Anne at 13,000 ft Reviews
2019 must have been a bad year for Canadian films as this was supposedly one of the best from that country as it was nominated four times at the Canadian Film Awards, including Best Film. It is an excruciating 75 minutes of shaky cam that a toddler could have filmed. Our main character is a bore and one I continued to lose interest in. She has a mental break after skydiving. Ok. And? We don't know anything about our lead before the jump, but who cares. Save yourself and stay away. Final Score: 0/10
This is a film that depicts the dysfunctional life of an alcoholic young lady who works in a child daycare centre (nursery). First off, there's a lot of shaky camerawork, so if that bothers you then this won't appeal to you. Its a sad portrayal of someone who seemingly refuses to ever be fully sober and who is constantly on the verge of being in serious trouble at work. She lives in a dreamworld and it's sad to watch. The shaky camerawork I suppose emphasises the higgeldy piggeldy way she lives her life, i.e. very impulsively. It has the look of an observational documentary about it. It's an ok film, not especially good but ok. It does make you wonder what may be going on in her thoughts, what she's perhaps running from and why she is the way she is but its hardly entirely original, as far as plot lines go I suppose. I thought the main performance by Lisa Aitken was pretty good - she has the 'glazed over' look in her eyes quite a lot. I wouldn't outright recommend it as such, no.
Driven by the seemingly fragile performance of Deragh Campbell, this portrait, shot almost exclusively on a close-up basis (which is, in itself, a brave move), is not just a story about mental health (in parts it reminds Melancholia, by Von Trier) but, also, of feminine freedom and, as Varda's Vagabond, it challenges the viewer on various levels, asking (indirectly) questions about limits, until when such freedom will be socially accepted.