Foreign Film Series: Aftersun
Parents and children can develop a sixth sense about each other, or, at very least, they can attune some of their five basic senses to each other’s wavelengths without even trying, and those sensitivities sometimes linger. Aftersun communicates its understanding of this connection right away. When Calum, a young father on vacation with his eleven-year-old daughter Sophie, pauses before leaving her alone for a moment, even though he is out of her sight, she can hear his hesitation. She assures him it is fine to leave her. Calum’s uncertainty makes sense. Gradually, the movie reveals the basics of their relationship. Sophie’s parents are divorced, seemingly amicably, at least by this point. Sophie lives with her mother in Scotland. Calum lives in London and does not see her as often as either of them might like. Now they are on end-of-summer holiday in Turkey, at a resort hotel, though Calum cannot afford the all- inclusive passes that would get them unlimited food, drink, or whatever else. Eventually, flashes of Sophie as an adult make it clear that she is remembering this trip with the help of some home videos we see her taking at the time and rewatching later. The movie is mostly from Sophie’s point of view, but sometimes Wells follows Calum away from his daughter’s eyes. Are we seeing the truth of those moments, or Sophie’s attempt to reconstruct them years later? In its gentle, modest way, Aftersun might well break your heart.