Val\u00e9rie\u00a0is wise in her minimalist or documentary approach to film making by allowing the natural vibe of the available mise-en-scene to imbue the film with emotion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn the beginning Milla is romantically carefree and quite giggly.\u00a0 Her playful charm an indicator of the light and love she possesses and which eventually carries her through the events to come. A success story for women but also for humanity, it is a story of the strength of a woman without being about the failures of a man.\u00a0 Unlike many other stories of lonely women who’s men have abandoned them somehow, this story portrays men in a positive light.\u00a0 The father is a hero and his love is passed on in her love of the child.\u00a0 Milla is not a bitter person, she looks for positive ways to move forward in life.\u00a0 One of the things I find striking about her character is her nonchalant personality, she generally takes it easy even when its not.\u00a0 There is no pretentiousness in this film to be found, not in Milla’s concerns for life nor anyone around her including the director.\u00a0 Milla is a softly focused, gritty tale about the bitter-sweetness of the beauty of life intertwined with the dark or unexpected moments.<\/p>\n
There is hope and new life to be found.\u00a0 It is definitely about Milla’s ability to continue to smile and find love and happiness in spite of some significant obstacles.\u00a0 Two of my favorite props in this minimalist film are the beautiful rosebud sheet hanging to dry from the clothes line as well as the sheer red drapes blowing in the wind, both infusing a loving glow and feminine delicate sweetness against the backdrop of homelessness, grief and single-motherhood.\u00a0 \u00a0As a young woman Milla is resourceful and finds work with understanding women who appear to support her efforts. She mentions wanting a life better than what the welfare system can provide.\u00a0 The story progresses over a few years with the child growing up happy and supported. They are finding their way.<\/p>\n
There is an innocence and believability to the characters in the film in part due the fact that\u00a0Severine Jonckeere\u00a0is a single mom in real life and\u00a0Ethan Jonckeere\u00a0is truly her child; it is obvious.\u00a0\u00a0Massadian\u00a0also confessed to the fact that she made use of natural light,\u00a0setting and timing of events as much as possible in the making.\u00a0 Massadian\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0the brilliance of simplicity and the inherent beauty of life and love.\u00a0\u00a0Do what you can with what you’ve got and smile a lot is my personal takeaway.<\/span><\/p>\nThe simple abandoned house becomes a romantic safe haven in their world, they seem oblivious to what anyone would “think”.\u00a0 The film seems to say, “the world itself and the people, as they are, is beautiful enough.\u00a0 Even the fathers love is enough although he is gone his spirit is remembered.\u00a0 More striking, than the film was the heart of the woman who made it. I can say honestly from only meeting her once that she is the stuff we need more of in this world.\u00a0 She is a brave woman herself for getting this movie made and several awards and festivals.\u00a0 Massadian is dedicated to the truth being told and the justice it does to the actors and all involved. Massadian is an inspiring female director with a passion I intend to follow.<\/p>\n
Home is where the heart is and my heart is with Massadian and the cast of Milla.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n
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Reviewed by Alicia Huhn.\u00a0 Viewed at the Chinese 3 Theater in Hollywood at American Film Institute\u2019s AFIFEST 2017. Milla is at once a likable character and a moving film.\u00a0 Getting to meet Val\u00e9rie Massadian\u00a0and hear her story of making the film was an extreme gift! This photo is a snapshot from one of my favorite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135207,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[316,3],"tags":[320],"class_list":["post-39988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afi-filmfest-2017","category-films","tag-female-directors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/135207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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