This is a charming, warm-hearted little indie film about a young girl named Elva who takes her little sister Sammy and heads 'East' - on a journey to try and find her estranged mother, but finds a new and completely different relationship along the way.
'Tristant' is the lone, 47 year old recently widower-ed Frenchman they bump into, who becomes their travelling companion, guardian, and more...
These three characters make up virtually the whole cast (with just a couple of other very minor credited roles), and the whole film revolves around their interactions. Such good fortune then, that the 3 main performances are all very strong, and the on-screen chemistry between them very tangible. Credit to all three actors (and the director) for this, and I sincerely hope to see each of them in other roles in the future.
The story of the film is simple, but not lacking, as the film gently engages you with the relationship between the three characters - ultimately what the film is about. One of the most impressive things are the conversations and little moments between the characters, which are often very natural and have the feel of real life, not of a movie (which says a lot for the acting, script and direction). As a backdrop to this are several stunning locations that the characters make their way through (obviously deciding to travel by the most scenic route possible), beautifully shot; and also a simple but lovely soundtrack song, that fits and sets the mood of the film perfectly throughout, in this reviewer's humble opinion.
If I were to have one criticism it would be the film's vagueness over the main character Elva's age - a question that the film seemingly decided not to answer, but in my book is an important detail to omit - a 16 year old is not the same as an 18 year old, is not the same as a 20 year old... But that's a minor complaint. All in all the film was very moving and enjoyable, including one particularly poignant, powerful and spectacular scene involving a guitar that I can only hope finds its way onto youtube...
8/10
