August Evening

I had the privilege of watching a special screening of August Evening presented by Ali Selim at the Lagoon Theater recently. When the movie started I had no idea what I was in for. My firsts thoughts when the movie started was, "I feel nothing." I felt as though the drama the movie was trying to plot at the beginning was falling flat and the main character didn't really grab me. That completely reversed after watching the film for about 20 minutes. Director Chris Eska has created a portrait of a modern Latino family that couldn't have seemed more real. And where it was heartbreaking to watch images of the 60 year old main character Jaime stand out on a sidewalk trying to thumb down work, or mow lawns, Eska never once takes these moments of sadness to where we don't want to watch. The sadness is bittersweet because the beautiful images of hardship only showed the love and caring this family had for each other. The film carries with it moments of tender happiness including a scene involving jalapeños. I will say no more.

Eska also uses transitional shots like a lone bathtub in a field, close ups of dirty light bulbs and other strange objects as emotional vices to give the viewer feelings of loneliness and uncertainty. August Rush is a story of aging and moving from one stage in life to another whether your old and ailing or young and ready to find new love. The film is shot almost entirely handheld on the high def camera Lucas used for the new Star Wars films. The transfer to 35mm was very sharp. Where it felt as though the handheld feeling would grew tiresome at the beginning of the film, it really brought a sense of documented realism to the story and often gave a feeling of tenderness and warmth to the story. It reminds the viewer to remember how important family really is and that it is never to late to try to mend relationships. Someday our parents will be gone. It is so important to spend time and savor the small moments and conversations together. I particularly love a scene involving the son and Jaime sharing a quick meal together that Jaime quickly whips up. There is a moment of quiet as the two eat out of a pan with their hands standing up in the kitchen of this little hunting shack that is just so serene. It is such a real scene between a father and son.

I had the pleasure of talking with director Chris Eska following the screening. The film cost him a mere 40,000 dollars to make a screenable version for fests. The film was instantly picked up by a distributor at the LA Film Fest and is undergoing marketing for a limited theatrical release. It has also been nominated for the Cassavettes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Not only that, but the lead actor Pedro Castaneda, who never acted before in his life is nominated for best actor at the Spirit Awards alongside Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Don Cheadle. I must admit, it took me a while to warm up to his character, but Pedro pulls off the character in the end so gently. When I was talking to Eska, he said that for him, a character who remains gentle and reserved in a film ends up making funny and touching moments more memorable because he or she feels more real as a character. August Evening may not be a film for everyone, especially in an age of constant cutting and MTV ingenuity, but if one steps back and tunes out the craziness of everyday life and watches this film, they will be in for a big treat.