Phoenix Film Festival 2009

DON?T WE ALL HAVE OUR WORRIES...WHAT HAS HAPPEN FOR A PERSON TO FINALLY GRASP THE RULES OF THEIR LIFE, AS SHAPED BY THEIR FATE? CAN ONE CHOOSE TO RESIST AND GO ONE?S OWN WAY?THE FILM PORTRAYS ORDINARY PEOPLE, WHOSE LIFE STORIES ANYONE IN THE WORLD CAN RELATE TO. THEIR STORIES ARE SIMPLE AND UNEXCEPTIONAL AT THE FIRST GLANCE, YET THE SITUATIONS, VIEWED FROM THE CHARACTERS?S PERSPECTIVES, ARE LIFE-DEFINING AND NOTHING SHORT OF EXISTENTIAL. THE INTERTWINING STORY-LINES USES CAMERA AND EDITING TO INVOLVE VIEWERS IN A WORLD ALL TOO SIMILAR TO THEIR OWN AND, AFTER A FEW MINUTES, OVERWHELMS THEM EMOTIONALLY. JANA M. AND MARTIN K. ARE A PERFECT YOUNG COUPLE. THEY HAVE EVERYTHING ONE COULD POSSIBLY WISH FOR, WITH ONE EXCEPTION: A CHILD, THE ULTIMATE FRUIT OF THEIR MARRIAGE. THE WIFE, HYSTERICAL AND SLIGHTLY INFANTILE, IS DESPERATE. OF COURSE, IT DOESN?T HELP MUCH THAT THE HUSBAND, WHOSE SPERM COUNT IS AT FAULT, ACTS JUMPY AND IRRITABLE. THERE?S NO TELLING WHAT HER PSYCHE CAN DRIVE HER TO. LIDA?S LIFE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLY HARDER. DRIVEN FROM HOME BY THE ARGUMENTS WITH HER MOTHER, THE YOUNG ADULT HAS ALREADY BECOME A MOTHER OF TWO CHILDREN SHE?S UNABLE TO TAKE CARE OF. BEING ATTRACTIVE, SHE?S CONSTANTLY BEING TARGETED BY OVERSEXED MEN OFFERING TO PAY FOR HER FAVORS, OSTENSIBLY TO HELP HER IN HER DIRE SITUATION. BEING PROUD AS SHE IS, LIDA REFUSES, TRYING TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR HELP. FAILING TO GET ANY, LIDA, ALONE IN THE THRONGS OF THE BIG CITY, IS FORCED TO CHOOSE THE EXTREME SOLUTION. THE COACH IS A MIDDLE-AGED, SELF-RELIANT TYPE OF MAN, OVERLY DEDICATED TO HIS JOB FOR ALL HIS LIFE. SPORT IS WHAT GAVE HIS LIFE MEANING, AND HE HAS NEVER SOUGHT LOVE OR FAMILY. NOW, THE TIDE IS TURNING. THE COACH FINDS HIMSELF UNABLE TO CATCH UP WITH HIS YOUNG PUPILS. WHAT USED TO BRING HIM JOY, NOW FILLS HIM WITH FEAR AND FEELINGS OF LONELINESS. THE NEEDS HE HAD SUPPRESSED NOW START TO ASSERT THEMSELVES. ISN?T IT LATE, THROUGH? THE LAST OF CHARACTERS, THE OLD LADY, SHARES HER LARGE, EMPTY FARMHOUSE WITH HER GOD. HER DAUGHTER HAS LEFT HER. THE ONLY CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS A VISITOR COMING TO TAKE HER RABBITS. APATHETICALLY, SHE ATTENDS SERVICES AT THE CHURCH, WEEDS THE GRAVE OF HER HUSBAND OR GOES TO WORK IN THE PARCHED FIELD, DIGGING OUT THE LAST REMNANTS OF THE PRODUCE THAT USED TO BE HER LIVING. BARELY ALIVE, SHE?S LOOKING BACK AT THE MEANING OF HER LIFE. THE FEELINGS OF FRUSTRATION AND EMPTINESS ARE SLOWLY GETTING THE UPPER HAND OVER HER RELIGIOUS FAITH, CLEARING THE WAY FOR HER TO END HER MISERY ONCE AND FOR ALL. ... BUT STILL, THERE IS A CHANCE FOR EACH OF US. THROUGH THE FATE MAY SEEM UNJUST, IT DEALS OUT FORTUNE AND MISFORTUNE IN EQUAL MEASURE. WE ARE MORE RESILIENT THEN WE THINK OURSELVES TO BE. THERE ORDINARY LIFE STORIES ARE ONLY A TINY SUBSET OF ALL THE STORIES IN THE WORLD. IT IS, ABOVE ALL, THEIR ORDINARY QUALITY THAT MAKES THEM TRULY UNIVERSAL. AND SO, FOR ALL THEIR APPARENT BLANDNESS, THEY LEAVE A LASTING EMOTIONAL IMPRINT ON EACH AND ONE OF US.