Aftersun

Gonna get a bit personal on the boxd…kinda nervous… I don’t talk to my dad as much anymore nor do I see him too often. He’s still alive and in my life, but he’s felt decreasingly emotionally there as I’ve gotten older. I go back sometimes and listen to his old voicemails to me and I don’t hear the man I did as a kid. He sounds so sad and hallow in all of them now despite it being that same man. Aftersun feels like listening to those voicemails. Hearing a different man I did as a kid, realizing I only know my father but not the man that he is or the struggles the distance between us has caused him. I only share this on here because there’s no other way to explain how deeply this film has resonated with me. Aftersun makes me want to hold tighter to the things I so easily let go of before. The scene of young Sophie dancing with Calum as the metaphorical rave clashes with it, depicting adult Sophie now desperately seeking out and clinging to Calum as he falls deeper away was the final salt in the wound for me. Young Sophie unaware to this being her final time holding her dad to adult Sophie desperately clinging to whatever she can of him as he fades farther and farther from her, existing as nothing more than a memory now. Anything that has to do with a father and his daughter usually makes me sob, but this one just hits wayyyy too close to home. On a technical level, the film does a great job at giving you all the parts and ideas but allowing you to paste them together at the end. Calum’s ending is never directly told, yet you know exactly what it is. His suicide is indicated many times, whether it be through dialogue or visuals. The biggest indicator being the rave that flashes in between scenes throughout the movie, the final time making its meaning most apparent. Moreover, it visually tells the story in such a beautiful way, almost feeling innocent and naive most of the time, as if even when the scenes aren’t captured through Sophie’s camera, they’re still told through her eyes. Calum’s struggles are never directly said, but are heavily apparent when watching as the viewer, reflecting how young Sophie was oblivious to his mental struggles, but now looking back on it, it’s apparent they were always there, albeit never blankly stated. This entire film also has some of the best use of diegetic sounds in my opinion. There’s so many scenes that rely simply on the sounds of the moment and nothing else, like the very beginning of Sophie’s breathing as she sleeps being all that’s heard over a shot of shadowed Calum smoking on the balcony. Most scenes here that use a score are also diegetic, really putting the audience into the experience with Sophie and Calum rather than just watching through a screen…especially that final dance with Under Pressure playing…I’m writing this through tears so ignore any errors… BLUR AND R.E.M MENTIONEDDDD Tender and Losing My Religion were very very welcome surprises as I love both songs deeply