By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.7 cats
Director: Charlotte Wells
Starring: Celia Rowlson-Hall | Frankie Corio | Paul Mescal
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2022
Running time: 93
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19770238/reference/
Brett says: “AFTERSUN is a memory encapsulated within a non-linear vacation narrative as a young father and pre-teen daughter have come together at a Turkish resort under some uncertain circumstances. In fact, the hazy cloud hanging over the film from the very opening scene is what unknown circumstances are surrounding her father’s current (and past) condition and what kind of finality this extended holiday will offer. It is very much a show, don’t tell narrative, not granting specifics that too many other films would feel the need to explain away. The major reason for these non-specifics is because the scenes, in part, are presumably a blend of somewhat accurate, somewhat unreliable reminiscences of a child at that time who has now grown up and thinks back to the possible meanings of the moment in retrospect. As such, the film thematically captures the voids of hindsight that many adults experience at a more mature age while also recapturing and reframing opportunities of the past both missed at the time but also undervalued for what they were at the time.
“The father Calum is apparently very alone, according to young Sophie’s imaginings. Without any sort of overproduced introspective narrative devices, the audience joins her and feels for her in her great care and concern for what her father might be going through. We are unsure because she is unsure. The tension and aforementioned cloud hanging over the lack of assurance keeps adding weight to each new scene as the audience gets further and further invested in this relationship and its undertones.
“One cannot quite put one’s finger on what the bottom line is, but it’s understood that something significant is going on with Calum, the father. Fathering is what he’s best at. The unexplained other weakness(es) is there, but in this moment, in this retreat from whatever is out there confronting Calum, he is getting to experience the one thing that he is good at: being a father. One gets the idea that because he is young, there are certain ambitions that are going unfulfilled in his life. Is young Sophie able to pick up on that and carry the question of her own contributions to that with her as baggage into adulthood?
“While it cannot be declared for certain, some extended metaphors weave their way into the work visually to help guide the subtext. One thread is the difficulty of removal that peeps its head up now and again throughout the film. Like everything else in the film, it’s subtle and the viewer has to look for it, but it’s in the final edits of the film, so it does beckon the consideration from the audience that it must contribute something to the weight on Calum’s shoulders. The title AFTERSUN also works as another extended metaphor. The sun is discussed during only one of the scenes, but the film brings it back as a visual metaphor at other times, and it is this abundant sunlight at the resort that is now the “aftersun”’as Sophie and the audience can only look back to the events of that moment through retrospective lenses.
“It is not only Calum’s characterization that gets featured in the film even though it seems a focal point of the young girl looking back. Sophie experiences a coming-of-age reckoning through this extended vacation. A huge part of this film is her own coping and longing for meaning in the moments of this seemingly mundane vacation at the time. The blinding sun may also indicate Sophie’s own fuzzy recollections of her own experiences on the vacation as well.
“The entire film is a trust exercise in which audience members have to put faith in the filmmakers to lead them. Talking about it with someone yet to see the film can only lead to several nondescript impressions left by the film. After the fact (‘aftersun,’ if you will) it’s the kind of piece that warrants about as much follow-up discussion as the actual runtime of the film itself. 5 cats out of 5“
Chris says: “A few nights after viewing this, I’m still piecing it together, less in terms of logistics than taking in all the shifting perspectives, recurring images, ambiguous tones and sustained feeling of drifting in and out of consciousness. Then again, I like movies that are somewhat unknowable and this is less a key to unlock than a door into another way of seeing. Also, Paul Mescal proves his breakthrough performance in Normal People was no fluke. 4.5 cats”
Michael says: “This British father-daughter memory tale is a remarkable work as a first-time narrative film. Writer/director Charlotte Wells tells a very personal story through the eyes of a pre-teen girl about a time spent at a Turkish resort with her Dad, who is divorced from her Mom. Wells doesn’t tell a straight-forward story.In fact, for the first half of the film I found myself frustrated, not quite understanding the point of some of the extended scenes we were experiencing The latter half grew both more compelling and more obtuse, as shifting timelines, and unexplained scenes created a sense of unease, but little detail of what was actually going on. Fortunately the film is anchored by a remarkable performance by Paul Mescal (THE LOST DAUGHTER; Normal People) playing the dad. Loving and attentive, there is also a sense of desperation and anxiety beneath his actions. In the end when those elements grow stronger, his behavior suggests a darkness that is surprising although not entirely unexpected. Ultimately, I was very moved and impressed with the film, despite not having a solid grasp on some of the events and their sequence or meaning. It was one of those films that I wasn’t sure how I felt about as it concluded, and the next more found I truly appreciated. 4.5 cats“