By Swati Sharan

Bouchra

4/5

Directed by Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani 

Bouchra is scripted in the fashion of a modern Aesop’s fable except that it’s semi-autobiographical shot in 3D animation using a documentary style. Much like the fables, the film depicts people as animals to get a point across. It helps in depersonalizing what is otherwise a deeply intimate story.

 Bouchra is a queer coyote filmmaker in New York City who is trying to make a film based on the real life awkwardness she and her mother in Casablanca share over a period of 9 years after she has come out. She was told to do what she wanted but not talk of it ever. And this has built into a great inner turmoil. 

The film tosses between English, French and Arabic. The animation is a stunning mirror to real life with its larger than life parallels to the big Apple. We also see how our protagonist’s personal struggle fits into the larger context of the Moroccan community that is settled in the US and how much public guidance gets sought in the form of talk shows as part of the immigrant struggle on coming to terms with oneself in a foreign land. 

In the absence of traditional communities, people are making awkward confessions over talk shows. Barki and Bennani have painted a very vivid slice of life of the community by breaking the story down into these mundane everyday occurrences. 

The film goes back and forth through the use of storyboards that are being prepared for the film being made within the film. The film strikes one as being both subtle yet stark at the same time. It is every bit worth the watch for both the storyline and the way the artistic vision has been carried out from a cinematic point of view.

Couture

 5/5

Directed by: Alice Winocour. Starring: Angelina Jolie, Anyier Anie, Louis Garrel

Angelina Jolie plays a middle-aged American film director named Maxine who has just discovered that she has breast cancer while working on the Paris runway.  She then feels fashion is useless and realizes she needs to slow down. She is putting things on the back burner because of a financial necessity stemming from a recent divorce and the responsibility of having a teenage daughter. 

In the meantime, she chairs an effort to recruit models from different war-torn countries to debut in her anti-gender, violent horror-film themed fashion show.  But this is met with challenges. As we see people portray themselves as zombies, it actually starts feeling very symbolic after a given point given the mechanical nature by which everyone is operating in this very brisk fashion industry.

We see the struggles of women who make it to the top. In the middle of so much bad news, Maxine is being forced to perform because so much time and money and people are involved that she can’t slow down when this is the very time she must. She also has a teenage daughter whom she must find a way to connect with because she is in America with her father. 

There is also a strong emotional need for intimate connection for what can be scary to go through by yourself. 

The irony is not lost on one to think that the fashion industry is dominated by women yet it doesn’t cater to a women’s everyday needs no matter how much they get paid. Women are being expected to be like robots with no personal life. Jolie has gifted us with a humanizing portrayal of what highly successful women in the entertainment industry go through, if only but a glimpse.

Simultaneously, we see the new recruits trying to cope with what may otherwise appear like a fantasy world and is perhaps their ticket to a safe and financially successful life with much empowerment. We see their personal traumas and fears for their families and the fate of their countries. In turn, in the age of cell phones, their family is giving a minute by minute account of whatever personal struggles they face which perhaps makes it harder for some of these models to just slide into whatever the demands of the fashion industry are just like that. Yet the return is so high that they work very hard to transition into the horror film project. It’s like they have one foot in Paris and one in their home countries never allowing them to be 100% in one space. 

We also witness the exploitation of people in the Arts including the makeup artist who is unpaid and often overworked at a frenetic pace as are the seamstresses in some cases. But even if they should get paid well, the pace is ungodly. 

They don’t lurk there just for the joy of it. The makeup artist hopes, for example, to write a successful novel based on her experiences. Is the anticipation of a future success worth it?  

The film is shot with a feminist perspective, which ironically the fashion industry has lacked though it is dominated by women. Yet rarely do we see this kind of voice. 

Jolie’s no holds barred performance meshing with the idea of empowering women from developing countries bolsters it because it overlaps with her real life volunteer work.

Dust to Dreams 

4/5

Directed by Idris Elba. Starting: Seal, Nse-Ikpe Etim, Konstance  Olatunde

Three stories seem to be playing out in this very short drama of 17 minutes. It may feel like a lot is coming at you but here we go. 

A dying nightclub owner in Lagos, Nigeria is in conflict with family members about ownership of the night club her father started. Their argument is: ‘It is all we have left of him. Sell it to us.’ But she is conflicted on how to share the legacy and she doesn’t see selling as the answer. 

In the meantime, the owner must arrange for her daughter to be paired with her estranged husband, the singer turned soldier. He has been away in the army for so long with no experience of being with the daughter. How do they begin?  Where once he was likely admonished for his singing talents, he must face up to this night club which once belonged to a father-in law he was once afraid of. 

In the meantime, the daughter (Konstance) has actually inherited her father’s talent for singing. Can a bonding be forged in the absence of the mother? 

The film attempts to tie all these loose ends together in a short span of time. But it is very absorbing to see how as evidently, this is a very big budgeted short film which one rarely comes across. The visuals and art direction are very strong with very catchy music. The film wants to say a lot in such little time. Yet little gestures and one line statements convey a lot. 

Co-produced by a Forbes 100 entrepreneur for the African sub-continent Mo Abudu with direction by Idris Elba, the film is an attempt at making something larger. It’s the attempt to promote films from the African sub-continent for an international platform.

With so many stalwarts backing it with the likes of Nollywood star Etim and pop singer Seal, the push is bound to bring a spring of results. 

 Though some find it overwhelming, the film is very much worth the watch.

Gandhi

5/5

Directed by: Hansal Mehta 

Starring: Pratik Gandhi, Bhamini Ozha, Kabir Bedi, Tom Felton 

Gandhi is a web series highlighting the earlier years in the freedom fighter’s life. The festival showed us two episodes from the series. The storyline traces back to the days of when many knew him as dear Mohan (Pratik Gandhi). 

Shown in a way that may resonate with today’s youngsters, we see Mohan being groomed to go abroad to become a barrister and redeem the family within a year or two of settling down. He faces a lot of stigma for going abroad as a Hindu and is threatened to be disowned if he comes back. His mother, however, stands her ground and makes sure Mohan gets that chance no matter how high the stakes are. 

What ensues however are tremendous financial hardships on the family that Mohan is oblivious of while he acclimates into the British lifestyle albeit without the meat and alcohol. 

Yet he comes out looking like the proper gentleman in British attire. He then goes on to befriend Josiah Olfield (Tom Felton), a vegetarian society founder. Through him, we learn about how the idea of vegetarianism is not as foreign to England as it was made out to be. During difficult periods of time, Britishers had adapted to a vegetarian diet out of necessity. 

Through many similar instances of exposure and personal development, Mohan realizes it’s time to go back to India. The price of being abroad was unreasonable on his family financially, physically and emotionally. 

After the return to India, we see Mohan being disentitled from getting the rightful position of a barrister because of the artificial barriers the British have imposed. He realizes he will never get his due if he remains in India. Eventually, he decides to go to South Africa. 

In Pietermaritzburg, Gandhi is thrown off the train in a Whites only compartment. Therein begins the journey to start fighting injustice. 

The screening concludes with Gandhi being shown in South Africa with much more to come. 

Gandhi’s time period has been recreated with the subtlest of Gujarati nuances. Based on Ramchandra Gina’s book, many fine details can be found in this web series. 

The costumes, characterization and  storyline all blend seamlessly. The acting and direction borrow strongly from theatrical influences. It may have been better to use a younger actor for this part of Gandhi’s life but Pratik is able to create a suspended belief in animation to enthrall the audience into believing he really is in his late teens or early 20s because of his innocent expressions. One can’t wait to see the whole series unfold. Stay tuned for the interview.

A Sámi Wedding 

4/5

Directed by: Ase Kathrin Vuolab, Pal Jackman

Starring: Sara Margrethe Oskal, Ante Siri, Inga Marja Utsi, Ivan Aleksander Sara Buljo, Craig Stein

Produced by a Cannes Film Festival Prize jury winner and now a TIFF winner for A Sentimental Journey, A Sami Wedding is a Norwegian web series whose talent we got to interview. The Sami tribe are an indigenous tribe to Norway. This is a series which helps people of the Sami tradition rekindle their heritage. 

A Sami Wedding is the story of a dysfunctional family in Norway in the Sami tribe. Garen (Oskal) is the matron intent on the traditional elaborate Sami wedding for her son with all its customs and rituals; but the family is less on board. This is Garen’s way of not just preserving her heritage but also her way of becoming more reputed and gaining in stature in the community.

 Somehow, however, the family ultimately comes together with a bunch of hilarious mishappens along the way.

The series appeals to an international audience. As the series writer Ase Kathrin Vuolab shared with us in an interview we will be sharing soon, an Indian wedding has less people but many rituals while we have many people with less rituals.

Throughout the different episodes we got to see, we see many dynamics playing out. We see a need for cultural preservation while also acknowledging how tradition can keep someone down. The dynamic of the gay couple lends a very harmonizing touch to the series. Seeing how even within Sami culture, it is interesting to see hierarchies. It’s not just that they have been dominated by a mainstream Norwegian culture. Groups of Sami people look down upon each other. We also bear witness to the idea of the time freeze phenomenon in the form of certain characters as having remembered a place as they left it years ago and don’t allow for the possibility that change can happen even if it’s slow.

Though as an outsider, we have less context of the larger picture of what has gone on in Norway, the series is still very much worth the watch. A Sami Wedding is a very engaging serial.

Dandelion’s Odyssey 

4/5

Directed by: Momoko Seto 

Dandelion’s Odyssey is a story of the earth’s rejuvenation told from the perspective of four dandelion balls. Upon nuclear explosions, we witness the journey of these balls traversing throughout habitats and great distances and then landing on another planet similar to the earth. We witness transformation and adaptation to suit the new planet. 

The imagery and animation are so true to life that if the screen were not depicting micro-organisms in such gigantic proportions, you would swear these were real. Such is the accuracy in detail of the animation at hand. 

Seto engaged in a lot of scientific research and traits of the dandelion to make this into a believable story regardless of however much a fantasy it actually is. 

While alerting people to the brutal consequences of human interference with the environment, the film still gives a message of hope. A lot of macro footage has been shot in Japan, France and Iceland and transposed on to the animation depicting people-free places. Techniques of time lapse, ultra slow motion and robotics have been used while shooting with 17 cameras. 

Such techniques enhance the believability of biological phenomenon. 

While there isn’t a conventional plot to give one an emotional lure, the wordless feature is still giving an engaging message to people about being careful with the environment just by exhibiting the process of nature itself.

To the Victory!

4/5  

Directed by: Valentyn Vasyanovych

Starring: Valentyn Vasyanovych

Ukraine is a nation that has been ravaged by war in recent years. Starring the director himself, To the Victory! is filmed in a fictional documentary style portraying the everyday occurrences people face in the future. The film won TIFF’s Platform award, which is the only one adjudicated by a jury.

In this future, the war is now over and people are now trying to navigate where to go from here and rebuild themselves. We see the adverse effects of living in isolation and people trying to function in an economy that has far to go before it normalizes. We see how families have been divided and separated with many long-distance relationships and divorces because of the threat of war. The film was conceived as a passion project by five real life buddies.

This too can be seen as an outcome of being in a country where most married men were left single. The film is a humanizing experiment spun out of real-life experiences. Stay tuned for our interview with Valentyn Vasyanovych for the film.

I Swear

5/5

Directed by: Kirk Jones

Starring: Robert Aramayo, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, Scott Ellis Watson

Based on the true story of activist John Davidson (Aramayo of Lord of the Ringsfame) who is a Tourette Syndrome advocate, the film starts with Davidson receiving recognition from the queen in 2019. We are then shown all the moments that have led up to this point starting with Davidson’s in the 1980s when he was 14. Back then, the disease was little understood and the repercussions were devastating, physically and socially. When one has Tourette Syndrome, the person is known for having involuntary responses of swearing and compulsive behaviour patterns.

So severe are the symptoms, it breaks the activist’s family up. It also leads to him repeatedly getting strapped down in his chair at school though he means no harm. Eventually, Davidson’s friend’s mom Dottie who is a mental health nurse (Peake), takes charge to help John become independent. But the journey is fraught with challenges as the condition lands him in jail, or it gets him punched at clubs. By and large, he gets unofficially socially outcast because he can’t align with social protocols.

Eventually, through mentors like Dottie and a community centre based janitor Tommy (Mullan), David gets groomed for independent living. So much so, he becomes a health and counselling advocate for people with Tourette Syndrome and helps them make great strides.

The film is humorous in spite of Davidson’s many tribulations. Aramayo authenticates the symptoms with a great Oscar worthiness. Period recreation is very strong. Henderson (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy) has played the straggling caregiver to the hilt. The film has been very sensitive to show how a severe illness can break up a family or take a heavy toll on the caregiver. Peake has been hand in glove with Aramayo as though the two really were in a mother-son like parallel.

What We Leave Behind

5/5

Directed by: Alexandra Myotte andJean-Sébastien Hamel

 The animated short is about bullying and its aftermath. We have a character with a gaping hole along his neck as a symbol for the longstanding trauma he has experienced.

We get to peak further into what has led to it in this 11-minute feature. The film displays a very powerful message –  in spite of minimal words – through its illustrations. It is no wonder this director duo has been shortlisted for an Oscar for their other work: A Crab in the Pool. The effects of bullying and abuse can go on to forge our personality and this film deconstructs this. Stay tuned for our interview with Alexandra.

Cost of Heaven

3.5/5

Directed by: Mathieu Denis 

Starring: Samir Guesmi, Crixus Lapointe and Meriem Medjkane

Fifty-year-old Nacer (Guesmi) lives in Montreal with his wife Farrah (Medjkane) and three kids. Inspite of having all the skills and credentials in technology and management with great seniority, it doesn’t seem to be helping him in getting a raise at his company. It also doesn’t help that expenses have grown exponentially post-pandemic. Nacer is ultimately passed over by a junior person with an MBA he had trained. He then starts looking for other ways to make money. 

Sometimes he gains. Sometimes he loses. While Nacer craves more, Farrah is highly content. One day however Nacer’s loss becomes so great, heis willing to kidnap a rich man’s grandson for ransom as a way to teach the boy’s father a lesson for not being careful with his investments. How far can a person drown themselves for money? And if they do, can they be brought back to safety?

Based on a true story, the film has very accurately caught the finer details of Montreal life for many an immigrant or their offspring in a questionable economy with limited opportunities. The tendency becomes to either run a business or get into investments. And even within this realm, things can get dubious as there are cliques of different communities controlling things.  

The feature is a rare find from Quebec to highlight in great detail much of what transpires on this front through the eyes of Allophones (those who aren’t either Anglophone or Francophone). The immigrant story for job challenges often goes untold.

 Why not be content with what you have? Or do we need to push the bar to find more legitimate ways to make money? Why is there so much group support to uphold the wrong thing? Why is the forlorn Canadian dream still being perpetuated though times have drastically changed? The film brilliantly executes how people get dragged down into the quagmire of the Canadian dream. It is highly perceptive for an insider to watch.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

5/5

Directed by: Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis

Voiceover star: Colin Feore

It’s an assemblage of classic De Maupassant storytelling married with a vivid recreation of Montreal from the early 1900s to the Paris penthouse of the later 20th century through puppetry and stop motion animation.

The film serves as a tribute to the act of short story-telling along the lines of O’Henry and De Maupassant. Starring Colin Feore as the voiceover of an old man, the film is set in flashback. The old man recounts his old struggling days in Montreal to his grand-daughter in a most spell-binding way. He tells her of his chance encounters with the girl who cried pearls.

There are many veils behind the secret of the tears. It is such a riveting tale.

So many layers abound through the narration and depictions. The film is a tribute to the city’s history and folklore of how someone struck it rich. It’s also characterizing the mythology that many peddle to enrapture an audience even in today’s times in Montreal though it all stems from a bygone era.

The city is woven on legends in a way many others aren’t, probably owing to the economic and political decline the city faced throughout the decades. Where once royalty stood for ballroom dancing or the public witnessed broadway level performances, today the façade has changed.

This film is going to make it on the Oscar list for sure. Stay tuned for our interview with this directing duo.

Ghost School

4/5

Directed by: Seemab Gul

Starring: Nazualiya Arsalan

Rabia is a young girl yearning to go to school. One day she finds out her school is haunted and is closed down. Skeptical yet imbued with a child-like innocence, Rabia goes on a quest to uncover the secret of how the school has been haunted by a genie.

Our young heroine continues the quest despite many trying to stop her. Through child-like lenses, the saga unfolds with a deep-rooted social breakdown at its core but with many branches stemming from it.

We have the teacher whom everyone swears the genie haunted but it actually underpaid. Others swear the government schools are open for paper airplane flying or for doing nothing. The control lies with the principal who is a feudal landlord or a powerful landowner that doesn’t believe underprivileged people deserve the chance for a better education. And if Rabia opts for private patronage, she must work as a servant. What can she do?

The story weaves the different social arguments into a coherent story with a child’s lens in the manner of a fable. Brilliant in her theatrical expressions, Arsalan executes her role with great authenticity. The film is very connective in its storyline and structure and has great cinematic visuals.

Read our interview with director Seemab Gul here

John Candy I Like Me

4/5

John Candy I Like Me is a very heart-warming biopic of the legendary comedian John Candy. The film traces John’s humble beginnings in Southern Ontario in Canada post World War 2, and chronicles his rise from Second City into Hollywood. The film has everyone from dear loved ones to Hollywood stars talking about both the good and bad sides of the late thespian.

Recounting what must have been very painful with a great sense of humor is perhaps one of the film’s greatest strengths. John was a star who was very down to earth and never linked with any scandals. He was generous to a fault and made every person he met feel very special. The downside came into Candy’s life as his fame catapulted and he was too generous to say no to anyone with regards to his time. It almost seemed like a vicious cycle being able to keep up with accumulated wealth and popularity and giving time to the causes and things you love. This then brought in an onset of a high level of anxiety which spiralled into many directions. The film makes you wonder what it is all for. You become successful so you can enrich society around you but look at what the demands of time do to you in the process.

In no way are we seeing the documentary colour Candy with rose-tinted glasses considering that is what happens with most biopics especially when family members are co-executive producers (John Candy’s children Chris Candy, Rose Candy and Jennifer Candy-Sullivan). But because family members are very actively a part of the documentary, we see John Candy as being more human with flaws. With his untimely death at 43, we see a regret in his son’s eyes as he speaks about a father he didn’t get to know growing up. The film shares insights from many celebrities including Steve Martin and Macaulay Culkin.

Perhaps because the film doesn’t have an agenda of any kind, it was likely easier to be objective. Though it is coloured in a lot of Canadiana, one expects it would be given the ranks through which Candy rose in Hollywood as a maple. The film has many producers including Tom Hanks’s son Collin Hanks who is also an actor in his own right.

Out Standing

3.5/5

Directed by: Melanie Charbonneau

Starring: Nina Kiri, Vincent Leclerc

The feature from Quebec is based on the book Out Standing by Sandra Perron. Perron was the first female infantry officer in Canada. What we witness are the different kinds of sexism and forms of harassment she initially faced. Thinking this was just a part and parcel of being the first, Perron puts up with things. She significantly rises among the ranks but not without challenges. Upon the advent of a great scandal exposing sexism in the army in 1995, Perron receives a mysterious message in her mail with an old photograph of her training when her instructor who was deliberately too hard on her. The letter suggests she open up about what led to her quitting the army while she was on the rise or the mail sender was going to. From there, Perron ventures to share what happened with her.

The film can’t help but make one think of the many spectrums of feminist discourse. In the film, Perron doesn’t come across as someone who initially thought some of what she experienced as sexism. And she certainly didn’t come across as the person who would speak out against it. If anything, she looks like the type who would say don’t rock the boat. Or less women will likely consider the army as a career if it gets out what is going on. It almost seems like if that anonymous letter hadn’t popped into her life, she was never going to say anything let alone write a bestseller.

Besides excessive and lewd behaviour, we see consequences play out in Perron’s personal life with family planning and a breakup with her fiancé because of army life demands. While now we see many more women in the army, back in 1995, these cases of sexism in its extremes were a regular part of the headlines. So the film does bring back real life memories for those who lived through that period rather vividly.

The film tends to go back and forth between the past and present and it’s not always cohesive. But perhaps that’s part of how they are trying to show Perron’s struggle of trying to come to terms with what’s happened. We see the initial hesitancy to speak out and even her interpretation of events leads to many questions. How do we interpret this individual?

Some may have even called her a sellout, which is one possibility for why she may have received the mysterious mail to force her to come out. The other possibility could be a conspiracy against certain people who were in charge of Perron but they used her as a scapegoat. Whether Perron had a natural acceptance of challenges because of being the first or she was afraid less women would join the military if it got out this was going on, one thing was clear. Being the first was never going to be easy. Child care considerations or being so tough on yourself to fit in also likely made it harder. People’s personal lives get put at great stake for such careers.

Kiri’s acting leaves you in suspended belief. You don’t for a minute think she isn’t Perron The film is depicted with a great sense of realism. It could have been 20 minutes shorter. It could also have been a little less dry. But it’s also hard to shorten the chapters of someone’s life. The film should be widely shared in the Canadian public school system.

The Eyes of Ghana

3.5/5

Directed by: Ben Proudfoot

Executive produced by Barrack and Michelle Obama, Eyes of Ghana traces the country of Ghana from shortly before its indepedence and a little thereafter. The film is a revival of a series of Ghanian historic moments that have been stitched together by the first president’s (Kwame Nkrumah) professional photographer and archivist Chris Hesse. As we see revived footage come to life, we see him simultaneously passing on Ghana’s modern legacy to documentarian Anita Afonu.

After the revolutionary leader was overthrown after the ’50s and ’60s, a lot of footage was burned. Apart from that however, Hesse had the brainchild to procure some archived footage from London where a lot of the film used to go in the old days for processing. Being a developing country however, Ghana didn’t have the money to recover and digitize hundreds of hours of archival footage. Through international appeals then, much of the footage was retrieved.

The other objective we see getting accomplished through this retrieval is the idea of letting history stand objectively without pretenses unlike what happened decades earlier with the downfall of Nkrumah. As we get the context of how this charismatic leader rose and the circumstances that groomed him, we also learn more about African imperialism in general. At the earlier point in time, Nkrumah is being lauded a hero. Later on, however, after several years of independence, it’s as if this same person is being labeled a villain and people react with extreme violence. Many reels were destroyed in reaction to the polarized extremities in living between those who lived opulently and those suffering in dire poverty.

We see a symbolic act of revival of Ghana’s history through the act of also reviving an old outdoor theatre in great need of repair in Accra. As the film progresses, we almost see a healing in the process of repair. The film is very riveting and fascinating in not just its structure but also its content. It’s a terrific way for outsiders to get acquainted with modern Ghanian history.

Wrong Husband

4/5

Directed by: Zacharius Kunuk

Starring: Theresa Kappianaq,Haiden Angutimarik

Set in the Canadian arctic territory of Nunavut in 2000 BCE, this TIFF winner for best Canadian feature is a fairytale attesting to the faith of its heroine Kaujak (Kappianaq). Kaujak and Sapa (Angutimarik) are teenage lovers who have been promised to each other at birth. Upon the sudden death of Kaujak’s father, Kaujak’s mother unwillingly takes on a second husband . This forces Kaujak to join her in a new place and leave behind Sapa.

Kaujak’s stepfather is eager to marry her off to someone else but her faith and love are ever true. If she must get married, she will only marry Sapa. And she prays to this end. But in this aggressive line of suitors and no physical contact with Sapa, how can she? Things don’t feel right and nothing is tangible. But what is going on?

The flow of the story is highly engaging. The depiction of parallel dimensions governing our actions is prominently shown. It’s like Sri Aurobindo’s statement. We are puppets in the hands of the forces. It’s like there are energy blue prints of good and bad forces which are causing us to think and act a certain way.

Meditation is portrayed as a way to heighten one’s awareness and connection with subtle energies. We can alter our energies at the ground level by communicating through prayer at higher dimensions. The story beautifully illustrates these concepts. The acting is very true to life with great attention paid to details of cultural practices and rituals. It’s staged as though it were a community drama.

& Sons

4/5

Directed by: Pablo Trapero

Starring: Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton

Telling the storyline is going to sound like telling people Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. Yet it feels so necessary in order to have a meaningful debate this movie is inviting us to have. The film is based on David Gilbert’s novel.

Andrew (Nighy) is a famous writer turned alcoholic who has barely set foot outside his home for several years. He has invited his two older sons to visit for what may potentially be the last time. The family has been estranged for over 20 years since he and his wife (Staunton) separated. It’s believed Andrew cheated on her and that’s how he now has a third child also named Andrew. But this is just a cover story.

A scientific development made it possible for Andrew to have a clone incubated. Andrew Junior hopes to not repeat his father’s mistakes. Are we doomed to repeat our parents failures because we come from them? Or can we overcome them? Or what if one day people cloned themselves to attone for past mistakes as a way to become a better person? Or is cloning is seen as a second chance at life? If you cloned yourself, is your clone your son or daughter or are they just an extra of yourself?

The film is a delightful watch even if you are not a sci-fi person. The film has humanized the scientific possibility to help ease you into this mode of thinking. It is very well directed with convincing performances.