Director: Patrick Dickinson
Starring: Ciaran Hinds, Lily Franky, Aoife Hinds, Ryo Nishikido, Tae Kumira, Rin Takanashi, and Yuri Tsunematsu
Movie Length: 1 hours 34 minutes
What it’s about: When the mother/wife of a small fractured family dies the son and father reunite on a journey to spread the ashes of their lost loved one. A journey that sparks old memories and the forgotten history of how their family came to be. It’s an emotional and timely drama about one family’s loss and the road that leads them to redemption, forgiveness, and peace.
What Corey thought: Wonderful! What a heartfelt and emotional story. I really enjoyed this movie from start to finish. I’m not a fortune teller by any means but this is the type of movie that I could see making waves come Oscar time. It truly encapsulates the grieving process of a family and how it can affect each individual as well as the effect it can have on the family structure itself. The director sets the tone with several romantic and touching flashbacks helping us learn the background of each character. Bridging that slice of time in all of their lives and then bringing us full circle as we reach the end of the movie. In this way we almost become a part of each character’s psyche. We feel the emotional heft of each of their journeys and share their grieving process. The acting was fantastic as well. Each performance genuine and nuanced. Especially Lily Franky, his ability to look depleted, fragile, and just emotionally barren through much of the film was astounding. As he begins to find inner peace and reconcile with the past and his son it’s almost as if a switch has been flipped and his performance as a whole was just a joy to watch. Overall, it’s a just a deeply soulful and memorable film that will resonate with fans looking to cozy up with a good story and drama. Highly recommend checking this one out!
Corey’s rating: A
Cottontail is now in select theaters and coming to video on demand services on July 9th.
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