Originality of Vision award:
SUNDANCE FILM FEST

Support Shadows: Buy a Poster

Richard (Hawkes) feels so numb after his wife (Kennedy) throws him out that he lights his hand on fire. His sons (Thompson and Ratcliff) are also fascinated by the concept of human connection, indulging in anonymous internet chat and provocative interaction with three neighbour girls (Westerman, Slayton and Townsend). Meanwhile, the struggling performance artist Christine (July) thinks she knows she's finally found a kindred soul when she meets Richard.

At its core this is an extremely tentative romance, but July constructs it in a bracingly original way that refuses to follow standard movie rules. She widens out to encompass all of the people (the baggage?) that accompany someone into any relationship. And the result is a startlingly involving film--each character's journey is specific and meaningful, examining expectations and hidden desires that are constantly surprising both to the characters themselves and to us as viewers.

Performances are raw and natural. Hawkes and July are wonderfully realistic characters we can fully identify with their fearful optimism and thinly veiled emotions. And the young cast is especially strong, daring to confront realistic issues that seem shocking on screen simply because filmmakers are usually too timid to hint at the fact that children have aspirations that just might involve sexuality. And at the other end of the spectrum, there's a fine pair of performances from Elias and Greer as an elderly couple Christine works with.

This is an introspective, observant film with a deeply warped sense of humour. July taps into something almost achingly true about humanity, echoed in several key scenes (the hand burning, a doomed goldfish, the contents of one character's hope chest). We all carry within us the concept of a relationship that will last forever; the trick is learning how to express this to those around us. And July offers us a witty suggestion: ))<>(( But you'll have to see the film for an explanation.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

17.Jun.05