User Reviews

Upon finally completing this ordeal, I was literally depressed. I have so much to say about Waves, but can't seem to find the words. So, I'll just say it was spectacularly acted, written, and directed. Shults was clearly inspired by the style of Malick, whom he's worked with on a number of occasions, but unlike Malick, he knows how to make his art entertaining. The only reason I gave this film a chance was that it had Lucas Hedges in it and he's yet to be in a bad picture, so I figured what the heck. Boy am I glad I gave it a shot, great film, better than I could've hoped for...highly recommended.

This treasure of a film explores the emotions, circumstance and consequence after a moment of chaos, that moment when in an instant the world begins to crumble and the lives and directions of so many are instantly and irredeemably altered. An original story, beautifully shot, elegantly performed and imaginatively directed. Left me asking the question: are any of us as bad as our worst fifteen minutes?

Writer/director Trey Edward Shults's previous films, the unconventional Thanksgiving drama Krisha (2015) and the brilliant but poorly marketed post-apocalyptic thriller It Comes at Night (2017) would seem to have little in common with the more social realist concerns of Waves. However, all three share the same thematic DNA, focusing as they do on a family under intense pressure. And as with those films, if you're into formalism, you'll find plenty here to keep you happy; elaborate camera moves, varying aspect ratios, unusual colour correction, striking shot composition, a sound design which bleeds into the soundtrack/score (and vice versa), a quite audacious shift in focalisation at the half-way point, and a stunningly concise closing shot. On the other hand, it's emotionally bruising and takes its sweet time getting anywhere. It also asks much more of the viewer than your average Marvel movie, and some simply won't want to put in the legwork. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you consider cinema as entertainment only, I'd imagine Waves will leave you bored and frustrated. However, if you have the patience and are willing to take the journey on which the film wants to bring you, the cathartic rewards are many.

In a middle-class suburb in Florida, Tyler Williams (a brilliant Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is a popular high school senior and skilled wrestler, who is deeply in love with his girlfriend Alexis Lopez (Alexa Demie). At home, he has a good relationship with his sister Emily (a heartbreakingly sweet Taylor Russell) and stepmother Catherine (Renée Elise Goldsberry). However, his relationship with his domineering father Ronald (a sternly intimidating Sterling K. Brown in full-on stare mode) is somewhat strained due to Ronald, himself a former athlete who was forced to retire due to a knee injury, constantly pushing him to succeed. As the film begins, Tyler's shoulder is causing him problems, and although he keeps it a secret, he soon learns he has a Level 5 SLAP tear, with his doctor telling him he'll need surgery and a few months off from wrestling, or the damage will become permanent. However, he ignores the doctor's advice, continuing to wrestle and starting to self-medicate with Ronald's painkillers. Meanwhile, he becomes increasingly acerbic and starts drinking heavily. At around the half-way point of the film, the focalisation then shifts to the shy and socially awkward Emily, looking at her burgeoning romance with Tyler's wrestling teammate Luke (a passive and pensive Lucas Hedges). Meanwhile, the Williams family must try to come to terms with a horrific act of violence that could change all of their lives.

The most noticeable thing about Waves is the aesthetic audaciousness. What's especially interesting about the narrative bifurcation is that Emily barely appears in the first half and Tyler barely appears in the second, forcing the audience to completely recalibrate themselves vis-à-vis the film's milieu. However, for all its narrative gymnastics, it's Waves's visuals that really pop. Working with his regular cinematographer Drew Daniels, no matter how elaborate Shults's use of form becomes, it's always in service of the story, with the camera being used thematically rather than as a passive tool of observation. For example, the opening shot is inside a car occupied by Tyler and Alexis, but rather than shoot the scene in a shot/counter-shot format, Shults positions the camera between the duo, spinning in circles, and completing multiple 360-degree rotations. This immediately inculcates us into their sense of abandonment and exuberance. Before a single line of dialogue has been spoken, Shults has already started telling us who these people are. It's pure visual storytelling, showing rather telling.

This kind of form/content correlation occurs throughout the film. For example, in the first half, which is focalised by the restless and propulsive Tyler, the handheld camera rarely stops moving, reflecting his frenetic energy. However, when we shift to the quieter and more withdrawn Emily, Shults uses more static tripod shots and a much slower editing rhythm, which reflects Emily's calmer disposition. He also has the palette reflect this shift - whereas the first half is awash in garish blues, reds, and greens, the second has a more naturalistic look. A crucial part of the film's visual identity is the very unusual use of aspect ratio(s). Beginning in 1.85:1, the frame gradually reduces in width until it gets to 1.33:1, which is how Tyler's section ends. Then, at the start of Emily's section, it starts to widen again, eventually reaching 2.35:1. The narrowing ratio of the first half reflects how Tyler feels he's being progressively trapped as things continue to go wrong, whilst the widening ratio of the second half reflects Emily's determination to recover from tragedy and reconcile her family. In short, the first half symbolises an ever-increasing restriction, the second half a gradually discovered freedom.

And all of this is to say nothing of the diegetic lighting, the shot compositions and camera blocking, or the blending of Johnnie Burn's immersive sound design, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's discordant score, and the exceptional 32-song soundtrack.

Thematically, the film looks at the pressure to succeed, particularly in men. Ronald equates masculinity with strength, mocks Catherine's job, and barely acknowledges Emily. Instead, he pours all his effort into Tyler, through whom he's trying to live vicariously, pushing him to be the successful athlete that he himself could have been before injury ended his career. He's also acutely aware that as an African-American man, things won't come easy to his son, telling Tyler, "we are not afforded the luxury of being average." However, Ronald is by no means the villain of the piece. He seems to genuinely feel that raising Tyler in this manner is the best thing, telling him, "I don't push you because I want to, I push you because I have to". The problem with all of this is that neither Tyler nor Ronald have a backup plan, so when things start to go wrong, Tyler immediately falls apart. And as things get worse and worse, he becomes a pseudo-Job figure, with the big difference being that Job was self-aware and understood his suffering.

In terms of problems, there are a few blatantly expositionary scenes. An especially egregious example is the scene where Ronald outlines how hard it is for a black man to get ahead in the US, using that as justification for why he pushes Tyler so hard. Whilst the sentiments are fine, it doesn't ring true that this is the first time Ronald has said this to Tyler. Surely he would have given him this talk in his youth? It's a well-acted scene in isolation, but in the context of the overall script, it's too literal and seems out of place. Additionally, Shults tends to use the stuff of daytime soap to propel the plot - the end of a sports career, the prospect of having a child at such a young age, a family tragedy. The performers make the material work, but the film does come close to melodrama on occasion.

Nevertheless, although it's initially bleak, looking at loss and disintegration, Waves ultimately reveals itself to be about the ability of love to conquer despair, about how life can persist no matter the circumstances, about the importance and restorative power of family. Shults uses this framework to build a quite audacious monument that celebrates the ordinary without ever overshadowing it.

I've said this before, but I will also never be tired of saying it; A24 is easily the best studio out there today, in terms of releasing quality content. Their endless devotion to finding original and exciting projects has always been an admiration of mine. Each year, they seem to be building a bigger catalogue of movies. Waves is one of their latest films to be produced and will hit theatres this November. Here's why, even though it may be a tough pill to swallow at times, you should absolutely be seeking it out.

I will start off and say that I'm going to keep the premise very brief, because it's the type of film that consistently surprises its audience, becoming a completely different film by the end. For this reason alone, I'll simply say that Waves is a film about a relationship and a family who slowly falls apart in unexpected ways. I was incredibly invested in the set-up for this film and all of the characters in it, so when a certain moment occurs, I was floored. This movie moved me to tears in ways that I never thought it would.

Written and directed by Trey Edward Shultz (It Comes at Night, Krisha), he very carefully crafts this story in a way that feels true to life, while also having levity in times of crisis or grief. On top of the stellar writing and direction, the cinematography by Drew Daniels, who happens to have worked with this director for years, is out of this world. From the way the camera spins to tell a story or frames things perfectly for an aspect ratio change, I would be shocked if Daniels isn't talked about for his work here.

It goes without saying that Sterling K. Brown has deliver an amazing performance, and his work here is nothing short of that word. I believe he will be recognized for awards this coming season, but I would like to mention Taylor Russell as well. Playing sort of the backbone of this family, her character has a lot on her shoulders and there are a few scenes where she absolutely steals the show. Alexa Demie, Kelin Harrison Jr., and Renée Elise Goldsberry are all terrific as well, but there was just something I couldn't put my finger on when watching Waves unfold.

135 minutes doesn't seem too long for a film in hindsight, but the way this story plays out will probably make some audiences impatient. There are a couple of instances when this movie feels like it ends, but there's still a lot left to explore. Looking back on this possible negative though, I feel that a rewatch may have me forgiving that aspect, and that has everything to do with the score. Even in the moments where a movie like this would seem to drag, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide a pulse-pounding score that will keep you invested, even during the slow moments in this family's life.

In the end, for what Waves sets out to be, it's nearly perfect. The route this film takes toward the end will probably not sit well with some viewers, but that aspect is what impacted me the most and took the film from great to incredible. It can be quite upsetting and depressing at times, so if you're not into that, I would suggest looking for a different film. With that said, this is easily one of the best movies I've seen in 2019 and I can't see myself changing my mind on that. This movie is a human drama that just goes for it and it tore a hole in my heart by the end. Waves is stellar.

After my wife and I walked out of the movie theater, completely devastated (in the best possible ways) by what we had seen, there was a group of teenagers (the perfect audience for this film) buying tickets and I couldn't help but think about how lucky they were to be seeing Waves. It's the type of film that if one sees it in their youth, it could change how you view movies, art...life.

I will say nothing more about Waves except it is an absolute must-see, and if it finds its audience, it has the chance to be a generational touchstone film.

The first half of this movie is good, but then it gets really long.

At the beginning the story is convincing and well told, but before reaching the end of the film, the story falls and does not tell many things about what we saw at the beginning, all those scenes that do not tell anything seem unnecessary. In the first part of the film the story develops very well, just as the characters develop in a complex way, the cinematography is very good, the photography is also very good, the performances are at a very committed and well structured level. I think that in the second half everything is ruined as it shifts the attention of the story towards another character and towards another situation, this change of course makes this last part very tedious and meaningless, except for some parts where the characters have a background.

It is not a bad movie, in fact the first part is very good, but the change of focus of the story ends up ruining the magnificent and wonderful experience that is lived in the first half, causing the film to fall completely apart.

Just saw this movie at TIFF.... wow what a film. Incredibly unique, this is the next Moonlight without being anything like Moonlight at all. The whole cast is amazing and Trey Edward Shults puts it all together perfectly. Incredible score to boot. See you at the Oscars Waves.

There's lots good here - the production value, the cast, the music. We meet a young man who seems at the top of his game, leading a life most teenagers would aspire to. Then there is an "incident" which changed everything. I like how we just jumped right into his life and frankly were happy to ride along with him on his journey. It made for comfortable, easy, entertaining watching - I have to say I was really enjoying it.

And then everything changes. I understand fully the director is trying to show how the "incident" changes everything, not just for the 2 people directly involved in the incident, but everyone around them too (hence "Waves"). My problem with it is that we effectively have 2 completely different films, each an hour long - different style, different genres, practically a different cast. It was just too much of a change for me - I came to watch an edgy, atmospheric high-school drama/adventure and I got that for the first hour. But then I had to watch an hour of a slow, depressing romantic drama which I found frankly boring. And I think the opposite would apply - if you came for the moody romantic drama, I think you'd have been disappointed by the first half. So for me, despite an excellent first half, it was overall a disappointing experience.

High school senior Tyler Williams is on top of the world. His family is supportive and well off. He has his friends and a beautiful girlfriend. He's a star wrestler at school. His father (Sterling K. Brown) pushes hard but he does it out of concern. A nagging injury turns out to be more. A series of self-inflicted problems and unforeseen difficulties come at him in waves.

I like this movie as soon as it starts. It begins with a great cinematic vision. Then it turns into a compelling character study of a family. I am a little conflicted about the divide in the movie. It would have been perfectly great to wrap up the movie soon after the midway point. I do see the value of the change over but it does split the movie in two. Also, it gets a little long at over two hours. It may be worthwhile to give the sister more screen time in the first half. Overall, it's a compelling study of this family.

There's some exquisite lighting effects in "Waves," from a crackling fire to police light bars and rainbows, which is complimented by occasionally kinetic montage and hand-held camera movement. Quite a few shots tracking behind figures' heads in this one. And all of the bobbing of the frame coalesces with the rhythm of the soundtrack. The narrative is something of a rigmarole, though. Following the oscillations of a suburban African-American family in crisis, from teenage son wrestler abusing painkillers for his injured shoulder while fighting with his girlfriend over pregnancy, to the daughter dating one of her brother's teammates, I guess, while the father and mother struggle with their relationship and business. The melodramatic climax actually occurs in the middle of the picture, and it's intense. Even the aspect ratio closes in from the usual rectangle to more of a square tending to frame the characters' faces.

Yet, tracking the immature emotional waves of teenagers for over two hours, in what is essentially two pictures in one with two separate protagonists, is exhausting. Nary any intellectual engagement is to be had. The score is all over the place and generally prominent. Maybe you'll like the music and maybe you won't, or perhaps you'll be like me and like some it and not the rest. The problem, however, is that the picture relies too heavily upon it. Teens, their music and feelings. Lots of scenes merely of figures riding around in cars. Drama frequently trying to be wrought from texting and social media. When the tortuous theatrics are, at last, wrapped up, it comes as a relief.

A24 is the best film company right now in my opinion. Whilst their films don't earn much money, the quality of them beats any big Hollywood film. Waves is an experience that not many people will witness but the people who did will find it insane.

Waves looks at the breaking of a family and the effect it has on them.

After seeing Waves, I became increasingly excited to see more of Trey Edward Shults's work. This is a stunning film with scenes that can tear you apart in an instant. The visuals are amazing to look at and the use of colour to establish a character's emotions is exceptionally done. There are some impressive 360 degree shots inside of a car that make the scene look really stylish and immerses you into the film. However, the film never becomes style over substance due to Shults's incredible writing. The way he grounds this movie and its characters into reality without being too over the top or dramatic makes everything that takes place believable allowing the audience to feel the emotion in every heartbreaking scene.

The acting is solid throughout. Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Taylor Russell give outstanding performances both of which will stick with you for a while. Sterling K. Brown is also fantastic in this role and even Lucas Hedges, who I didn't like in Three Billboards, fit well into his character. Every actor in this film felt real and you are able to buy them as these people because of how strong their performances were.

An integral part of this movie is the music which I thought was handled immensely well. The music choices never felt out of place and added a huge punch to the scenes it was playing in. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is very edgy, brings a certain atmosphere to each scene and doesn't feel overpowering in any way. The film also goes through several changes in the aspect ratio which made me think why Shults decided to add this but I've come to the conclusion that the changing aspect ratios do feel purposeful. They really contribute to the emotion felt during the scene and tell the story in its own way.

Overall, Waves is a film that I would definitely recommend. It's very experimental in terms of its presentation and I think Shults managed to pull it off. Some people may complain with how the film is structured and it does feel weird at first but it all comes together very nicely. Shults is a director that's definitely on the rise and I can't wait to see his previous work: It Comes at Night and Krisha.

I found the first part of the movie really captivating, intense, credible and very well acted. When the focus switches to the second teen in the families the whole plot becomes very mellow (still very well acted though but diminishing the overall impact).

Just saw this movie at TIFF, it lives up to the hype and then some. Trey Edward Shults is the next Chazelle/Jenkins. It hit me on a deeper emotional level than any movie I have seen before. SEE WAVES!

31-year-old director Trey Edward Shults didn't decide to go modest with his third feature. Waves is a big, broad movie, about many relationships, many deep feelings, many social issues. It doesn't always succeed, but boy, it was worth the effort!

Shults focuses on an upscale African-American family in an affluent suburb in Florida. The son's a HS wrestling star, the daughter is quiet and sweet, the dad's successful but tough on his kids because he knows the cost of success particularly for a black family, and the mom, who's in medicine, is an empathic parent. But this seemingly idyllic set-up is shattered in the first minute by the jumping camera and raucous music. The tension is palpable. Something is going to happen throughout this film, but we don't quite know what. (Fear of the unknown was a hallmark of Shults's other notable film, It Comes at Night.)

So this movie is not for the faint-hearted, but it's got a lot to say. About fathers and sons, parents and children, young love, sharing (or not sharing) secrets, hate, anger, and forgiveness, and the effects that great pain - physical and psychic - have on the soul. Needless to say, with this ambitious an agenda, some things work better than others. Some silly plot errors bugged me, but maybe it just doesn't matter much. Another issue that's been raised: a white director working with a black-centric story; didn't bother me, but it's been talked about. Still, the film is never boring, never static, and never mails it in. Even if 75% of the plot and message works, that was good enough for me. It is NOT easy to watch, but it has a lot to say.

Fasten your seatbelts!

I didn't think the movie was bad, but i want to write down why I can't give it more than a 6.

The story didn't feel cohesive. I still don't understand the purpose of the deathbed arc. It feels like they ditched out on the first half of the story, leaving it unfinished. The overall plot also felt simple without much depth and complexity.

The acting was great, the facial expressions were great. However the screenplay would often be overshadowed by the 'background' music. It felt like i was forced to listen to some artsy dude's Spotify playlist. At one point i even had to mute the sound because it was so disconnecting to the story. It also feels like the director and screenwriters used the music as a quick-fix to do their work for them.

The movie tried hard to evoke emotional feelings from the viewer, but would often fail. The storyline didn't have a real direction and didn't manage to develop any real connection with the characters. Come 3/4 of the movie I was just waiting for it to finish.

I love a good story, and to be honest this film has quite a simple, albeit interesting and emotional story. But this film isn't about just a simple sad story, it's about the emotional connection between the characters. The cinematography is astounding.. great colour, close ups and longish periods of seeing an extended reaction. Might sound completely dire, but actually the actors were up to the challenge and create unique and engaging characters who you genuinely feel for. And isn't a simple good/bad film or people. You can see flaws and loveable traits in them all. The way the director characterises adolescent love is intense, genuine and beautiful. It really is a work of art, not because it's strange (it isn't) but because it manages to capture emotions in such a realistic way that delve into your own heart, in a way that you couldn't even do yourself. I have not seen a film that was able to do what this film did. Despite not having a particularly engaging story, I was indulging in every second of this film, mesmorised.

So why just an 8? I'm not really sure. It deserves a 9, but part of me thinks there should be a more complex story behind it, even though it's not really necessary. In some ways it reminded me of Moonlight, but the atmosphere and subject very different.

I recommend to anyone that is able to cry at a movie (male or female), but the Marvel superhero film lovers and children/adolescents probably won't engage with it. The rest of you.. go watch it.

So this is what Martian Scorsese's means about cinema. This movie was an emotional thrill ride of ups and downs that really will effect you on a personal level. Whenever I thought I knew where this movie was going it will take you to a new night of emotion before claiming you down. I was passionate painful and always beautiful. Excellent!

Wow! I was not expecting to have to adjust my Top 10 picks for 2019 but I just might have to after finally seeing "Waves," albeit a little later than I wanted. I just wasn't expecting to like it so much being the follow-up for Trey Edwards Shults' "It Comes at Night" which I did not enjoy.

"Waves," however, ticked all my boxes. From a narrative that is more driven by character than plot to cinematography which reinforces the themes of the film to just a couple scenes of high school wrestling (a sport I participated in and which is also criminally under represented) this film, in any other year than 2019, would have been my favorite film of the year.

Beginning with the acting and characters, I have to say that every actor delivers raw performances that feel incredibly authentic. The movie focuses on an African American family but it was written by white man and so has drawn some ire from well intention-ed watchers of the movie but I have to say that everything that I saw in the film, watched in interviews with him and his African American cast, and read about in articles leads me to believe that he did a fantastic job of owning his limitations and reaching out and trusting the voices of his actors to ensure that the voices seemed as authentic as possible.

I want to pick out a performance and say something like Sterling K. Brown ("Black Panther," 2018) is a stand out among a well performing cast but I just can't. The ENTIRE cast does an amazing job and while each one has scenes or aspects that I would highlight, I would only be doing so at the expense of other great actors and performances. This is an especially admirable feat as many of the characters are young, which can sometimes be a pitfall for a serious film.

Another thing I like about this film, and feel is likely to be the least talked about aspect of it, is the sweeping scope of it. Essentially, the film is a family tragedy/recovery story which could have been shot and acted as cheesy melodrama. However, "Waves" has a sweeping feel to it like you are not just watching the story of one family but of all families akin to "If Beale Street Could Talk" where one couple seems to stand in for many African American couples. Here, our family seems to represent almost any family in America. Even though it is about an African American family and they deal with specific problems, at times, which I will never have to deal with as a white man the moments where I felt myself identifying with the sentiments and feelings of the characters were almost constant.

I believe that this is because none of the particularly African American experiences were framed as being the experiences of certain people of a certain race. They were framed as the problems of human beings. I may see the father in this film as overbearing but he says some things which hit hard to my core like, 'We gotta work 100 times harder to get anywhere.' That is a particular feeling of American Black culture that I will never really know in the way they do but it sounds like my coach in high school and teachers I have had. It has me recalling those feelings of weakness in the face of tremendous odds, a mentor aided push to the next level, and a desire to never disappoint someone who would be that real with me.

The narrative of this film does an excellent job of replicating the way that reality feels. People we love do terrible things, people keep things inside where they can destroy rather than opening themselves up to shame, and it takes more than one event or kind word to bring catharsis after pain. One of the reasons these things work so well is that the events that happen to these characters feel, at the same time, both the sole result of our characters understandable actions and reactions as well as totally out of any one person's control. This reflection of life as being in our own power to direct but also the product of the whims of fate is something that anyone can understand and identify with. This experience is true to people whether they are black or white, male/female/trans/etc., Christian/Muslim/Jewish/Hindu/etc., rich or poor.

I heartily recommend this film as I think it speaks to issues that are very human and universal in a way that few films, save the great masterpieces, even attempt. This one not only set it's bar higher than most films, it cleared that bar with beauty, grit, and grace.

I'm not really sure what to think of this movie. I really wanted to love it. On the one hand, it has some great acting and cinematography in it. It looks great, and it is pretty well told from start to finish.

On the other hand, I would say that this movie is way too long and unfocused. It basically consists of two different movies. The first one is more or less like watching a car crash in slow motion. It is a pretty nerve-racking and hard watch, knowing that something bad will eventually happen to one of the characters. It is very well acted, but also extremely depressing and goes on for a bit too long.

Then something happens, and the second phase of the movie begins. The tone of the movie shifts entirely and it moves focus to another character. The pacing becomes even slower, to the point that nothing really happens at all. There are some side plots that doesn't lead anywhere. I guess the main character in this latter half of the movie goes through some emotional journey? Which probably makes sense in the context of the movie, but for me it was frankly a bit boring. Again, all the actors are great, but I'm not really connecting with the movie on a story level at all.

Another weird thing to point out, I felt like there were way to many songs being played in the movie. At some parts of the movie it feels like it basically becomes a playlist, shuffling cool tracks non-stop. Some scenes have characters singing along to the songs being played, digging or dancing, sometimes disrupting the story completely. Towards the end this becomes unbearably cheesy and weird. I'm not sure if the director, editors or other people who worked on the movie just wanted an excuse to play some trendy music?

To summarize, I think this movie was okay. It looks good, the acting is great and it has some powerful scenes in it, but other than that...

*minor vague spoilers on structure & theme*

Waves is an ambitious, impassioned, and honest depiction of the trials and tribulations that reverberate through our lives. It is slice of life cinema that brings us so urgently into human moments at an intimacy I haven't seen since Honeyland or Roma. It's about the weight of our personal battles, but also about rediscovering family, love, and some sense of normalcy in a world that can grow tumultuous and overbearing.

Waves, however, is primarily a sensory experience. The meticulous, immersive film & sound editing is notably well done, with visuals & colors that reflect character & mood, thoughtfully crafted transitions, and a jarring shift in tone and theme (writer/director Trey Edward Schultz apparently does all the editing himself!). There is essentially an anxiety-filled Krisha-like chapter accompanied by a fantastic score from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails, followed by a lighter, more weightless Terrence Malick chapter. The camera communicates theme and emotion through all of this extraordinarily well.

Wonderful casting & chemistry. It's sincerely difficult to pick a favorite character when each one is written and acted so well. A few minor issues with the first half, including the medical probability of a particular event and the dynamic style being a bit heavy-handed initially. The second half emotionally wrecked the audience, as tears and sobs filled the Opera House throughout this portion. At times I thought of Lee Chang-dong's masterful meditation on grief, Secret Sunshine in the way the film spends time in silence, self-discovery, and learning to love again.

The opening shot of the film begins with the sound of heavy breathing in and out. Amidst all the chaos in life, it never again feels we can reduce life back down to these peaceful respiratory oscillations that keep us alive and moving forward.

DFF42 Red Carpet Presentation

I like the first half of the movie. Wrestling athlete trying to live in his fathers world, as well as managing a love relationship. The second half was based on the sister's view, and her relationship. Movie with lots of potential.

Not knowing what was in for, and checked into IMDB and saw an average score of 8, walked into the theater expecting a piece of art.

it ain't.

very slow going. seemed going at a pace that was unnecessary slow.

If you're like me & love beautiful, emotional, character driven dramas, then you'll love this movie. If this movie starred freggin Timothee Chalamet and the chick from Ladybird & Little Women and was surrounded by a white supporting cast it would've been nominated for every Oscar category available. 2020 has been so long I forgot the academy awards for the 2019 year had already happened, and I was sick to find out that this movie wasn't nominated for anything. Everything about this movie is beautifully done; the direction, the cinematography, the music, the acting, all phenomenal. I genuinely cannot think of why it wasn't nominated for a single major award other than the main characters being brown.

My only complaint is the sound quality of the dialogue. It's hard to hear what people are saying in scenes with loud music in the background. Other than that, this movie is great. We need more movies like this.

This film evoked every emotion in me all within two hours. It felt not like a singular epic but an intertwined epic that followed the strong sloshing of the waves of life. My friend I didnt even dpoke after we left the theater, we walked down to the park and sat under a tree and finally broke the silence- that movie was beautiful. It was filled with pain and angry and love and felt so realistic while maintaining a sense of proliferation. Please watch waves. The music, music editing , editing , directing and acting are perfect . The script is great and fills me with nothing but raw emotion.