Waves

Two Hundo Ps in a row? You kiddin me? Needed that. This film was particularly inspiring to me because it’s the kind of movie, in terms of style and theme, that I’m trying to learn how to make. It’s really cool and helpful to see something super similar to what you envision and aspire to create, created. I’ve always really enjoyed coming of age films, probably because I could really relate to them as someone coming of age. As a recent college grad though, I’ve been doing my share of reflecting in quarantine, and thinking a lot about what growing up was like for me. And honestly, it was pretty crazy, and not always great. Something about learning how to love yourself, and love other people, and also just like exist is a pretty complicated and difficult emotional experience. But hey, what better way is there to talk about complicated emotional experiences than mothertruckin movies? 

Waves (2019) is a drama written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. It’s hard to classify it as just a coming of age film, or romantic drama, because it’s about so much: love, loss, family, life I guess. As I mentioned in my last post, one of my biggest film pet peeves is when stories feel inauthentic, and dramas tend to run this risk. When something feels inauthentic, it’s because it feels unrealistic in terms of how the character would act. There are a few moments in this film that caused me to have that reaction initially, but they actually feel very intentional and pointed, in a way that makes the viewer think more about why that character is acting that way than they would otherwise. Waves deals with extremely dramatic subject matter, but it’s not overly dramatic; that’s why it’s so good. Achieving that balance has such a fine line, and is often very dependent on the acting, which is ridiculously good all around in this film. But, what really makes this film Hundo P is it’s style: its distinct and motivated use of camera movement, lighting, and music. Everyone connects to things in different ways, and for different reasons. To me, a lot of this movie felt like it was talking about mental heath and masculinity, which are things I am seeking to explore through film. Maybe something else will speak to you; it certainly talks about a lot. Watch it and find out!