A Country Called Home

And then they wrote a script and made a movie. Hardly a single tolerable character. Surely it was written and directed by Saturday Night Live. Things are really slow in this flick. It's like living inside of a coma. In fact, one of the characters wakes up from her diabetic coma to go have a burger and fries at the Dairy Queen and finishes off with a blizzard. If you hate the south, you'll like this movie.

If Mary McCormack wasn't in the film, I probably would have left it at the library sale. I actually enjoyed the performances by the entire cast. Imogen Poots played Ellie Edwards, a Los Angeles aspiring furniture designer, who gets the dreaded phone call about her estranged father in Texas. He died as she trying to get there. She meets her grandparents for the first time. June Squibb did a great job playing Grandma. Mary McCormack's performance as Amanda is quite credible and believable. Mackenzie Davis' performance as Reno is quite a surprise too. The film handled the friendship between Ellie and Reno with class and restraint. The film was shot on location in Los Angeles and in Texas. The memorial service is unforgettable. Ellie spends the film trying to connect with complete strangers. She also tries to deal with the painful loss of her father.

It's really amazing that it took so many people to make such a lousy film. I gave it a one rating because the cinematography is actually pretty good.

A feel good indie film. I expected a complete drama, probably realistic and nothing more. It was slightly hopping around with different genres. Yeah, there were some fun, though how the tale had begun and how the rest of the narration shaped up was not so blendful. A young woman returns home after learning about her father's sudden death. It was the first visit after many years, especially since her mother's death. She also for the first time meets her grandparents. This trip is a different experience. The short stay extents, and then she meets Reno, a singer who stuck in the plac due to her mother. From there how the rest of the story unfolds is told decently.

It had characters, the great ones. The story too, but not all the scenes were so great. Particularly Reno made this film a bit cheerful. Usually indie films are one-off, but I thought they should make another one. Because feels there's more to add to it, like a road trip, followed by the rest of their lifeline in LA. Or maybe a prequel seems good too. If you like drama films, you would enjoy it. But not for everyone. Imogen was good, I liked somebody like her accepted the role. Then Mackenzie Davis and others too were good. Not many people had seen it, for that reason itself, it deserves to be watched. Forget the film critics, just try it and rate it.

7/10

A Country Called Home follows Ellie, A West Coast furniture designer who gets a call that informs her that her father has just died, she heads back to her hometown in Texas to deal with his death, she reconnects with her roots in ways she did not expect.

This film is very touching and relatable. It deals with themes of family and forgiveness. Ellie has stayed a distance from her father throughout most of her life due to his troubles with alcoholism, despite this, she goes back to Texas and reconnects with her family. She finds that in a way, she has let her father back into her heart. Regardless that town has still a dislike and his girlfriend struggling with alcoholism herself and causing trouble, she defends and still loves her father and does everything in her power to give him a proper goodbye. She also finally meets her grandparents and makes a new friend there, by the end of the film she has gained a new perspective on her life and is ready to move forward.

To me, the message of the film is that we all can overcome the trials and tribulations we face in life, as long as we have love in our hearts and focus on what really matters. Its very much a feel good film that will leave you feeling less alone in life. It's a beautiful indie film, not only because of the story but also the cinematography captures the beauty of Texas.