A father and his thirteen-year-old daughter are living an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon when a small mistake derails their lives forever.
An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
Director:
Debra Granik
Stars:
Jennifer Lawrence,
John Hawkes,
Garret Dillahunt
A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.
Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.
Director:
Cory Finley
Stars:
Olivia Cooke,
Anya Taylor-Joy,
Anton Yelchin
Four African American vets battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide.
Director:
Spike Lee
Stars:
Delroy Lindo,
Jonathan Majors,
Clarke Peters
A bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control.
Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie), have lived off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social services. After clashing with their new surroundings, Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their wild homeland. The film is directed by Debra Granik from a script adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini.Written by
Bleecker Street
The recurring theme of the seahorse is a callback to Will's disorder.
PTSD is caused by a "blown-out" hippocampus, which in turn is caused by an over-stimulated amygdala, the organ that produces terror. In a healthy brain, the hippocampus double-checks the source of an alarm and switches off the amygdala if not judged urgent. This is nearly instantaneous, so that the person may not even be aware a terror prompt has occurred before the hippocampus cancels it.
In PTSD sufferers, the hippocampus has been burned out by one or more intensely traumatic events, so that the amygdala keeps pumping terror prompts into the neural system over and over, with little or no interference. Hence the experience of flashbacks (sudden irrational terror originating from a trigger sensed by the amygdala, but possibly not even known to the victim).
"Hippocampus" is also the classic/poetic word for seahorse. The hippocampus in the brain is called that because it's shaped like a seahorse. See more »
Goofs
The chessboard is set up incorrectly. Chessboards should have a white square at the bottom right (from each player's perspective). See more »
Quotes
Tom:
I think it might be easier on us if we try to adapt.
Will:
We're in their clothes. We're in their house. We're eating their food. We're doing their work. We have adapted.
See more »
An exquisitely poignant movie about a father and daughter trying to live off the grid in the woods out of town.
Ben Foster gives a truly amazing, understated performance as Will, the "psychologically damaged" father back from the un-named horrors of war, who has lost his wife and mother to his daughter, Tom. Thomasin McKenzie as Tom, brings a gentle, caring teenager, supporting her father, who is trying to retreat from the world into the woods.
The film is beautifully shot, and the pair are very believable as they hide out from the authorities who want her "in school" and him in some gainful employment, separating and further traumatising both of them while doing the "right thing". But Will, with his unseen, unacknowledged PTSD, is unable to settle into "normal" suburban life, and needs to run constantly from his demons from the past.
Ultimately there is a poignant decision to be made, as daughter and father can no longer walk the same pathways. But this movie has such depth, and such compassion for its characters, and their struggles, that even though you know that a climax must come, it still takes you by surprise. Wonderful acting from the supporting cast, including a cameo by Isaiah Stone, adding complexity to Tom's choices... But modern life cannot accommodate outliers, those who won't conform.
This movie broke my heart, little by little, but has become my favourite indie movie for 2018. If you open your heart and mind, you will find it memorable. Oh, and no sex, drugs or rock and roll, nor animals were harmed - if you like your drama real and personal, and with no car chases or shoot 'em ups, this one is a winner!
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An exquisitely poignant movie about a father and daughter trying to live off the grid in the woods out of town.
Ben Foster gives a truly amazing, understated performance as Will, the "psychologically damaged" father back from the un-named horrors of war, who has lost his wife and mother to his daughter, Tom. Thomasin McKenzie as Tom, brings a gentle, caring teenager, supporting her father, who is trying to retreat from the world into the woods.
The film is beautifully shot, and the pair are very believable as they hide out from the authorities who want her "in school" and him in some gainful employment, separating and further traumatising both of them while doing the "right thing". But Will, with his unseen, unacknowledged PTSD, is unable to settle into "normal" suburban life, and needs to run constantly from his demons from the past.
Ultimately there is a poignant decision to be made, as daughter and father can no longer walk the same pathways. But this movie has such depth, and such compassion for its characters, and their struggles, that even though you know that a climax must come, it still takes you by surprise. Wonderful acting from the supporting cast, including a cameo by Isaiah Stone, adding complexity to Tom's choices... But modern life cannot accommodate outliers, those who won't conform.
This movie broke my heart, little by little, but has become my favourite indie movie for 2018. If you open your heart and mind, you will find it memorable. Oh, and no sex, drugs or rock and roll, nor animals were harmed - if you like your drama real and personal, and with no car chases or shoot 'em ups, this one is a winner!