Drugstore June

The apathetic adult child, usually a favourite as a male character, but thankfully there has been quite a few female characters like this appearing on our screens. In her 20s, living very comfortably at home, still stalking her ex and doing the bare minimum where possible in life, June is the apathetic adult child. While she does have a job at the drugstore (hence the name), she spends her time concerned with her online presence and her ‘June Squad’ follows. When the drugstore where she works is robbed, she decides to investigate and find the culprits. Her motivations is not to help out her beyond patient manager, but for the ice cream machine that was damaged in the robbery. 

June’s quest for the truth leads her to meet various characters, some as weird as her, others that seem to accept her strange demeanour and reasonings for everything. Although frustrating, June’s delusional personality is an absolute joy to watch. She is thoroughly entertaining and even, on very few occasions, makes very accurate observations of her surroundings. The mystery elements in the film, allow June’s detective skills to shine through, opening for more funny scenes, random characters that all play into solving the crime. 

Drugstore June is a difficult comedy to place and this is part of its charm. June is the clear stand out, played to perfection by Esther Povitsky, who also co-wrote this gem. Sometimes it can be grating for these delusional characters to never learn a lesson, but June’s charm out-weighs this character flaw and just becomes an easy comedic watch.

Everyone Loves Touda - Cannes Film Festival

 

Chasing dreams and wanting more, a better life is an age-old tale. Films such as these can feel predictable as soon as the tone is set. As an audience we become hopeful along with the dreamer of the story and even though we can guess how things will end, we still cling onto the hope that this character somehow succeeds. In Everyone Loves Touda, we enter the world of hopeful dreamer Touda and share in her journey, but we know all too well how this story ends.

Touda, is a Sheikha, a traditional Moroccan performer who are empowered by the songs of fierce female poets who lived before. Trying to carve out an existence in her rural town, performing each night in darkened bars to drunken men, Touda wants more from life. Deciding to take a chance, she moves to Casablanca, the big city, in the hope of being recognised as a true artist and securing a place for her son at a school that accommodates deaf children.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

5lbs Of Pressure

 

There are some emotional punches thrown throughout but the bleakness of the final act that makes it difficult to see a silver lining in any of the chaos that proceeded it. Betrayal, redemption, hope are all expressed throughout 5lbs of Pressure. Consequences from actions long in the past and immediate future play out side by side as each character tries to get by and make better choices.

Adam, about to complete his parole, returns to his old neighbourhood to start over and to finally meet his son he missed growing up. When hearing about Adam’s return, Eli, the brother of the man Adam killed, plans his revenge as his own life falls apart.

Full review over at Filmhounds.