The Outsider

My husband and I saw this film at the Sedona Film Festival, and it was one of the top four films we saw and our favorite from the shorts block. It was a very sweet film that had really terrific acting and a heart-felt, real-life story. During the filmmaker Q&A, we were fascinated to learn that they actually shot the film at an actual family reunion, so most of the actors you see in the film are the director's actual family. Other highlights are the performance by the lead actor Kate Cook. We couldn't take our eyes off of her. We loved the humor in the film. And we loved learning about mochi. We eat it all the time when we're at Japanese restaurants, but never knew how it got made. We're really looking forward to seeing more work from this filmmaking couple.

I came across this movie as I was familiar with one of the actresses, Jessie Nerud. I thought this movie took a little while to get going but in the end I found it a fun ride. Throughout the movie I tried to understand if there was something particularly wrong with Jessie. I thought she was great and she was quite pretty. It made me wonder how her husband in real life could cheat on her since she seemed like such a nice person. I heard awful stories about her husband, Logan Woodward. I hope she finally left him and found out about the girls he slept around with on the side. Maybe she is too out of his league and he feels left behind! I hope her acting career really takes off and she can get rid of that extra baggage keeping her down.

My wife and I are in a blended relationship. I'm Iranian and she's Peruvian. So my family gatherings and cultural norms are always a bit confusing for her, and vice versa. So we related to "The Outsider" which tackles the subject of blending cultures in relationships with delicacy and humor from the outsider's perspective.

In this film, I think the lead woman was Irish and her boyfriend was Japanese, and she was visiting his family, but both my wife and I could relate. And in the Q&A afterwards, it seemed like the entire audience had similar experiences in their lives. My wife and I also liked learning about making mochi. It made me hungry watching the film.

Apparently the filmmakers tell stories from their lives about universal themes. They said their next film will be a drama about his concussion and how their roles changed from husband and wife to patient and caregiver. Sounds intense. We'll be looking for that one in next year's film festival.

This movie tells a credible story with very competent acting and admirable directing. I rate it at 9/10 only because it's not the exceptional kind of movie that I would actually purchase, to be watched repeatedly as time goes by. Other than that, I can't fault it - because I will certainly watch it again at some point in the future.

Some viewers may find it a little drawn-out but I think that the slow pace is what gives it its particular feel of credibility and what caused me to invest concern in the main protagonist's welfare. Definitely entertaining, interesting and recommendable - and could become quite popular once it gets wider viewing.