FULLY REALIZED HUMANS
Joshua Leonard does it all – stars, produces, writes, and directs – for his expecting parents dramedy that doesn’t garner the emotional response it’s hoping for. Elliott (Leonard) and Jackie (Jess Weixler) are pregnant with their first child. They feel excited, terrified and all of the emotions in between. Their friends are no help, only adding to their anxiety, so they take it upon themselves to get a little crazy to perhaps make them better parents. Most importantly, not be like their parents. Sounds good, but it frolics in absurdity before trying to be heartfelt in its last 15 minutes, and it falls flat. Leonard and Weixler’s chemistry is this witless, uneven story’s one saving grace.
FINDING YINGYING
It doesn’t get more personal or painful than this tremendous true-crime documentary focusing on the disappearance of a young Chinese student attending Illinois University and her family who come to the U.S. to bring their daughter home. Director Jiayan ‘Jenny’ Shi, a fellow Illinois University student, presents a part investigation and part family drama, and the effect one has on the other is intensely woeful. Without revealing too much, Yingying Zhang was passionate about studying, and as her words from her diary are read out loud – a sadness sweeps over you as her dreams will never come true when the pieces of her last moments in life are assembled.
The grief, vulnerability, and determination, as well as the culture clash of how justice is served in China and America, is stunning. You feel for Yingying’s family. What they endure is unimaginable for anyone, but if you’re a parent then it will surely shake you to the core. This unbelievable portrait of losing a child on foreign soil is horrifying, but Shi never loses sight of the love and support that keeps the Zhang family from never giving up.
Nash Film Fest 2020 Recap: Part 1
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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