More in person and virtual film festival goodness! This time though, it was a lot closer to home so I was able to participate in the Cleveland International Film Festival in person! Let’s take a look at the few films I checked out over the course of the festival’s run.
Falcon Lake – Admittedly, from the brief blurb describing this movie, I thought was walking into a murder mystery. Turns out, it was a French Canadian coming-of-age drama. Not that I minded. I live for that kind of stuff! The French Bastien is traveling with his family in Quebec to visit the family of his mother’s friend. From there, he connects with her 16 year-old daughter, Chloe. It’s clear from the start that Chloe likes the 13 year-old Bastien, and it’s not long before Bastien grows in his courage to connect with her. There were some eerie moments where I thought something more sinister might happen, but it overall just led to a morose atmosphere that added to the middle-of-nowhere feel I imagine first time feature film director (and actress) Charlotte Le Bon was aiming for. Enjoyable.
Susie Searches – This was the winner for me. I can tell you straight away that this film reminded me of if The Loneliest Boy in the World and The Kid Detective had a baby, Susie Searches is what you would get. Doesn’t that sound incredible?! Because it was. Susie Wallace is a dorky and lonely part-time college student who’s hoping her true crime podcast takes off so she can give her MS suffering mother a better life. When a local classmate gets kidnapped, she makes it her mission to find him. He’s found rather quickly, but the revelations that are revealed from there are wild and quite clever! I wasn’t sure where this film was going, but it balanced laugh out loud moments with ones that had me jumping in my seat. I can’t say anything else for fear of ruining this very fun film. So you’ll just have to take my word that it’s worth your time when it finally makes its way to the public.
Kindling – Well geez, even though I knew what this film was about, I certainly didn’t expect that many tears. Good grief. Sid is spending his last summer on earth with his four best friends – brothers, essentially – trying to figure out how to make some lasting memories. That’s when he reads that things that are burned have particles in the air forever, so he tasks them all with finding something to represent their relationship together. Gosh, the strength of these friends and his parents are something else. Not to mention the strength of Sid. I don’t know what I would do if faced with knowing when my time on earth was up. Cancer can do that though, and it made this film a heart-breaking watch. Still excellent, but prepare yourself for tears.