Zoe (2001/I)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Deborah Attoinese

Writers:

Deborah Attoinese (story)
Amy Dawes (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Have you ever felt like you belonged somewhere else?

Plot:

Three runaway girls hijack a car. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Vanessa Zima	...	Zoe
Jenny Seagrove	...	Cecilia
Stephi Lineburg	...	Sarah
Victoria Davis	...	Ally
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Red Shirt
Kim Greist	...	Mrs. Callahan
Jamielyn Kane	...	Tamara (as Jamielyn Gamboa)
Gelcys Basulto	...	Gentry
Karla Ojeda	...	Girl In Shower
Kirk McKinney	...	Security Guard (as R. Kirk McKinney)
Judy Scheer	...	Counter Woman
Shelly Desai	...	Hotel Clerk
Sabrina Artel	...	Waitress
Arell Blanton	...	Roy Gene
Lilli Birdsell	...	Lurleena

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13

Company:

Bergman Lustig Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When the girls are in Michigan and Illinois, they are shown passing through a semiarid desert landscape, way too dry for any place in that region.

Wonderful movie

A wonderful movie about two characters crossing paths at just the right moment in their lives. The understated Jenny Seacrest plays Cecilia, a recently divorced Brit driving through America's Southwest to bury her mother's ashes. Vanessa Zima is Zoe, a sweetly innocent teen escaping a troubled home with her two hoodlum friends (Stephi Lineburg, Victoria Davis), on their way to mystical New Mexico. Cecilia ends up giving the teens a ride, and a special bond develops between her and Zoe. Cecilia finds her mom's old desert cabin, along with her mom's native American lover, Red Shirt (Gordon Tootoosis). As Cecilia learns more about her mother, Zoe seeks enlightenment at the Indian burial grounds. The metaphors for death and reawakening are plenty, and I was entranced by the spiritual journeys of these two characters.

Director Deborah Attoinese shows a sure hand as she deftly deals with weighty issues while keeping the characters real. The script, by Attoinese and Amy Dawes, features characters asking themselves some of life's biggest questions, yet it never loses the charm of these characters nor the fun tone of the movie. The performances are all top notch, and Zoe moves at just the right pace. Zoe looks great, and the desert locales beckon. This movie is a hidden treasure, and it deserves to be seen.