Come Closer (2024 | Isreal | 107 mins | Tom Nesher)

Eden and Nico are closer than your typical siblings, bonded by shared trama and the desire to get out into the world and from under their flawed, selfish parents. When Nico unexpectedly dies, Eden discovers a hidden part of his life. Losing herself in his loss and looking for a safe harbor she slips into a relationship that can’t be sustained.

Come Closer is an intense emotional drama with brief moments of sweetness. While it seems obvious where the storyline will go, I felt conflicted on whether I wanted it to manifest that way. That’s what makes this film intriguing and painful, but at the same time relatable. The heartbreak of loss can cause chaos and unpredictable effects we never saw coming.

Additional screenings / release / etc.

Diamonds (2024 | Italy | 135 mins | Ferzan Özpetek)

Diamonds is a story within a story but it melts into the background until you’re intentionally pulled out either to get a small break from the emotional intensity or as a comparison to the characters in the “outer” story, or both… you decide. A group of Italian women have gathered on a beautiful estate at the behest of a film director. Unbeknownst to them until they arrive, he wants to do a table read for his newest venture; so begins the interior story: a group of Italian women who work as designers and seamstresses creating exceptional costuming for films (yea, this film is insanely meta, but it works!).

The story is a powerful “slice of life” for both the secondary and tertiary storylines, neither of which most could relate to, though each character is going through life’s challenges as we all would… the best they can. The lush backdrops of both the villa and the costuming company create a visual story that intrigues and captivates.

Additional screenings / release / etc.

Hanami (2024 | Switzerland | 96 mins | Denise Fernandes)

Hanami follows a girl, Nana, from birth to young adulthood as she flows through the the quiet, thoughtful and beautiful world in which she lives. On a small volcanic island off the coast of Africa, she and the others living there are isolated but living productive and happy lives. Other than the frustrations of island life (lack of access to foreign foods, clothing and the like) they seem to want for nothing except, perhaps, adventure.

That very thing has pulled many of the people in Nana’s life off the island, including her love interest just as the two were on the cusp of romance as well as her mother Nia shortly after giving birth to her. It’s hard to tell, until she gives her answer outright at the end, whether she has the desire to leave as well. That is what breathes life into this film: we discover right alongside her what is most important in leading a happy life, including who we cherish and where we feel at home.

A beautifully staged, quietly poetic film about our relationships with the people around us and the place we call home. I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of the film with French, Portuguese and Japanese all being spoken at one time or another; it added a sense of magic to the interactions because no one needed an interpreter, they just understood one another. That may seem like a cop-out in a way, but it felt very intentional and true to the story being told. It seemed to call on the common thread that connects all of humanity regardless of origin, color or language.

Additional screenings / release / etc.