"The Kings of Summer" with (2013)

This is the “new” coming of age film. It is a bit different than the innocence depicted in films such as “Stand by Me”, but in spite of that, the film is a pretty accurate reflection of today’s teenage perception of what it means to “become a man.”

The film depicts the reasons behind the decision by 3 teenagers to leave home and set up on their own over the summer. The three all have different issues with their families and the lure to be on their own is very strong. So, when 15 year old Joe; played by Nick Robinson; approaches his 2 buddies with his idea about building a home of their own in a clearing in the woods, they are ready to listen.

Joe lost his mother to illness a few years earlier and his relationship with his Dad is adversarial at best. Complicating things is the presence of a new woman in his Dad’s life; a relationship he refuses to acknowledge.

Joe has a severe crush on Kelly; played by Elin Moriarty; who is already in a relationship with some guy named Paul. After seeing her at school and being humiliated by her boyfriend Joe heads for home accompanied by his strange friend Biaggio; played by Moises Arias. Biaggio claims to be asexual. When the two cut through the woods on the way home they discover the spot where Joe decides that they should build a house. Joe wants his friend Patrick; played by Gabriel Basso; to join them.

Patrick has an array of survivalist books from which the trio makes plans to build their home. They pilfer materials wherever they can find them, dragging everything into the woods and actually building their home. Shortly after it is finished the three boys move in to begin their new lives.

Thinking that the boys have been kidnapped the town is searching for them frantically. The police know better; since the boys took money and tools from their parent’s homes when they left. It’s just a question of where they went.

The boys are learning that living off the land; while sounding appetizing; is not as easy as it appears. They find a small grocery store from which they are able to count on fresh meat each day, and so that becomes their main source of food. Hunting, fishing and cooking have proven too difficult for them.

As the days go by Joe misses Kelly more and more, and so makes arrangements for her to come visit them in the woods. She brings a friend along. Kelly has broken up with her boyfriend and Joe is still smitten with her. He is hoping that when she sees all that he has accomplished she will become his girlfriend. But instead she is attracted to Patrick and the two slip away together. This event causes Joe to have a sort of meltdown, which breaks down the bond between the 2 friends. Patrick destroys a portion of the house he helped to build and leaves. Biaggio wants to stay but Joe sends him away also. Now he is truly alone.

The police question Biaggio and Patrick; with Biaggio turning out to be the strongest of the two. He tells the police nothing. Joe, meantime, has run out of money to buy chickens at the food store and begins to actually hunt. He captures and kills a rabbit, but feels so badly about it that he cannot eat it. It has now been over a month since the boys left home, and Joe is the only one unaccounted for.

At this point Kelly tells Joe’s father about the secret location of the house and they head there to get Joe. The ending of the film involves a poisonous snake and a heroic act by Joe, which earns him the respect of his father. And although Kelly and Joe remain only friends, he comes away with a new understanding of himself, his father and life in general.

A very ethereal film in some respects, with intense acting on the part of all the principal players, this film illuminates the never changing angst of growing up.

"Mud" with Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon (2012)

Don’t be fooled by the slow methodical pace of this film. It all leads to a stunning and surprise ending. Neckbone and Ellis are two young boys living near the river in Arkansas when they encounter a man named Mud who lives in a houseboat which has somehow become lodged in a tree on a deserted island in the river. He claims that he is waiting on a girl named Juniper; played by Reese Witherspoon.

Ellis’ parents are in the midst of a separation which resembles some of the problems that Mud and Juniper may have been having. It’s hard to tell what is real or not with Mud; played by Matthew McConaughey. He is obviously on the run from something, but what? It turns out to be a murder. Mud has killed a man who wasn’t treating Juniper right. He expects her to come and meet him on the island. Mud plans to fix the old boat up and make his escape down the river. At least that’s the plan.

When Neckbone; played by Jacob Lofland; and Ellis; played by Tye Sheridan; spot Juniper in town they assume that she has come to rendezvous with Mud. But there are bounty hunters gathering to avenge the death of one of their own. The boys see all this activity and put two and two together. They are divided about what to do, or not, to help Mud.

 

Mud convinces them to scrounge parts to help him renovate the old boat. This leads to some conflicts between Ellis and his father, who is trying to save his marriage and his home on the river. When Ellis realizes that Mud has used both himself and Neckbone for his own selfish ends he is furious, but when his life is suddenly on the line, just as Mud is about to make his break, Mud is the one who rescues him in a dramatic race against time from a deadly snake bite.

Although he is being relentlessly pursued by the bounty hunters he insists that Neckbone take him to visit Ellis before he leaves. A gun battle ensues with the bounty hunters, who have been staking out the boys home, and aided by his mysterious friend from across the river he is able to escape to freedom.

Joe Don Baker; as the mysterious neighbor; and Sam Shepard; as Ellis’ dad; both deliver outstanding performances. Armed with a gripping screenplay director Jeff Nichols has delivered a flawless film. You really don’t want to miss this one.

"Blesss Me, Ultima" with Miriam Colon (2012)

This film is like a poem. In fluent and ethereal ways the story unfolds about a boy, his grandmother and a bond that exists between them. The story takes place during the middle of World War Two in New Mexico.

A woman comes to live with Antonio’s family; the reason is never really clear why. It is known to the viewer that she delivered all of Antonio’s brothers and sisters. She has a reputation as a “curandera”; or a type of healer; and the boy is immediately drawn to her mystique. Adding to that aura is the way others react to her. They seem to want to keep her distant, which puzzles Antonio.

The boy and the woman take walks together and she teaches him all that she knows about the plants which cure; as well as the ones which will hurt. As they become closer he begins to understand that she is truly at one with nature. Indeed, nature is her God. She speaks with the trees and the rivers, passing that understanding to Antonio.

When a man in the village inadvertently stumble upon a coven of young women holding a blood sacrifice in the woods, he feels he has been cursed, and so takes to bed, seeming possessed and ready to die. No doctor; or Priest; has been able to cure him. This simple woman, who is usually reviled as a witch, is called upon to rid his body of the poison within; be it real or imagined. She takes Antonio with her only after he tells her he is not ashamed to be with her.

What follows will alter Antonio’s life and perceptions of those around him. And as time passes and the old woman gets ready to pass on, she reveals the biggest secret of all to Antonio; the secret of who we are and how we are connected to the world in which we live.

Fluently directed and well written, this film is carefully paced and will leave you thinking about life; and death; just in a different way.

This film is from a contemporary classic novel first released in 1972. It has won many awards for literature and is emblematic of the Chicano struggle for identity in a multicultural society. For more about the book, see Wikipedia at;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_Me,_Ultima