Aftersun (2022)

Aftersun (2022)

Written and Directed by: Charlotte Wells
Streaming on MUBI India.

Just with the posters and the logline, the film struck a chord within. It chronicles the time a father and daughter spend over a vacation. It has the treatment of revisiting memories, and it's done so impactfully. Just like C'mon C'mon (2021), I found so much beauty in this relationship between a kid and an adult, where there is an unlikely friendship, an invisible mentorship, and a mutual exploration of life together. There's no arrogance within the adult of having seen enough. This is where the film takes off. It's very sweet and heartwarming. The film is from the point of view of the 11 year old girl, and it does it so beautifully that even you can't see things beyond it except for a speck of doubt in the back of your mind. Even the way the film is shot, there are a lot of static poetic shots capturing the most random things which you'd see only when you're lost in thought and mindlessly gazing (dikkulu chudatam).

Before we can notice, grief slowly creeps into the film. There's a heartbreaking scene of the father bursting out crying - it's done so honestly. Usually, crying it out all is a very personal and an embarrassing experience. Films tend to show it very beautifully, but in reality crying it all out is a tad bit ugly. That scene captured that. And even after that I just kept wondering, like the daughter. I'm not a big fan of vague, ambiguous endings and so did I feel with this film. What happened? Explain it to me. I was looking for answers just like the daughter was. And then when I got to know what happened after reading about it, I questioned my whole viewing of the film. How could I not see it? Why did I not see it coming? It was so clear. I was angry. But then, I could also see how he was trying so hard to be okay in front of her and let her have a good time. I could see that he gave it his all, out of whatever little that was left in him.