I loved Adam Arkin in 'Chicago Hope'! So I looked forward to watching 'My Louisiana Sky' just to see how he had directed it. And I must say I'm quite impressed! I find something intrinsically noble in people who make films like these - small budget, relationship-driven... films that successfully capture an age and an experience and leave an impression on the viewer... 'My Louisiana Sky' is a beautiful languorous film that explores a phase in a young girl's life as she deals with the various predicaments in her life - her mentally challenged parents, her friend Jesse Wade whose crush on her causes her much anxiety, her accomplished aunt whose life in the city she wishes to lead etc... Kelsey Keel is brilliant in the part! And the rest of supporting cast - Shirley Knight, Juliette Lewis, Amelia Campbell, Chris Owens etc are also really good!
I cannot believe that this film was actually shot in Toronto! The locations were so beautiful and seemed so rural and idyllic! I must say that that city has an amazing chameleon-like quality to appear like other cities and towns! Someone here has commented that this film seems like 'Anne of Green Gables'. I've been a big fan of the 'Anne' books and the films made by Kevin Sullivan. 'My Louisiana Sky' didn't really seem to me to be Anne-like, but perhaps likenesses could be traced... I'm reminded of 'Paradise' that starred a very young and adorable Elijah Wood and Thora Birch! 'Paradise' is not a period film and neither is it a coming-of-age film like 'My Louisiana Sky', but it's got the same rural idyllic atmosphere and is also set in the South, and the camaraderie between Wood's and Birch's characters in 'Paradise' is quite like Tiger Anne's and Jesse Wade's here!
Just hope more films like 'Paradise' and 'My Louisiana Sky' get made! Kudos to Adam Arkin! :)
