“Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” the debut feature by Chloe Zhao, explores the complicated and emotionally fraught relationship between a community and their home. The film screened at AFI FEST on November 10^th.

The film, shot and largely cast on location, follows two siblings living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the months immediately following their estranged father’s death — a famous rodeo cowboy who before his untimely death, had very minimal involvement in their lives.  He spent much of his time drinking and impregnating other women, he had fathered 25 kids by nine or so “so-called wives.”

As the film begins the siblings learn their father’s just died a predictable drunkard’s death in an accidental fire. The story develops as a slice-of-life where we slowly get a picture of life on the reservation through Johnny (John Reddy) & Jashaun’s (Jashaun St. John) experiences.

The two rely on each other for support, having grown up without their father and a mother that is generally absent from view, Johnny takes over the role of caretaker.  He sells bootlegged alcohol to make money. The cinematography reflects the emptiness felt throughout the reservation, with frequent shots of wide-open landscape. The cloud looming over the horizon is Johnny’s plans for his future—he wants to move to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Aurelia (Taysha Fuller) once they graduate to follow his dream of being a boxer while she attends college.

Though obviously torn over the decision to leave the reservation and his family, Johnny is aware that the options open to him if he stays on the reservation are limited. In the face of that future, Johnny begins bootlegging on a larger scale to save the money necessary for his move though it puts him in dangerous situations and on the radar of rival bootleggers. It also takes much of his time away from Jashaun.

With Johnny more and more absent, Jashaun begins spending time with a new friend, Travis (Travis Lone Hill), who’s been newly released from prison. In exchange for the promise that he’ll make her a pow-wow dress, Jashaun helps him with his small business selling clothing hand-painted with his designs.

After Johnny and Jashaun find out about their dad’s sexual escapades they start connecting with their half-siblings at various points in the film. Jashaun seeks out the half-brother who her father had lived with, and finds closure in a conversation about their father. Another half-brother seeks Johnny out and continually offers him a job in his stepfather’s garage to get him out of bootlegging. The alternative family bonds explored in the film illustrate at once the lack of parental presence yet also the strong sense of community on the reservation.

Eventually the confrontation between Johnny and the rival bootleggers comes to a head, leaving him beaten and his car torched, erasing his chances of getting to Los Angeles. In the end, Johnny doesn’t leave with Aurelia, and the film closes with him reflecting on the bonds that will leave him tied to the reservation, whether he stays or goes.

In an AFI fest Q&A, Zhao spoke about her experience as someone without a strong sense of home due to the fact that she moved around a lot as a child. She stated that she wanted to make a film that explored the ways in which a person’s home could be “freeing and trapping at the same time.” The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a particularly poignant setting for such an exploration; the reservation is the home that has been forced upon the community, and in many ways reflects the injustices that have been thrust upon Native American communities. Characters such as Travis reflect the incarceration cycle on the reservation, and the presence of bootleg alcohol throughout the film highlights the community’s struggle with alcoholism. It would have been easy for Zhao to only paint a negative picture of the reservation, but of course “home” is always more complicated than meets the eye.

Written and Directed By: Chloe Zhao

Starring: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John

Grade: B+

The title character in “James White” is a good guy with some pretty bad habits. James (Christopher Abbott) is a young, self-centered but-sometimes-gentle, New Yorker who combats the terror of grown-up responsibility with copious amounts of booze and misadventures like picking fights in bars.

The film follows James in the months that follow his estranged father’s death, and lead up to the end of his mother Gail’s (Cynthia Nixon) battle with cancer, two devastating events that are difficult even for a well adjusted person, but for James –who already has his own issues– it’s a building storm. In the opening scene of the movie, he stumbles out of a pulsating nightclub early in the morning and drunkenly makes his way to his mother, Gail’s (Cynthia Nixon) apartment, who’s hosting a shiva for his estranged father. It’s pretty safe to say that showing up late and plastered to your father’s memorial is a good sign you might need to make some changes in your life.

Considering how inconsiderate he proves to be early on in the movie, it’s easy to hate James, but Abbott’s performance makes you aware that James’s bad behavior stems from fear; deep down he has a warm heart. Throughout the film James appears to be a barely-contained storm as he first grapples with his father’s death, and then with the possibility of his mother’s death. We also see how he struggles to care for her while he can barely take care of himself. The film artfully explores the flip side of single parenting; while many films have delved into the challenges of raising a child alone, few have depicted the difficulties of caring for a dying parent alone. Multiple scenes mirror each other, highlighting the role-reversal that has occurred between mother and son, early on in the film Gail calms James down with a breathing exercise, and late in the film as Gail’s health begins to deteriorate James uses the same breathing exercise to calm her down.

Cynthia Nixon gives an outstanding performance as Gail, weaving in and out of lucidity as her condition worsens. Nixon gives one of the year’s most heart-rending screen performances and the scenes showing the bond between Gail and her son make James more relatable to the audience.  A heartbreaking scene between James and his mother in the bathroom simultaneously showcases this role-reversal and the depth of love between the two of them. For all his partying, forgetfulness, and irresponsibility James truly is doing the best he can to care for Gail while being obviously overwhelmed by the task. It’s hard not to be sympathetic to someone who fights as hard as he does to help his delirious mom navigate through the labyrinthine health care system, and who comforts her when she’s sweating and puking through the night.

“James White” is the debut feature of writer-director Josh Mond, Josh Mond introduced his film at the AFI Film Festival this past week saying “I hope you feel something.” Post-screening Mond told the audience, “I wanted to make a film that punches you in the face, and then in the gut.” James White does exactly that, evoking a fit of rage and grief that will knock the wind out of you. It also has a sense of immediacy, and an unexpected commitment to narrative—much of that is due to the cinematography, shot hand-held, which keeps a laser-tight lens on James for much of the film.  We see those shots often quickly going in and out of focus. The focus seems to be an extension of him at times— following James as he takes off on a tropical vacation (“When I come back, I will be ready for life,” he insists), has a frenzied romantic fling with a teenager, and tries to parlay a few sloppy hand-written short stories into a regular gig writing for a magazine edited by one of his dad’s old business associates. The shots depicting things James either can’t or won’t deal with are often blurred.

Christopher Abbott absolutely shines in this role; even in scenes with a camera angled tightly to his face and with minimal lines he manages to capture the full range of James’ emotions. James is volatile and messy, but also fiercely protective and loving towards his mother, all of which is superbly captured by Abbott’s performance.

A lot happens in “James White,” all related to the hero’s inadequate understanding of what it means to be an adult, but if he’s going to at least try at least he does so as it relates to his mother.

Written & Directed By: Josh Mond

Starring: Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon & Scott Mescudi

Grade: A+

James White opens in theaters November 13^th.

The AFI FEST came to a close today and after a week of movie marathoning, the Jury and Audience awards were chosen.

“Land and Shade” took home the New Auteurs grand Jury Award. The film, a debut from writer director Cesar Augusto Acevedo, is a portrait of a family in rural Colombia. The jury, which consisted of Inkoo Kang (TheWrap), Sheri Linden (The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times), and Nigel M. Smith (the guardian), awarded the film for “its visual eloquence, formal rigor and emotional power.”

Also receiving a jury award was “Disorder,” with a Special Jury Mention for Direction. “Desde Alla” received a special mention for Screenplay. “Boys” and “World of Tomorrow” each took home Grand Jury Awards for Shorts, live action and animated, respectively. Many shorts were honored with special mentions: “Rate Me” (Directed by Fyzal Boulifa) for innovative storytelling, “The Reagan Shorts” (Directed by Pacho Velez) for Nonfiction Filmmaking, “Teeth” (Directed by Tom Brown and Daniel Grey) for Screenwriting, and “Manoman” (Directed by Simon Cartwright) for creative vision.

“Landfill Harmonic,” a documentary about a poor community in Paraguay who turn waste into unique instruments or an orchestra, received an audience award for World Cinema. “Mustang,” a story about five sisters locked in their Turkish home after being deemed scandalous, received high praise, winning the New Auteurs Audience Award.

In the American Independents category, James Mond’s “James White” took home the Audience Award. Mond’s directorial debut starring Cynthia Nixon (Sex in the City) and Christopher Abbot (Girls) is a drama about a young self destructive New Yorker who has to deal with his mother’s fight with a serious illness. “Ma,” by director Celia Robison-Hall captivated audiences with her dialogue-free film about a virgin birth, and won the Breakthrough Audience Award.

The festival program featured 130 films – 77 features and 53 shorts- from 45 countries. Categories included: Galas/Tributes (5 films), Special Screenings (8), American Independents (9), New Auteurs (11), World Cinema (29), Midnight (3), Breakthrough (5), Cinema’s Legacy (5), Presentations (2) and Shorts (53).

The past week, Hollywood Blvd. has been crowded beyond normal. Replacing the tourists were filmmakers, critics, and eager movie goers, all catching various films at AFI Fest. The American Film Institute’s annual festival highlights master and emerging filmmakers from all over the world. As well as showing the 120 films selected for competition,  AFI had special screenings, galas and tributes. This year, Oscar buzz worthy films “Foxcatcher,” (Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, directed by Bennett Miller) and “Still Alice” (Julianne Moore, directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland) were among the many non-competition films treated to audience.

While jury and audience awards are not new to film festivals, the audience award from AFI is slightly different from other fests. AFI offers free tickets to the public, allowing any movie lover the chance to watching rate the films. This year, “The Midnight Swim,” was honored with the Breakthrough Audience Award. The film, written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith, blurs the line between ghost story and family drama. After their mother goes missing in Spirit Lake, three sisters come together to settle her affair. On their first night, the sisters, played by Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Lafleur and Aleksa Palladino, try to conjure a spirit, leading their relationship to unravel as they are led deep into the mystery of the lake.

“Red Army,” “Gueros,” and “10,000 KM” also took home audience awards.

Check out the complete list of winners:
AUTEURS CRITICS’ AWARD
New Auteurs Critics’ Award:SELF MADE (BOREG). DIR Shira Geffen. Israel.
VIZIO Visionary Special Jury Award: THE TRIBE (PLEMYA). DIR Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. Ukraine.
Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting: GÜEROS. SCR Alonso Ruizpalacios, Gibran Portela. Mexico.
Special Jury Mention for Cinematography: VIOLET. CIN Nicolas Karakatsanis. Netherlands, Belgium.

GRAND JURY AWARDS, LIVE ACTION AND ANIMATED SHORT
Grand Jury Award for Live Action Short: BUFFALO JUGGALOS. DIR Scott Cummings
Grand Jury Award for Animated Short: YEARBOOK. DIR Bernardo Britto.
Special Jury Mention for Collection: David O’Reilly for CHILDREN’S SONG, NDA and WRONG NUMBER
Special Jury Mention for Breakthrough Filmmaker: Joe Callander for GARY HAS AN AIDS SCARE
Special Jury Mention for Vision: Kevin Jerome Everson for SOUND THAT
Special Jury Mention for Outstanding Achievement in Direction: Morgan Knibbe for SHIPWRECK

AUDIENCE AWARDS
World Cinema Audience Award: RED ARMY. DIR Gabe Polsky. USA, Russia.
New Auteurs Audience Award: GÜEROS. DIR Alonso Ruizpalacios. Mexico.
American Independents Audience Award: 10,000 KM. DIR Carlos Marques-Marcet. Spain, USA.
Breakthrough Audience Award (award accompanied by a $5,000 cash prize): THE MIDNIGHT SWIM. DIR Sarah Adina Smith. USA.