their love provided her with a spiritual sense of strength.

“Tami has always described her relationship with Richard as true love, like a deep soul connection love,” Aaron responds. “To this day, I think she believes that, if he was still here, they would be together. In the movie, they got engaged and were planning to sail the world together and spend their lives together. She told us that she says in her book that she’s not sure exactly what got her through it. She went over the course of the 41-day harrowing journey in a lot of different questions and doubts. We have her ship’s blog where she’s writing things like, ‘Why did you do this to me?’ ‘Why me?’ ‘Am I being punished, God?’ It was a very Jobian thing that she would explore. She doesn’t know if it was a higher power, a guardian spirit or angel voice that spoke to her in her moment of dire need and kept her going and motivated her and kind of guided her but she what she ultimately arrived at—and believes—is that it was Richard’s love that got her through it… Her love for him was [the reason she survived and] what gave her the ultimate strength.”

One of the more compelling elements of the Kandells’ script is its interest in moving seamlessly between past and present. In doing so, the story juxtaposes love and survival in a fascinating ebb and flow. With this in mind, Jordan believes that the interplay between timelines stems from Tami’s book and gives the film an almost musical element.

“Honestly, the inspiration for that comes right out of adapting the book, which is Tami recounting her survival while also processing her emotions through memory of the cinematic lush romance with Richard…,” he muses. “There’s something really beautifully sonic about having these two different melodies that we interweave and create a more intricate harmony when brought together. That structurally and creatively was a challenge and an inspiration. It was also a way to honor what she told us [about how] love is what she believed got her through it. Then, the love story is as important and essential to understanding the survival story. Those two have to be communicating with each other.”

Of course, the Kandells’ are perhaps best known for their role in writing the script for Disney’s Moana. As their first major writing credit, it’s interesting that both stories centre around two adventurous women that strike out onto the ocean. In this case, however, Aaron contends that, while the comparisons are natural, they are not intentional.

“It’s one of those, ‘How did they happen? Is it a coincidence?’ As Tami says, ‘what it steers your path’. We actually found her story before Moana,” he explains. “We started writing the opening scenes of Adrift the day we got called and hired for Moana. We had to put Adrift on hold while we worked on Moana and then came back and started writing Adrift the day after we finished. So, the fact that they happen to be both stories about young women who kind of find their inner strength and power by sailing out to sea and getting into a storm and being mentored by older male mariners is a coincidence or something of the highest order.”

Interestingly, the open water is featured so predominantly in both films that it almost becomes a character unto itself, breathing life into the narrative. In light of this, the Kendalls believe that their interest in the ocean stems primarily from their upbringing on Hawaii, offering them a place of spiritual inspiration.

“I think for us, personally, nature and the ocean are respectful communion has always been our church and our spirituality,” Jordan insists. “It’s where we feel most comfortable. We are more comfortable on water than we are on land. It’s where we go to recharge and cleanse ourselves and find inspiration and creativity. Yeah. This is our fifth screenplay involving the ocean that we’ve actually written. I guess we feel a calling back towards it.”

“Is that the nature in you or is it nurture?,” offers Aaron. “We have salt water in our veins. Our parents threw us the ocean when we were six months old and that was every day for us. So, it’s certainly a function of both of those things. Being born and raised in Hawaii and living here still, there’s a value system to when you live on an island, (in Hawaii certainly, but I think about all island cultures around the world). There’s a respect for and a communion with the ocean because it surrounds you and has you in a blue embrace at all times. So, [you go] to that as your source for joy, for sports, or food. It’s something that a category five hurricane (for story plundering) is something that you can’t escape. We’re surrounded on all sides by it and it failed. Yeah. We ended up blending and diving into it as often as we can, as deeply as we can.”

Adrift is in theatres now.

Forever My Girl: Healing through Forgiveness

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Produced by LD Entertainment (Risen, Jackie), Forever My Girl tells the story of Liam Page (Alex Roe), a superstar country singer who can’t shake the hurts of his past. When the death of a high school friend brings him back to his home town, he encounters Josie (Jessica Rothe), his ex-fiance for the first time since he left her at the altar. Though she isn’t interested in reconnecting with Liam, Josie does tell him that he has a daughter, Billie (Abby Ryder Fortson), from their previous relationship. As a result, Liam decides to stay longer in his home town to get to know his child and, potentially, rediscover himself as well.

For a studio that’s known for such gritty films as 2011’s survival film The Grey and the Oscar-nominated Jackie Onassis biopic, Jackie, this film is certainly a departure for them. Infused with an energetic dose of country music, Forever My Girl has a much lighter tone than the above titles, carrying itself as a fun, romantic drama. Relative newcomer Alex Roe (The 5th Wave) handles himself with southern charm as star Liam Page (remarkable considering he had little musical training prior to the film) but it is Jessica Rothe’s performance as Josie that often proves most up to the challenge. Rather than settle for the ‘disgruntled ex-girlfriend’ role, Rothe portrays Josie as a confident and assertive young mother who has created a healthy life for both herself and her daughter.

Interestingly, the film is also very concerned with exploring the nature of forgiveness in its story, placing each character in various degrees of brokenness. Josie, while established in her new life, has never truly forgiven Liam for abandoning her. In addition, Liam has never been able to forgive himself for not being able to help his mother. Finally, Liam’s father—and town

pastor—Brian Page (John Benjamin Hickey) has never forgiven his son for abandoning both his family and his personal values. As each character finds themselves on a different emotional journey, they begin to recognize the healing power of forgiving one another. In doing so, they each experience a renewed sense of community by recognizing their own imperfections and releasing their past hurts. (Incidentally, it’s also worth noting as well that, while the film would hardly be considered of the ‘faith-based’ genre, Forever My Girl certainly uses a Biblical understanding of grace and forgiveness as a template from which to build their character arcs.)

While admittedly the film breaks very little new ground for the genre, it does entertain and delivers what it promises. Bolstered by a strong pop country soundtrack—”Water Down My Whiskey” in particular was stuck in my head for several days—and charming characters, Forever My Girl will likely appeal to fans of the romantic drama but is not likely to attract many new ones.

 

Forever My Girl is currently available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

TIFF17: The Mountain Between Us

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The Mountain Between Us tells the story of Alex (Kate Winslet) and Ben (Idris Elba), two strangers who both find themselves stuck in an airport when their respective flights are suddenly cancelled.  Anxious to get to their destination, the two strangers decide to charter a flight together to beat the system.  However, when their pilot (Beau Bridges!) takes ill mid-flight, the plane crashes in the mountains, leaving the two to fend for themselves against all odds in the harshest of conditions.

Shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mountain features stunning visual photography and, according to the cast, no CGI wizardry.  The film’s emphasis on practical visuals lend credibility to the perils of the wilderness.  While ‘survivalist’ films are nothing new (remember, it was only two years ago that we witnessed DiCaprio make a similar trek in The Revenant), Mountain somehow feels almost fresh due to the strength of its leads.  While no one would doubt their talent, Elba and Winslet work surprisingly well together, creating genuine sexual tension between the two strangers.

At its heart, Mountain is less about surviving the elements and more about what draws us together.  As such, the ‘mountain between them’ becomes more metaphoric than literal as the strangers must navigate the challenges of trusting another person with whom you have no prior relationship.  While other films show sacrifice as the greatest act of love, Mountain recognizes that mutual sacrifice is also a key part of the community.  Winslet’s nosy journalist is a solid foil for Elba’s emotionally stunted Ben as they are forced to decide whether or not they are better off together or alone in their fight to survive.  This strain is further emphasized by the cinematography between the two subjects, as director Abu-Assad consistently places Winslet and Elba in either extreme closeness or distant separation onscreen.  The result is a visual push/pull that emotionally unites the actors in the midst of dire circumstances.

In the end, The Mountain Between Us is a surprisingly engaging piece about what connected us.  By focusing the story on the tension between the two leads, the script allows them to drive the narrative emotionally, which is their strength.  Through solid performances and writing, the film reminds us that the greatest mountains between us are often what we create ourselves.

Special features include “Love and Survival: Creating Chemistry,” “Mountain Between Them: Shooting in Isolation,” “The Wilds: Surviving Stunts,” a director’s commentary by Hany Abu-Assad, and deleted scenes.